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Intermediate

What is the customer journey

Definition

A customer journey is the whole path a customer walks with your business, seen from their side, from first hearing of you to buying, using and coming back.

Why it matters

Half the journey happens after the payment, and that is where people stay, leave or recommend you.

Common mistakes

Drawing the business's sales stages and calling it the customer journey.

Related terms

Worked exampleIllustration

The journey of a fictional studio's new member

A fictional customer of a fictional neighbourhood pilates studio, from the first reel to a recommendation. The value on each step is how she feels.

  1. Sees

    She sees a reel of the studio on Instagram.

    Curious

  2. Asks

    She asks the neighbourhood WhatsApp group what people think of the studio.

    Unsure

  3. Writes

    She writes to the studio on WhatsApp and waits 5 hours for a reply. The fix: an auto reply with the schedule.

    The low point

  4. Books

    She books a trial class and gets a location pin and a note on what to bring.

    Relieved

  5. First class

    She comes to the first class and finds no parking. The fix: a parking note in the booking message.

    A dip

  6. Joins

    She joins, and the first monthly charge arrives with a clear receipt.

    Steady

  7. Misses a week

    After she misses two classes, the studio sends her a message.

    Cared for

  8. Recommends

    She recommends the studio to a friend.

    The high point

The two fixes, at steps 3 and 5, cost no ad money. Steps 6 to 8 happen after the payment.

Illustration

Her journey, and how she feels on the way

The lowest point is step 3, five hours of waiting for a reply, and it is also the dearest: half of the month's 100 chats leave there. Today the month makes 5 new members. Tap a red step to see its fix.⁨After the payment⁩12⁨⁦−3⁩ members⁩34⁨⁦−1⁩ members⁩5678
  1. 1SeesCurious
  2. 2AsksUnsure
  4. 4BooksRelieved
  6. 6JoinsSteady
  7. 7Misses a weekCared for
  8. 8RecommendsThe high point

New members a month: 5 (without the fixes: 5)

The lowest point is step 3, five hours of waiting for a reply, and it is also the dearest: half of the month's 100 chats leave there. Today the month makes 5 new members. Tap a red step to see its fix.

The counts are the Meta month of the marketing funnel page: 100 chats, half answered in time, 20% of those book a trial class, half the trial guests join. The auto reply lifts the answered chats to 80%, as there. What the parking note changes is not measured, so the slider is your own guess. All numbers are invented.

A journey map: the steps along the bottom, her feeling as the line. The gold steps come after the payment.

Definition

A customer journey follows one customer through every contact with the business and tells it from the customer's side: what they do, what they feel and what they are waiting for at each step. It runs from the first time they hear of you, through asking, booking and paying, to using the service, staying and recommending you. A customer journey map is the drawing of that path. Nielsen Norman Group describes a journey map as a visualization of the process a person goes through to reach a goal, with emotions plotted as a single line of ups and downs. The marketing funnel counts how many people are left at each step, while the journey shows what one person goes through, including after the sale.

Why it matters

Seeing the path through the customer's eyes shows the low points the business does not notice, such as a reply that takes hours or no parking at the first visit. Many of those fixes cost no ad money.

Directly related: Marketing Funnel, Persona, Onboarding.

Improvement tips

  • Walk the path yourself as a customer: write to your own WhatsApp, book, and read every message you receive.
  • Mark the low points, where the customer waits, guesses or worries, and fix them one at a time.
  • Map the steps after the payment too: the first visit, the first charge, the reminders and the moment they could recommend you.
  • Build the map from what customers tell you and the questions they ask, not from how the process looks inside the business.

Common mistakes

  • Stopping the map at the purchase, where half the journey begins.
  • Drawing the path from assumptions instead of from what customers say and do.
  • Fixing the busy steps and missing the silent ones, such as waiting hours for a first reply.

Related terms

MarketingBeginner

Marketing Funnel

A marketing funnel is a model of the stages people pass from first seeing your business to buying, and it shows at which stage most of them drop out.

MarketingBeginner

Persona

A persona is a short portrait of one typical customer, built from real conversations and data, that you picture when you write an ad, a post or a page.

ProductBeginner

Onboarding

Onboarding is the guided path a new customer takes from first contact to the first real result, such as a first visit kept, so they stay and do not drift away.

MarketingIntermediate

Retargeting

Retargeting is showing ads to people who already visited your site or engaged with your page, to bring back those who left without buying or booking.

From the blog

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Marketing Mistakes That Create Activity, Not Sales

Why small business marketing often creates posts, ads, and leads without enough qualified demand, follow-up, or sales.

Quick check

What does a customer journey show that a marketing funnel does not?

Choose an answer

Frequently asked questions

What is a customer journey in plain words?
Everything a customer goes through with your business, in order, as they experience it: from the first time they hear of you, through the first contact and the purchase, to using the service and coming back.
What are the stages of a customer journey?
There is no single official list. A simple one for a small business: hearing of you, checking, making contact, the first purchase or visit, using the service, staying and recommending you.
What is the difference between a customer journey and a marketing funnel?
The funnel is the business's count of how many people are left at each step. The journey is the same path told from the customer's side, with what they feel and what happens after they buy.
What is a customer journey map?
A drawing of the journey: the steps along the bottom, and above them what the customer does, thinks and feels at each one. Many maps plot the feelings as one line, so the low points stand out.
What happens in the journey after the purchase?
The first visit or delivery, the first charge, the reminders, the moment of doubt when they miss a week, and the moment they recommend you. This part decides whether they stay.
How do I map my customer journey?
Write the steps from the first contact to the recommendation, and next to each one what the customer does and feels. Fill it in from real chats, reviews and a few questions to customers, then mark the lowest points.
How do I find the low points?
Look for waiting, guessing and worry: a reply that takes hours, a schedule that is hard to find, no parking, a charge without a clear receipt. The questions customers ask again and again point to them.
Can I send a "come back" offer or ask for a review with a discount?
A message that promotes a purchase, such as a "come back" discount, is advertising under the law. Answering the question a lead asked is one thing. Sending them advertising later by email, SMS, fax or an automatic call is another: section 30A of Israel's Communications (Telecommunications and Broadcasting) Law, 1982, requires the recipient's express prior consent for it, with a narrow exception for existing customers. If you plan to send offers later, ask for that consent on the form, in its own box. The law does not name any app. It limits the action itself, sending advertising without the recipient's prior consent, so the same rule applies whatever app sends the message, WhatsApp being one example. Educational material, not legal or tax advice. Check your own case with a lawyer or an accountant.
Is a reminder about a booked class part of the journey?
Yes, it is one of the steps after the purchase, and a clear one can prevent a missed class. Keep it short and useful: the time, the place and what to bring.
Do I need special software for a journey map?
No. A sheet with one column per step, or a drawing on paper, is enough. The value is in what you learn from customers, not in the tool.
Does every customer take the same journey?
No. Someone who came on a friend's recommendation skips steps that someone who saw an ad goes through. Start with the most common path, then map a second one if it differs a lot.
Is mapping the customer journey worth it for a small business?
Often yes, because many low points cost nothing to fix, such as an auto reply with the schedule or a parking note in the booking message. The map shows where to start.

Sources: Sarah Gibbons, "Journey Mapping 101", Nielsen Norman Group, 2018 (nngroup.com/articles/journey-mapping-101/), Communications (Telecommunications and Broadcasting) Law, 1982, section 30A (nevo.co.il)

Last reviewed: 2026-09-24

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Anna, Beautician

Anna

Beautician

After I finished a cosmetology course at a leading company, I was confused. I didn't know how to open a business, what to sell from home, or how to bring in clients. Since I reached out to Mobius, everything has changed. We built an organized plan with clear steps and no unnecessary risks. Today I see results, and I'm growing and developing every month.

Mark, Massage therapist, Gan Yavne

Mark

Massage therapist, Gan Yavne

When I finished a massage course, I imagined a different world. I found out it's a hard field, and financial stability isn't easy to find. When I came to Mobius, something changed. We started an organized process and built a business plan. Without Mobius? I probably would have given up. Today I believe in myself and in my own path.

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