Making Every Moment Count in the Customer JourneyHow to Create the Cohesive, Unified Experience Your Buyers Crave

Making Every Moment Count in the Customer Journey | Page 2

THE BUYING PROCESS IS CONTINUALLY EVOLVING ............................................................................................................3

DEFINING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY ........................................................................................................................................4

ANALYZING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY .....................................................................................................................................6

INTERPRETING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY ..............................................................................................................................8

OPTIMIZING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY ................................................................................................................................. 10

CREATING THE JOURNEY CUSTOMERS CRAVE................................................................................................................... 13

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Making Every Moment Count in the Customer Journey | Page 3

THE BUYING PROCESS IS CONTINUALLY EVOLVING

When most marketers envision the customer journey,

it’s in the form of a funnel — an upside-down triangle

that creates a fairly straightforward path for converting

browsers to buyers.

But now, that path is constantly changing.

Today’s purchase process is no longer linear:

Customers are moving in a curlicue path that touches

the internet, email, mobile, social media, direct mail

and brick-and-mortar locations before they decide

to complete a purchase. Even then, their journey isn’t

over, as customers continue to engage with brands and

other shoppers long after the purchase has been made.

In truth, the customer journey now resembles an

hourglass – not a funnel. Conversion is no longer

the sole desired outcome and the end of the funnel;

instead, it is now the center point of it all. The

journey may start on the path to purchase, but once

a conversion occurs, marketers flip the hourglass

over to transition customers into engagement and

loyalty programs designed to build delight and brand

evangelism.

The result is an increasingly complex digital

experience for the customer. Consider the digitally

savvy individual shopping for a new stove, who looks

up Amazon product reviews on a mobile device while

simultaneously hunting down kitchen design images

on Instagram, while also browsing aisles in a

brick-and-mortar big-box appliance store.

Customers today seek out and consume content from

more sources than ever before, including:

Notably, these customers have high expectations about

every element of this journey. Not only do they want

what they want, they want it when they want it and at

the price they want.

This means companies must be able to check all

the boxes — offering informative and compelling

content, the best products at the best prices, seamless

purchasing, fast and free shipping, and the ability to

easily share their experiences with their community,

both pre- and post-purchase.

To deliver on these evolving expectations, it’s

imperative therefore to understand and manage every

moment of the evolving customer journey. In the pages

that follow, we’ll explore how to do this effectively.

Customer-generated content, such as reviews, social media, and input from online communities.

Company-generated content, such as buying guides, product details, videos, articles, and other traditional online content.

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DEFINING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY

Customers generally progress through five distinct stages as they work their way through the buying journey.

Note that these stages don’t always happen sequentially, and sometimes a customer may even skip a step. But

understanding how the average journey unfolds can help you understand where your brand experiences need to

focus, and how these experiences need to guide the buyer to the conversion point and beyond.

1. AwarenessHere, the customer is just starting out on the buying journey. Something has inspired the customer to change or

has made the customer aware of a need — and the customer is hungry to learn more.

2. InterestAfter becoming aware of a need, the customer continues to gather information and weigh the options. This may

include browsing online content, reading reviews, or browsing different brands or product configurations.

As the customer becomes more educated, the research becomes more targeted – moving from “I’ve heard of this

brand” to “I’m interested in this brand.”

Bringing Art to LifeGone are the days of store-bought cakes viewed from a case in a baker’s shop. Today, anyone can learn the art of confectionery — if they find the right inspiration.

Wilton’s #BakeYourWorldHappy concept is ready to help with a gorgeous online gallery of Instagram-worthy and Pinterest-ready pictures that include instructions and supply lists, smoothly guiding even first-time bakers from a beautiful idea to sumptuous reality.

Read more about the inspiration for Wilton’s website.

Helping Customers Explore OptionsWith the wealth of baby products on the market, it’s no wonder new and soon-to-be-new parents can feel overwhelmed. Chicco leverages its decades of knowledge and expertise to guide customers through available options – from choosing a car seat to selecting a stroller – and offers helpful points to consider.

Read more about Chicco’s customer-first approach to guided selling.

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3. IntentOnce the customer recognizes an alignment between their needs and a specific brand, the journey shifts from a

vague interest to a true intention to make a purchase. At this stage, the customer has recognized the value of a

specific brand or product and is actively turning toward it.

4. ConversionFinally, the customer is informed, enticed, excited – and ready to convert from a browser to a buyer. It’s incumbent

upon the merchant to make the conversion process as frictionless as possible, to prevent any last-minute obstacles

from scuttling the impending purchase.

5. NurtureEven though a purchase has been made, the brand experience is not yet over. The marketer’s role now is to nurture

this new customer relationship and develop not just a loyal, longtime buyer, but also a delighted brand advocate.

Now that you understand more about the typical buying process, you’re ready to start analyzing your current

brand experience.

Leading Customers Toward YouShopping for new makeup products can be ridiculously complex. Is your skin tone Beige 01 or Beige 02? Should you go with the 24-hour waterproof formula or the easy-on/easy-off formula? The choices are abound. Tarte Cosmetics’ Foundation Finder bypasses the confusion with a short, easy quiz that guides customers to exactly what they’re looking for.

Read more about how Tarte re-envisioned their digital experience.

Feeling Confident in a DecisionWhen buying online, there is sometimes a moment of hesitation: Will the delivered product look the way it does on the website? Will I be happy with my purchase? Kate Spade’s Make It Mine program makes the process of building a custom handbag highly visual, intuitive, and easy to navigate – ensuring the customer can see exactly how the finished product will look and instilling confidence in every step of the path to purchase.

Feeling ‘In the Know’Both hard-core athletes and casual fans of a well-designed street shoe are always anxious to get their hands on the latest and greatest footwear. Hibbett Sports uses its Sneaker Launch Calendar to keep sneaker enthusiasts in the know about the hottest new product releases, even enabling customers to receive alerts with news about favorite styles and a one-click purchase option.

Read more about how Hibbett delivers an in-store experience online.

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Analyze Your Current PerformanceBefore you can make changes to your strategy,

you should understand what’s working and what

isn’t. Performance benchmarks are invaluable to

this process.

There are a plethora of potential customer- and

purchase-related metrics that digital marketers might

want to measure. However, not all of them will produce

the helpful insights you’re looking for. Choosing metrics

that align to each stage of the customer journey will

give helpful structure to your benchmarking process.

Remember: Your goal here isn’t to just jump in and

start fixing problems, but rather to gather the data

you’ll need to identify, clarify, catalog, and prioritize any

issues you might be experiencing.

ANALYZING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY

Nurture: Review ratings, customer feedback, repeat purchase ratings, customer churn rates, active vs. inactive customers, customer satisfaction

Awareness: Total sessions to site, total users to site

Interest: Product detail page views per session, time spent on product pages, bounce rates, busiest times

Conversion: Conversion rates, average basket value, return rates

Intent: Add-to-cart rate, frequency of return visits to the website

It’s clear that today's buying process can quickly become exceptionally complex. In fact, marketers looking to

optimize the customer journey may scratch their heads and wonder where to even begin.

Rather than just diving in blindly, an objective analysis is a good place to start. By looking at data on your current

performance and competitive market position, you can begin to identify any gaps where your brand experience

could be strengthened – which will enable to you prioritize your time and resources on the areas where you’ll see

the biggest gains.

Metrics might include:

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Assess Your Competitive Position in the MarketCreate a simple checklist of these questions and

compare each top competitor against your own

brand. Where are you doing well? What areas stand out

that should be on the top of your priority list

moving forward?

Armed with this data on both your own performance and

your relative standing in your market, your next step is to

translate this information into actionable insights.

Performance data is incredibly important, but you’re not

quite done with your research yet. Your brand doesn’t

operate in isolation, so take a step back and see where

you stand in the market.

This doesn’t need to be a complex or drawn-out

process. Start by reviewing what you already know

(or what you can easily find out) about your top

three to five competitors. What are their strengths?

Weaknesses? What features and capabilities do

they offer? Where are they growing? Where are they

divesting? Read some of their customer reviews and

see what their shoppers like or dislike.

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INTERPRETING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY

The best action plans first focus on top-priority issues. To identify these priorities, you’ll need to dig into the data

you’ve gathered. Start by asking a series of tough, hard-hitting questions:

• Are people placing the right orders?

• Are people placing enough orders?

• Can people create an enhanced profile to receive

more targeted content and marketing?

• Where do people drop off from your website?

• Do too many people abandon their carts? Why?

• Can people buy or reserve products online and

pick them up in a store?

2. During the Conversion

• Are you driving the right people to your website?

• Are people landing on the right pages?

• Can people use the navigation effectively to find

the right products?

• Can people search your site effectively to find the

right products?

• Can people use product configurators or guided

selling to find the right products?

• Can people find the right products no matter what

device they’re using?

• Does every page have a clear call to action and

desired user path?

• Are people exposed to personalized content or

recommendations?

• Can people easily find user-generated content,

such as social feeds or product reviews?

1. Pre-conversion

• Is customer feedback positive or negative? Why?

• Are return rates too high? Why is this happening?

• Are customers repurchasing? Why or why not?

• Is the average basket value increasing?

• Are customers referring new customers?

3. Post-Conversion

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Nordstrom. And Chevrolet customers who flock to buy

Corvette sports cars will be unlike customers looking

for Silverado pick-up trucks or Suburban SUVs.

Therefore, to paint the most complete and accurate

picture, your data should complement the unique

expertise and experience you’ve gained in the market.

Don’t feel comfortable doing this on your own?

A strategic partner can be an invaluable guide during

this process.

It’s important to note here that the customer journey is

highly personalized. You may need to segment your

analysis to accommodate differences in customer

types (e.g., age, geography, level of tech-savviness,

etc.), channel (e.g., brick-and-mortar store, social

media) and brand (e.g., budget-friendly vs. couture).

It also means that although data is critically important,

raw numbers alone can’t tell the whole story. After all,

an experience at Target will be unlike an experience at

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OPTIMIZING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY

Now that you’re ready to start a granular discussion about addressing any gaps you may find, you can rely on your

data and insights to show you where to focus your attention.

For instance, imagine your sales are down, but you don’t know why. After assessing your data and comparing it

with your targets, you notice your website product page view rates have fallen. But why? To fully untangle what’s

going on, you can start asking more targeted questions that lead you to the root cause of the problem – so you

can be sure you’re fixing the right problem. This is important to understand, because different causes will require

different solutions.

To go back to our example, declining sales and falling product view rates could be caused by one of two problems:

If your sales problem is caused by a UX issue, focusing on raising awareness won’t help convert more website

visitors into buyers. But if the problem is at the awareness level, throwing more resources at UX won’t help bring the

right people to the website.

As you uncover and correctly identify the root issues to correct, you’ll find you’re on the right path to optimize every

touchpoint along your customer journey.

User experience (UX) issues might be preventing customers from accessing the right product pages or information.

Awareness-level issues might be attracting the wrong people to your website in the first place.

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1. Strengthen Your Content StrategyBuild up your SEO strategy by asking yourself:

• Will awareness-stage customers who are just starting their journey find our brand?

• As customers transition into intent, will customers find our products?

• Will our content build the trust that’s necessary to encourage them to buy?

Developing and executing a solid SEO strategy helps ensure that once your customers are ready to buy, your

content will help facilitate the purchase decision.

2. Strengthen Your Focus on the CustomerIf you don’t fully understand your customer’s intent and motivations, you can’t solve for their needs. Look at how

your customers are moving from one platform and digital touchpoint to another. Can you create more seamless

transitions and connected experiences? If so, how?

Next, review your overarching design system across touch points and ensure it enhances consistency and usability.

And finally, each call to action should effectively guide users to the next step of their journey.

3. Strengthen Your Digital ExperienceWhen customers go online to shop for a product, they want to be able to quickly and easily find the information

they need. And once they find that product, make it easy for them to get it — and even personalize it — wherever

they are.

Offer product configurators and guided selling solutions that enable customers to explore new options on their

own. Let customers order online and pick up the product in your brick-and-mortar location. Or if they’re shopping

in-store and the desired product isn’t in stock, have it shipped at no charge to their home.

For decades, Build-a-Bear has been known for delivering an amazing in-store workshop experience. Their website offers all the same magic, enabling customers to shop, explore, and play in an instantly familiar yet completely digital environment.

If you’re looking for ways to facilitate the purchase process, take a cue from the fashion retailer Trunk Club. Their integrated concierge service offering enables customers to consult with their very own style expert in order to make the right purchase decisions.

Take Control of These 5 ThingsCertainly, though, there are areas in this journey where you’ll find you have little to no control. Positive user reviews,

for instance, can’t be scripted and should happen organically.

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4. Strengthen Your Customer MessagingThroughout the customer journey, consider your unique points of messaging and find ways to build out triggered

sends and asks targeted to meet their needs and add value at each stage in the journey. This might include:

• Welcome series of emails that introduces your brand and helps acclimate the customer to your unique experience.

• Cart abandonment emails that gently nudge customers who may have navigated away from a purchase.

• Post-purchase follow-ups that offer helpful tips and content to ensure the customer understands how to use

your product.

• Re-engagement/reactivation emails that help remind customers of the needs you can help them meet the

needs you can help them fulfill.

• Customer loyalty rewards to recognize your strongest relationships and incentivize more customers to become

great customers.

Beyond email, how else can you improve the way you communicate with your customers? For example, when

returning customers revisit your website, do you offer them a personalized experience geared toward what you

already know about them? Does your message stay consistent across every channel your customers encounter

your brand? Is your brand story relevant to the right people?

5. Strengthen Your Approach to StaffingNone of this hard work can take place in a vacuum. The most successful eCommerce operations have internal

staff — often product owners or someone with a design skillset — who focus exclusively on identifying and refining

the customer journey. The result? Stronger cohesion across the entire brand family.

In a relatively new trend, design-centric organizations are adding the position of Chief Customer Experience Officer.

This role focuses almost exclusively on spearheading the customer experience and driving the omnichannel

strategies that result in seamless buying experiences. They also collaborate closely with channel-specific

subject-matter experts to optimize the customer journey — not just across channels, but also across the book

of products.

Unfortunately, not every organization has the personnel and financial resources to address all these areas equally.

But what every organization can do is have a structured process for understanding, analyzing and optimizing

the customer journey. Ultimately, this will differentiate your brand, enhance the customer experience, and drive

increased revenue over the long term.

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No matter where the customer journey starts or how

it flows, every touchpoint is critical. To maximize

revenue, you must be able to measure and define

success at each stage. That means more than having

a great website, outstanding content, and an engaging

social media presence. Customers aren’t just buying

your products or services. They’re buying a positive,

engaging experience.

That’s why businesses must optimize the entire journey,

creating the cohesive, unified experience customers

crave. When you establish the framework that lets you

understand what customers need, and how and when

they need it, you’re able to anticipate these needs

and treat your customers in the way they expect and

deserve. Remember people are buying experiences –

not just products.

By aligning a well-thought-out customer journey and

corresponding touchpoints with the goals of both your

business and your customers, you’re able to create the

long-term relationships that add value and benefit to

both of you. And that’s a journey worth traveling.

CREATING THE JOURNEY CUSTOMERS CRAVE

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HEADQUARTERS

About LYONSCGLyons Consulting Group (LYONSCG), part of the Capgemini Group, is a leading global commerce service provider,

with capabilities that include consulting, digital agency, systems integration, technology services, and managed

services. LYONSCG combines proven methodologies, deep technical expertise, and award-winning design to

create digital commerce experiences that engage and convert consumers and buyers. Hundreds of leading B2C

and B2B brands trust LYONSCG to realize their commerce vision and continually optimize it to drive profitable

growth. For more information, go to www.lyonscg.com.

THANK YOU TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS

ROBBIN FARRELLAssociate Director of Design StrategyLYONSCG

SARAH FUNGSr. Manager of Digital Marketing ServicesLYONSCG

MIKE DAVIDSONExecutive Creative DirectorLYONSCG