08 March 2019

5 checks for the ideal Customer Journey

Turn every customer into a fan

The challenge for almost every organization is the ability to be and remain distinctive. For your employees and your customers. Who do I want to be, for which customers?’ is therefore the question you should regularly ask yourself. After all, both your organization and your customers are going through transitions. The customer journey is an important starting point for this. Together with my colleagues from flowresulting, we have therefore developed a model, consisting of five characteristics, which lay the foundation for an ideal customer journey. And the great thing is: everyone can apply it for their organization.

Unambiguous answer

In our vision, the optimal customer journey has five characteristics. For the customer it should be self-evident, personal, reliable, one's own and memorable. Sounds simple, but the opposite is true. In many organizations, a number of internal elements are not entirely clear: who are they? What is expected of their employees? What do they want to do for their customers? Anyone who wants to distinguish themselves should at least have an unambiguous answer to these questions. That is probably not as simple as thought.

5 checks for the ideal customer journey

Maybe you have already noticed that the different characteristics are quite 'normal'. These are actions that anyone could perform on the basis of intrinsic motivation. And that you as an organization treat customers the way they want to be treated. In short: know your customer. Let's take a closer look at the different characteristics of this customer journey.

1.    Naturally
It's about making the customer journey logical, intuitive and easy. If small things go well, you lay the foundation for a good customer experience. It is an art to do ordinary things, unusually well.

2.    Personal
This is evident from the relationship you build with your client. Companies involved with the customer understand that the customer experience is leading and only supports processes (not the other way around). Empathy, personal approach and alertness are the most important factors that can make the difference.

3.    Reliable
You are only reliable if you keep to your agreements and if you can be trusted. "What we mean by this is whether organizations really have the best at heart for their customers. Do they give the best advice for the customer or does the advice give the organization the most money?

4.    Own
What makes you stand out? When name and logo are removed; how does the customer know you are? In the ideal customer journey, the customer experiences the brand.

5.    Memorable
Finally: ensure a peak and a fantastic end to your customer's journey and make sure it becomes an experience they will never forget. The ideal customer journey has a few moments that customers will remember. Moments when the customer is surprised, when expectations are exceeded.

Making a real difference

Those who know how to implement these five elements within the organisation with attention, can distinguish themselves. Keep in mind that it must be propagated both internally and externally. Only then can you really make a difference.

Tip: For those who want to improve immediately. Ask ten employees with customer contact what they think the customer thinks is the most important thing to choose for your organization. Chances are they will give different answers. And that makes you think. Because either your vision is not clear, or you do not take your employees sufficiently into account.