How to Create a Journey Map

A whiteboard or wall serves as an ideal location to engage in journey mapping exercises—the bigger, the better. Cover its surface with a roll of craft paper or sheets from an easel pad. (This allows you to roll up the journey map once it is finished.)

Journey mapping exercises do not require a specific number of meeting attendees. Five people works well, but you could also create a journey map alone or with a large crowd. Include attendees who have specialized knowledge about a business or audience, such as board members, call center staff, lawyers, and database administrators.

Your journey map will detail a linear timeline. Many people use a marketing lifecycle, but you can use any sequence of events: a path to purchase, a cruise ship check-in process, stages of writing a book, etc. (see Figure 39-4).

For demonstration purposes, let us use the typical marketing funnel of an e-commerce website, starting with awareness and ending with retention. Divide the wall into several sections: Awareness, Acquisition, Conversion, and Retention. To start, we ask attendees an open-ended question:

What are our business objectives?

The attendees might answer:

“The company wants users to buy products.”

“The company wants users’ email addresses.”

We write each business objective on a Post-It note and place it under the “Conversion” heading (see Figure 39-5).

Getting a person to do anything is a conversion. Although the term often describes an exchange of money, it is actually about the exchange of value. We want something from a user, so we need to give something back. (Hold that thought. We will revisit conversion in a minute.)

What do users need?

“Users want to research a product.”

“Users want to buy a product.”

“Users need to review their past orders.”

Research is a form of acquisition. So, we place “Research Product” under “Acquisition” (see Figure 39-6).

Buying a product is a form of conversion. We have already placed “Buy Product” within the journey because it is also a business objective.

Reviewing a past order falls under retention. Retention describes our ability to maintain an ongoing relationship with users. For example, we retain users who return to our website to review their past purchases (see Figure 39-7).

At this point in the exercise, some attendees may start questioning how all the Post-Its correlate. This is where journey mapping proves its worth. We start connecting points on the map.

A minute ago, we discussed conversion being an exchange of value. The business wants to sell products; a user wants to buy products. This exchange is clear—so, we are good there. However, the business also wants users’ email addresses. What does a user get in return? We need to offer them something of value. Perhaps in exchange for an email address, we offer a 10% discount on a user’s first purchase (see Figure 39-8).

Before any journey begins, users need to become aware of it. Perhaps users learn about a product through a Google search. Perhaps users are reminded of their past purchases through a targeted email. Write each one down on a Post-It and place them under “Awareness” (see Figure 39-9).

Of the four categories, retention is most often overlooked. Retention may be the starting point of a previous user’s journey. For example, a business may wish to offer a rewards program or exclusive discounts to repeat customers. Even something as small as a thank-you message can help retain users. Place each tactic under “Retention” (see Figure 39-10).

The secret behind journey mapping is ensuring that all points connect: each awareness point connects to an acquisition , each acquisition point connects to a conversion, each conversion point connects to a retention. Like a bridge joining two islands, each pairing allows users to move from one part of an experience to the next.

In our final step, we look for ways to strengthen connections among points within the journey map. For example, we could add a custom landing page between a Google search and a product purchase (see Figure 39-11). Such a tactic links a search term (e.g., sunglasses) to a respective product page (e.g., Ray-Ban), thereby strengthening the connection between awareness and conversion.

Weak connections within a journey indicate where users may abandon . Pay special attention to these areas. If you cannot think of a reason to move from one point to next, neither can your users.

Journey mapping shows us that UX is far more than a set of disconnected tactics. It entails a series of connections, transporting users from point to point as they pursue their goals. Each point has a before, during, and after—nothing happens on its own. No experience remains an island.