Customer Journey Mapping for B2B Service Firms

Nielsen Norman Group defines a journey map as a visualization of the process a person goes through to reach a goal. You start with a list of the actions the person takes, in time order. Then you add their thoughts and feelings to turn the list into a story. Last, you shrink that story into one clear picture.

Most maps follow the same layout. At the top sit the person and the situation. In the middle sit the stages, with actions, thoughts and feelings in each. At the bottom sit the takeaways: ideas for change and who owns each one.

The terms "user journey map" and "customer journey map" mean the same thing. In B2B, the person using your service may not be the person who signed the contract. What matters is that your team agrees on the content of the map, not on its name.

Sources: Nielsen Norman Group, "Journey Mapping 101" (Sarah Gibbons, December 9, 2018)

Nielsen Norman Group lists five parts that every journey map shares. Here is each one, with a service firm example.

• Actor. The one person the map is about. Use one actor per map. A finance director and an IT lead buy differently, so draw two maps.
• Scenario and expectations. The situation and what the actor hopes for. For example: "Replace our current agency without losing a quarter of results."
• Phases. The big stages of the journey.
• Actions, mindsets and emotions. What the actor does, what they ask themselves, and how they feel. Use real quotes from interviews when you can. Plot feelings as one line that rises and falls across the stages.
• Opportunities. What you will change, who owns it, and how you will measure it.

Sources: Nielsen Norman Group, "Journey Mapping 101" (December 9, 2018)

Before you draw stages, know that buyers do not move through them in neat order. Gartner describes six "buying jobs" in a typical B2B purchase: problem identification, solution exploration, requirements building, supplier selection, validation and consensus creation.

Gartner also says buyers loop. They revisit each of the six jobs at least once. A buyer may pick a short list, then go back to rewrite the requirements after a talk with the finance team. Your map should show these loops with arrows that point backward.

Two more Gartner findings matter for service firms. Gartner reports that 99 percent of B2B purchases are driven by organizational changes on the buyer's side. And it found that B2B buyers are 1.8 times more likely to complete a high-quality deal when they use a supplier's digital tools together with a sales rep, rather than on their own. So map both the digital steps and the human ones.

Sources: Gartner, "The B2B Buying Journey: Key Stages and How to Optimize Them"

Stages change from one business to the next. Nielsen Norman Group gives a B2B example of purchase, adoption, retention, expansion and advocacy, and notes that each organization should use its own data to set its stages.

For a service firm, a map that runs from first search to renewal might use these stages:

1. Notice a problem. Something changes, and the buyer starts to search.
2. Explore options. The buyer reads your site, your articles and your reviews.
3. Shape the need. The buyer writes down what they want and asks for proposals.
4. Choose a firm. Calls, proposals and references decide the winner.
5. Get everyone to agree. Legal, finance and the team that will use the service all weigh in.
6. Start work. The first months set the tone.
7. Renew or leave. The buyer decides if the results were worth the cost.

Sources: Nielsen Norman Group, "Journey Mapping 101" (December 9, 2018); Gartner, "The B2B Buying Journey: Key Stages and How to Optimize Them"

Start small. One buyer type and one scenario is enough for a first pass.

1. Choose the actor and the scenario. Pick your most common buyer and your most common purchase.
2. Gather real data. Talk to several recent buyers, including one who chose a rival.
3. Write the stages and actions. Use the buyer's words, not your internal terms.
4. Add questions and feelings. Record what the buyer wondered at each stage and where they felt unsure or pleased.
5. Draw it and name owners. A spreadsheet with one column per stage works. Put a name beside each fix.

Sources: Nielsen Norman Group, "Journey Mapping 101" (December 9, 2018)

Once the map is drawn, look for the dips in the feelings line. A dip marks a stage where buyers feel confused, worried or ignored. Those are your best places to act.

Next, put numbers beside each stage. You can count website visits to key pages, replies to outreach, proposals sent, proposals won, and renewals. Compare each count with the one before it. A big drop between two stages is a leak.

Here are three common leaks in service sales, and a first fix for each:

Leak	What it often means	First fix
Visits but no inquiries	The site does not answer the buyer's question	Rewrite key pages around buyer needs, not your services list
Proposals but few wins	The buyer cannot get the group to agree	Give the buyer a short summary they can pass to others
Wins but weak renewals	The first months did not show results	Plan an early win and report on it

Gartner's research points the same way for the first leak. It says strong digital content is grounded in buyer needs, not product features, and that tools such as cost calculators help buyers feel sure of their choice.

Sources: Gartner, "The B2B Buying Journey: Key Stages and How to Optimize Them"; Nielsen Norman Group, "Journey Mapping 101" (December 9, 2018). The leaks and fixes in the table are editorial examples, not research findings.

A map that sits in a folder helps no one. Review it every quarter. Pick one or two fixes per quarter, assign owners, and check the numbers at the stage you changed.

1. Nielsen Norman Group, "Journey Mapping 101," Sarah Gibbons, December 9, 2018. nngroup.com
2. Gartner, "The B2B Buying Journey: Key Stages and How to Optimize Them." gartner.com