The customer journey: from touchpoint to shopping basket

The customer journey describes the process a customer goes through when purchasing a product or service. But what exactly is it? We’d be happy to explain what the customer journey entails, what steps it involves, and how you can optimise it to boost sales.

What is the customer journey?

The customer journey is the path a potential customer takes from their first point of contact with your business right through to the moment of purchase. The process consists of various steps and ‘touchpoints’ at which the customer interacts with your business. The aim of the customer journey is to convert potential customers into paying customers. To achieve this, it is important to understand and optimise the customer journey.

Stages in the customer journey

The client journey consists of several steps. We’ll walk you through them below.

1 – Awareness

A potential client comes into contact with your company for the first time. This happens, for example, through adverts, social media or word-of-mouth. The aim is to capture the potential client’s attention and spark their interest in your product or service.

2 – Interest

As soon as the client becomes aware of your business, the interest phase begins. The client starts looking for more information about your product or service – for example, via the website or by speaking to a member of staff. The aim is to maintain the client’s interest and provide them with further information about your product or service.

3 – Consideration

Once a client has become interested in your product or service, the consideration phase begins. The client will compare various options and weigh up your product or service against that of the competition. The aim is to convince the client of the added value of your product or service compared to that of the competition.

4 – Decision

Once the client has considered various options, the decision-making phase begins. During this phase, the client decides whether or not to proceed with the purchase. The aim is to convince the client to choose your product or service and make the purchase.

5 – Procurement

Once the client has decided to make a purchase, the final step in the customer journey follows: the purchase itself. The aim is to offer the client a smooth and pleasant purchasing experience. Who knows, they might well come back for more afterwards!

Touchpoints in the customer journey

In addition to the various stages of the customer journey, there are also different touchpoints. These are moments when the customer interacts with your business. Some examples of these are:

• Advertisements
• The website
• Social media
• Email marketing
• Contact by telephone
• A visit to the physical shop

It is essential to understand which touchpoints the customer uses and how you can optimise these touchpoints to increase the likelihood of conversion. For example, it is important to make the website user-friendly and well-organised. This ensures that the customer can find information more easily and proceed to make a purchase.

Optimising the customer journey

Mapping the customer journey

To optimise the customer journey, it is important to understand where customers get stuck or drop out, and why this happens. By mapping out the customer journey and analysing data, you can identify and resolve these bottlenecks.

Applying personalisation

Another way to optimise the customer journey is through personalisation. By utilising customer data such as interests and purchasing behaviour, you can offer the customer a personalised experience and increase the likelihood of conversion.

Conclusion

The customer journey is a key process that the customer goes through when purchasing a product or service. By mapping out and optimising the various steps and touchpoints, you can increase the likelihood of conversion and improve customer satisfaction. It is therefore important to understand the customer journey and to continuously improve it in order to run a successful business.