Removing barriers is the most relevant way of adding value

At the MIE we are going to talk about the rational and emotional customer journey. That insight into the customer journey is crucial has become very clear to me through the cooperation with Independer. After all, insight into the customer journey shows what you can do better tomorrow but also what the opportunities are for the long term.

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To get a handle on the customer journey, it is important to realize that all the different steps we take as consumers come together in one overall experience. Does it normally help us to think in boxes, in the customer journey experience this does not work. In the total experience, emotion and reason come together from 3 angles:

1. Attitudes: emotions, drives, beliefs
2. Uses: past experiences, routines, expectations of the future
3. Purchasing: supply and presentation of the offer

Mapping the customer journey helps to understand how these three factors interact and influence the overall experience. Positive and negative.

Remove barriers and become easier to buy

To know what you can do better tomorrow, as a business you want to know what barriers keep people from choosing your product or service. By removing barriers, you become easier to buy. The customer journey gives context to drivers & barriers. And that context is essential. An example to illustrate this: lack of understanding of the subject matter is a frequently mentioned barrier when buying insurance. Without context, the most obvious solution is to use easier language or provide more information. Placing this threshold in the context of the customer journey may reveal that the real problem lies elsewhere. For example, have people become so frustrated at an earlier step in the customer journey that it prevents them from absorbing new information? The real problem then is not the lack of understanding of the subject matter, but the consumer's frustration. Without knowing the context, you might have wasted your time, energy and budget trying to solve a consequence instead of tackling the real problem.

In addition to putting drivers and barriers in context, the customer journey helps you get a handle on the underlying consumer need. And from there, you create long-term opportunities. Another example: saving money is the number one reason for switching health insurance. Logical right? But what if we take another step back: what do you want to do with the money you save? For example, do you have the dream of taking a trip around the world? So the real question is not what is the cheapest health insurance, but where is the financial room to afford that world trip. By thinking from the underlying consumer question, you don't get stuck in the things you are already doing, but you gain insight into what role you can play even more.

Now back to today...with a big smile on my face I think back to our presentation at the MIE. What fun it was to share our story with Karin from Independer and what fine reactions we got!