XM Knowledge Base
How do I run a customer journey mapping workshop?
Start with documenting the practical nature of customers’ steps and then move on to mapping their thoughts and emotions, much like the standard interview methodology.
On a practical level, the process involves putting a bunch of post-it notes up on a 2-2.5 metre wide bit of paper, moving them around, removing some, and adding others. You may want to split everyone into 3 to 5 small groups, each of which can focus on a different persona or journey. Groups with 4 to 6 participants are a perfect size to get multiple perspectives while ensuring that everyone’s voices are heard.
Who should be involved in customer journey mapping workshops?
Marketing and customer experience teams are the obvious choices for workshop participants, but include behind-the-scenes employees, as well. Think about employees in sales, finance, operations, legal, customer service, ecommerce, or any other part of the organisation that has some influence on the particular journey you’re focusing on. You can also include any partners who are key to delivering that journey.
You also need senior leaders in the room as well, as you need their buy-in from the very beginning. Once you have a journey map finished, you’ll need budget and managerial support to implement changes and drive CX improvements.
It’s also a good idea to include your customers in these workshops, as their participation leads to the most significant organisational improvements. That’s because customers give you the most accurate idea of what it’s like interacting with your brand, and what they think and feel at every stage of the journey.
How long is the workshop for an average journey map?
Aim for 1 to 2 days. Any more and you’ll lose people along the way; any less and you won’t fit everything in. There are many ways to design an effective 2-day journey mapping workshop, but here’s a starting point:
- Day 1: Bring together internal stakeholders from across the company and create journey maps based on your assumptions of your customers’ experiences. In an ideal world, you’ve done some ethnographic research prior to the workshop to provide background information for the mapping activity.
- Day 2: Bring customers in to validate (or invalidate) your assumptions. The customers are typically with you for 4 to 5 hours.
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