How to Deliver a Fluid Customer Journey Across Every Touchpoint

Marketing Insights for Professionals
The latest thought leadership for Marketing pros
Modern customers expect their engagement with brands to be consistent across all channels and touchpoints, so to keep your audience happy it's worth investing in a fluid end-to-end experience.
3 June 2020

The explosion of digital technology in the 21st century has opened up an unprecedented array of channels and opportunities for brands to connect with their customers.

While this offers great potential for businesses, it also raises a question: how do you offer a consistent experience, with minimum obstacles and friction, across all platforms and touchpoints?

IDG Connect research, conducted on behalf of Siteimprove, revealed that modern marketers are fully committed to digital tools, but many admit to significant flaws in various aspects of their online presence.

So what can you do to step up your performance and deliver a fluid customer journey from start to finish?

1. Know your touchpoints

You can't hope to build an accurate picture of the experience you're delivering across your various customer touchpoints if you don't have a clear idea of what those touchpoints are.

It's not uncommon for businesses to fall into the trap of fixating on final buying decisions and the channels in which they're made, thereby neglecting the various other points of contact customers have with the brand both before and after the sale.

Studying your most common customer journeys from initial awareness all the way through to post-sale follow-up and support will allow you to deliver a truly comprehensive and consistent experience.

It’ll also make it easier for you to identify the most pivotal touchpoints along the way and to single out the most valuable sources of customer data.

2. Beware of gaps

To minimize the risk of the customer journey being disrupted or blocked, you need to know your gaps: points along the way where inconsistencies or lapses in engagement create a significant risk of the customer having second thoughts about the purchase and taking their business elsewhere.

Common gaps include:

  • When a user switches between devices - for example, from mobile to desktop
  • A customer being transferred from one department to another. For instance, if your teams don't have accurate data and insights, problems could arise when a lead is handed over from marketing to sales
  • A user moving from one channel to another - for example, from a social media page to your website

Creating detailed, data-based customer journey maps will help you identify your gaps and minimize friction at these points.