Key Elements of a Journey Map

A customer journey map includes the following elements.

1. Actor

💡 The actor is the persona or user who experiences the journey. The actor is who the journey map is about — a point of view. Actors usually align with personas and their actions in the map are rooted in data.

Provide one point of view per map in order to build a strong, clear narrative.

2. Scenario + Expectations

💡 The scenario describes the situation that the journey map addresses and is associated with an actor’s goal or need and specific expectations.

Scenarios can be real (for existing products and services) or anticipated — for products that are yet in the design stage.

It’s more effective to set smaller goals aligned with each customer phase to reflect their specific needs and objectives.

3. Journey Phases

💡 Journey phases are the different high-level stages in the journey. They provide organization for the rest of the information in the journey map.

The stages will vary from scenario to scenario. There might be many framework used to define journey phases. Here in UXF, Anh Chung introduced to us 2 type of framework:

Customer-Centric Loop - Pedowitz Group

© Pedowitz Group

Customer Acquisition

Unaware: At this stage, potential customers are not aware of your brand, product, or service. They may not even realize they have a problem that needs solving.

Aware: Customers become aware of your brand or product, typically through advertising, content marketing, social media, or word-of-mouth.

Consideration: Customers start to consider it as a potential solution to their problem. They begin to research, comparing it to other options.

Marketing materials, case studies, and educational content can support them in this stage.

Evaluation: In this stage, customers compare your offering against competitors in detail, looking at features, benefits, and pricing. They may read reviews, request demos, or ask for trials.

Decision: The customer has decided that your product or service best fits their needs and is ready to make a purchase.

Clear calls to action, seamless purchasing processes, and support during the decision-making process can ensure they convert successfully.

Customer Expansion

On-board: After purchase, the onboarding stage is essential to setting up the customer for success.

This is where you guide them through the initial setup and usage of your product or service. Good onboarding experiences drive customer satisfaction and reduce churn.

Adoption: Customers become comfortable using your product regularly. They understand its core features and begin integrating it into their daily workflow.

Value Realization: The customer now fully grasps the value of your product, recognizing how it solves their problem or improves their situation.

At this point, their satisfaction depends on the continued delivery of value.

Loyalty: Customers consistently use your product and feel confident it meets their needs.

They are more likely to make repeat purchases, subscribe to long-term plans, or invest in additional services.

Advocacy: Loyal customers become advocates. They leave positive reviews, refer others to your business, and even promote your product via word-of-mouth.

They’re your brand ambassadors; cultivating this loyalty can lead to exponential growth.

Mr. Chung simplify version of journey phases

Awareness: When the customer realizes their problem and becomes aware of your brand, often through marketing efforts.

Consideration: Users begin researching, comparing options, and evaluating the product's features, benefits, and user reviews. They consider how well the product meets their specific needs.

Decision making: Users decide to make a purchase decision after weighing factors like price, customer reviews, and perceived value.

Usage: After purchasing, users engage with the product. Their experience, ease of use, and support during this phase influence overall satisfaction and long-term engagement.

Advocacy: Satisfied users share their positive experiences through reviews, referrals, or social media, becoming advocates who influence others to try the product.

4. Actions, Mindsets, and Emotions

These are behaviors, thoughts, and feelings the actor has throughout the journey and that are mapped within each of the journey phases.

Actions

Actual behaviors and steps taken by users. (a narrative of the steps)

This is often well-defined through a Job To Be Done (JTBD) board, which outlines how users approach their goals and the steps they take to achieve them.

Mindsets

Correspond to users’ thoughts, questions, motivations, and information needs at different stages in the journey.

This also highlights the struggles and frustrations users encounter while pursuing their goals, commonly referred to as Pain Points.

Emotions

Plotted as single line across the journey phases, literally signaling the emotional “ups” and “downs” of the experience.

5. Opportunities

💡 Opportunities are insights gained from mapping; they speak to how the user experience can be optimized.

These helps answer question like:

• What needs to be done with this knowledge?

• Who owns what change?

• Where are the biggest opportunities?

• How are we going to measure improvements we implement?