In a previous thought post, I discussed, in detail, the benefits of buyer journey mapping. Since that time, I have been requested to post the spreadsheet format used in my past companies and workshops for building a buyer journey map. Several of you also requested the 5-Ws for building a successful buyer journey map.
The 5-Ws that should be answered in order to successfully build a buyer journey map are:
- Who? — Think about the prospective customer as a portfolio of buyer personas who each play different roles in the collective advance toward a decision.
- Why? — What outcome is the buyer looking to achieve?
- When? — Buyers have different needs at different stages of their buyer journeys. It’s important to understand the buyer’s context & identify the questions that need to be addressed at each stage. It’s also important to understand what will trigger a buyer to move to the next stage & to identify the barriers to progression.
- What? — What content can you provide to address buyers’ questions? How does the buyer want that content packaged? A marketing buyer might be happy with an infographic in the discovery phase, while a developer needs a technical white paper.
- Where? — Where does the prospective buyer seek information? This includes all the various channels and vehicles in the classic marketing mix, such as websites, webinars, and events. It also includes personal influencers (e.g., a trusted colleague), consultants and analysts, and your own salespeople and channel partners.
Instructions for the Buyer’s Journey Map format: WARNING, the “red” cells represent just an example of the steps taken during a “simplified” buyer’s journey…your target market customer’s journey may differ.
Filling out this spreadsheet format, insures that all 5-Ws are asked/answered when building a buyer journey map. It also begins to supply the key sales enablement tools needed to deliver the sale. The “red” headings are the simplified buyer journey steps. The “green gradient” column headings on the far right are the sales questions that coordinate with the “green” row questions in the first column. This information can help you outline the goals and strategies for your marketing and sales efforts. For instance, just as the content changes to encourage a buyer to move to the next stage, so the key decision maker may change. Think of the map as a layered spreadsheet that addresses the buyers concerns that may be holding them back from moving to the next stage in their journey. Don’t forget that the journey always ends with the “ask” for the sale.
For more help with buyer journey mapping, schedule a personalized mentoring session or just click the direction arrow at the center of the slide to start the voice and slide presentation. A media control panel will open whenever you position your pointer over the slide to adjust the screen size, slide advance or to pause the video.
Copyright ©John Trenary 2021
2 responses to “Buyer Journey Map Format”
[…] You can use a storyboard to do this. Read my thought blog titled “Buyer Journey Map Format” at https://smallbusinessthoughts.com/2021/05/28/buyer-journey-map-format/ to help map out a persona of your average customer and think about what they are in need of and how […]
[…] and how your business compares to alternatives. I suggest using the Buyer-Sales Map spreadsheet (https://smallbusinessthoughts.com/2021/05/28/buyer-journey-map-format/) as a format to insure all buyer journey 5-W’s (Who; Why; When; What; Where) have been asked and […]