4 reasons to research customer journeys in uncertain times

Examining customer journeys in uncertain times

1. Customer needs change

People attach values to certain aspects of life. These values may change in uncertain times. Needs automatically change with them. Take the COVID period. People often sit at home and reconsider what they value in life, a larger outdoor space or separate study or work room. But the value of normal things are also valued differently during these times, such as the chat with neighbors, a comfortable office chair or the exercise you have if you commute daily. By examining your customer journeys, you will discover which values and needs of your customers are changing and which are important at this time. In this way, especially in times of uncertainty, you can make the difference for your customer.

2. Maintain or take advantage of competitors

Next, we come to another important point: the position of your product or service relative to your competitors. In economically uncertain times, consumers are thinking carefully about how they want to spend their money. So it is even more important than usual that they spend their money with you and not with the competition. Standing out positively as an organization compared to the competition is therefore extra important. Mapping out a (new) customer journey is all the more relevant in corona times, because the behavior of how someone orientates and behaves has become different by all measures. The lockdown, mouth guards, keeping 1.5 meters away and limited capacity in the store make people behave differently, both in the physical and online world. To stay ahead of the competition, or at least gain an edge, it's good to gain more insights into how customers are now behaving differently. These insights will give you an edge in how to better respond to changing consumer behavior and needs. This uncertain period may offer unique opportunities to capture the attention of new customers.

3. Addressing your organization internally

Uncertain times can force organizations to make difficult choices. Firing employees is one of them. Many people who worked in hospitality industry operations lost their jobs. But not only the hospitality industry, several industries have been hit. Many organizations are afraid to hire new employees during such times, because what will happen to sales next month? You can research a customer journey not only externally, but also internally. By making an employee journey, for example, you can quickly find out in which areas you can facilitate your employees even better, so that they retain their job satisfaction and remain loyal even in difficult times. Perhaps now - when so many people are looking for a new job - is a good time to advertise vacancies, because this way you get the best employees. This will probably benefit your organization for a long time to come. But it may also be an idea to improve internal processes right now. A customer journey often provides insight into internal processes that are not well aligned. If, due to circumstances, the focus on external matters is put on the back burner, this actually offers opportunities to put things in order internally.

4. Discover your organization's satisfiers and dissatisfiers.

Most organizations today are customer-oriented. To provide a valuable service, special service promises are devised, such as "ordered today, delivered tomorrow. With such a service, you bring in many customers, causing other organizations to copy it. Whereas fast delivery was initially a "satisfier," a bonus to your service, fast delivery quickly becomes the norm. But as soon as orders increase and delivery times get back to business as usual, customers are disappointed because they have to wait longer. Then the satisfier has become a dissatisfier, a factor you have to perform on as a company because customers will be disappointed otherwise. As service quality increases, customer expectations also change. Especially in uncertain times, satisfiers and dissatisfiers change. An easily accessible customer service and a well-arranged refund scheme, as was the case in the travel industry last period, has never been more relevant. A satisfier the moment you needed it once as a customer, but turns out to be a huge disatisfier when many people suddenly need to use it. Mapping the customer journey around one of these vital processes within your organization helps get the right information to the right place through the right channels, reducing the pressure on the call center, for example.

Use the customer journey as a starting point for change

A customer journey is not an end product, but a starting point for change. It is a status quo of your product or service at a particular point in time that serves as a starting point for improvements. When you examine a customer journey, you soon find out where your product or service needs improvement. This may be on an external level, such as adjusting the information on a brochure. But it can also be on an internal level, perhaps the communication and cooperation between them requires adjustment. When you improve these points, the customer experience will change along with it. Through the years you then experience a progression in the customer journey.

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Good customer journey delivers profits

A "good" customer journey benefits both sides: both the customer and the organization. The most important factor that determines the success of a customer journey is: authenticity. You must market a consistent positioning. It should not matter whether a customer visits a physical store or has your product delivered to his home. It should be clear what you as an organization stand for.

To best optimize a customer journey, research is needed. This research is even more important in uncertain times.

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