The art of customer journey analytics: Piecing the full story together
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Imagine this: you’re on a quest for answers to improve your customer experience (CX) when you stumble upon a quirky bookshop called ‘The Journey Emporium.’ Its purple awning, yellow door, and antique sign catch your eye, and you decide to check it out. A bell chimes softly as you step inside, greeted by a maze of old bookshelves and the warm smile of a friendly shopkeeper. Feeling welcomed and curious, you browse the eclectic collection of books, journals, maps, and photographs in the cheerfully marked business, psychology, and marketing sections.
Strangely, every item you touch reveals only a fragment of a story. A journal hints at a decision made; a map shows a path taken, and a photograph captures an emotional moment. Intrigued, you piece each clue together to reveal the full narrative.
This is the essence of customer journey analytics. It’s about collecting and connecting fragmented data—your customers’ touchpoints, emotions, and decisions—to uncover the complete story of their experience.
For those on a real-life quest to improve their CX, this article provides an answer. It explains customer journey analytics—what it is, how it works, and why it matters—and how journey mapping can bring those insights together. Let’s dive in!
What is customer journey analytics?
Customer journey analytics is the practice of gathering and connecting data from every stage of the customer journey. It combines quantitative data (like clicks and conversions) with qualitative insights (like customer sentiment) to analyze behaviors and motivations across touchpoints and over time.
As Forrester explains, journey analytics is essential for firms looking to "move the needle on customer obsession." By uncovering the complete customer narrative, businesses can:
Remove friction: Identify pain points and fix them.
Build loyalty: Spot opportunities to delight customers.
Deliver personalization: Tailor experiences to individual needs.
In short, journey analytics transforms fragmented interactions into actionable insights, helping businesses create exceptional customer experiences.
Customer journey analytics vs. customer behavior analytics
While customer behavior analytics focuses on understanding specific actions (e.g., Why did you pick up that dusty journal?), customer journey analytics reveals the bigger picture (e.g., How did you discover The Journey Emporium, and what keeps you browsing?).
These two approaches complement each other:
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How customer journey analytics works in action
Let’s break it down step by step using The Journey Emporium bookshop as an example:
1. Collect data from every touchpoint
Every interaction in The Journey Emporium tells part of your story:
You notice the quirky shop with its purple awning and yellow door (quantitative data: impressions, foot traffic).
You feel curious and excited as you step inside (qualitative data: customer sentiment).
You browse through sections like business, psychology, and marketing (behavioral data: navigation patterns).
In a business setting, this is equivalent to tracking clicks, survey responses, and call center logs.
2. Analyze the journey holistically
Take a step back to see the full picture of your journey:
Where did you pause or hesitate? (Did the maze of shelves feel overwhelming?)
Which details sparked curiosity or built trust? (Was it the yellow door? Or the warmth of the shopkeeper’s greeting?)
What helped you move forward? (Was it the clear section labels?)
For a business, this means identifying friction points, moments of engagement, and patterns that define successful journeys.
3. Connect insights to actions
Turn the scattered data into a cohesive narrative:
You were drawn to the shop by its unique appearance.
Once inside, the thoughtful curation and engaging layout encouraged you to explore.
Finally, the process of piecing together information from artifacts led you to find what you were seeking.
In business terms, this could be a customer discovering a website through an ad, staying engaged due to intuitive navigation, and converting because of compelling content.
4. Test and refine
The shopkeeper at The Journey Emporium might experiment to improve future visits:
Rearrange sections to make popular books and artifacts easier to find.
Create a special “Employee Favorites” display or ask visitors questions to recommend personalized selections.
Test different store layouts to see which arrangement keeps visitors browsing longer.
In a business context, this is like running A/B tests, analyzing customer responses, and continuously refining strategies to optimize the journey. Small tweaks—in-store or online—can make a big difference in creating smoother, more engaging customer experiences.
Why it matters
Like your unique experience of exploring The Journey Emporium, customer journey analytics helps businesses uncover the full story of how people interact with their brands across every touchpoint, revealing insights that drive better experiences. By connecting insights from touchpoints, you can:
Remove friction to make the journey smoother.
Personalize experiences that resonate deeply with customers.
Anticipate needs to improve engagement and loyalty.
How to maximize analytic insights with journey mapping
Let’s go back to your experience at the Journey Emporium bookshop—perhaps you paused to examine a dusty journal, lingered over an intriguing photo, and breezed past a shelf that didn’t catch your eye. These are valuable insights—but what do they really tell the business about its customer experience?
To get the full picture, those insights need context, and that’s where journey mapping comes in. It takes the scattered data of your customer journey analytics and visualizes the entire experience, revealing how customers navigate their journeys. Were you more drawn to books or photographs? Did you skip an entire corner of the shop? Why?
Journey mapping helps uncover gaps, friction points, and hidden opportunities that can improve the customer experience.
From insights to action with TheyDo
Just like you pieced together the clues in The Journey Emporium, TheyDo helps you uncover the full story behind your customer journey analytics. With our dynamic journey management platform, you can eliminate friction and pain points and empower your customers to succeed in their quests by delivering experiences they’ll love.
Ready to take the next step? Complete your quest for exceptional CX with TheyDo.