There’s a problem with journey maps? Well, not with the maps themselves but with how people talk about them.

I love attending webinars and reading articles about journey mapping because I’m always curious about how others talk about them, what their approaches are, and what outcomes they’ve achieved.

As I read or listen, I’m hopeful that the author or presenter will share some great success stories and get the audience excited about what can be done when you map customer journeys and use those maps as the catalysts for change that they are.

I hate to say this, but more often than not, I’m hugely disappointed. Recently, I attended yet another webinar where the host touted great things about the content—but fell flat in delivery. When the presenter talked about stages of the customer life cycle and not the steps that customers take to complete some task or interaction, I knew there would be no success stories. I also knew that attendees would be more confused than ever about what journey mapping really is.

 …