Build a customer journey that delivers customer satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy.
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Why CMOs must prioritize customer journeys for sustainable growth
Understanding customer journeys is crucial for CMOs and marketing leaders because it directly impacts customer retention and long-term growth. By mapping the customer journey, CMOs can identify key points of attrition and address them proactively, reducing churn and enhancing customer loyalty. This approach not only aligns marketing efforts with customer needs, but also balances short-term financial goals with sustainable relationship building. Ultimately, a well-managed customer journey leads to increased lifetime value and a stronger brand reputation.
Approach the customer journey with an eye toward retention
A CMO’s ability to retain customers and hit marketing and CX goals depends on how well they can track and respond to customer churn across the customer journey.
Shaping the customer journey around customer wants and needs can prevent churn
Over 60% of marketing leaders say their biggest challenge is the organization’s tendency to prioritize short-term financial results over customer concerns. This forces CMOs to sacrifice investments in customer relationships for more immediate but less sustainable initiatives.
In typical customer journey mapping, CMOs often focus more on the loss of a prospect in the acquisition funnel than on the attrition of an existing customer. But reducing existing customer churn — at whatever stage of the customer journey it occurs — is essential to delivering growth.
Use customer journey data to uncover and address key points of attrition
Building a customer journey from the outside-in helps CMOs find and solve problems in the customer journey over the long term. It can also help identify quick, short-term actions to stem customer churn — allowing for immediate, demonstrable ROI.
The Buy/Own/Advocate customer journey map can help determine where to stem the highest attrition at the lowest cost:
Identify common points of churn end to end. For the “Buy” cycle, pinpoint where the most prospects fall off the path to purchase. In the “Own” cycle, focus on journey stages that cause customers to churn rather than increase brand affinity. In the “Advocate” cycle, find out where once-loyal customers fail to advance to higher levels of advocacy.
Assess the cost of churn at each touchpoint, considering lost revenue or lifetime value.
Weigh opportunities to respond by proactively addressing causes of churn and by targeting individual prospects or customers for actions designed to reengage and retain.
Proactively identify leading indicators of attrition along the customer journey
Many of the metrics used to identify a disengaged customer are lagging indicators — something only observable after the fact. Instead of waiting for a sales lead to go silent or a once-loyal customer to drift to a competitor, identify the leading signals that help predict these decisions.
Analyze data to uncover which signals are most predictive of churn. This assessment can include:
Digital engagement. Do customers who leave interact differently than those who don’t?
Sales. Compare retention rates for customers with growing and declining sales to see how sales deterioration links to churn.
Customer service. Evaluate whether customers who complain are at higher risk of abandonment in the next quarter or two.
Voice of the customer. Declining Net Promoter Score (NPS) or customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores, or even a drop in survey responses, can signal future churn.
Loyalty program. Drops in loyalty program engagement may also signal future churn.
Implement a timely response process to prevent customer journey attrition
Proactive processes are critical and can include general activities that will impact all customers and targeted activities for those customers showing signs of churn. The answer is rarely a single action — often it’s a series of steps taken to escalate a response if initial activities are unsuccessful.
To determine the most impactful way to reengage and retain customers, consider the reasons for the abandonment by analyzing the data. For example, it can be easy and cost-effective to offer a discount in an effort to win back customers who are drifting. But if the underlying issues are related to product quality and not value, this might do little to stop the risk of abandonment.
As you implement solutions, be sure to plan for ongoing measurement to demonstrate how chosen actions achieve the desired results. After implementing the general solutions, expect to find fewer customers whose signals demonstrate a lack of engagement or progress in the customer journey.
Customer journey FAQs
What role does customer journey data play in strategic marketing decisions?
Customer journey data provides valuable insights into customer behavior, preferences and pain points across different stages of their interaction with a brand. By analyzing this data, CMOs can make informed strategic decisions that enhance customer experience and retention. It allows marketing leaders to identify trends, predict potential churn and tailor marketing initiatives to better align with customer needs, ultimately driving more effective and personalized marketing strategies.
How can CMOs balance short-term financial goals with long-term customer relationship investments?
CMOs can balance short-term financial goals with long-term customer relationship investments by integrating customer journey insights into their strategic planning. By understanding where and why customers disengage, CMOs can implement targeted interventions that prevent churn and enhance customer loyalty. This approach not only addresses immediate financial objectives through quick wins but also builds a foundation for sustainable growth by fostering deeper customer relationships and increasing lifetime value.
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