Customer Journey Map and Emotion Mapping: building a path to the customer's heart

Did you know that by investing in customer experience, companies can increase their revenue by 10-15% and reduce operating costs by 15-20% at the same time? But how can you understand your customers' needs and create a positive user experience? Customer Journey Map (CJM) and Emotion Mapping can provide answers. 

What is CJM and emotion mapping? Who needs it and why? We analyzed these and other questions in this article together with Maksym Chuvurin, Senior UX Designer and Analyst at Turum-burum. 

What is Customer Journey Mapping (CJM) and why do you need Emotion Mapping?

The modern customer chooses not only a product or service, but also the experience he or she receives when interacting with a brand. 

A Customer Journey Map (CJM) is a visualization of all the stages a customer goes through when interacting with a brand, from getting to know the product/brand to after-sales service. 

Key customer journey map stages include:

1. Identification of customer journey steps:
   
   • Dividing the journey into key stages, such as perception of the website, review of products, purchase, and after-sales service;
   • Determining customer actions at each stage;
2. Identification of touchpoints:
   
   • Determining all points of customer interaction with the brand at each stage;
   • Including online (website, mobile app/app, social media, email) and offline (calls, physical stores) touchpoints;
3. Identification of customer emotions (emotion mapping):
   
   • Assessing the emotions and feelings of customers at each stage of their journey;
   • Determining customers’ pains and growth points to improve user experience.

Emotion Mapping is a visualization of emotions users feel along their interaction with a web product, which helps understand the interests and needs of customers. Thanks to this tool, you can see how the customer uses the web product and interacts with the brand. In most cases, Emotion Mapping or Customer Decision Journey Map, is a part of the customer journey map template, but it can also be used as a separate tool.

Advantages of CJM and Emotion Mapping for business

CJM and Emotion Mapping are not just about understanding your customer. It's about creating a strategy that brings real results to a B2C or B2B business, ranging from revenue growth to improved brand reputation.

So, Customer Journey Map and Emotion Mapping help businesses understand what customers need at each stage of their interaction with the brand and eliminate barriers that don’t allow them to achieve their goals.

How to create a customer journey map: from buyer persona to the final step

1. Defining the goals

Before you start working with CJM, it's important to clearly define your project goals: understand what aspects of the customer experience you want to analyze, what stages of the interaction you want to focus on, and what outcomes you want to achieve, such as increased loyalty, better service, or process optimization.

2. Collecting data about customers

Creating a CJM requires in-depth analysis and the application of modern tools. In our work, we utilize:

1. Quantitative data: website analytics (Google Analytics), CRM system data, heatmaps and click/scroll maps, session recordings (Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity), etc. to identify the most popular or ignored website elements. We also use NPS and CSAT to assess customer satisfaction and loyalty rates.
2. Qualitative data (surveys and interviews): to obtain deep insights from real customers (survey forms with 50+ answers, live interviews with 5–7 customers).

3. Creating buyer personas

To create a CJM, you first need to understand who your customer and your target audience (TA) are. To do this, we create a Buyer Persona — an imaginary portrait of your ideal customer.

What does a buyer persona portrait include?

1. Demographics: age, gender, place of residence, social status;
2. Social characteristics: profession, level of income, marital status;
3. Motives, pains, and obstacles: what encourages or discourages customers to make a purchase.

4. Defining Touchpoints and Customer Journey Map Stages

The customer journey consists of several key stages that show how a customer interacts with a brand. Firstly, the customers identify their needs, then search for information, compare available options, buy a product or service, and then use it or contact client support after the purchase.

At each of these stages, the customer interacts with the brand in different ways and via distinct channels — the brand’s website, social media pages, stores, call centers, advertising, etc. Therefore, to understand how you can improve the customer experience, it is important to clearly define all these touchpoints.

5. Emotion Mapping

After that, we work on user experience or emotion mapping, where we capture the user's fears and pains. It allows us to analyze the interface issues and understand how they can be improved, taking into account the user's emotions at each stage of interaction with the website.

6. Developing Customer Journey Mapping UX analysis itself

The last step is to visualize collected data in the form of a CJM. There are usually two types of Customer Journey Maps created for projects:

1. CJM “as is” — an analysis of the current customer journey to identify interface issues and weak points.
2. CJM “to be” — a visualization of the optimized customer journey with improvements.

To do this, we usually use visualization platforms like Figma and Miro, where it is convenient to build interactive and visual maps.

As a result of our work, we present the client with a diagram that shows in detail where and what the users do on the website and how they feel while doing it.

Bottom line

Customer Journey Map UX and Emotion Mapping are more than just analytical tools. It is a strategic approach that allows businesses to understand their customers, improve user experience, and create a deep emotional connection between customers and the brand.

By investing in Customer Journey Map and Emotion Mapping you can:

• Increase customer loyalty. A satisfied customer not only comes back but also recommends your brand to others.
• Reduce costs. Working on customer retention is much cheaper than attracting new clients, but it brings greater results.
• Boost revenues. A good and comfortable customer journey stimulates conversions, repeat purchases, and revenue growth.
• Optimize marketing strategies. If you know customers' pains, you can allocate your resources to solve key issues, thereby reducing costs.

CJM and Emotion Mapping are especially important when implementing changes: launching new products, entering new markets, or adapting to new conditions. With these tools, businesses can anticipate changes in customer needs, prevent the loss of their loyalty, and remain one step ahead of the competitors.