Mapping the Customer Journey
Understanding your customer is one of the most important — if not the most important aspect of your business. You want to be able to answer the Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why of your business and your end customer. Who needs your solution? What do they need your solution for? When do they need it? Where do they need it?
To start, you’ll want to conduct ample market research and survey the population. Remember, you want to be able to niche down your market size.
1. What do you already know? 🧠
Goal: Identify your assumptions about your target market/audience through conducting research online and gathering information readily available to you.
Let’s say you’re selling pins and stickers to an audience you know very well, fans of a popular band. What do you already know about the people you plan to reach? Look through online community forums like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Twitter. How many followers do they have? What activities do their followers engage in? Where are they concentrated? Is the Band located in California, or Puerto Rico? This type of foundational information matters because the more you know about your audience, the easier it will be to find and connect with them.
Now that you’ve identified your assumptions, it’s time to ask questions. Questions like “What do you love most about X Band? Do you purchase any of their products? Is there a particular product you love? How much do you spend on…” can help you get a good look at the spectrum of customers you’ll be servicing.
2. Ample Market Research + Preparation 💪
Goals: Now that you’ve identified your assumptions, it’s time to start talking — get to know your audience and reach out to schedule a quick phone interview, ask them to fill out a form, or even have a quick zoom call! Conduct research to gather Qualitative AND Quantitative information on possible pain points your solution will address, and who needs this solution.
Conduct ample Market Research, which means conducting interviews, gathering data via forms (you can use tools like google forms, typeform, monday.com to gather responses and analyze your findings) now that you know what questions to ask.
Refer to our article Market Research Tips: How to Avoid Bias
3. Building a Customer Persona 🤯
Goal: Understand your customers’ needs, experiences, behaviors, and goals or desires.
Analyze your Market Research and Organize your findings by different categories: demographic, financial information, engagement, etc. Do you notice any patterns?
Let’s say you’re interested in making motherhood easier. You want to design and sell a toy that can keep a toddler distracted, isn’t messy/doesn’t require a lot of cleanup, and teaches the toddler fine motor skills.
Follow this example for more clarity:
Step 1) You assume your target market is mothers, who value convenience and when put to the test, will buy a pricier toy if it teaches their child new skills. You learn all of this through flipping through 10 Facebook Pages for mothers trying to get through their child’s terrible twos and toddler stages.
Step 2) After conducting market research by interviewing 30 mothers in those groups and receiving 52 responses on your google form, you find out you have a largely:
Female Audience, Millennial, Working Mothers, Reside in West Coast, Median Salary $80,000, Owns an Apartment, Median 2 children
What do they do on a daily basis?
Drop kids off, Grab a Coffee, Run to meetings
What do they struggle with on a daily basis when with their kids?
Not enough time to clean, always sleep deprived, their kids have too many toys strewn all around the house, not enough time for themselves, and have a hard time engaging their children in educational activities in an outdoor setting
What do they value?
Down time, Convenience, Education, Nature & Outdoor Exploration
Step 3) Create the customer persona. It should tell a story of your customer’s experience, why they need your product, who they are, and include information such as but not limited to:
- Name
- Age/generation
- Location
- Likes and dislikes
- Hobbies
- Aspirations
- Pain points
- Experience
- Education
- Favorite brands
