A customer journey map puts the user front and center in the organisation's thinking. It shows changes in customer behavior and demonstrates the need for the entire organisation to adapt. Whilst there is no organisation-wide or even industry-wide standardisation of customer journey transformation mapping, there are 5 key steps that should be incorporated into your plan in order to create a successful and effective customer Journey Map.

Baseline your customer journey

Recognise your customer's journey so far into their transformation, once this is established, the initial architecture can be strengthened and a roadmap that is kept firmly in mind and part of the day to day operations can be created. Not only will this roadmap enable you to focus on customer needs and solving their problems, but it can be used to identify opportunities for future innovation and experiences.

Define the principles

Keep the focus on the customer needs and solving their problems; what can be simplified? Where can value be added? How can self-service be enhanced? Establish a new way of working, embed it in the organisation, and guide frontline employees in making the customer experience the best it could possibly be, no matter where they are on their journey.

Integrate your data

Integrating multiple sources of data is key to creating a single unified customer view. The data from your analytics can also do more than predict customer behavior; they can shed light on your infrastructure's current condition. A lack of usable data can be a sign of issues within your infrastructure, whereas good quality, current and integrated data centralises user insights and completely connects the customer journey.

Identify the barriers

What is stopping them delivering the desired experience? What is within their direct control? These questions will help shine a spotlight on specific areas that can then be immediately adopted, owned and acted on. Areas for instance, requiring broader cross-organisational support needed to reinforce the infrastructure and ensure the continuing progress of the transformation plan.

Measure your progress

When changes are made, it's important to consistently document the impact of these changes and share the customer reaction. Be sure to measure periodically, specifically after any significant alterations and Keep it up to date to reflect ever-changing technologies and consumer behavior. This will help you make fast, informed and agile decisions in order to refine processes and sustain momentum thought the transformation.

Incorporating these five steps into your transformation plan will ensure that you produce an output that has the user in mind, that you have collected the best possible quality data available, have a documented and measured plan, and most importantly, at the end of your mapping initiative, you have a team of cross-organisational allies that are ready to act with agility on the insights revealed during the process.

* By Danny Drew, Avaya's Managing Director for South Africa.