I recently discussed customer journey maps and why I believe they are valuable in medical marketing. In this post, we’ll explore how to build an effective and actionable map.
Here are the four major steps to building a customer journey map:
- Define your customer and user personas
- Perform user research
- Create an empathy map
- Build your customer journey map
Let’s examine each stage in detail.
1. Define Your Customer and User Personas
The first step is to identify the customers and user personas you’ll be mapping. Personas are fictional profiles that represent key audience segments and serve as reference points. This helps tailor and focus your journey map on the correct target.
You should create user segments based on existing customer data or previous research.
Defining your customer segments or personas at this stage also helps you clearly identify the participant pool for the next step: user research.
2. Perform User Research
Once you’ve defined your target customers and user personas, it’s time to study them through dedicated customer journey mapping research.
There are several ways to conduct user research, and depending on your specific situation, you can allocate more or less time to this step.
There’s often pressure to move quickly, and you may be tempted to skip this phase. My advice: don’t. Skipping user research risks basing your journey map on assumptions and hypotheses rather than verified data.
I’ve previously discussed methods for collecting Voice of the Customer (VOC) insights and the importance of customer interviews and ethnographic research. In any case, you should use a combination of qualitative research approaches.
To build a customer journey map, you often just need existing customer data combined with a few user interviews to gain deeper insights into the journey.
For example, you can use salesforce data to identify which touchpoints your target users have encountered and then combine that information with interview findings to create a comprehensive map.
The goal of user research is to understand, at specific points in the customer journey, the user’s emotions, pain points, motivations, actions, influencers, and other key insights.
3. Create an Empathy Map
Empathy maps are widely used in UX research and are common in agile and design communities.
According to the Nielsen Norman Group—a leading authority in user experience research founded by Dr. Don Norman, who coined the term “user experience” and authored The Design of Everyday Things:
“An empathy map is a collaborative visualization used to articulate what we know about a particular type of user. It externalizes knowledge about users in order to 1) create a shared understanding of user needs, and 2) aid in decision-making.”
Empathy maps are divided into four quadrants: Says, Thinks, Does, and Feels.
- Says: What users express during interviews and surveys
- Thinks: What users are thinking during the process—often thoughts they don’t verbalize but are important to them
- Does: The actions users take
- Feels: The emotions users experience—what worries or excites them
Use your research findings to populate the empathy map. This process takes time, as it requires reviewing research results to extract meaningful insights.
4. Build Your Customer Journey Map
Depending on your goal, you can choose from different types of journey maps.
For example, if your aim is to highlight pain points, share a holistic view of the customer experience, and identify opportunities for product improvement, a current-state customer journey map is a good choice.
Once you’ve selected a template and gathered your information, you can begin building your preliminary map. The first version should provide a general overview of the process without delving into every detail. It should include touchpoints, actions, and a description of the customer.
After sketching the initial version, refine it by reviewing each step and identifying any missing elements.
Finally, share your completed customer journey map with internal stakeholders to ensure clarity and accuracy.
I recommend using one of the many available templates and focusing on creating something practical and insightful—rather than worrying about perfect design.
Final Thoughts
I see great value in creating customer journey maps for the medical industry. It doesn’t have to be difficult, but it will require time and thoughtful effort.
In my opinion, focusing on the principles behind the customer journey is more important than using a polished template.
A well-crafted customer journey map can not only improve customer experience but also serve as a foundation for product enhancements and breakthrough innovations.
I hope you find this guide helpful in creating your own customer journey map—one that builds empathy, increases stakeholder engagement, improves internal alignment, and becomes a shared source of insight.
Please share your thoughts on building customer journey maps below. If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it with colleagues and encourage them to subscribe or connect with me on LinkedIn.