Map it out!
This is one of the best ways to make sure you’re managing all of the different aspects at play when you create these various customer journeys across your website. There are hundreds of tutorials out there about how exactly you can map them out, so we won’t get bogged down detailing any one technique — the important thing is just to get it out of your head, away from wordy documents, and into diagram format. Having a visual is really going to help out, so trust us, don’t skip this step.
We happen to think the best way to do this is in a bold, color-coded, straightforward format, preferably on really big paper, but there’s no wrong way as long as you’re clear about which customers you want to direct, and where. Have some fun with it!
It’s not about you.
The absolute best way to get clear on the customer journey is to ask your customers. This seems deceptively simple, we know. But you’d be amazed how many business owners will get super excited and map out a journey that’s clever, amazing, unified, fantastic... and completely NOT a reflection of their customers’ actual behavior on their site.
To riff on a popular saying: yes, your opinion about your site matters, but there are some times when the customer truly is right, and this is definitely one of them. Take into account what people are actually doing, and not what you would prefer they do — you’ll find there’s probably a way to drive folks where you want them to go in the end, if you analyze the reasons behind their behavior.
Keep your CTAs clear
What kind of journey doesn’t have any guides? No maps, no signposts, no GPS, and no helpful characters giving exposition? It would be a pretty sad tale, so don’t let it happen on your website, either.
Think of your CTAs like guidebooks or maps for the customer journey: If they’re vague, or if users don’t recognize that they’re clickable elements, they may as well not even be there. And that’s a waste of your hard work in putting your site together neatly as well as of your customers’ time.
Keeping your CTAs unified and consistent will make sure everyone gets where you need them to go.
Conclusion
Hopefully we haven’t said anything here that’s too surprising, and you’ve got a concrete list of items to tackle before your area reaches full open capacity again. If not, though, and you’re freaking out switching between calls with your payment processor, your shipping service, your kinda-techy friend who made a website back in 10th grade, your therapist, and your mom -- well, we think there’s only one call you really need to make.