What’s the most effective way to understand the customer’s purchase path? It’s all about identifying segments, touchpoints, timeframes, expectations and the system or process. You’re also going to identify stressors and friction points.
Because your view, just like mine, is limited, the more views you have, the broader the perspective you’ll get. And remember: everyone’s expectations differ. Viewing your business and your team from the consumer perspective — not from the tire/auto service provider perspective — will also help you see various points of view.
Some of the systems and processes you’ll be analyzing will involve inter-shop dependencies, so those hand-off friction points will need the points of view from those who will be affected. Most everyone enjoys being part of a team and this is a great opportunity to huddle up.
Finally, you’ll have the opportunity to efficiently and effectively facilitate the planning process and the allocation of resources once your exercise has concluded. With that said, let’s look at how you can improve your business, in your customer’s eyes, in just a few steps. Welcome to the customer journey in today’s market:
Step 1: Identify the segments.
The segments of a retail customer’s journey are pretty cut and dry. Our industry may be a bit different than traditional retail, but the overall approach to identifying journey segments is the same. e extent to which you know your customers is the extent to which you can have a relationship with them. For your business to thrive, customers need to be aware you exist, be willing to consider you as a viable option, be able to easily engage while making a purchase decision, be able to trust that your service is of value to them and be willing to consider you again as a loyal partner for future purchases.
Step 2: Identify touchpoints.
Having your team involved in identifying customer touchpoints in each of the segments you’ve identified will come in super handy. Customer touchpoints represent interaction locations and/or channels. All of us consume differently. Having various voices in the room will help ensure that you get several points of view. As diverse as today’s market is, you’ll want to be sure that you are identifying and addressing how various consumers go to market.
Identifying those retail market entry points is key. This step allows you to be able to determine the next two steps.
Step 3: Identify the timeframe.
Although this is the simplest portion of the customer’s path to purchase, it should not be taken lightly. Consider for a moment that the average customer gives your website about 15 seconds to deliver what they are looking for. Anything beyond that and they’ll bounce. Making sure the information your customers are looking for is available in short order is key. Look at the segments you’ve established and assign a customer timeframe to each. You’ll know you have a problem with relevance if your webpage’s bounce rate is high. Don’t skip this step. It will help you and your team gain perspective on how important timeliness within various touchpoints may or may not be.
Step 4: Identify expectations.
Your business is rated based on each customer’s expectations of you, your competitors, your industry and shopping, in general, so it’s important to understand customer expectations in each segment of their journey. Expectations are a combination of beliefs and assumptions about what is likely to happen in the future. Today’s customers expect mobile experiences, convenience, 24-hour access, quick response, authenticity and personalization. When you don’t meet these expectations, your business could lose your customers’ consideration. The larger the gap, the more likely you are to create unsatisfied customers. If customers have low expectations of you, it is not hard to meet them. If the customer’s expectations are high and you don’t meet or exceed them, they may go elsewhere.
Step 5: Identify the system/process.
Acting on the insights of the customer journey strengthens your customers’ overall satisfaction. Each insight is routed by touchpoints. Your ability to meet or exceed your customers’ expectations is influenced by the systems/processes you have in place. For each of the touchpoints you have identified, you should identify which systems/processes you already have in place and which systems/processes you are lacking or need to improve. Keeping a keen eye on the expectations associated with each touchpoint will help you understand why and how the systems needed will help improve the customer experience.
Putting yourself and your team in your customer’s shoes is an extremely valuable experience. A clear understanding of how your systems help to ensure the customer’s path to purchase is balanced is a critical step towards improving your brand. Make sure that you keep the customer’s perspective top of mind as you gain a better understanding of his or her purchase path and you’ll be well on your way to a new path of your own — transforming your business.
