A Comprehensive Guide to Customer Journey Mapping and Analytics

Comprendere e analizzare il comportamento dei clienti non è facile. È qui che entrano in gioco le mappe del percorso del cliente. Tuttavia, avere una mappa del percorso del cliente non significa che si stiano rispettando le aspettative. È sempre possibile perfezionare la mappatura e migliorarla ulteriormente. 

Come potete migliorare la vostra mappa del viaggio del cliente? Quali sono gli elementi importanti da aggiungere per fare la differenza e sfruttare il potenziale non sfruttato che offre? 

What is customer journey? 

The customer journey is the series of interactions a customer has with a brand or product as they become aware of a pain point and make a purchase decision. While the buyer’s journey refers to the general process of arriving at a purchase, the customer journey refers to a buyer's purchasing experience with a specific company or service. 

Che cos'è una mappa del viaggio del cliente? 

La mappatura del viaggio del cliente significa fondamentalmente identificare e visualizzare il viaggio del cliente quando interagisce con un marchio, un prodotto o un servizio. Si tratta di identificare i vari punti di contatto, le interazioni e le diverse esperienze che un cliente vive con un marchio o un prodotto, dalla conoscenza iniziale alla valutazione post-acquisto. 

L'obiettivo principale della mappatura del percorso del cliente è quello di ottenere informazioni sul comportamento dei clienti, identificare i punti dolenti e migliorare la soddisfazione e la fedeltà dei clienti. Le organizzazioni possono sfruttare queste mappe del viaggio del cliente e rendere le loro attività completamente incentrate sul cliente. 

What data is necessary for customer journey mapping? 

When I create a customer journey map, I prioritize real, actionable data over assumptions. This includes both solicited data—information customers provide when asked—and unsolicited data, which offers a window into their actual behavior. 

Solicited data: Customer surveys and interviews 

Asking customers directly through surveys or interviews often reveals key insights into their experiences, pain points, and how they interact with the product. This is a form of solicited data because it’s information I actively request. 

Tools such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys, Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores, and even social media polls help uncover how customers truly feel about their journey with us. 

Here are a few practical ways to gather this type of feedback: 

• Use post-purchase surveys to identify what worked well or where friction occurred in the buying process. 
• Conduct 1:1 interviews to dig deeper into the motivations behind a customer’s decisions. 
• Speak with individuals who didn’t convert to understand their reasons for dropping off. 

While incredibly useful, this data type isn’t without its limits. It depends on customers being honest and open—something that may skew toward positivity, especially during direct conversations. Also, it typically represents just one part of the journey and may not give a complete picture. 

Unsolicited data 

Unsolicited data is typically quantitative and based on behavior rather than feedback. 

This refers to data customers generate without being prompted. Some valuable examples include: 

• Website behavior: page views, navigation paths, bounce rates, and cart abandonment insights. 
• Email engagement: open rates, click-throughs, and follow-up actions like phone calls. 
• Social media mentions and reviews: public feedback helps highlight both frustrations and delights. 
• Operational metrics: internal indicators such as support ticket wait times or delivery delays that reflect overall service quality. 

For example, if users frequently abandon carts at the payment stage, it may point to technical issues like long load times or limited payment options that are causing friction. 

Componenti importanti di una mappa del viaggio del cliente 

Vediamo i componenti più importanti di una mappa del viaggio del cliente: 

Touchpoints 

Customers interact with a brand multiple times and may be on different platforms. Touchpoints usually refer to the record of all these interactions that a customer has with a brand, such as a website visit, social media engagement, customer service call, in-store visit, or email communication. 

Customer personas  

These are fictional representations of different types of customers who interact with the brand. Customer personas help to understand the different needs, behaviors, and preferences of the customers. 

Emotions 

Emotions play a crucial role in the customer journey. Identifying the emotions that customers experience at each touchpoint helps to understand their needs, wants, and expectations. 

Pain points 

These are the points in the customer journey where customers experience difficulty, frustration, or dissatisfaction. Identifying pain points helps to understand the areas that need improvement. 

Opportunities 

Opportunities refer to the areas where a brand can improve the customer experience or delight the customer. Identifying opportunities prioritizes actions that can improve the customer journey. 

Canali 

Channels are the different mediums through which customers interact with the brand. Identifying the channels used by customers helps optimize the customer journey for each channel. 

Metriche  

Metrics are the quantitative measures that help to evaluate the effectiveness of the customer journey. Metrics can include customer satisfaction scores, conversion rates, and customer retention rates. 

Steps for creating a customer journey map 

Here are the steps to create a customer journey map: 

1. Use customer journey map templates 

Why build a customer journey map from scratch when templates are readily available? HubSpot’s free customer journey map templates are a time-saver. They cover everything from a buyer’s journey to a day in a customer’s life and lead nurturing scenarios. 

These templates proved valuable for teams in sales, marketing, and customer support, enabling them to better understand buyer personas. As a result, there was a notable enhancement in both product development and customer experience. 

2. Set clear objectives for the map 

Before beginning a customer journey map, it's essential to clarify the purpose behind its creation. 

• What goals is the map aiming to achieve? 
• Who is the target audience? 
• Which experience does it reflect? 

If a buyer persona hasn’t been developed yet, it's worthwhile to create one. A buyer persona is a fictional profile encompassing the demographics and psychographics of the typical customer. This approach helps maintain focus on the correct audience during the mapping process. 

3. Profile your personas and define their goals 

This stage benefits greatly from in-depth research. Access to customer journey analytics is especially helpful, and HubSpot’s Customer Journey Analytics tool offers a solid starting point for those just beginning. 

Questionnaires and user testing serve as invaluable tools for collecting feedback. However, it’s crucial to engage only with real customers or prospects — individuals who have interacted with the business or intend to. Feedback from the right audience yields the most actionable insights. 

Some key questions include: 

• How did the customer hear about the company? 
• What initially attracted them to the website? 
• What goals do they aim to accomplish with the business? 
• How long do they typically stay on the website? 
• Have they made a purchase? What was the deciding factor? 
• Have they ever decided not to make a purchase after browsing? Why? 
• How easy is the site to navigate (rated on a scale of 1 to 10)? 
• Was customer support needed, and how effective was it? 
• What additional support could ease the process? 

4. Highlight your target customer personas 

After gathering sufficient data, the focus should narrow to one or two primary customer personas. 

A customer journey map is most effective when it reflects the journey of a specific customer. Including too many personas risks diluting the unique experiences of each. 

Starting with the most common persona and identifying their typical engagement route is recommended. A marketing dashboard can help compare and determine the best-fitting persona. Any others can always be mapped out later. 

5. List out all touchpoints 

The process begins with listing every touchpoint where customers engage with the brand. 

Each interaction — no matter how minor — shapes customer perception. For instance, seeing a display ad or encountering a 404 error both count as meaningful touchpoints. 

It’s important to recognize that a brand is more than its website. It includes social media, emails, ads, customer service, and more. Mapping these out uncovers opportunities for improving the customer experience. 

Once the list is complete, patterns often emerge. A low number of touchpoints may suggest premature exits. A high number could indicate an overly complex user path. 

Touchpoints also span beyond the business’s own domain — Google searches, third-party reviews, and social media mentions contribute significantly. Tools like Google Analytics can show where the actual traffic originates, helping isolate the most impactful touchpoints. 

At HubSpot, workshops involving cross-functional teams helped identify these critical moments. Mapping them visually — even with simple sticky notes — exposed inconsistencies in communication and service. 

Key touchpoints to consider: 

• Customer actions 
  Track every customer interaction: keyword searches, email clicks, product page scrolls. A comprehensive list enables the identification of overly complex steps, which, when streamlined, often improve conversion rates. 
• Customer emotions & motivations 
  Customer actions stem from emotional triggers. Pain points typically drive decisions. Understanding these emotions allows for the delivery of timely and relevant content. 
• Customer obstacles & pain points 
  Identifying friction in the journey is crucial. High shipping costs, for instance, might cause cart abandonment. Sometimes the barriers are subtle, requiring dedicated sales tools or support content like FAQ pages to resolve them. 

6. Determine the resources you have and the ones you’ll need 

Evaluating the customer journey map provides clarity on existing resources and highlights missing ones. For example, if follow-up capabilities are weak, investing in customer service tools may be necessary. 

Underutilized touchpoints also offer areas for growth. A unified marketing platform can help maximize the potential of these interactions. Including resource planning in the map enables better forecasting and eases stakeholder buy-in. 

7. Take the customer journey yourself 

A journey map isn’t truly complete until the customer path has been experienced firsthand. This hands-on approach often reveals subtle friction points that data might overlook. 

Steps might include: 

• Searching for the product or a competitor’s product 
• Signing up for the email list 
• Navigating the site or app with fresh eyes 
• Contacting support 

This exercise offers deeper context to complement analytics. For example, while high bounce rates may point to an issue, walking through the site could uncover slow load times or confusing navigation. 

8. Analyze your results 

A customer journey map is only the beginning. The insights gained from analysis are where the real value lies. 

Key questions to explore include: 

• Are visitors converting? 
• Are customer needs met at every stage? 
• Which touchpoints perform best (and worst)? 
• Where is friction occurring? 

Analyzing these elements helps uncover areas for improvement and confirms whether the business is truly delivering value. It also allows for testing assumptions while remaining open to surprising insights. 

9. Update your map over time 

As data reveals clearer insights, it's important to make adjustments. This could include adding more targeted calls-to-action or clarifying product descriptions. 

Every update — big or small — plays a part in addressing customer pain points. With the journey map as a reference, these refinements remain aligned with customer needs and drive continuous improvement. 

What's included in a customer journey map? 

Here’s what is included in a customer journey map: 

1. The buying process 

When mapping a customer’s buying process, it’s essential to gather data from multiple sources — such as prospecting tools, CMS platforms, and behavioral analytics — to gain a comprehensive understanding of how individuals progress from initial contact to final purchase. 

There's no need to dive too deep into the specifics. The journey can be grouped into three broad stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. 

Valuable data points to examine include: 

• Website visits 
• Social media engagement 
• Customer service interactions 
• Purchase history 
• Survey feedback 

Together, these insights provide a clearer view of how customers engage with a brand across various touchpoints. 

2. Emotions 

Every customer embarks on their journey in search of a solution, and that journey is often laced with emotion — from excitement and curiosity to worry or frustration. Mapping these emotional states is key to understanding when and where the experience can break down — and how to fix it. 

At HubSpot, for instance, emojis are used on journey maps to visually represent potential emotions experienced at different stages of the customer journey. 

Though it may seem unusual, analyzing customer sentiment through data is quite common. Key sources include: 

• NPS (Net Promoter Score) surveys 
• Online reviews 
• Social media monitoring 
• Customer interviews and focus groups 
• Customer support interactions 

Understanding emotional responses allows for more empathetic and effective touchpoint design. 

3. User actions 

Tracking customer actions at each journey stage helps identify their intent and level of engagement. For example, in the awareness phase, a user might download an ebook or sign up for a webinar. 

Typical data points used for mapping these actions include: 

• Page views 
• CTA (call-to-action) clicks 
• Email open rates 
• Email list signups 
• Ebook or content downloads 

Mapping these behaviors helps teams see how customers interact with brand content and how they transition from one stage to the next. 

4. User research 

This aspect outlines the research customers conduct before making decisions. During the awareness stage, they are often searching for solutions or comparing options. This presents a critical opportunity for brands to appear in their research and offer relevant answers before competitors do. 

Key areas to analyze include: 

• Search engine queries 
• Chatbot queries and interactions on the website 
• Competitor research and comparisons 
• Social media engagement 
• Customer review platforms 

These insights ensure the brand is visible when the audience is actively exploring their options. 

5. Solutions 

Once insights are gathered, the next step involves brainstorming actionable solutions to create a smoother customer journey. The goal is to eliminate friction and enhance satisfaction, helping customers reach their goals with minimal resistance. 

To support this, businesses can leverage tools such as: 

• Customer feedback platforms 
• Behavior analytics tools 
• AI-powered chatbots and automated support systems 

By making strategic improvements based on real data and customer behavior, brands can ensure a more seamless and rewarding journey for every customer. 

Types of customer journey maps  

There are four primary types of customer journey maps, each offering distinct advantages. 

To move a business from point A (the decision to prioritize customer journeys) to point B (having a fully developed journey map), a critical step involves identifying the specific customer mindset to be mapped. 

This decision plays a pivotal role in selecting the most appropriate template. It’s essential to choose the one that aligns best with the company’s goals and context. 

1. Current state customer journey map 

This is the most commonly used type of customer journey map. It illustrates the actions, thoughts, and emotions that customers currently experience while interacting with the business. 

Current state maps are ideal for ongoing optimization of the customer experience, offering clear visibility into what’s happening in real time and highlighting areas for improvement. 

2. Day in the life customer journey map 

This type of map captures a broader view, visualizing the customer’s daily actions, thoughts, and emotions whether or not they involve the business directly. 

It provides a more holistic understanding of customer behavior, helping identify real-life pain points and unmet needs. This approach is particularly useful when the goal is to uncover new opportunities or develop market expansion strategies that anticipate customer demands before they become explicit. 

3. Future state customer journey map 

Future state journey maps envision how customers will interact with the business in the future including their anticipated actions, emotions, and thoughts. 

These maps are built on insights from current customer experiences and are used to chart a path forward. They serve best when illustrating a brand’s future vision and setting long-term, strategic objectives. 

4. Service blueprint customer journey map 

A service blueprint begins with a simplified version of one of the previous map types. It then incorporates the internal elements such as people, processes, technologies, and policies  that are responsible for delivering the customer experience. 

This type of map is highly effective in uncovering the root causes of challenges within the current journey or identifying the internal changes required to support a future-state journey. It bridges the gap between customer experience and operational execution. 

Customer journey mapping best practices 

Here are the best practices for customer journey mapping: 

1. Set a goal for the journey map 

Start by identifying the purpose behind the journey map. It could be to enhance the buying experience, launch a new product, or streamline a specific touchpoint. Defining this goal early helps maintain focus and prevents scope creep during what can be a complex, large-scale project. 

2. Survey customers to understand their buying journey 

There is often a gap between internal assumptions and the actual experiences customers face. To close this gap, direct input from customers is essential. Gathering firsthand feedback provides a more accurate and insightful view into the real customer journey. 

3. Ask customer service representatives about frequently asked questions 

Customers may not always articulate their pain points clearly, but frontline support teams often recognize patterns and recurring concerns. By consulting customer service representatives, organizations can translate these customer challenges into actionable business insights. 

4. Consider customer journey mapping for each buyer persona 

Every customer is different. Demographics, psychographics, and tenure with the brand all influence behavior and decision-making. That is why journey maps should be customized for each core persona to ensure the map reflects their unique experiences and expectations. 

5. Review and update each journey map after major product changes 

Customer behavior shifts with every change in a product or service. Even minor modifications, such as adding a new form field, can introduce friction. Regularly reviewing and updating journey maps before and after product updates ensures the map stays accurate and actionable. 

6. Make the customer journey map accessible to cross-functional teams 

Making the journey map available across departments encourages broader collaboration and feedback. This shared visibility ensures alignment around the customer experience and allows all teams to contribute to and benefit from the insights it provides. 

9 modi per elaborare la mappatura del viaggio del cliente 

Ecco nove modi per curare la mappatura del viaggio del cliente e assicurarsi di sfruttarla al meglio. 

1. Filtrare le persone 

Persona play a very important role in defining customer journey. When these personas are refined and properly filtered, it becomes simple for both marketing and sales teams to approach the customer and persuade them. But a small mistake in these personas can have a huge impact on the interactions and throw a negative light on your organization. 

È quindi molto importante avere delle personas accurate. Oltre a raccogliere i dati di base come l'età, il sesso, l'ubicazione, lo stato civile e il reddito delle famiglie, dovreste conoscere anche dettagli come la modalità di comunicazione che preferiscono, i prodotti che hanno acquistato nella vostra nicchia, il tipo di formati di contenuto su cui tendono a mostrare interesse, ecc. 

2. Identificare i punti di contatto 

As mentioned above in the components, touchpoints refer to the interactions that a customer has with your brand. Always make sure to document every touchpoint. Apart from the buying stage, pre-sale and post-sale engagement with customers is equally important for a company. 

Disporre di una documentazione dettagliata sulle interazioni consente di capire cosa si può cambiare, come si può migliorare l'esperienza del cliente e vari altri dettagli. 

3. Creare diverse mappe del viaggio del cliente 

Ognuno dei vostri clienti è diverso e ha una prospettiva unica. Non esiste una teoria uguale per tutti quando si parla di mappatura del percorso del cliente. Le aziende devono mettersi nei panni del cliente e creare diversi scenari e mappe di conseguenza. In questo modo avranno un'idea chiara di cosa fare quando un cliente si blocca a metà del percorso. 

Prendiamo l'esempio di un marchio di e-commerce che si trova ad affrontare un alto tasso di abbandono del carrello. Le ragioni possono essere molteplici, come la complessità dei formati di ordinazione, la velocità di interazione, ecc. Avere una mappa per ognuno di questi scenari semplificherà il viaggio del cliente. 

Essere specifici e avere una soluzione predefinita per più scenari è il massimo della personalizzazione e garantisce anche una grande soddisfazione del cliente. 

4. Dati in sovrimpressione 

La maggior parte delle aziende dispone di una miniera d'oro chiamata dati, senza sfruttarla al massimo. Questi dati provengono da tutte le aree dell'azienda, come ad esempio un potenziale cliente che visita il vostro sito web, scorre le vostre pagine sui social media o vi contatta via WhatsApp per effettuare un ordine. Quando sovrapponete tutti questi dati, otterrete una visione a volo d'uccello di come i clienti interagiscono con la vostra azienda su diversi fronti. 

I dati possono essere analitici o aneddotici; assicuratevi di avere tutto in un unico posto. 

5. Identificare le lacune 

Per lacune si intendono i punti che spingono i vostri clienti a rivolgersi altrove. I punti che vi mancano e che dovete controllare. Una mappa dei clienti dovrebbe prendere in considerazione diversi tipi di lacune e avere un'idea chiara di cosa fare per evitare che i clienti si spostino altrove. 

Queste lacune possono verificarsi quando si sposta il cliente da un reparto all'altro o lo si fa viaggiare da una piattaforma all'altra, ecc. Queste lacune possono avere un impatto enorme sul percorso del cliente e farvelo perdere. 

6. Ottenere il consenso dell'intera azienda 

La mappatura del percorso del cliente non è qualcosa che avviene solo tra i team di marketing e di vendita. È necessario assicurarsi che tutti, dai responsabili delle decisioni ai team di supporto, siano a conoscenza di queste mappe di viaggio. 

Mantenere il cliente al centro di un'organizzazione e assicurarsi che gli venga fornita un'assistenza adeguata e un viaggio senza intoppi non è una cosa che fanno solo i team di vendita e marketing. Quindi, avere tutti a bordo con le mappe del viaggio del cliente renderà sicuramente le cose più semplici. 

7. Allineamento con le vendite 

I team di vendita sono in prima linea quando si tratta di interazioni con i clienti e conoscono gli intoppi e le strozzature. Hanno informazioni preziose su ciò che i clienti hanno bisogno di sentire prima di prendere la decisione finale di acquisto. 

Tutte queste informazioni possono aiutare i team di marketing a curare le loro strategie. I venditori e gli addetti al marketing hanno una miriade di modi per comunicare ed è importante che siano sulla stessa lunghezza d'onda quando si tratta di persuadere i clienti. 

8. Sviluppare KPI 

Quando si parla di KPI, la prima cosa a cui ogni azienda pensa è il fatturato. Sì, in fin dei conti il fatturato è la cosa più importante per ogni azienda. Ma, a parte questo, ci sono altri KPI che possono avere un impatto sulle entrate. Possono essere la frequenza di rimbalzo, il CTR, il tasso di conversione, il tasso di abbandono del carrello nell'eCommerce, ecc. 

Assicurarsi che queste metriche vengano misurate di volta in volta aiuterà a definire le priorità del percorso del cliente. 

9. Adattarsi e cambiare 

Non accontentatevi delle mappe del viaggio del cliente che avete creato e su cui avete lavorato per anni. Ricordate che il comportamento dei clienti, i loro interessi e tutto quanto cambia. Dedicate del tempo all'analisi del comportamento dei clienti e dei loro modelli e capite quali cambiamenti potete incorporare nella mappa. 

Cosa dicono i clienti della loro esperienza con il vostro marchio e come potete confrontarla con le testimonianze degli ultimi sei mesi o un anno? Capire come i clienti si stanno evolvendo con il vostro marchio vi darà un'idea di ciò che dovete fare. Ricordate che il customer journey non riguarda solo i touchpoint. Ci sono molti altri aspetti associati ad esso. 

Conclusione 

Understanding customer behavior, tracking their interactions, and mapping their journey isn't just about collecting data it's about utilizing those insights needed to deliver an exceptional buying experience. When you truly know where your customers come from and what they need, guiding them from awareness to purchase and eventually to loyalty becomes seamless. 

That’s where Loyalife stands out by transforming traditional loyalty programs into powerful journey-mapping tools. Here's how Loyalife helps businesses align loyalty and analytics to enhance the entire customer experience: 

1. Create rich, trackable touchpoints 

Loyalife structures key engagement moments such as points earned on purchases, reward redemptions, tier upgrades, referrals, and gamified actions like reviews and shares into clear, measurable touchpoints. These help businesses identify exactly where customers are engaging and how. 

2. Enable deeper customer segmentation 

Loyalife captures loyalty-driven behavioral data that goes beyond basic demographics. Brands can easily segment high-value vs. at-risk users and identify brand advocates early in the journey — making persona-based journey maps far more accurate and actionable. 

3. Capture both behavioral and emotional data 

Loyalife blends behavioral metrics (like reward preferences or unprompted actions) with solicited emotional feedback (via integrated NPS and CSAT surveys). This combination uncovers the “why” behind every interaction, making journey mapping smarter and more human. 

4. Reveal drop-off points and friction 

By analyzing reward engagement patterns, Loyalife pinpoints exactly where customers disengage — such as abandoning after earning points but not redeeming, or exiting due to complex reward structures. These insights help reduce friction and boost retention. 

5. Support predictive journey modeling 

Loyalife’s data engine enables businesses to forecast behavior, anticipate churn, and trigger proactive engagement. Predictive insights help marketers evolve journey maps dynamically instead of relying on static assumptions. 

6. Fuel post-purchase and retention journeys 

Beyond conversions, Loyalife powers repeat purchases, post-sale engagement, and emotional loyalty with exclusive offers and personalized rewards. This extends the customer journey and deepens long-term relationships.