Demystifying Customer Journey Mapping

There are so many different approaches to take, and I’ve heard countless times that people feel there is little point in doing one if it’s going to change soon, or if there is no digital component. Let me just go on record saying that every FI would benefit from undertaking the customer journey mapping exercise today -Regardless of where their tech stack stands or what projects are currently in the works. 

So, what is customer journey mapping? 

At Pannos, we approach customer journey mapping holistically. This means we meet with department heads, front-line, and customer service staff. We want to dig in to how accounts can be opened, what the most common questions are, what frustrations are voiced, when people are happiest, and why accounts are closed or denied. We also want to know what it feels like for the employee – are they frustrated by a lengthy in-person application, or does the FI culture allow for more human and empathetic processes (I.e., not requiring a new customer to sit at the desk for an hour while staff type up the application).  

After this sort of discovery phase, we uncover the role of the website, staff, marketing automation, social media, branch manager phone calls, emails, buck slips – all of it. We leave no stone unturned.  

Using all of this information, (and the personas you’ve hopefully developed), we take the personas through the journey. We then identify content that works well for each, what content opportunities exist, and ultimately how the personas feel as they move through. The end goal? Clear next steps to improve how your brand engages with your key strategic audiences.

This process is not for the faint of heart. There are often hard truths that an FI will need to come to terms with, including changing processes and tech. However, you will also learn what’s working well so you can replicate it across other business lines. 

Ultimately, if you want to truly understand what it means to be a customer with your organization today (from an outsider's perspective), and ensure that journey is built for future growth, then you’re ready to take on the customer journey map exercise.