Customer journey map templates to improve the customer experience

Let's take a trip down memory lane to your first phone purchase. How old were you? Remember that moment? The sleek design, the crisp display—you couldn't help but want one for yourself.

So, what did you probably do next? Hop online to read reviews and scroll through page after page, weighing the pros and cons to ensure you were making the right choice. And then came the exciting part: visiting the store to test the product out.

This is a customer journey in action. It's the multiple steps we take and the different touchpoints we encounter along the way—seeing, researching, experiencing.

In this article, we'll discuss a customer journey template and provide templates for you to use in your business.

What is a customer journey map?

A customer journey is a visual tool that shows the customer experience from the first time they find out about your brand to the point of purchase and beyond. It outlines the different stages and touchpoints a customer will go through during their interactions with your brand.

Mapping customer journeys gives you insight into the highs and lows of what a customer goes through. Their thoughts, pain points, and feelings at each stage become clear, allowing you to tailor your strategies to meet customer needs, improve customer satisfaction, and increase brand loyalty. 

This way, the journey mapping process doesn’t just create a timeline, but it helps stakeholders and designers brainstorm how their customers’ feelings, emotions, and experiences fluctuate over the buyer’s journey. 

Why use customer journey map templates?

Every customer and user journey is different, so where do templates step in? Customer journey map templates provide a flexible framework to map out customer experiences. They're like a starting point—they adapt to fit the unique journey of each customer segment. 

These templates typically include common stages and touchpoints that customers encounter, but they leave room for customization. You can tailor them to reflect specific customer interactions, behaviors, and emotions relevant to your customers. 

A template allows you to organize and analyze customer data, identify patterns, and gain actionable insights. At the same time, they ensure consistency in how you document and understand customer journeys across your organization.

Benefits of customer journey mapping

A user journey map gives you a roadmap on how to create a customer-focused strategy. It also allows you to:

• Identify unnecessary roadblocks: Journey mapping pinpoints friction points that may prevent conversion or satisfaction. See where you can streamline the journey and reduce time from one stage to the other.

• Increase cross-team collaboration: Mapping the customer journey encourages collaboration across different departments. The shared vision ensures that marketing, product, support, and sales team members align in their efforts to deliver a cohesive customer experience.

• Find moments of truth: Journey maps give you a hard look into the customer’s thought process. You can see what’s working and what’s not, whether you’re meeting their expectations at each touchpoint, and where you may be falling short.

Key elements of a customer journey map template

Customer journeys vary by industry, business size, target audience, and other factors. But some key elements are universal in a customer journey map template.

Customer personas

Customer personas are a fictional representation of your ideal customer. They're based on user research and data to help you understand who your customers are, what they want, and how to meet their needs.

Buyer personas are like the characters in a story—they bring your audience to life. When you include user personas in your template, you're not just looking at numbers and data—you're seeing real people with specific needs, preferences, and behaviors. 

For example, imagine 'Tech-Savvy Tim,' a young professional who loves the latest gadgets and values efficient online customer support. 

His persona covers his demographics, job role, hobbies, what he values in a product, and his typical online behavior. Knowing Tim guides you to tailor your strategies, products, and services to meet the specific needs and preferences of different types of customers. It makes your marketing and service strategies more human and relatable.

Touchpoints

Touchpoints are those critical moments when your customers interact with your brand – think of them as the key steps in your customer's journey with you. These include:

• First contact: How they first discover you (like a social media ad).

• Engagement: Ways they engage (visiting your website, reading a blog post).

• Purchase: The actual buying process (online checkout, in-store experience).

• Post-purchase: Follow-up interactions (customer service, email surveys).

Customer touchpoints map out the entire customer experience. For example, say a customer finds you through an Instagram ad, browses your website, makes a purchase, and finally, receives a follow-up email. 

Tracking these points gives you the full picture—what's working, what's not, and how you can make the user experience smoother and more enjoyable.

Emotions

Emotions are the feelings your customers experience at each stage of their journey with your brand. They include:

• Excitement: When discovering a new product or service.

• Confusion: If they can't find what they're looking for on your website.

• Satisfaction: After a smooth purchase process.

• Frustration: Due to a difficult customer service experience.

Emotions give you insights into the customer experience from a human perspective. Suppose customers feel frustrated during the checkout process. You know there's a pain point to address. 

Stages

Stages in a customer journey map outline the different phases a customer goes through in their interaction with your brand. Stages include:

• Awareness: When they first learn about your brand.

• Consideration: As they evaluate your product or service.

• Purchase: The actual buying process.

• Retention: Keeping them as loyal customers.

• Advocacy: When they recommend you to others.

Mapping out these stages helps you understand the customer's mindset at each point and tailor your interactions accordingly. 

For example, a customer in the awareness stage may need more information about your brand, while someone in the retention stage may benefit from personalized loyalty rewards.

Channels

Channels in a customer journey map refer to the various platforms and mediums through which customers interact with your brand — websites, and social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, email, in-store, and customer service. 

Channels show where and how customers engage with you. 

For example, noticing a lot of activity on your social media platforms but less on email might signal where you need to spend more time. Understanding the role of each channel in the customer journey optimizes these touchpoints for better customer engagement and satisfaction. 

Actions

Actions in a customer journey map are the specific steps customers take during their journey. Actions are more about what you do—researching products, discussing options with friends, or physically visiting a store. These actions are your part of the story. 

They interrelate with other elements of the journey map, like emotions and decisions. Actions also help identify potential gaps or obstacles in the customer journey. For example, a large drop-off between the research and purchase stages could indicate issues with your website or product information.

Opportunities

Opportunities are potential areas for improvement or growth to improve the customer experience. Identifying opportunities within a customer journey map involves carefully analyzing other key elements in the map. 

Here's how you can find them:

• Review customer actions and touchpoints: Look at customers' actions and where they interact with your brand. If certain actions or touch points have high drop-off rates or negative customer feedback, these are potential areas for improvement.

• Analyze emotions and sentiments: Pay attention to customers' emotions at different stages. Points where customers feel frustration or confusion are prime for improvement.

• Assess stages of the journey: Examine each customer journey stage for inefficiencies or gaps. If the consideration stage, for example, takes too long, provide more information or reassurance.

Free customer journey map templates

Every industry is different and your target customer’s experience can sometimes feel like a maze. We’ve created templates that visually represent how customers in different kinds of businesses interact with a brand. Get started with these five templates:

Ecommerce website

Think about your e-commerce journey: what steps are completely non-negotiable? What actions from a business sped up your decision to buy or made the experience more enjoyable?

Certain elements are crucial in any ecommerce journey. Easy navigation on the website, clear product descriptions, and a smooth checkout process—all of these directly impact on whether you make a purchase or abandon your cart.

Here’s a customer journey map example for an e-commerce website:

B2B SaaS software

Potential customers in the B2B SaaS industry look for three things: functionality, product features, integrations, cost-effectiveness and ROI. 

When you know what their priorities are, you can ensure each stage of the journey aligns with their specific needs and concerns, from initial discovery through to decision-making and post-purchase support.

Here’s a customer journey map for a B2B SaaS customer:

Retail

Retail customers want a 360-degree experience. Think about your last visit to a store. Did you feel welcomed? Was the layout of the store easy to navigate? How was the checkout process?

The retail customer journey is about providing a seamless, cohesive, and enjoyable experience from start to finish. 

Here’s an example of a customer journey map template for retail:

Healthcare

The healthcare customer’s journey is always a bit more sensitive and complex compared to other industries. Cater to their physical and emotional needs while educating them about their health and treatments.

Here’s an example of a customer journey map template for healthcare:

Ready to create your own journey maps?

Whether you’re in Marketing, Sales, Customer Experience, Product Development or even Human Resources — documented customer journeys are essential for understanding and enhancing the customer experience. Pair your customer journey documentation with personas and empathy maps to create a robust, truly customer-centric strategy.

Execution is just as important as strategy. For a unified, holistic management experience, use AI-powered tools from Freshworks to track customer interactions and provide proactive insights for an ever-accurate customer journey. Discover how to equip employees with game-changing insight and transform your customer experience!