A customer journey map<\/a> outlines the path that customers take before, during, and after purchasing your product or service. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n An adoption journey map, emphasizes the journey customers take when implementing and making use of that product or service.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n But the adoption journey really takes place over several stages, including:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Marketing models often focus on the pathway to purchase. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n During these phases of the journey, as they navigate towards a purchase decision, customers will discover the roots of their problem, potential solutions, and solution providers. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Though marketing may seem far removed from product adoption, these stages represent the first engagements a customer will have with a brand or service, and the quality of those interactions will sculpt the future of their brand and product experience<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Customer onboarding refers to the period when customers first begin using a product or service.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n During this stage, they are introduced to the product through demos, product tours, walkthroughs<\/a>, and other techniques designed to quickly acclimate customers to their new environment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Customer service staff, such as account representatives, may also provide hands-on support and training, depending on the nature and complexity of the product.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Certain products, such as sophisticated B2B SaaS platforms, can be quite difficult to use and may require continuous training. In many cases, the quality of that training will directly affect how much value customers pull from your product. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Although some companies may provide a bit of hands-on training, human instruction is simply not scalable, nor is it affordable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n To overcome these challenges, many organizations are using more modern training solutions, such as digital adoption platforms (DAPs)<\/a>, which provide contextual, in-app guidance. When added to a training mix, these platforms can enhance metrics across the board, from customer engagement to retention to lifetime value.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Ongoing support, including both technical support and customer support, is crucial to maintaining healthy, profitable customer relationships. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Support also directly impacts the user experience (UX), which, in turn, influences customer longevity and value. A single bad experience, for example, can drive a customer away from a brand permanently, as we\u2019ll see below.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The journey map outlined above is only one of several possible models that can be used to describe the customer\u2019s adventure through product research, selection, purchase, and adoption. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n While some may focus more heavily on other aspects of adoption, such as the standard of the training, UX quality plays an equally critical role.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Customers are 2.4 times more likely to stay<\/a> with a company that can solve their problems faster\u2014and they are 2.7 times more likely to spend more when companies communicate clearly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n These discoveries complement those from a survey conducted a few years ago by PwC<\/a>, which found that bad customer experiences can be very detrimental to customer retention.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Among their findings:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In short, customer experience<\/a> has an enormous impact on customer relationships. That experience doesn\u2019t start once a customer makes their initial purchase. It begins early on with the very first interactions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Customer adoption strategies should therefore cover the entire journey map.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Every business is different, but customer adoption strategies should share a few common characteristics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Here are tips for creating a customer adoption strategy:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nMarketing and sales<\/strong> <\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Onboarding<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Training<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Ongoing support<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The influence of UX on customer adoption<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
How to create an effective customer adoption strategy<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The right customer adoption strategy can improve the customer experience, reduce churn, boost retention, and do wonders for bottom-line profits.