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Explainer: The New Customer Journey

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Digital Marketing - Study Notes:

The New Customer Journey 

The new customer journey is a model used by marketers to map the journey a customer takes when deciding whether to purchase. It includes multiple touchpoints and channels through which a consumer interacts with a brand before making a purchase decision. However, unlike the traditional customer journey model, which suggests that consumers move in a linear fashion from interest to conversion, the new customer journey consists of a continuous loop of exploration and evaluation. Here, consumers move back and forth between stages multiple times, reviewing and considering their options, until they’re ready to take action. 

This new model includes a grey area or “messy middle”. This reflects the uncertainty in the customer journey, making it challenging to accurately measure and optimize digital marketing campaigns.

The complex nature of this new customer journey is largely driven by the endless supply of information about products, services, and brands that consumers now have access to. This allows consumers to take as much time as necessary to explore all the available options. As a result, organizations must strategically engage consumers at each stage, leveraging data and insights to deliver personalized experiences and nurture lasting relationships.

This new journey can make the funnel concept seem outdated. However, organizations can benefit from using this structure because customers still pass through a series of stages on their journey towards a purchase.
 

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Maeve Kneafsey

Maeve Kneafsey is an international practitioner and speaker in marketing, digital transformation, ecommerce, and analytics. Starting with founding Ireland's first content strategy/digital marketing agency, she has over 20 years’ experience launching and building international digital-led businesses, from early concept to funding to growth.  

ABOUT THIS DIGITAL MARKETING MODULE

Strategy and the Digital Mindset
Maeve Kneafsey
Skills Expert

The final module examines the importance of developing a digital strategy to provide focus and guide what an organization needs to do to be successful in its sector. It examines how a strategy can drive how an organization chooses between and deploys digital technologies to meet its objectives, and how it needs to have clear goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to be effective. The module also emphasizes the importance of developing a strategic mindset that considers the bigger picture but remains flexible and agile in the face of unexpected changes. It concludes by looking at how continuous learning helps leaders in an organization to cultivate the mindset needed to succeed in the new digital environment.