What are user journeys
In this blog I aim to explain the importance of and what are user journeys.
The main problem with most websites today in my opinion is that they think everyone wants to buy their product or service right away. They act like 17 year old guys on a first date. They try and close the deal straight away.
Another way to think about user journeys is the classic retail sales assistant who has been told to walk up to everyone in the store and ask “can I help?â€. Friendly enough and with good intentions for sure. The problem is the majority of people actually don't want help and semi politely say “ no thanks I am just lookingâ€. Often what you find is when you really want some help there is nobody to be found! How is the is?
If we dig into this a little the truth lies somewhere around I may be interested in something I am just not sure what, or I am just looking to see what you are offering. There would have been an element of intent involved in order to have walked in the shop in the first place but was there was actual purchase intent at that time? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. There is always an element of research and sometimes the purchase depends on the item or service and the individual's personal circumstances.
For example if you are thinking of buying a new tv your intent is likely research based and opportunity lead. However if your TV is busted and you have children you are in a very different buying mode.
So back to websites. Not everyone is ready to buy right away. You need to think about lots of different elements that are the start of your customers and prospects journeys. The term is user journeys which I don't like. We are people not users. Anyway that is what they are called.
Therefore understanding where your user came from is important. Whatever they clicked on will bring with it an expectation. A link from search, or social maybe an email or even typed in your URL direct. All of them made a promise before they clicked about what they would find. Make sure whatever the promise you made is met straight away. Make it clear what is the problem you solve and how and always deliver the content they are expecting.
All the way through your website you should keep your users engaged and offer them a clear path to find what they want. There should be no dead ends on your site where the user is left to either scroll back up and click X.
You should also offer options to the user to determine there level of interest.
If a user enjoys your content and thinks they made need your product or service at some point just not right now you should offer them the opportunity to join your email newsletter/blog/mailing list. This enables you to keep in touch with relevant content to entice them back to learn more.
You should also offer content on who you are not a good fit for and who are your ideal customers. This helps people rule themselves in or out.
You must also address pricing. And finally you should offer them the ability to do business with you.
To me when a prospect decides to work with you, this is the start and not the end. Keep working on building a relationship.
You need to map out different user journeys and look for pitfalls and missing information. Don't give them a reason to go elsewhere to get the answers they want. You should walk your own journeys and always seek feedback from those that do. Did they find everything they wanted? What was lacking? What was good? What could you have done better?
Journeys should be reviewed often and always looking to provide an amazing journey not just in your website but on social and email, on the phone and In person. All of these build part of the whole experience. You should always aim to keep a single tone, message and brand.
By understanding how important the user journeys are will enable you to not only win new clients but retain them and create advocates from them. It may all start with a tweet and it could go full circle and have them tweeting about how great you are and start the next persons journey.
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Author- Speaker - Consultant. Passionate about all things digital.