Free tool · Customer Journey Map Template · about an hour, after your client interviews One page. Six stages.

Fill in six stages from what recent clients told you. Each has five prompts: goal, thoughts, touchpoints, friction and your job. Then rank the friction and choose the first two fixes.

Six stages

Five prompts each

Friction ranking

No sign-up

1 · Who is this map for?

Buyer type (Buyer type)

2 · Stage: Notice

Goal: What is the buyer trying to get done? (Notice goal)Thoughts: What are they asking or worried about? (Notice thoughts)Touchpoints: Where do they meet us? (Notice touchpoints)Friction: What slows or puts them off? (Notice friction)Our job: What must be true for them to move on? (Notice our job)

3 · Stage: Explore

Goal: What is the buyer trying to get done? (Explore goal)Thoughts: What are they asking or worried about? (Explore thoughts)Touchpoints: Where do they meet us? (Explore touchpoints)Friction: What slows or puts them off? (Explore friction)Our job: What must be true for them to move on? (Explore our job)

4 · Stage: Decide

Goal: What is the buyer trying to get done? (Decide goal)Thoughts: What are they asking or worried about? (Decide thoughts)Touchpoints: Where do they meet us? (Decide touchpoints)Friction: What slows or puts them off? (Decide friction)Our job: What must be true for them to move on? (Decide our job)

5 · Stage: Start

Goal: What is the buyer trying to get done? (Start goal)Thoughts: What are they asking or worried about? (Start thoughts)Touchpoints: Where do they meet us? (Start touchpoints)Friction: What slows or puts them off? (Start friction)Our job: What must be true for them to move on? (Start our job)

6 · Stage: Receive

Goal: What is the buyer trying to get done? (Receive goal)Thoughts: What are they asking or worried about? (Receive thoughts)Touchpoints: Where do they meet us? (Receive touchpoints)Friction: What slows or puts them off? (Receive friction)Our job: What must be true for them to move on? (Receive our job)

7 · Stage: Recommend

Goal: What is the buyer trying to get done? (Recommend goal)Thoughts: What are they asking or worried about? (Recommend thoughts)Touchpoints: Where do they meet us? (Recommend touchpoints)Friction: What slows or puts them off? (Recommend friction)Our job: What must be true for them to move on? (Recommend our job)

8 · Rank the friction (score each 1 to 3 on how many buyers hit it and 1 to 3 on what it costs, then multiply)

List your friction points with their scores (Friction ranking)The two you will fix first, with an owner and a date (Top two fixes)

Build this from interviews with real clients, not from opinion. Use their words where you can. Nothing you type leaves this page.

Your journey map

Then test it

Check it with a client. Read the map aloud to one recent client and ask what is missing. Correct it, then rank the friction and fix the top two before adding anything new.

The method is in The Brand Code: Customer Journey Map: Definition, Stages and an Example and Customer Journey Map Template for Service Firms. For why most buyers are quiet in the early stages, read 95% of Your Buyers Aren't Buying Yet.

Questions

What is a customer journey map?

A written or visual record of the route a buyer takes from first noticing a problem to becoming and staying a client, showing what they want, think and meet at each stage, and where they get stuck.

How many stages should it have?

Six cover most service firms: notice, explore, decide, start, receive and recommend. Rename them to suit your business.

Do I need to interview clients?

Yes. A map built from opinion is a guess. Three to five recent clients, and one or two who did not buy, are enough for a first version.

How is it different from a sales funnel?

A funnel counts how many people progress. A journey map describes what each stage is like for the buyer and where it breaks.

Is my map saved?

Only in your browser, on this device. Nothing is sent to us.

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Next step

A map shows where the route breaks.

Most breaks trace back to a message that is not clear. Find out which phase of your brand is weakest, or book thirty minutes with us.

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