Using the customer journey to road test and refine the business model

Purpose – The article describes how to strategically analyze and stage manage the customer journey – the sequence of events that customers go through to learn about, purchase and interact with company offerings.Design/methodology/approach – The article explains how to develop a customer journey that implements a coherent strategic plan. One that follows a scripted sequence of events companies produce to deliver value to the customer, profitability to the company and differentiation from the competition.Findings – The customer journey, when approached as a strategic design process, can provide all the elements of a business with a unifying organizational map.Research limitations/implications – The examples reported on in this article are drawn from the authors' consulting experience.Practical implications – Too often companies map a customer journey without any real participation from customers themselves. It's best to start by identifying jobs customers need to get done so that companies clarify what aspe...