CX marks the spot: 3 things your customer journey map needs

When is the last time you received a brand message that addressed exactly what you needed and solved a relevant problem you were facing?

Our inboxes are full of offers, discounts, and new products in an attempt to sell us what brands believe we should want. But until we completely understand individuals — as full, complex people — we can only generalize in our marketing and messaging.

This worked for some time but with the constant changes of platforms, channels, and other touchpoints between brands and consumers, it is no longer an option for brands. The modern consumer thinks differently – they have different responsibilities, challenges, and needs that brands are just now learning how to serve. Consumers can no longer be thought of through the lens of generalization and stereotypes.

“…the consumer hasn’t fundamentally changed, but to the extent they are changing is because the environment around them is evolving, characterized by economic constraints and new competitive options…They’re also changing in reaction to the abundance of competitive options available to them, made possible by technology.” – Deloitte

At every moment of interaction, your brand has the opportunity to give a single individual a personalized experience tailored to who they are. To get them through the entire buyer’s journey, your marketing must include these three things:

1. Insights

Multidimensional insights are needed for multidimensional people. The representation of an individual inside your CRM can only show you a limited view of who they are as a person. If you truly understand the behaviors, purchases, lifestyles, and habits of a single individual, you can create relevant, resonating offers that improve the experience that a consumer has with your brand. In fact, 91% of consumers said they would be more likely to shop with brands who recognize and provide relevant offers and recommendations, and 83% are willing to share their data to make this work.

2. Context

Understanding who an individual is is paramount to marketing to them. Knowing what to say to an individual can help make a prospect into a customer and a customer into an advocate for your brand. Using targeted, relevant messaging can help consumers understand how your product can help them and help you to lower your customer acquisition costs. The less targeted your marketing is, especially in digital and email, the worse your brand reputation becomes. Consumers now want personalization and offerings that they can act on quickly but digital marketing efforts are still not being tailored to fit those expectations. In fact, 77% of consumers agreed with the statement “I wish there were a way to ad-filter instead of ad-block completely.” Brands who understand how and where to speak to prospective consumers will have a significant advantage over those that do not.

3. Empathy

As we’ve mentioned before, Empathy is a big part of communication, so it’s surprising to see that as marketers, we don’t always take that approach. We tell our customers what we want them to hear without first considering if they actually care about what we are saying. You need to have empathy to solve business problems for your customers. In order to solve the problem, you have to understand why the problem is occurring. With the insights you have about your customers, and the context to create a better offering, the empathy will be the final piece of the puzzle that drives authenticity in your consumer interactions.

The modern individual consumer is dynamic and different. The buyer’s journey is new and more complex than before. Marketers need to evolve their strategies in order to gain a better understanding of their customers in real-time. With identity resolution technology, you can provide a consistent customer experience across multiple touchpoints with insights, context, and empathy together.