We recently headed out to a mutual fund marketing conference at Morningstar’s Chicago headquarters to lead a roundtable on customer journey mapping. It was a great discussion about why having a journey map—and in particular a digital journey map—is so important.  The participants were not shy about sharing the challenges they and their brands are facing.

During the session, we shared what the Imprint team has found to be the four essential steps to creating an effective map, with the objectives to drive a better experience for the customer and smarter decisions for the brand.

1. Define your goal

The first thing you should do is envision the end of the journey. What actions do you ultimately want your customer to take? Consider what you feel will help get them there.

2. Create personas

But don’t overcomplicate the number of journeys. Aim for five to eight total. Too many personas increases complexity in content creation.

3. Look at a “day in the life” of your customer

Think about what they’re doing, where they are and how they feel. Look to understand where pain points are within the current user journey and where there are new opportunities.

4. Create the map

As with personas, simplicity is key. Limit to the number of steps that can effectively be managed and don’t try to put equal emphasis on every step. Moments where there are calls to action should take priority.

As content marketing and creating custom content becomes more complex, having the core foundations for a program is essential.  And knowing your audience and understanding their journeys is key.