Shift your focus from touchpoints to the customer journey

Faith Ocampo Published on July 31, 2017

What really is the secret to customer satisfaction?

Brands have long been concerned with boosting their performance at every touchpoint—the in-store sales experience, phone customer support, online interactions via various channels, and many others. Most of them compartmentalize these tasks, and it’s easy to see why. Managing individual touchpoints is much simpler. It’s more organized and readily quantifiable. You can measure success at every communication platform using the metrics you prioritize. And from looking at the numbers alone, you can quickly identify where you’re failing and succeeding.

But this compartmentalized approach, though easy to implement, leads to a siloed view of the customer experience. Silos are created when organizations are unable to create ways to freely share, transfer, and retrieve information from one department to another. When you treat each touchpoint as separate units, instead of complementary and integrated ones, what you get is a fragmented view of how customers engage with your brand.

As a result, you miss the bigger picture: the customer’s end-to-end experience.

Understanding the customer journey

cartoon people following the buyers journey

A customer goes through several steps before, during, and after purchasing a product or signing up for a service. These are collectively called the customer journey.

Examples of activities involved are onboarding a new customer, resolving technical issues, or upgrading to a new product or service. Each may last several days, months, or even years (especially if the customer is a long-time, loyal one). Often, it involves several touchpoints and interactions.

You can only understand the entire consumer journey if you’re willing to look at the brand experience from a customer’s eyes. Furthermore, you have to look at the contexts that affect every stage of the consumer’s journey. By doing so, you can provide them the best customer service from the very start of their experience.

Consider the case of a customer who’s interested in signing up for an insurance account. In the process of onboarding this customer, it might take several emails and phone calls, three or more personal meetings, and a number of document exchanges. Different factors can delay the process. For example, a customer may lack some documents you require or they may want to change their account details at the last minute before they sign a contract.

In these cases, how can you make the customer experience a smooth and hassle-free one despite the external factors that may be out of your control?

You need to abandon your silo-driven mentality and look at people’s experiences as a continuous, rather than a disjunct, process. In doing so, keep in mind the following guidelines:

 

•     Understand how your products and service fit into people’s lives.

cartoon woman doing online shopping on smartphone ecommerce site on computer on boxes

A customer call is never just about a product issue or a query. Each situation has an underlying context. You have to look into these contexts and think of ways to make things easier for the customer, given their unique circumstances.

 

•     Understand how customers use multiple touchpoints and navigate between them.

hands holding consumer electric devices gadgets smartphone tablet laptop mobile phones

The key here is to understand customers’ behavior and be able to anticipate when they’re likely to switch to a different channel. Also, having a sophisticated customer relationship management (CRM) tool can help you facilitate cross-device conversations while retaining information from previous transactions.

 

•     Understand customer’s needs and expectations at every part of the journey.

cartoon call center agent making customer support assistance from smartphone

This will allow you to be present every time a customer may need assistance.

 

•     Always try to fix the root cause of an issue, rather than its immediate manifestations.

flat design cartoon smiling call center agent in glasses

It’s customer support agents’ task to investigate the root cause of every problem, regardless of where it originated and which departments are concerned. That way, you can put a stop to recurring problems and ensure a better customer experience.

 

Faith is a digital media enthusiast aiming to become an active part of the tech world by sharing her insights. She likes to blog about everything digimarketing, technology, and social media.
Join us on facebook
Open Access BPO 2 days ago
The Davao leg of our 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘀: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗕𝗣𝗢 𝗞𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 over the weekend was a celebration of what lies ahead: a shared vision of unforgettable moments and a reflection of our collective drive to succeed in every challenge 2025 has in store.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Acacia Hotel Davao for an evening of inspiration and celebration. Here's to a year of new opportunities and achievements!

Let's take a look back at last weekend's party.

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#OABPOKickOff2025 #OABPOWanderlustBliss
#WanderlustBlissOABPO
Open Access BPO 2 days ago
Customers trust and engage more with reliable, knowledgeable, and clear communicators.

That's why businesses need #CallCenters that constantly refine their communication strategies and have #CustomerExperience experts to heighten customer trust.

Avoid these weak expressions that can undermine your team's effectiveness: https://buff.ly/4hhfyLc

----------
For exceptional #CustomerSupport delivered by a trusted #CX expert, contact us today: https://buff.ly/3Q3mnEb

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerService #CSAT
#outsourcing #CustomerSatisfaction
Open Access BPO 2 days ago
Is miscommunication costing you customers?
Join us as we break down 4 common customer communication styles and how your team can adapt.

Boost customer engagement and resolve issues faster! Read more: https://buff.ly/42DDbZR

----------
At Open Access BPO, we go beyond basic support to proactively address your customer concerns.

Contact us for a winning customer service strategy: https://buff.ly/3EoMcfv

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerExperience #CustomerService
#CustomerSupport #CSat #CX
Open Access BPO 3 days ago
The Manila leg of our 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘀: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗕𝗣𝗢 𝗞𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 last weekend proved a resounding success.

The event, featuring exceptional dining, beverages, entertainment, and a record-breaking raffle pool, served as an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the people instrumental to our ongoing growth.

We extend our sincere gratitude to all who participated in this, our first major event of the year.

Let's relive the free-spiritedness we had shown during the event.

To more exciting adventures!
#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#OABPOKickOff2025 #OABPOWanderlustBliss
#WanderlustBlissOABPO
Open Access BPO 4 days ago
Projecting empathy and providing effective solutions are parts of the business language that will prove crucial to your #CustomerService.

There's so much to understand about harnessing language to ensure your customers not only hear you, but truly feel heard.

Learn more about how it can make or break your #CustomerExperience goals: https://buff.ly/40XwvV8

----------
Open Access BPO's agents are meticulously trained to go above and beyond, ensuring seamless and positive experience for every customer.

Get in touch with us today take your business to new heights with our #outsourcing solutions: https://buff.ly/3EppX99

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerSupport #CustomerCare
Open Access BPO 6 days ago
Efficiency and immediate customer responses are key to elevating the #CustomerExperience.
But how many of us underestimate the impact of missed support calls on repeat sales, brand reputation, and overall #CustomerSatisfaction?

Want to learn more about the hidden costs of missed calls?
Check out our blog post to see how it all connects: https://buff.ly/4aDlrQf

----------
Outsourcing to a #CallCenter is a valuable strategy, but only the most competent firms can truly partner with you to grow your customer base and business.

Contact us today to speak with our #CX experts: https://buff.ly/3WBFEAk

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CX #CSat #CustomerSupport