Customer journey maps outline the path that someone takes to go from a browser to a buyer, and from a buyer to a believer in your product or your service. Each stage of the journey requires a different type and style of content. Master these maps with the built-in feature at WriterAccess.

Customer journey maps outline the path that someone takes to go from a browser to a buyer, and from a buyer to a believer in your product or your service. 

Here is how to create one right here at WriterAccess:

1.        Head to the left-hand menu.
2.        Go to Streamline Workflow.
3.        Then Asset Library.
4.        Click the zero (0) above Journey Maps.
5.        Click the Create New Journey Map button. 
6.        Name your journey map and write a tidbit about your business to help talent nail your brand's voice. 
7.        Fill in the Target Audience with details of your ideal customers. For more help with this writer. Access also has a video on creating a buyer persona. 
8.        Then click Save Journey. 

Click back into the journey that you created, and we're going to continue. 

Now we're going to walk you through the eight stages of the customer journey to determine what a customer is thinking and feeling at each stage. When you know what they're thinking and feeling, you can create content to match their needs. 

Each stage has the following entries:

What are customers feeling or what's going on in their head? What led them to interact with your brand at each stage? 

Customer statements, quotes and questions, or what customers are saying or asking at each stage. Gather this info through customer surveys, your sales team or customer reviews. 

What type of content aligns best with each stage? Is it informational or promotional? Is that a newsletter for longtime fans? Or a webinar for newbies who need to learn more?

Frequency and quality outlines what high quality content you can consistently create for each stage. Do you want 20 tweets a week or a downloadable e-book every quarter? 

Knowing what your competition is doing at each stage is also helpful, and it may expose a gap in their strategy or highlight a particular strength that is helping them excel in a particular area or stage. 

Next, you want to set a budget. 

Jot down any topics that immediately come to mind, then move through the eight-part map. 

Stage one is the discovery stage. Before someone even knows who you are, you want to make a good first impression. 

Stage two is the investigation stage, where people are looking into options related to your product or service and they just really want information. 

Stage three is the consideration stage. It's between you and the few competitors. Tell them why to choose you over the other guys. 

Stage four is the trial stage. They're giving you a spin. Create content that gives them the best introduction to what life will be like as a customer with you. 

Stage five is the purchase stage. So they're in they've invested in your business. Give them content that reinforces that they've made the best choice. They should be like, “I love it here.”

Stage six is the perception stage. Here your customers are either deciding to stick around or to start looking for other options. Give them content that meets their needs as a potential long-term or frequent customer. 

Stage seven is the connection stage. How do they connect with your brand? What qualities of your brand can customers relate to and get behind? Give them content that makes them feel like they belong and that they're in the right place. This kind of content should make them say “I really love it here. I really love it here.”

Step eight is the grand finale. Give them content that they would be proud to share. Create they can send to friends, especially those in the investigation stage.

Now for some pro tips:

•        Yes, creating a solid customer journey map takes a bit of time. OK, it takes a lot of time, but it's well worth the effort to make your marketing strategy more concrete. So grab a coffee, sit down with your team, and get creative. 

•        Don't forget that you can save the customer journey map and attach it to your content brief for writers to review before writing. 

•        Try to create content for all the stages of the buyer's journey. Content needs can change between stages and your competitors may not have all the stages covered. 

•        Create a tally or even just a spreadsheet to track how much content you're producing for each stage. You want to make sure that the bulk of your content isn't just for prospects, which is a big mistake that many businesses make. 

•        The customer lifetime value can be huge as long as you have the high-quality content that keeps them hanging around. You want them to say “I really, really, really, really, really, really, really like it here.” As an example, this video is not for prospects. It's for customers or for people who are trying who are trying us out so they have something that makes their experience with us even better.