Customer journey mapHow to create one from scratch

A customer journey map (CJM) is a visual representation of the experience a consumer has with a brand, product, or service, from initial awareness through purchase and ultimately to advocacy. 

Its purpose is to analyze that experience from the perspective of the prospect and customer, identifying touchpoints, emotions, and pain points throughout the relationship with the brand. 

Journey maps are commonly presented as matrices, although their exact format may vary depending on the nature of the project. 

• Columns represent the stages of the journey: awareness, consideration, decision, purchase, post-sale experience, retention, and advocacy. journey: concienciación, consideración, decisión, compra, posventa, retención y recomendación. 
• Rows represent the variables evaluated at each stage: goals, needs, efforts, channels, and emotions.  

This strategic and operational tool provides a structured view of the gap between the customer’s actual experience and the experience the organization intends to deliver, combining qualitative and quantitative insights.

The key difference between these two frameworks lies in their scope. 

• An buyer journey map focuses exclusively on the path leading to a purchase decision. 
• An customer journey map is far broader, covering post-purchase interactions, loyalty, and brand advocacy. 

One of the costliest mistakes a startup can make—in terms of customer churn and customer acquisition cost (CAC)—is failing to understand what happens after the sale. 

In practice, beyond improving customer experience, a customer journey map serves three important strategic functions for growing businesses:

• Aligning business strategy with customer experience. It helps eliminate internal biases that can distort decision-making. 

• Identifying opportunities for innovation and improvement. By highlighting gaps between customer expectations and reality, it helps create a more informed product roadmap. 

• Prioritizing resources and strategic decisions. This is particularly important in venture capital environments and highly competitive markets. Concentrating resources on touchpoints that directly affect conversion, retention, and Net Promoter Score (NPS) can significantly improve business performance while optimizing burn rate.   

The strategic value of these functions can be summarized as follows: 

Designing a customer journey map delivers measurable benefits across four critical areas of a growing business: 

• Financial impact. Positive customer experiences often translate into stronger shareholder value. This connection between satisfaction and business performance is one of the strongest arguments for investing in customer journey analysis.  
• Improved customer satisfaction. By identifying and addressing friction points, companies can improve retention and strengthen brand perception. 
• Higher return on investment (ROI). Eliminating pain points throughout the funnel can reduce customer acquisition costs while increasing long-term customer value. 
• Operational efficiency. Journey mapping reveals redundant processes and inefficiencies, helping startups allocate scarce resources more effectively.

Every customer faces frustrations or challenges they want to overcome. Identifying these pain points is the foundation for designing strong value propositions and crafting messages that resonate authentically.

As with any marketing strategy, the next step is defining a buyer persona. 

To ensure the highest level of rigor, here are some examples of both qualitative and quantitative techniques you can use to conduct user research (UX Research) or strengthen your business strategy: 

• Detailed interviews and surveys with current and former customers. They will help you understand the reasoning behind their decisions. If you want to get a 360-degree view, you can balance large-scale surveys with one-on-one sessions. 
• Analysis of digital behavior data using tools such as Google Analytics, Qualtrics, etc. This will allow you to validate actual patterns. 
• Heatmaps and session recordings through platforms like Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity. Support-ticket analysis and social listening initiatives to understand recurring frustrations and customer sentiment. 
• Support audit and social listening (analyzing mentions, conversations, and trends) to gain direct insight into customer feedback and recurring frustrations.

The journey matrix is organized into columns and rows that evaluate goals, emotions, channels, efforts, and customer expectations. 

An IZO model, which stands for Ideal, Comfort Zone, and Improvement Opportunity., es un marco de trabajo sólido en customer experience (CX) porque conecta las emociones del cliente con procesos internos de la compañía. Esta herramienta clasifica cada touchpoint (punto de contacto) de experiencias excelentes a negativas.

A useful journey map can be organized across four levels: 

1. Customer journey: stages, milestones, and channels. 
2. Customer experience: including goals, emotions, and touchpoints. 
3. Critical moments: IZO scale, pain points (MOP), and the gap between expectations and experience. 
4. Internal business: processes, KPIs, and supporting tools. 

The exact design is flexible. What matters is accurately reflecting the reality of both the customer and the business. 

Once the matrix has been created, five elements should always be included: 

• Touchpoints. Every interaction between the customer and the brand. 
• Expectation vs. actual experience: The difference between what customers expect and what they receive. 
• Experience levels (IZO scale). A classification of each touchpoint from exceptional experiences to frustrating ones. 
• Moments of truth (MOT). Los momentos que definen la percepción global del cliente sobre tu marca. 
• Moments of Pain (MOP). The specific friction points that damage satisfaction and weaken relationships.

A customer journey map requires two perspectives to be fully reliable: the internal perspective and the end customer’s perspective.

Here’s why: 

• As-Is (internal). Represents how the company believes customers experience the journey. 
• To-Be (external and desirable). It is based on the data collected in the As-Is analysis, but cross-checks it against external research to incorporate the actual customer experience and eliminate biases. 

Once the customer journey map has been developed, the insights it generates will help you design an action plan by distinguishing between immediate improvements to the most critical Moments of Truth (quick wins) and structural innovation opportunities, which typically require more time and resources.

Por último, no puedes descuidar el storytellingFinally, storytelling should not be overlooked. A clear narrative around the customer journey map makes it easier to understand for both team members and investors. 

As you can see, a customer journey map becomes tangible evidence of market understanding and customer traction. It can be included in your pitch deck and helps reduce investors' perception of risk.

Within the venture capital ecosystem, investors look for teams that understand their customers, know where value is created, and can execute effectively. 

To help you gain a deeper understanding of your ideal customer, their aspirations, and their experiences, the Bolboreta Impulsa team has developed a free downloadable template that will help you create your Customer Journey Map in a clear and structured way.

And if you're ready to take the next step, we invite you to contact us