Improving Customer Retention with Customer Journey Mapping

Nov 8, 2024 | Listen

Samantha Irwin and Kathy Svetina discuss customer retention and journey mapping and how it can help you grow in the Help, My Business is Growing podcast.

What’s the fastest way to grow your business? It may sound surprising, but the answer is retaining the customers you already have. This highlights a pressing issue for many businesses: Customer retention. Many businesses tend to focus on attracting new clients, and while this is a valid approach, it frequently neglects existing ones. This leads to lost customers and can significantly impact revenue.

One effective way to turn this around is through customer journey mapping. This involves visualizing the entire experience a customer has with your business, from the first time they are aware of your business all the way to after-sales support. By examining each stage of this experience – or walking through it in your customer’s shoes, you can identify gaps and discover other ways to keep your customers engaged. This process allows you to create more meaningful and personalized interactions that will encourage customers to return and also foster long-term loyalty.

So how can customer journey mapping help you prevent losing customers? What are some of the strategies that can boost your customer retention? And how can you make sure that your efforts will keep your clients satisfied and loyal over time?

Samantha Irwin: Creating exceptional customer experiences

In this episode, Samantha Irwin and I discuss how customer journey mapping can transform your business. She shares how you can create exceptional customer experiences by outlining her six key steps of customer journey mapping and also offer actionable tips to keep your customers engaged and loyal.



Timestamps for this week’s episode

05:39 The six key steps of customer journey mapping

15:37 Is a great customer service personality trainable or innate?

18:52 How to refine your hiring process to attract the right staff

21:50 How online-only businesses can improve customer experience

41:04 One actionable step to improve customer retention


“For small business owners, the money is in retention. It’s attracting the right fit customer, first of all, and then it’s retaining that right fit customer.” – Samantha Irwin

The six key steps of customer journey mapping

Samantha Irwin explains customer journey mapping through six key steps designed to improve retention and customer satisfaction. Here’s a breakdown of each step:

  • “Out There” or where potential customers first discover your business. At this initial stage, they have come across your brand while doing research and reading reviews, and are deciding if they want to engage with your brand or not.

  • “On the Way” is the stage where you focus on how to make your business easy to find – and this is crucial whether you have a physical location or only operate online. It could be the signage for your store or clear navigation on a website, so your customers can get to you effortlessly.

  • “Entrance/Lot” refers to the first impression customers have when they arrive at your business. For a brick-and-mortar store, it’s the physical entrance or parking lot. For an online business, it’s your landing page. Is everything clean, welcoming, and easy to access? This sets the tone for their entire experience with your business.

  • “With the People” is all the interactions clients will have with your staff or customer service. Customers want to feel valued, and positive interactions will go a long way in giving them a great experience. A friendly, knowledgeable team is vital in this step, as a poor customer service experience can drive people away, no matter how good the product is.

  • “With the Products” is when your customers are using your products and services. And in this stage, consistency is key. Customers expect a reliable experience every time they interact with your product or service. Whether it’s the quality of the product or the service itself, delivering consistently will keep your customers returning.

  • “The Dating Game” is when you focus on retaining the right customers. The goal is to have your old customers keep coming back and eventually become your advocates. Keeping loyal customers is far more profitable than constantly trying to acquire new ones and even a slight increase in customer retention can lead to significant profit growth.

Each of these steps plays a role in shaping the customer’s experience and encouraging long-term loyalty, which is essential for business growth.

Is a great customer service personality trainable or innate?

Having a great customer service personality is largely innate. Certain individuals naturally possess the gift of hospitality, similar to how others are born with a talent for music or math. You can spot this gift in people who consistently make others feel welcome—whether it’s a barista, a waiter, or a family member whose warmth draws people in. While hospitality can’t be taught from scratch, it can be refined. Skills like communication techniques or service best practices can be trained, but the core ability to genuinely connect with others comes from within. So, when hiring for customer-facing roles, focus on personality first, then train the skills. This approach is key to delivering exceptional service.

Hospitality is a cultural value of who we are as a business.

How to refine your hiring process to attract the right staff

To refine your hiring process and attract the right staff, create a hiring experience that reflects your company’s culture and values. Start by clearly communicating your expectations through job descriptions and all your application materials. You can also incorporate elements like staff reviews, feedback, and company values on your website and during interviews. This way, your potential hires can immediately see what’s important to your business.

One example is to require applicants to review past employee feedback, which demonstrates transparency and shows your company’s commitment to a positive work environment. This approach helps filter out candidates who may not align with your culture and attract those who do. What is important to note though is that getting hiring isn’t a one-time fix; it’s an ongoing process of refinement. Samantha recommends that you continuously gather feedback and adjust your approach to attract staff members who not only meet the job requirements but are also a strong cultural fit.

“Simply taking the time to walk through (your business) from your customer’s point of view is a very valuable exercise to do for you and your staff.” – Samantha Irwin

How online-only businesses can improve customer experience

Online-only businesses can improve customer experience by taking a structured approach to understanding and enhancing every interaction with their audience.

Without a physical storefront, online businesses still have multiple touchpoints with customers—through websites, emails, social media, and support channels. These interactions shape how customers perceive your brand, and every touchpoint needs to reflect your company’s values.

A customer journey map can help identify these key moments and assess whether they meet customer expectations. The goal is to fine-tune every stage of the customer experience, so that it delivers your company’s standards and builds trust. Just like a physical store relies on cleanliness and ambiance to create a positive impression, online businesses need to make sure that elements like seamless website navigation, quick response times, and helpful user support are all on point. These details are crucial for building credibility and satisfaction in a digital environment.

By adopting this structured approach, online businesses can deepen customer relationships, foster trust, and hopefully, improve retention—proving that even without a physical space, delivering exceptional experiences is still possible.

If it's good enough for our customers, we need to do it for our staff as well.

One actionable step to improve customer retention

To improve customer retention, start with a simple and actionable step: map out your customer experience. Download Samantha’s customer journey map and build one for your business. Focus on one stage at a time, and evaluate how each step impacts customer satisfaction. This process helps you identify gaps and improve touchpoints that influence retention. If you’re looking for leadership support, consider her other tools like a Creating a Culture Deck to consistently engage and educate your team on providing exceptional service. Small, consistent actions will gradually build a culture that drives retention and customer loyalty.


Summary

  • The six key steps of customer journey mapping are: Out There, On the Way, Entrance/Lot, With the People, With the Products, and The Dating Game. Each plays a vital role in improving customer retention and satisfaction.

  • Prioritize hiring individuals with a natural gift for hospitality, because genuine warmth is difficult to train.

  • Refine your hiring process by aligning it with your company culture to attract the right candidates.

  • Online-only businesses can boost customer retention by mapping and optimizing key digital touchpoints on their customer journey.

  • Start improving retention by breaking down the customer journey and assess which part needs work or refinement.

Transcript

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About guest – Samantha Irwin

Small Business Coach & Consultant

Kaizen Small Business Solutions

Samantha Irwin is a small business coach & consultant and the creator of the Power of People Academy and the Creating a Culture Deck. She inspires and educates teams to create exceptional Customer Experiences that foster loyalty and advocacy, driving both financial success and heartfelt service for brick-and-mortar businesses. She equips businesses to provide consistently Exceptional Customer Experiences, fostering thriving enterprises and fulfilled staff. Samantha’s commitment extends to teaching business owners how to make their establishments preferred workplaces and favored customer destinations.

Website: https://kaizen.zone/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kaizen-business-coaching-consulting/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samantha_kaizen/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaSmallBusinessRevival

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCViM4qzVctq8_peZuYeBDOg?view_as=subscriber

Courses + Downloads: 


About host – Kathy Svetina

Kathy Svetina is a Fractional CFO for growing small businesses with $10M+ in annual revenue.

Clients hire her when they’re unsure about what’s going on in their finances, are stressed out by making financial decisions, or need to structure their finances to keep up with their growth.

She solves their nagging money mysteries and builds a financial structure with a tailored financial strategy. That way they can grow in a financially healthy and sustainable way.

Kathy is based in Chicago, IL and works with clients all over the US.

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