Steps in successful client journey mapping

1. business development – client journey
18 March/April 2023 | pm
Tobetterunderstandyourclients,youneedto
walkintheirshoes.BenSuttonmapsoutthe
fivestepsinsuccessfulclientjourneymapping.
Mapping the client
journey allows you
to walk in the client’s
shoes.
C
lients are looking for
advisers who will help
them adapt and succeed
in changing markets.
And we’ve all seen
the shifts in how they’re choosing
to engage with potential providers,
through an evolving mix of in-
person and digital channels.
So, what does this mean for the
way you build the brand, win work
and grow client relationships? And
how do you make the greatest impact
if resources and budgets are stretched?
Client journey design gives you
a framework to intentionally create
the experience your clients will
expect in future. You can build in the
behaviours, actions and propositions
that will differentiate you. In turn, you
gain a clearer view of the marketing
and business development model that
will best support the experience.
Whyclientjourneys?
Even in firms where business
development and marketing are
aligned, we tend to start from
the inside out, structuring our
thinking around the campaigns
and initiatives we plan to launch.
We might represent them as a
linear series of activities – digital
marketing, PR, client webinars
and so on. But for a client, the
reality looks very different.
Wherever and however they
come across your brand, the picture
is constantly evolving. From first
becoming aware of the firm to,
Navigating the
journey ahead
hopefully, becoming an advocate,
the client’s view is shaped by a
range of encounters.
Many of these touchpoints are
beyond the marketing and business
development team’s direct influence.
But we can bring a cross-functional
team together to understand the
overall experience – and make
sure the brand promise is reflected
in day-to-day service delivery.
Walkingintheclient’sshoes
Mapping the client journey allows you
to walk in the client’s shoes. A single
visual helps you see how the whole
firm is experienced – regardless
of internal siloes – and where the
experience needs to change.
You deepen your understanding
of how best to respond to the client’s
needs and expectations. And by
designing your approach around
them, there’s more chance you’ll
become the firm they call first.
Acontinuouscycle
The journey captures the stages in the
relationship as the client sees them.
We’re not talking here about internal
process mapping.
For instance, a prospect may ask
a fellow general counsel or CFO to
recommend an adviser for a particular
issue. Or they could be researching
solutions online and spot an insightful
article by a partner on LinkedIn.
Then, as you deliver the service,
are your people engaging in a way
that the client values? Do technology
platforms make it easy to track the
work? Do you keep in touch after the
project has ended, sharing ideas to
help them do their job better?
The client experience is the sum of
all these interactions and the impression
they leave in the mind of the client.
Makingithappen
Here are five practical steps to
designing a great experience
using client journey mapping.
1.Gathertheteam
Because the client’s experience is
made up of interactions with every
part of the firm, the team typically
has representation from client-facing
practice areas, functions (HR, IT,
operations etc), marketing and
business development, and a senior
sponsor respected in the firm.
This team will take ownership
of bringing the client experience to
life, so everyone should be prepared
to take an active role.
This article originally
appeared in PM
magazine. For further
details go to
www.pmforum.co.uk

2. business development – client journey
pm | March/April 2023 19
The group should reflect on how
getting the journey right will eventually
support the firm’s strategic objectives–
for example, increasing the share of
wallet or improving client retention.
Journey design should be a means,
not an end.
2.Buildthecurrentpicture
Firms hold insights that can help
build a rounded view of clients’
current experiences. But there’s
a good chance they’ve never been
analysed together. One of the
team’s first tasks is to review
inputs such as:
•
Client feedback and post-proposal
debriefs;
•
Marketing, brand, business
development and digital platform
metrics; and
• Key account programme insights.
There’s real value in hearing directly
from strategic clients, individually or in
groups. The aim is to uncover what they
love about working with the firm and
where to improve:
• How easy is it to deal with you?
•
How well are you delivering on
your brand promise?
•
Does your current experience
stand out among the competition?
•
What would an exceptional future
look like?
Your colleagues will also have views
on any barriers preventing them from
delivering a brilliant service today.
3.Mapthefuturejourney
Now is the opportunity to look ahead
and explore how you can consistently
get the experience right first time, by
creating a client journey map.
The stages of a typical journey
for a professional services client
might include:
1. Discover: I have a business need/
challenge to address. How can I
solve it?
2. Consider: I understand the issues
and potential options. Which
advisers should I meet with?
3. Purchase: I’ve shortlisted potential
providers. Who understands my
challenges and has the most relevant
experience?
4. Use: Does the service delivery match
what was promised? Am I getting
more than just the basics?
5. Stay: The project went well and
the team has kept in touch. I can
see they care about me and my
business.
For each stage, teams will build
the map by reflecting on questions like:
•
What is the client thinking and
feeling at this point? – the emotional
connection
•
What do they need to help them do
their job? – the practical perspective
•
Which are the critical touchpoints
with our firm?
•
In future, how could we take the
pain out or put value in – which
behaviours and actions will make
the most difference?
It’s worthwhile running several
mapping sessions involving different
practices and offices.
You might be surprised by the
diversity of ideas that come up –
from better client onboarding or
fee-earners sharing industry insights
more proactively, through to practical
changes like improving the first
impression at reception.
4.Drivethechange
The journey map will help everyone in
the firm contextualise the experience
you want to create in future. But this
isn’t just about a diagram, it’s the starting
point for a programme of change.
Prioritisation is key. Which actions
stand out most? How realistic is it
to achieve all the client experience
standards you defined? You could
ask each workshop group to commit
to a short-term and a long-term action
for each stage.
Embedding a great client experience
needs great people, behaviours, systems
and processes behind it. So, much of
the value comes from identifying how
you will create the right environment.
When it comes to longer-term
investment and cultural change, which
leaders can you work with? And in the
meantime, which tactical projects can
you get under way so they see an early
return on the investment in client
experience?
5.Adapttheapproach
The metrics used to measure progress
at each stage will vary. It’s useful to
combine external data (like client
pulse surveys, brand tracking and
marketing/business development
engagement) with internal measures
(such as the impact on tenure,
breadth and profitability of client
relationships).
Regular reviews will allow you to
keep refining the approach. The aim
is for people across the firm to feel
confident and capable to deliver the
experience.
Ultimately, journey design gives
marketing and business development
leaders a platform to bring the client’s
voice into the boardroom. And in
doing so, it can elevate perceptions
of the function’s role in shaping the
firm’s overall strategy.
Ben Sutton leads a centre
of excellence enabling
international business
growth at Grant Thornton.