In this blog, we’ll walk you through what a customer journey map is, how to build a customer journey map, which templates work best for your customer journey map, and how to put them into action. Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is a customer journey map?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A customer journey <\/a>map is a visual tool that shows how customers interact with your business or website\u2014from start to finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It helps you spot where things aren’t working and improve the overall experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of it as a story told visually. It maps out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the heart of the map are touchpoints\u2014specific moments where customers interact with your brand. Maybe they’re researching a product, making a purchase, waiting for delivery, or requesting a return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each touchpoint can be positive, neutral, or negative from the customer’s perspective. Your job? Make more of them positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer journey mapping requires a mix of hard data, customer feedback, and creative thinking. No two maps are the same\u2014and that’s the point. Every business is different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer journey mapping isn’t just a nice-to-have\u2014it’s a strategic tool that drives real business results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s why it matters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Journey maps help you step into your customers’ shoes. You’ll understand their motivations, expectations, and frustrations at every stage\u2014not just what they do, but why they do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That empathy translates into better decisions, smarter strategies, and experiences that actually resonate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every journey has friction. Your checkout process might be too complicated, your search function delivers the wrong results, or customers can’t find help when they need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer journey mapping reveals these bottlenecks so you can address them before they cost you customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When customers feel understood and valued, they stick around. By removing barriers and meeting needs at every touchpoint, you strengthen the emotional connection between your brand and your audience. That connection drives repeat purchases and long-term loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to a 25% increase in profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all customers are the same\u2014and your experience shouldn’t treat them that way. Journey maps highlight individual preferences and behaviors, enabling you to tailor messaging, product recommendations, and support to each person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Personalization increases purchase likelihood and makes customers feel like you actually get them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer journey mapping breaks down silos. When marketing, product, sales, and support all work from the same map, everyone understands the customer’s perspective and how their work impacts the overall experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That shared understanding leads to better collaboration, faster problem-solving, and a more cohesive brand experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Journey maps aren’t just pretty visuals\u2014they’re strategic tools backed by real data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They guide decisions about where to invest, what to test, and which initiatives will have the biggest impact on customer satisfaction and business growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer needs evolve. Markets shift. New competitors emerge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regularly reviewing and updating your customer journey map helps you spot emerging trends, changing preferences, and new opportunities before your competitors do. It keeps your brand agile, innovative, and ready to adapt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buyer personas are fictional characters based on real customer data. They represent your audience in a way that’s relatable and actionable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most projects create between three and seven personas\u2014and each one gets its own customer journey map. Why? Because different customers have different needs, goals, and pain points. A persona helps you walk in their shoes and design experiences that truly resonate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Personas aren’t perfect replicas of real people. They’re broad representations that guide smarter decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Short answer: everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer satisfaction drives loyalty more than ever. People are more informed, more demanding, and more willing to shop around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A well-designed customer journey map helps you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once your map is ready, your entire team\u2014from marketing to product to support\u2014can use it to stay aligned and customer-focused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer journey mapping isn’t just for your customer-facing teams. It brings everyone together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you map out touchpoints, departments that don’t usually interact with customers start to see how their work affects the experience. That’s powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Traditional marketing often stops at checkout. But the customer journey doesn’t. Post-purchase experience matters just as much\u2014and your map should reflect that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A customer journey map gives you a clear picture of your customers’ experiences from their point of view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To create one, focus on two things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n By mapping every interactio<\/a>n, you’re identifying opportunities to delight your customers and craft smarter engagement strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Aberdeen Group<\/a>, 89% of companies with multi-channel engagement strategies retained their customers\u2014compared to just 33% of those without one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can build your map using:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer journey maps also help with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n All of this leads to better experiences, more conversions, and stronger revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want to go deeper? Check out our digital customer journey resource kit \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are four main types of customer journey maps. Each highlights different behaviors and serves different goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shows what customers currently do, think, and feel. Great for spotting pain points and making incremental improvements.<\/p>\n\n\n Focuses on what customers will do, think, and feel. Useful for planning new products, services, or experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n Similar to the current state map, but broader. It looks at how customers behave with your brand and your competitors. Perfect for uncovering unmet needs.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n Starts with a simplified current or future state map, then adds the internal processes, people, and tech behind the experience. Helps you see the full picture\u2014front and back.<\/p>\n\n\n Creating customer experience journey maps takes time, but the payoff is worth it. Here’s how to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start with a clear objective. Who is this map for? What are you trying to learn?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Building personas<\/a> is the most time-consuming part\u2014but also the most important. You’ll need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The more detail, the better. Use surveys, interviews, analytics, and customer feedback to build realistic personas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collecting concrete data on your customers<\/a> helps you serve them better and deliver a more personalized user experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pick one persona and go deep. Trace their first interaction with your brand and map their journey from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Touchpoints are every interaction someone has with your brand\u2014your website, social media, ads, emails, reviews, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n List them all. Then ask:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember:<\/strong> customer journey mapping is unique to your business. What works for one brand won’t work for another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Break the journey into individual actions. What do customers do at each step?<\/p>\n\n\n\n By zooming in on micro-engagements, you can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Use your personas to troubleshoot problem areas and predict what customers will do next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your map shows how every part of your business supports the customer experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use it to assess:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now it’s time to put it all together. Look at your data, touchpoints, and goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mapping what’s working well is just as important as spotting problems. Some elements can be applied to other areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walk through the journey yourself\u2014with each persona. Test it across social media, email, and your website. See where things break down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the best ways to find issues? Customer feedback\u2014through surveys, support transcripts, and reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watch our webinar\u00a0 to learn how master the user journey through A\/B testing \u2192\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Your map is only valuable if you act on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use it to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A great way to validate changes? A\/B testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wingify<\/a> is a best-in-class experimentation platform<\/a> that helps you test variations, personalize experiences, and convert more customers\u2014fast. With AI and automation built in, you can optimize the digital experience with confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once your map is live, review and update it regularly. Customer journeys evolve\u2014and so should your map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Great customer experience journey maps are built on solid data\u2014not assumptions. You’ll need a mix of qualitative insights (the “why” behind behavior) and quantitative metrics (the “what” you can measure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s how to gather both:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Qualitative research helps you uncover motivations, emotions, and pain points that numbers alone can’t reveal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have real conversations with your customers. Ask about their experiences, what frustrates them, and what they love. These in-depth discussions provide rich, nuanced insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use open-ended questions to gather feedback on specific parts of the journey. Keep them short and focused to get honest, actionable responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watch how people interact with your website or product in real time. Tools like usability tests reveal where users get stuck, confused, or frustrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Experience your own customer journey firsthand. Walk through every step\u2014from discovery to purchase to support\u2014and see what works and what doesn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Review customer service conversations to identify recurring issues and common questions. These transcripts are goldmines for understanding pain points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quantitative data gives you measurable, trackable insights that help you validate assumptions and monitor progress over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tools like Google Analytics show you how customers navigate your site, where they drop off, and which pages drive the most engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See exactly how users interact with your pages\u2014where they click, how far they scroll, and where they hesitate. Tools like Hotjar and Contentsquare make this easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track how customers move through key stages of the journey and identify where they abandon the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) measure loyalty and satisfaction at different touchpoints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your CRM system (like Salesforce or HubSpot) holds valuable information about customer interactions, purchase history, and behavior patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Monitor what customers say about your brand on social platforms. This reveals sentiment, trends, and unfiltered feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Analyze open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to understand how customers engage with your messaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track common issues and complaints to identify systemic problems in the customer journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qualitative insights explain why customers behave a certain way. Quantitative data shows you what they’re doing. Together, they give you the full picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t rely on guesses. Validate your hypotheses about customer behavior through research and real data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gather input from marketing, sales, product, customer service, and leadership. Each team has unique insights that make your map more accurate and actionable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer behavior changes. Markets evolve. Your journey map should too. Update it regularly to stay relevant and effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer journey maps<\/strong> come in all shapes and sizes. Some look like works of art. Others are simple sketches. What matters is clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some real-world examples of customer journey mapping<\/strong> in action:<\/p>\n\n\n\n David Jones, a major Australian retailer, mapped their customer journey<\/strong> to understand how shoppers interacted with their account features during the buying process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through testing and personalization, they made it easier for customers to access their accounts, track orders, and manage preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Explore the David Jones strategy \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n WWF used customer journey mapping<\/strong> to understand why desktop users weren’t completing donations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By testing different layouts and messaging that made giving feel more intuitive and less transactional, they removed barriers in the donation flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These examples show that even small changes\u2014when guided by customer journey mapping<\/strong>\u2014can drive meaningful results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full WWF report \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
7 reasons why use customer journey maps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. See through your customers’ eyes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Spot and fix pain points fast<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Build loyalty that lasts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Personalize at scale<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Align your entire team<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
6. Make smarter, data-driven decisions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
7. Drive innovation and stay ahead<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The heart of customer journey mapping: Buyer personas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Who benefits from a customer journey map?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Bringing your whole business together<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How to map the customer journey visually?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Types of customer journey map templates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Current state template<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Current](\"https:\/\/static.wingify.com\/gcp\/uploads\/abtasty\/2025\/05\/Current-state-customer-journey-500x283.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n2. Future state template<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Future](\"https:\/\/static.wingify.com\/gcp\/uploads\/abtasty\/2025\/05\/Future-state-customer-journey-500x282.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n3. Day in the life template<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Day](\"https:\/\/static.wingify.com\/gcp\/uploads\/abtasty\/2025\/05\/a-day-in-the-life-customer-journey-500x282.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n4. Service blueprint template<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Service](\"https:\/\/static.wingify.com\/gcp\/uploads\/abtasty\/2025\/05\/service-and-support-customer-journey-500x283.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nHow to create a customer journey map in 7 steps ?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: Create buyer personas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Step 2: Select your target customer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Step 3: List customer touchpoints<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Step 4: Identify customer actions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Step 5: Understand your available resources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Step 6: Analyze the customer journey<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Step 7: Take action<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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How to collect journey mapping data?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Qualitative data: Understanding the “Why”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Customer Interviews<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Surveys<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
User Testing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Mystery Shopping
<\/h4>\n\n\n\nSupport Transcripts<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
2. Quantitative Data: Tracking the “What”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Website Analytics<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Session Recordings and Heatmaps<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Conversion Funnels<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Customer Satisfaction Scores<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
CRM Data<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Social Media Listening<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Email Campaign Metrics<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Support Ticket Volume<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Best practices for journey map data collection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Combine both types of data<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Test your assumptions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Involve stakeholders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Keep it current<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Customer journey map examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. David Jones: Simplifying account access<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Infographic](\"https:\/\/static.wingify.com\/gcp\/uploads\/abtasty\/2024\/06\/David-Jones-New-Visuals-for-AB-Guide-1-1024x639.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n2. WWF: Making donations feel natural<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Infographic](\"https:\/\/static.wingify.com\/gcp\/uploads\/abtasty\/2024\/06\/WWF-New-Visuals-for-AB-Guide-1-1024x689.png\")
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