How to improve the customer journey: stages & helpful tips

Looking to attract more leads, boost sales and build lasting client relationships? Improving the customer experience can help — from the first click to becoming a loyal customer, every touchpoint matters.

“To be successful, you need to provide value as soon as possible,” says Cigdem Fareed, a Senior Product Designer and UX/UI Specialist. “At first contact and every single touchpoint after, you need to give them value.”

Helping clients improve their customer journey is a key part of my role as a strategic marketing partner. This guide walks you through what the customer journey is, each stage of the process and practical tips to enhance the overall experience and results.

What is a customer journey?

The customer journey is the entire experience someone has with your brand. It begins with the first discovery and continues through each interaction until they become a returning customer and trusted advocate.

Improving the journey helps you build stronger connections, increase customer satisfaction, boost conversions and support long-term retention.

Customer vs. buyer journey

The buyer journey focuses on the decision-making process someone goes through before making a purchase. It’s about how prospects move from awareness to consideration to buying.

The customer journey covers the entire relationship, including what happens after the purchase. This includes onboarding, support, retention and advocacy.

Understanding both the customer and buyer journey helps you tailor marketing and service efforts to meet needs at every stage.

5 stages of the customer journey

Knowing the stages of the customer journey helps you understand where they are and what they need next. This ensures your marketing, sales and support efforts deliver the right message at the right time.

Awareness

This is when someone first discovers your brand. They may have a problem or need and begin searching for solutions. During the awareness stage, your goal is to be visible and helpful. You can do this by creating useful content, running targeted ads and optimizing for search engines.

Consideration

Customers compare options during the consideration stage. Share content that builds trust and helps them choose you. Make it easy for your target audience to learn about you with case studies, reviews and detailed service pages.

Decision

At this stage, the lead is ready to buy. A clear call-to-action, smooth checkout process or easy demo scheduling can help seal the deal. Removing friction by simplifying forms or offering multiple payment options can increase conversions.

Retention

After a purchase, the goal is to keep customers satisfied and engaged. Use targeted emails, rewards programs and onboarding guides to help people get the most from your product or service and boost loyalty. Providing excellent customer support and checking in regularly also strengthens long-term relationships.

Advocacy

Happy customers spread the word. According to Nielsen's Trust in Advertising study, 88% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know. When customers share their experiences, it can help bring in new leads.

How to understand your customer’s journey

Knowing your customer’s experience helps you build stronger, more effective interactions. Here’s how to get clear on what they need and when.

• Define your audience: Identify your target audience’s goals, challenges and behaviour patterns. Customer research, analytics and conversations can help you do this. Segment customers by demographics, behaviours or preferences to tailor your marketing and messaging more effectively.

• Identify key interactions: Track every channel a customer uses to engage with your brand, such as your website, emails and social media. Understanding which channels your customers prefer helps you focus efforts where they’ll have the most impact.

• Prioritize marketing efforts: Focus first on the areas creating the most value or causing the most friction. Look for patterns in your data, like high-exit pages, low conversion points or frequent customer service requests, to guide where to improve.

• Increase customer engagement: Use personalized messages targeted to specific segments, clear calls-to-action and user-friendly design to keep your audience engaged and moving forward.

• Understand pain points: Watch for drop-offs in engagement or conversion. These usually point to confusion, frustration or missing information. Use this insight to simplify processes, clarify messaging or provide additional support where needed.

• Collect customer feedback: Surveys, reviews and support chats offer insight into what’s working and what’s not. Use this feedback to identify common issues and prioritize improvements that enhance the customer journey.

• Map the journey: Create a visual or written map outlining each stage and key interaction. This helps you see the whole experience and spot gaps or missed opportunities so you can address weaknesses and create smoother transitions.

• Test and improve: Regularly review data to fine-tune your strategy as needed. For example, A/B test messaging or page layouts to see what resonates best and continually refine based on results.

What is a customer journey map?

A customer journey map visually outlines each stage and touchpoint a customer experiences with your brand. It helps you find gaps, opportunities and ways to improve the process. 

Strategically mapping your journey ensures no stage is left behind. It also helps align your content and tech to support real people.

To create a customer journey map:

• Gather customer data and feedback to understand their experience.

• Outline key steps like discovery, research, purchase and support.

• Note their feelings, questions and challenges at each step.

• Pinpoint where you can improve customer experience and support.

How to improve customer journey 

Once you understand the full experience, here’s how to create a smoother, more effective customer journey.

Know your limitations

Evaluate your technology, budget and internal resources to ensure your systems are scalable and can support your growth plans. Auditing your current tools can reveal obstacles that slow down customer interactions. 

Cigdem emphasizes the importance of involving your technical team early and often. They can identify costly or hard-to-maintain setups before you invest too much time or money. Keeping your tech team in the loop helps ensure your vision is brought to life without unexpected roadblocks.

Track the right metrics

Start by setting clear goals and tracking the metrics that actually support them. Review your analytics at least once a quarter to keep insights fresh and your strategy intentional. This helps you spot gaps, remove friction and strengthen the customer journey.

“For example, our company tracks 404 errors with Google Analytics,” Cigdem shares. “In the event that a 404 page is generated, I know what causes it and how to troubleshoot it.” This helps prevent broken links and improve the customer journey in real-time.

Be flexible but create with intention

What works today might not work tomorrow. Regularly analyze your performance data and be ready to adjust your approach as needed.

Cigdem advises against using approaches simply because they’re trendy. Every part of your customer journey should serve a clear, valuable purpose. For instance, if you use chatbots, understand their purpose. Are they there to answer questions, troubleshoot issues or guide customers? 

Making intentional choices ensures each part of the journey supports your customers. Remember that what works today might not work tomorrow, so analyze performance and goals regularly and adjust as needed.

Personalize for the individual customer

Generic experiences rarely connect with customers. Use data and feedback to tailor your messaging and interactions. 

Cigdem once thought pop-ups were always a bad idea, but data showed otherwise. Different audiences have unique responses to these types of practices.

Testing different approaches helps you discover what truly resonates with your customers. Personalization means meeting customers where they are and delivering relevant experiences — not following assumptions or personal preferences.

Align marketing, sales and support teams

A smooth customer journey relies on collaboration between marketing, sales and support. Even small teams benefit from clear communication and shared goals. 

Regular check-ins, whether brief meetings or quick updates, keep everyone aligned. This allows you to deliver consistent messaging and reduce customer confusion. Simple tools like shared documents or project apps keep you organized and connected.

Get support with your customer journey mapping

Building a well-planned customer journey helps your B2B tech company deliver a seamless, memorable experience. To make journey mapping truly effective, you need a consistent strategy paired with high-quality, targeted content. Expert guidance can align your messaging with customers’ real needs, driving stronger engagement and faster demand.

Download our free Essential Content Checklist to learn how to create captivating content that keeps your audience coming back. This resource helps you identify exactly what your customers want so that you can generate demand and engagement more effectively.

For more hands-on support, explore our content marketing services or book a free discovery call.