Glossary · C

Customer journey

Definition

The customer journey is the path a person takes across every touchpoint with an organisation, from first interest through purchase and use to service requests and cancellation.

From an organisation's point of view there are channels: website, app, phone, messaging. From the customer's point of view there is only a request and a way to resolve it. The customer journey describes that path, across every channel.

#Touchpoints and stages

A journey consists of touchpoints that follow one another in time. A typical example: the customer reads the tariff page, starts an application in the app, calls with a question and receives the confirmation by message.

At a higher level, stages can be told apart: inform, sign up, use, seek help, renew or cancel. Each stage has its own expectations, and most friction arises at the transitions.

Four touchpoints, one path: tariff page, application in the app, callback, confirmation by message. Sample.

#Journey analytics: understanding the path

Journey analytics joins events from web, app and contact centre into paths. Only then can you answer questions that no single channel can.

Where do many people drop off, and what did they do before?
Which calls follow a particular online step?
Which contacts could be avoided if a page were clearer?
How does the path change after a process change?

#Orchestration: acting at the right moment

Understanding alone changes nothing. Orchestration uses what is known about the path to respond in real time: with a callback offer after an abandonment, a proactive message about a delay or a hint for the agent. The principle behind it is called next best action.

#What has to come together

Prerequisites

Events from every relevant channel in one shared data foundation.

Reliable identity resolution, so contacts are matched to the same person.

Clear purposes and legal bases for processing under the GDPR.

Goals measured by the customer's request, not by the utilisation of single channels.