Customer journey
Also called buyer journey, buyer’s journey, customer journey map
What is a customer journey?
The customer journey is the full set of steps and interactions a person has with a business, from first becoming aware of it through researching, buying, using the product and, ideally, buying again or recommending it. It includes every touchpoint: a social post, a review, a website visit, an email, a store visit or a support chat.
Journeys are often split into stages such as awareness, consideration, decision, retention and advocacy. They look similar to the stages of a marketing funnel, but the journey is drawn from the customer’s point of view and includes what happens after the sale.
A customer journey map is a visual of those stages, showing what the customer does, thinks and feels at each step, and where they get stuck. Real journeys are rarely linear; people jump between channels and stages.
Why a customer journey matters
Different stages need different content. Someone just discovering a problem needs education; someone comparing options needs proof and detail; a recent buyer needs onboarding. Mapping the journey shows which stages your content covers and which are empty.
It also reveals friction. A journey map often uncovers points where people drop off, such as a confusing booking form or slow replies, and fixing those can matter more than making new content. Retargeting and email can then bring back people who stalled.
How to map the customer journey
- Pick one buyer persona and one goal, such as booking a first class.
- List every touchpoint from first hearing about you to becoming a regular.
- For each, note what the customer is doing, thinking and feeling.
- Mark the places where people hesitate or drop off.
- Assign content or fixes to each weak stage and review the map every few months.
Customer journey example
A bike shop’s journey: a commuter sees a reel on fixing punctures (awareness), follows the account and reads reviews (consideration), books a service online (decision), gets a reminder for a six-month check (retention) and tags the shop when posting a weekend ride (advocacy).
Customer journey FAQ
What are the stages of the customer journey?
A common version has five: awareness, consideration, decision, retention and advocacy. Some models use three (awareness, consideration, decision) and stop at the purchase.
What is the difference between the customer journey and the marketing funnel?
The funnel shows how a business moves prospects toward a sale, narrowing at each stage. The customer journey shows the experience from the customer’s side and continues after the purchase.
Related terms
A marketing funnel models how people move from first hearing about a brand to buying, with fewer people at each stage.
A buyer persona is a fictional profile of an ideal customer, based on research, that helps a business write and plan for real people.
A target audience is the specific group of people a business wants to reach with its marketing, defined by needs, traits and behavior.
Retargeting shows ads to people who already interacted with your business, such as site visitors or video viewers, to bring them back to buy.
A content strategy is the plan for what content you make, who it is for, where it goes and how you will judge whether it works.