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W H I T E PA P E REffective Customer Journey MappingKeys to success for Email Marketers
ContentsIntroduction. 3Customer Journeys: The Funnel vs. the Loop . 4Reporting on Best In Class. 6Barriers to Success. 7Data Collection. 9Actionable Touchpoints. 10Email Campaign Review. 11Number of Journey Maps. 13Cross-Department Involvement . 14Conclusion. 15Methodology. 162Email on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey Mapping
IntroductionAlthough much of the wisdom surrounding best practices for email marketing comes down to “It depends,”we hope you believe as we do that “batch and blast” is an ineffective tactic over the long term.Gone are the days when sending the same message to every email address in your database generates the kindof results – opens, clicks, sales, downloads, attention – that you rely on for your business.Sure, email is one of the only channels in which you can do that and still see some success. The challenge is,over time, it’s hard to keep that level of active users. More sophisticated uses of data, however, yield better,sustainable results.With so much available data, marketers must find ways to connect with customers and subscribers whowillingly share their personal info. The expectation is that the emails they receive will match the data-drivenexperiences they have elsewhere. Those data-driven experiences include product suggestions based onAmazon browsing behavior, recommended videos based on what they watch on YouTube, or a social mediafeed with content and people they care about.Data informs our understanding of the customer experience, but we need to turn that information into acohesive narrative. Focusing on customer journeys and lifecycle marketing does just that. This approachtargets messaging to recipients based on qualitative and quantitative research, which is used to paint a pictureof a customer journey.Some marketers feel overwhelmed by all that data and have no idea how to use it in their email strategies.Others feel safer sticking to an oversimplified view of the customer journey, continuing to miss opportunities forsegmentation and unique email experiences.The question this report seeks to answer is “How do successful marketers approach customer journey mapping?”Email on Acid partnered with Ascend2 to survey a panel of marketing professionals and research subscribersto find out.This report represents the opinions and approaches of marketers who describe the success of their journeymapping strategy as “best-in-class.” As you review the results of this research, you’ll see how data-drivenjourney mapping informs the sophistication that customers demand and technology provides.Data informs our understandingof the customer experience.3
Customer Journeys: The Funnel vs. the LoopSay goodbye to the marketing funnel. It’s simply not anSome marketing teams put a lot of emphasis on “top-of-effective way to visualize the customer journey.funnel” (ToFu) tactics: search, social, branding, paid ads,In fact, the concept behind the funnel is literally a relicof marketing first presented by an American advertisernamed Elias St. Elmo Lewis in 1898. (That’s more than120 years ago for those of you keeping track at home.)public relations, etc. There’s tremendous value, however,in building strategies for what happens in betweeninitial awareness and renewal. That’s also where emailmarketing thrives.The principles Lewis defined were insightful for theirIn most cases, retaining current customers will be fartime. But, in the digital age, we need something better.less expensive than constantly paying to attract newThe idea of lifecycle marketing implies there is a cycle. Afunnel, however, flows in one direction. Dump as manyones, especially if you’re trying to replace the businessyou’ve lost. So, it pays to map your customers’ journeys.prospects as you can into the top, cross your fingers,Note the plurals in that last sentence! There are manyand hope that a few of them come out the bottom astypes of customers and a myriad of journeys. Marketersloyal customers. It’s now quite clear that customermust identify the most important segments and thejourneys in the digital space are anything but linear.paths those people are likely to take.A more accurate way to map the customer journeyis with an infinite loop. While this concept has beenaround for a while, many marketers still rely on thefunnel model. A loop, however, reflects the fact thatthere is an ongoing cycle. It’s about much more thangetting the first purchase. Most businesses rely onrepeat purchases, upsells, cross-sells, and renewals.If a customer journey map doesn’t address the risk ofchurn and encourage both loyalty and advocacy, you’llconstantly be looking for more ways to pour randompeople into the outdated funnel.Retaining currentcustomers will be far lessexpensive than constantlypaying to attract new ones.4Email on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey Mapping
continuedCustomer Journeys: The Funnel vs. the LoopVisualizing the Customer JourneyThe Linear Marketing HASELOYALTYThe Infinite CATION/ONBOARDING*Steps may vary based on the business model.5RETENTION/LOYALTYEmail on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey MappingUPSELL/CROSS-SELLADOPTION
Reporting on Best in ClasSThroughout this report, we’ll focus on the 28% ofMany automations and journeys lack this critical step.marketers from the survey who assess their practice ofThe corporate thinking is, “We need a trigger that sendsjourney mapping as “very successful.”a message when a customer takes a specific step,” butmany marketers fail to measure whether that messagesucceeded. That’s a tactic without a strategy.How would you rate the overall SUCCESS of acustomer journey mapping strategy at achievingthe goalsset for it?Which best describes the SUCCESS of thought leadership content atovercoming the challenges?Unsuccessful9%13%UNSUCCESSFULIt also ignores the consumer’s cohort membership.Are we addressing the need correctly? Are we doing itbased on that specific group’s intent to respond? ForVerysuccessful28%(best-in-class)VERY SUCCESSFUL26%(BEST-IN-CLASS)example, some consumers don’t need a discount topurchase. Others do. With the right journey analysis,we can tailor that message to resonate in a moreeffective way.One potential method for identifying a KPI that mattersis adding a holdout or control group to a triggered emailmarketing campaign. This is a group of people d have received a message for the same action —but didn’t. A comparison of the two groups reveals howeffective your messages are at driving results.Close to 60% of the marketers surveyedIt’s useful to study successful organizations becausecreating a customer journey map is a complex process.Much can be gained by looking to competent andconfident professionals who’ve been through it fromstart to finish.feel they’ve been “somewhat successful”at journey mapping, and they’re apparently gettingvalue from their efforts. But there’s always roomfor improvement. So, let’s find out what the mostsuccessful marketershave to say.In this study, 28% of participants said they were “verysuccessful” at journey mapping. Another 13%, said theyweren’t successful at all and the rest said they hadsome success but were unsure. They might be doubtful,in part, because they did not establish key performanceindicators (KPIs) that define success in this area.6Email on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey Mapping
Barriers to SuccessWhat are the biggest blockers for marketers mappingThis is where relationships with your vendors, strategythe customer journey? Lack of quality data is always aconsultants, or research firms can help. Finding thechallenge, whether you’re running a CDP, a CRM system,right people to clean up your data, break down silos, andor any other tool that generates customer insights.provide insights may involve some outsourcing. It shouldOf course, the key word here is quality, which can bealso involve people in your organization who are outsideinterpreted as data that’s accurate, reliable, and useful.the marketing team.The amount of quality data required to start the journeymapping process takes time and effort. Customerjourney mapping will need to be a priority even as yourteam carries out their normal responsibilities.What are the greatest BARRIERS TO SUCCESS for your journey mapping strategy?7LACK OF QUALITY DATA38%LACK OF TIME/STAFF/RESOURCES TO EXECUTE35%ABILITY TO MEASURE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE29%EXECUTIVE BUY-IN28%LACK OF BUDGET26%DECENTRALIZED DATA/DATA SILOS26%ATTRIBUTION OF ROI25%LACK OF APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY22%Email on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey Mapping
continuedbarriers to successA few of the challenges highlighted in this reportinvolve convincing executives that investing time,resources, and budget into customer journey mappingwill produce results.How can your team tackle these challenges andconvince others that journey mapping is a worthwhileeffort that will bring a significant return on investment(ROI)? Our best answer: Start small and simple. ChooseJourney mapping andlifecycle marketingare an opportunity to bringcontinuous improvementsto your strategy.an important persona or audience segment, pick a stepin the journey, and begin there.Is there a part of the path to purchase where there’sobvious room for improvement? An eCommerce teammay want to examine how abandoned cart emails impactcustomer journeys. Could an onboarding email series helpimprove retention of new customers in a SaaS company?Would a monthly email newsletter keep subscribersengaged with your brand in-between purchases?Small experiments that lead to success, or revealwhat’s not working, are the proof you’ll need thatsimilar exercises and a larger journey mapping effortare worthwhile.Keep in mind, not only will the customer journey mappingprocess take time, but it should also be an ongoingproject that evolves over months and years. Journeymapping and lifecycle marketing are an opportunity tobring continuous improvements to your strategy.8Email on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey Mapping
Data CollectionThis list of data sources that marketers rely on to buildA customer journey is a narrative. However, the storycustomer journey maps is enlightening but potentiallya journey map tells must be grounded in facts. Often,misleading. Market research is valuable for paintingcustomers tell you what makes them look good or whata broad picture of industry trends and demographicthey want you to think about them. But reaction databehavior. Feedback in the form of surveys and interviewsoften tells you a different story. This doesn’t discount thewill no doubt give you many insights into what customersvalue of market research or customer feedback, but youand prospects think about your brand. But don’t rely onmust temper it, not just with what customers say butthese two sources alone.also what they do.Always comprise your customer journey maps using a34% of marketers say internal workshops are the mostcombination of qualitative and quantitative research.effective way to collect data, the second lowest on theThat means you gather feedback and examine marketlist of seven sources. But this should be a team effort!trends, but you also dig into all the measurable data yourYou know your customers from the email perspective.organization has access to. This supports anecdotalThe social media team knows the customer from its owninsights with hard numbers.perspective, and so on. A true customer journey doesn’thappen in just one channel.Furthermore, involving people outside the marketingWhat is the most effective way to COLLECTDATA for the journey mapping process?department is going to add a trove of new insights,opinions, and access to data. Each area of the businesshas its own knowledge of different points in theMARKET RESEARCH46%customer journey. (More on this later.)CUSTOMERFEEDBACK SURVEY46%It’s worth noting that this survey question asked best-in-CUSTOMER FEEDBACKINTERVIEWS44%MEASUREMENTOF KPIS43%SERVICE/PRODUCTUSAGE ANALYSIS39%INTERNALWORKSHOPS34%FOCUS GROUPS27%9class marketers what they viewed as “the most effective”way to collect data – not the only way. The main mantrafor journey mapping is to collect all the data you can. Thekey is to have balance and variety in the methods used toinform the process.Email on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey Mapping
Actionable TouchpointsThe modern customer journey is full of touchpoints that create a complex web of interactions with your brand. Thesetouchpoints serve two purposes:1They provide data to inform the journey mapping process.2They represent specific points along the customer journey.What are the mostACTIONABLE TOUCHPOINTSin the customer journey?SEARCH/WEBSITE43%PHONE CALLS41%EMAIL39%SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT37%REVIEWS/SHARING33%IN-PERSON MEETINGS31%PRODUCT DEMOS27%LIVE CHAT/CHAT BOTS20%Email analytics supply excellent information for buildingcustomer journeys. And email plays a crucial role in movingcustomers along in their journeys at the right times.It’s important to remember, however, that email isn’talways the best channel for awareness or responses.Sometimes an app or SMS is more appropriate orpreferable from the customer’s viewpoint. Some1 What is the desired action at thistouchpoint?2Who is taking that action?3Why would they be convinced to act?4 When does this action take place in thecustomer journeys may benefit from one-to-one guidancewhile others are happy to rely on self-serve education.Carefully considering each touchpoint allows you toallocate effort, marketing budget, and advertising dollarsappropriately. Prioritization is critical. Why put all kindsof effort into channels for customers that don’t move theneedle or have any influence on intent?This survey question does not specify exactly whatmakes a touchpoint “actionable.” However, regardless ofwhether you’re mapping out touchpoints in a journey oridentifying tactics that encourage action, you’ll need toask a few questions:10Email on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey Mappingcustomer’s journey?
Email Campaign ReviewThe results show 76% of marketers say they update their email journeys “on a regular basis.” The question is what doesthat actually mean? Since the second most frequent interval is one to two years, regularly must mean once per year or more.Ideally, reviewing and updating nurture tracks and email automations that aid in the customer journey should happen at leastonce per year.How often does yourorganization review andupdate journey-relatedEMAIL CAMPAIGNS?76%16%7%1%WE UPDATE EMAILSON A REGULARBASISWE UPDATE EMAILSEVERY 1 - 2 YEARSWE DON’T HAVE ASCHEDULED REVIEWPROCESSWE RARELY/NEVERREVIEWIf an organization adjusts its business goals, targets a different audience, or offers a new product or service, emailmarketers need to ensure automated campaigns continue to effectively support these efforts. Campaign reviews are alsonecessary when there’s a branding refresh or even new content that could better serve the purpose of the email.Email marketers work in a fast-paced environment with hectic production schedules that force teams to race to get emailsout the door. A “set it and forget it” mentality, however, is a recipe for failure. Nothing in marketing should ever be forgettable.While you may be able to automate campaigns, you can’t ignore your automations once they’re in place.76%of marketers say theyupdate their email journeys“on a regular basis.”11Email on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey Mapping
continuedemail campaign reviewMake these seven questions part of your email campaign audit process:1 Is our data coming from the right sources, and is it still accurate?2What can we improve based on new data?3Are brand standards in place across all touchpoints?4Do campaigns align with the needs of our target personas?5Can we test our journey maps to trigger emails at the right touchpoints?6Does information/content need to be updated?7Have we run our automation program through an email validation tool as part of a pre-deploymentchecklist?Using a pre-deployment platform to test templates used in automations is crucial because email is always changing. Seta schedule for running these templates through a tool like Email on Acid to be sure your campaigns continue rendering asexpected in different clients, browsers, and devices. An automated pre-deployment checklist such as Campaign Precheckalso validates links, examines accessibility, double-checks copy, and more.As your program grows and takes advantage of newly available data, reconsider your KPIs. This could give you different waysto update your email programs to be more relevant, powerful, and effective. If web traffic, leads, and revenue attributed toemail are declining, a review of your campaigns is in order.Make sure your performance triggers are tracked at the individual level, not the company level. Make sure in your masterdashboard that you have a tab or page that lists every automation you run and how you can gain those reports regularly.Regular check-ins are essential. Build them into your standard operating procedures as often as once per quarter. Add astep indicating when to review your campaigns and measure results against expectations.12Email on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey Mapping
Number of Journey MapsAlmost a quarter of best-in-class marketers have asHow many defined JOURNEY MAPS doesyour organization have or plan to have?many as 10 journey maps while another 13% claimto have 11 or more. In the end, the “right number”depends on your company and the sophistication of13%11 0–223%your marketing program. The more journey maps youdevelop the more similarities and intersections willemerge between them. If your team is new to journeymapping, prioritize the top three paths-to-purchaseand begin there.24%6–103–540%Advanced email marketing programsare moving towards even more individualizedjourneys by using personalization to create a 1 : 1email experience. When an email is customizedto a subscriber’s questions, needs, lifestyle, andEvery prospect takes his or her own personal journeyto become a customer. That unique journey continuesafter they make a purchase or sales closes the deal.Obviously, we can’t map out every single possibility.So, how many customer journey maps does yourcompany need?According to Ascend2’s research, 40% of marketerssay they use three to five journey maps. That seemsto be a sweet spot. Nearly every business will have atleast three personas or high-level audience segmentspreferences, relevance increases exponentially. That’strue lifecycle marketing.Remember, a journey map is a holistic lookat someone’s experience with your brand. Anautomation, especially a simple one, is a trip withinthat journey. If you take a trip, it has a starting pointand an ending point. Then you have the experienceduring that trip. But the journey itself is thecustomer’s life with the brand, a complete view thatincludes smaller, individual trips within it.they want to reach.When an email is customized toa subscriber’s questions, needs,lifestyle, and preferences, relevanceincreases exponentially.13Email on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey Mapping
Cross-Department InvolvementWe’ve covered the importance of various types ofEach area of the company works with customers anddata in journey mapping and the difference betweenprospects at a particular step in the journey. So, eachwhat people say and what they do. We also mentionedteam has uniquely valuable insights into what people arethe importance of reaching out to teams across thethinking, feeling, and doing at certain points.organization as you conduct research and plot out yourjourney maps.Your sales team understands what questions andWhen starting the journey mapping process, it’sThe product team shows you how people use what youimportant to understand the customer’s experience atoffer. Customer service lets you know where there mightdifferent touchpoints. This isn’t something you can pullbe roadblocks along the journey. The leadership teamout of a spreadsheet. Strategic cross-collaboration helpshelps ensure your journey maps align with business goals.objections prospects have at the beginning of the journey.you build a unified view of your customers.It’s marketing’s job to weave together a comprehensive,cohesive narrative using insights from different teams,Which DEPARTMENTS have critical involvement inthe journey mapping process?information gathered from customers and prospects, aswell as hard numbers from data. It’s a large task, which iswhy marketing tops the list of departments with “criticalMARKETING60%CUSTOMER vement” in the journey mapping process.A word of advice: there is such a thing as too many cooksin the kitchen. An overload of opinions could derail thejourney mapping process. As you decide who to involve,consider limiting contributors to one or two stakeholdersfrom each department.40%A word of advice: there issuch a thing as too manycooks in the kitchen.14Email on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey Mapping
ConclusionCustomer journey mapping is challenging, complex, and time-consuming. But it’s worth it.Understanding what makes customers tick is invaluable, especially for the email marketing team. Email is an essentialchannel for moving customers along their journey. The more you know, the more effective your email strategy will be.As modern email marketers, we can get wrapped up in the day-to-day grind, the constant production of emails going outthe door. It’s tempting to leave the task of journey mapping to others on the marketing team. Don’t do it. Your organizationneeds the insights and strategy email offers.Discovering how best-in-class marketers approach journey mapping helps inform your team’s process. Still, everycompany will have its own challenges, stakeholders, KPIs, and target audiences. That’s exactly why customer journeymapping is so important.Execute the Perfect Email StrategyEven a rock-solid plan can get derailed by minor details. You may have journey maps full of insights to inform the emailexperience, but none of that matters if your emails aren’t optimized before you hit send.Email on Acid is an email readiness platform designed to inform and enhance the pre-deployment process while supportingcollaboration and team management. We’re simplifying everything from content checks to accessibility and deliverability.Plus, Email Previews show you how your campaigns will render on 90 different clients and devices.With Email on Acid, you can deliver email perfection – every campaign, every email, every time. Take the platform for a testdrive with a free 7-day trial or contact us to find out more.Ready to DeliverEmail Perfection?15SCHEDULE A CUSTOM DEMOEmail on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey Mapping
MethodologyAscend2 benchmarks the performance of marketingPrimary Marketing Channelstrategies, tactics and the technology that drivesB2B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38%B2C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%B2B and B2C equally. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42%them with a standardized online questionnaire and aproprietary 3-Minute Survey format.This survey was fielded to a panel of marketingprofessionals and marketing research subscribers.Number of EmployeesMore than 500. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46%50 to 500. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29%Fewer than 50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%Primary role in companyOwner / Partner / C-Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43%Vice President / Director / Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50%Non-Management Professional. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7%Research PartnerMarketing technology companies and digital marketing agencies partner with Ascend2 to supplement their marketingcontent, generate leads, and engage prospects to drive demand through the middle of the funnel.Learn more about Ascend2.16Email on Acid Whitepaper Effective Customer Journey Mapping
Thousands of customers worldwide use Email on Acid’s comprehensive and flexiblepre-deployment platform to deliver email perfection. Brands like Hilton, IBM, andThe New York Times leverage its industry-leading solutions to perform end-to-endcontent checks, accessibility and deliverability testing, and email previews on themost popular clients and devices. Using click-to-fix tools and automated solutions,Email on Acid by Sinch empowers email developers, marketers, and enterpriseorganizations to always put their best email forward.Founded in Denver in 2009, Email on Acid aims to simplify the complex process ofemail marketing for companies around the world. Email on Acid is part of Sinch, aleading Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) provider, offering messaging,voice, and video communication solutions to a large global customer base.For more information, please visit www.emailonacid.com
resources, and budget into customer journey mapping will produce results. How can your team tackle these challenges and convince others that journey mapping is a worthwhile effort that will bring a significant return on investment (ROI)? Our best answer: Start small and simple. Choose an important persona or audience segment, pick a step
