A Customer Journey map or mapping consists of a type of diagram or visual representation of the different phases of the journey a customer makes to purchase a product or service.

This includes everything from the first interaction with the brand, the purchase of products, customer service… and even extends to the opinion the customer shares on social media.

Now then, why is it important for you to have this tool in your B2B business?  If applied correctly and in a way that responds to your customers' needs, the map is a very valuable tool. It can bring about a great improvement in the customer experience and, consequently, help you close more sales and attract potential customers.

Here we give you the 3 main reasons why it is worth using Customer Journey Mapping for your sales.

1. It streamlines the purchasing experience

Firstly, we must understand that the Customer Journey in a B2B purchase is not like in B2C purchases.

Often, these purchases can be a cumbersome process, including, for example, a long follow-up of product production. They are also purchases of large quantities, so there is a lot of data and details that the company must agree with the customer.

It is clear that there is no single map that can work for all Customer Journeys. Each customer will start their journey with the brand in a different way and, especially nowadays, through different channels.

A Customer Journey map should be a tool capable of streamlining the sales process, whatever the specific characteristics of the product being sold and the channels the company uses. And this is possible thanks to digitalisation.

The best option is to opt for software that can adapt to the specific needs that the B2B company has in its sales actions. It is about designing a map that responds to the real journey that customers were carrying out, and not a predetermined one. The process of creating a map does not have to be a fixed thing.

With a digital and adaptable Customer Journey map, the result will always be a more streamlined process that will make the customer feel more secure.

2. It improves communication by eliminating errors in the purchasing process

As we have seen, when it comes to B2B companies, commercial interactions are often longer and more complex than in B2C.

These interactions require an exchange of a lot of information, which is necessary for decision-making by both parties. Furthermore, nowadays, these exchanges can take place through many different channels.

In this sense, B2B sales teams often have to carry out many actions before achieving a sale, send many emails, carry out sales visits, hold video calls… This is especially difficult to manage when dealing with international customers, both because of language and sometimes because of time differences, among other communication barriers.

Thanks to a digitalised Customer Journey map, both parties can easily access all the information and be clear about at what point in the purchasing process they are, in a unified way, on the same communication channel.

This makes communication more fluid and, therefore, brings about a great reduction of errors in the purchasing process.

3. It helps to make predictions about future customers

Lastly, one of the main reasons why it is interesting to apply a digital Customer Journey map to sales is that it makes possible a constant optimisation of the purchasing process through data collection.

Firstly, it is important that the map is based on effective data research, which must take into account different dimensions: the phases of the purchase, the customer's objectives, the points of contact with the company, etc.

In the same way, this tool has the ability to collect data during this Customer Journey of the customers. Thus, the map is a highly useful tool for predicting the journey that future customers might follow.

In other words, it is a tool in constant improvement and that can help us offer an increasingly better customer experience.

The result of this is an increase in our customers' engagement and a greater capacity to convert leads into sales.

Customer Journey Software: how does it work?

So that you can better understand how a digital Customer Journey map works, we present an example video that explains it in a very visual way and going over all the phases of the journey.

Within the CatalogPlayer platform, we offer a Customer Journey solution, which facilitates the relationship of B2B companies with their customers. Discover in the video how a Customer Journey management tool can help you streamline your sales and strengthen the relationship with the customer.