The ‘User Journey’ Definition Made Simple

Living in the digital age is living in the age of choice. Consumers today have more options for purchasing products and services than ever before. Whether you’re deciding which online store to buy shoes from or you need to choose a new CRM for your team, it’s truly a buyer’s market. That’s why understanding your users’ journey is critical to standing out against the competition and offering a consistently positive experience. But what exactly does understanding the user journey involve, and who needs to know about it? According to WalkMe’s Complete Glossary of Digital Adoption, the user journey is defined as follows:

User Journey

1. : describes the pathway a user takes during his or her interactions with a product, brand, or service.

// The experience of a user journey varies depending on the product — but each consists of several stages with a beginning, middle, and end.

2. key advantages of using this:

// businesses tap into the minds of their customers and users, it’s easier to strengthen weak points along the journey, and companies can build products more in-tune with customer needs.

Example of user journey in a sentence:

// Businesses that optimize the user journey can improve customer relationships, boost customer value, and increase the bottom line.

Understanding the user journey is the first step to stellar CX

Unless you have a clear picture of how a user interacts with your website, platform, or app, you will be unable to know what’s working and what’s not. In the age of choice, knowing and fixing what’s not working is crucial for preventing customer churn. The user journey is not just for product designers or UX architects. Everyone from marketing to R&D to sales development must also understand how the user journey affects the overall customer experience. If you want to learn how to perfect your user journey, check out these three articles:

• 4 Steps for Designing the Ideal User Journey
• Think Your Product is Great? Your User Journey Map Says Otherwise
• Customer Experience Vs User Journey: Influencing the Path to Purchase

To download the full glossary and learn about all 58 terms, click here.