Meanwhile, each of these groups wants to interact with the customer on their own - and not the customer’s - terms. The result for customers is that interactions with the brand can feel disjointed and dissatisfying. While many brands have hired chief customer officers or built customer experience departments, it’s rare to find a brand that understands the journeys a customer takes when interacting with the brand; understands the customer need during any given interaction; and has the resources and capability to solve those needs as quickly and efficiently as possible. It is this problem that customer journey management seeks to solve.
Winterberry Group defines customer journey management as “a strategic approach to understanding an individual’s need in the moment, in order to meet that need as early as possible, and in the most convenient manner for the individual.” Customer journey management requires organisational alignment underpinned by strategy, objectives, and process. This must be supported by data, technology, and analytics to understand the need, as well as decisioning, orchestration, and omnichannel engagement to deliver the appropriate experience.