I’ve just gotten back from the Atlanta Jewelry Show, where I had the opportunity to discuss mapping the customer journey with a number of business owners, including retailers, manufacturers, and brands. Here are a few key points that arose out of that discussion that I’d like to share with you:

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Knowing the Customer Journey Helps You Spend Money Wisely

Every business owner has a budget. Knowing the best way to allocate your marketing dollars becomes easier when you know where you’re most effective at capturing customer interest. Use your website analytics to identify traffic sources, including social media, PPC advertising, organic search and more.

Discovery Happens in a Number of Places

There’s no doubt that social media is vital to discovery, particularly Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. Add to this advertising, media, and the influence of a person’s family and friends.  Some channels are under the business owner’s control, but others aren’t – maintaining awareness of as many as possible will help you understand your customers better.

Customers of Every Generation are Researchers

There’s been a lot of time and energy devoted to the fact that Millennials like to do quite a bit of research before making any purchases. Guess what? The same thing is true for Gen Z – the youngest shoppers – as well as Baby Boomers and Gen X.  More than half of all retail searches begin on Amazon, with Google and YouTube capturing the majority of the rest.

Your Website Needs to Be Ready

Moving through the customer journey map makes it clear that your website plays a central role. Social media, search results, and advertising all direct customers to your website to find out more. We know that nearly 9 out of 10 customers do some research before making any purchasing decisions. Once you’ve captured their interest, your website provides the experience that’s necessary to convert.

Want more insights from this conversation? Shoot me an email, and we’ll send the slides from Atlanta to you so you can begin building your own useful, robust customer journey maps.