Farwa Anees

Posted on Aug 12 • Updated on Aug 17 • Originally published at churnfree.com

Mastering the B2B Customer Journey: Stages, Mapping, and Real-World Examples

#businessgrowth #b2bcustomerjourney #customerjourney #customerjourneymap

This blog was originally published on Churnfree blog

Ever wondered how to understand your B2B customer? Well, that lies in something called a customer journey map. A roadmap guiding you through the whole process from the point of view of your customer. 🌟

This blog will break down the b2b customer journey and b2b customer journey map and why it’s a game-changer for your business. We’ll look at how to create your very own map, from identifying the key touchpoints through to understanding how your customer feels and their motivations behind their actions at each stage.

You will learn:

How to build a b2b customer journey?
What is b2b customer journey mapping?
How many stages of a B2B buyer journey are there?
Let’s get mapping! ❤️

Table of Content

What is B2B Customer Journey?

B2B customer journey is the journey of customer from first learning about your brand till purchasing it. It includes all touchpoints, interactions, and experiences a business customer goes through with your company. This helps in understanding the journey so businesses can modify their customer retention strategies to suit the specific needs and preferences of their clients.

What is a B2B customer journey map?

It is a visual graphic of all the steps and engagements of the customer from first knowing about product to promoting it i.e. from awareness stage to advocacy stage.

It is the key to understanding customer touchpoints throughout the customer experience, and most importantly, opportunities to improve that experience.

Stages of B2B Customer Journey

B2B customer journey stages comprise of various steps. Let’s try to understand them individually.

Awareness: Quite simple to understand that it the stage where customer get to know about your product. They can learn about your product through friend of friend, social media , your ads, Google etc. 70% of B2B buyers start their research with a generic search which means SEO and google is the main resource of Brand awareness.

Consideration: This is the second stage where customer will compare your product with the one they are using or with other competitors. The comparison can be based on pricing, features, quality, service, ease of use etc.

Decision: This is the stage where customer decides to subscribe to your product after a demo, free trial.

Retention: This stage comes when the customer wants to keep using your product and look for good customer support in case of issues.

Advocacy: This is the stage where customer reaches client loyalty which is they become your referrals and start promoting your product for free

How to Map the B2B Customer Journey

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create a B2B customer journey map:

1. Define Your Customer Personas

Begin by describing the various categories of consumers that you serve. Customer personas should depict the different segments of your target market with information on their demands, challenges, and buying behavior. This is useful in the development of the journey map to specific target customer groups.

2. Identify Key Touchpoints

Some popular definitions of touchpoints are as follows: Touchpoints have been defined as those multiple points of contacts that customers have with the companies and/or the products within a definite time span. Such interactions may range from website visits, social media and emails, sales meetings, client contacting and support among others. In this case, mapping customer journey will assist in Identifying and rectifying all the points that are of significance to your business.

3. Gather Customer Feedback

This enables the company to determine which features are popular among its consumers and which aspects it needs to address. This is the process of getting feedback from the consumers because they are the ones who can give insights into the journey that they go through when interacting with a service provider. It can be done by utilizing questionnaires, interviews or by analyzing the customers’ feedbacks. You can use tools like Churnfree to gather customer feedback.

4. Map the Journey

Draw a map of a customer’s life cycle and mark the most significant milestones with reference to the case. If possible, utilize a B2B customer journey map template; otherwise, design it yourself by using flowcharts and diagrams. Make sure that according to the customer journey map all phases are described and shown properly.

5. Analyze and Optimize

After it is completed, review the journey map to realize areas of issues or opportunities in the process. Try to identify areas of potential customer dissatisfaction or certain elements that can slow down the latter down. It is essential to improve and optimize these contacts so that your customers have the best experience with your business.

B2B Customer Journey Touchpoints

It is crucial for organizations to comprehend the value that touchpoints contribute to the customer experience.

Website: Website is from where they purchase. Make sure it has all the information related to your product and is user-friendly.
Social Media: The next thing is your social media presence. Use LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to engage potential customers.
Email: The communication by e-mail is very effective in developing leads and keeping customers engaged.
Sales Meetings: A highly persuasive tactic is to get a one on one with a member of the sales team.
Customer Support: A good customer support helps in onboarding clients and maintain customer loyalty.
Product Demos and Trials: You could give to potential clients a chance to try your products, giving them an extra helping hand in the making of a decision.

Examples of B2B Customer Journey Maps

To better understand how to create a B2B customer journey map, here are a few B2B customer journey map examples:

Example 1: B2B SaaS Customer Journey Map

Awareness: The customer notice the SaaS product of their desire through Facebook ads and content marketing.
Consideration: They visit the company’s website, go through cases and then initiate a demo through CS.
Decision: Once the sales team has made a demo, and engaged in the discussions of the pricing strategies, the client signs up for the service.
Retention: The customer is engaged to reduce churn saas by providing him on boarding support and ensuring that the product is meeting his/her needs.
Advocacy: A happy customer spends time talking positively about the product, and recommends it to other companies.

Example 2: B2B eCommerce Customer Journey map

Awareness: The customer acquires information about the specific eCommerce site through attending the trade shows and other publications.
Consideration: They go through the website, weigh the pros and cons and check out reviews.
Decision: After a series of meetings and negotiations, the customer signs a contract and starts using the platform.
Retention: Ongoing support and training sessions help the customer fully utilize the platform’s capabilities.
Advocacy: The customer is actively involved in case studies and is a source of referrals increasing the credibility of the platform.

How to Create a B2B Customer Journey Map

An important typical question regarding customer journey mapping is “How to map customer journey B2B?” It may seem quite an exhausting task, however, it may prove to be quite manageable when streamlined properly.

Here are some tips:

Collaborate with Stakeholders:

This means to engage members of a team that are drawn from different departments including the marketing department, the sales department and the customer support department in order to have a broader view of the journey that customers undertake.

Use Data and Analytics:

Access information from CRM solutions, web traffic, customer surveys, and feedback to understand customers’ demands.

Focus on the Customer’s Perspective:

It’s important always to keep the customers’ perspective in mind when you are drawing the journey map.

Iterate and Improve:

When developing the customer journey map, it should be important that it is dynamic, changing with the business and customers’ needs. It should be revised periodically with new findings and experiences.

How to Optimize B2B Digital Customer Journey

About 67% of the buyer’s journey is done online. Here are some strategies for optimizing the digital customer journey:

Personalization: Market targeted information/content and promotions to make individual customers interested.
Automation: Introduce the use of marketing automation to increase efficiency of the various tools in marketing.
Content Marketing: According to research by FocusVision, B2B buyers consume an average of 13 pieces of content during their purchasing journey. Write high-quality, helpful articles, that provide solutions to potential and real problems of the target audience.

I hope this blog helped you understand and map your customer journey for your b2b business. I’m sharing some reads that you might be interested in.

📖 B2B SaaS churn rate benchmarks

📖 Average Churn rate of subscription services

📖 What is the most direct cause of customer loyalty

📖 Churn rate vs Retention Rate

📖 Gross vs Net retention

FAQs

Why is the B2B customer journey important?

Understanding the B2B customer journey helps businesses modify their strategies to meet the specific needs of their clients and improve customer experience, leading to better customer engagement, satisfaction, and retention.

How do you map a B2B customer journey?

Mapping B2B customer journey involves defining buyer choices and preferences, outlining customer journey stages, identifying touchpoints, collecting customer data, analyzing pain points, and improve the journey.

What are the challenges in B2B customer journey mapping?

Some of the risks that need to be managed include decisions may be time-consuming; the sales cycle may be long; data may be isolated; the customer may have evolving needs; and lastly, measuring success may be a challenge.

How is the B2B customer journey evolving?

The B2B customer journey is developing with trends like digital transformation, personalization, customer-centric approaches, AI and automation, and omnichannel strategies. These trends are reshaping how businesses interact with their customers and meet their needs in this rapidly evolving 21st century.

How often should a B2B customer journey map be updated?

A B2B customer journey map should be updated at least once in 2-3 years. They should be updated as trends change and customer behaviors change. To know when you need to update your map, continuously monitor and collect feedback from customers.

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