Experience maps are tools that provide a way for an organization to view and map out the stakeholder’s journey. Experience Maps are research-based documents that allow an organization to view and test their processes from an opposite (but complimentary) point of view. If an organization wanted to optimize an employee’s real experience in terms of enjoyment and efficiency, they would map out an employee’s day and what they did, from the wins they make, to the shortcuts they take (and why). If an organization wanted to optimize a product, they would map out the Customer experience, from the very first time the customer was introduced to the product, to the stage where they have purchased the product and are telling all their friends and family about it.
A Customer Experience Map is a visual representation that outlines the steps a customer goes through when interacting with a brand, or when an employee performs a task. It captures the subject’s emotions, pain points, needs, and perceptions at each stage of the experience.
How to create an Experience Map
Step 1: Determine the subject that is being studied, and for what purposes.
Who is being studied and for what purpose? If it’s a customer, what type of customer and for which product? Be as specific as possible even during the early planning stages, as it will allow for creativity to follow a structure down the road.
Step 2: Determine your data collection methods.
Consider who from step 1 you have chosen to study. For example, open ended questions in the form of “long interviews” are a fantastic way to make new discoveries from employees, as they are the only ones who could tell you everything that happens during their job that isn’t explicitly listed in their job description.
Step 3: Determine the “touchpoints” of the subject. In sales, this process can be extremely drawn out, to a point where every point in which a customer makes contact with a brand is carefully planned out and crafted. As this blog post serves as a general guide, we have broken this process down into 4 major touchpoints that must be observed:
Awareness>Research>Purchase>Link
Awareness includes all the ways in which a customer is made aware of a brand product, from marketing to sales.
Research is the phase when the customer becomes interested in a brand and begins doing their own research on it. This can include online searches for further information, conversations with experts, or conversations with trusted peers, friends, and family.
The Purchase Phase includes everything involved when a customer decides to make a purchase. How are transactions done? What were the levels of customer satisfaction?
Link- what happens after a purchase? Does the customer leave a review? Do they share the product with a friend? Do the repurchase the product or a similar one in the future? How are they incentivized to make these decisions?
Step 4: Evaluation- At which points were the Customers uncertain or hesitant to proceed? At which points did the customer flat out reject the selling process? How can these processes be improved upon?
Experience maps are versatile tools that can be utilized to discover and screen innovation towards any process. We hope this blog post has helped you realize the power of idea generation from a customer-centric perspective, and we encourage you to borrow and develop this plan for your own business purposes.
As someone new to experience maps this is a great source of insight! Well thought out and easy to follow.