User journey map: Exploring the newly opened cafe near me

Source — Google

What is user journey map and its purpose?

A user journey map is a visual representation of the “story” from a customer’s perspective.

The user journey helps you visualize your product from the customer’s point of view via a user journey map. It helps focus the lens on how customers experience your product or service.

Creating a journey map may be more common in the marketing industry. But they do have an important role to play in your work no matter what industry you’re in.

“Design used to be the seasoning you’d sprinkle on for taste; now it’s the flour you need at the start of the recipe.”

— John Maeda

Why is customer journey mapping important?

Customer journey mapping is important because it is a strategic approach to better understanding customer expectations and is crucial for optimizing the customer experience.

Customer journey mapping is just as important for small and medium-sized enterprises as it is for larger companies. Customer expectations are changing for all businesses, regardless of size — customers demand an omnichannel approach to customer service, marketing, and sales.

Mapping the customer journey has benefits such as:

• Allowing you to optimize the customer onboarding process
• Benchmarking the customer experience desired by your customers against what they actually receive
• Understanding the differences in buyer personas as they move from prospect to conversion through the buying funnel.
• Creating a logical order for your buyer journey.

However, the biggest benefit is simply understanding your customers more. The better you understand their expectations, the more you can tailor the customer experience to their needs.

steps involved in the user journey mapping:

1. Choose scope
2. Create a persona
3. Define scenario and user expectations
4. Creating a list of touchpoints
5. Take user intention into account
6. Sketch the journey
7. Consider user’s emotional state
8. Validate and refine user journey

Let me take you through my own user journey along with my brother to have a better understanding of what user journey mapping is.

Exploring the newly opened cafe near me: How did it start?

It was a rainy day when I woke up at 6:30 in the morning and because the weather was nice, I was craving something yummy to eat. As I was talking to my parents, my father suggested that I should go to a cafe that is recently opened in our area.

User journey map made on Figma

1. Discovery

So I went over Google and searched for the cafes near me. Then I found the nearest cafe which was recently opened. I checked the opening hours and the menu of the cafe. That cafe opens at 4 ‘ o’clock in the evening, and it was the perfect time for me to go there because my class ends at 5 in the evening. As Navratri is going on I was specifically searching for vegetarian food and this menu was perfect.

Screenshots captured on the phone

Touchpoints: Phone, Google

Experience: Found out there is a cafe which is just 10min away from my home and the opening hour was just perfect for my timing. As I looked at the menu my mouth started watering. I was excited.

Emotions: 😍

2. Commute to the cafe

Then the actual journey began. After class I got ready, Weather was cold and was perfect to eat hot snacks. As the pandemic is still ongoing Mask and sanitizer is compulsory.

Photos were taken on the phone by me

Touchpoints: Weather

Emotions: 😄

Photos were taken on the phone by me

The initial plan of ours was to go by scooty but as soon as I stepped out it started raining. So I and my brother decided to walk there. I took my umbrella and left with my brother. As we were walking, it started raining heavily and heavy wind was blowing which was quite disappointing.

Touchpoint: weather

Experience: Disappointed due to the unexpected heavy rain.

Emotions:😍…😄…🙁

3. At the cafe and their services

Photos were taken on the phone by me

We reached the cafe as expected within 10 minutes. And as soon as we entered, the hotel owner didn’t welcome us. He handed over the menu to us. We found a table for us to sit at. After settling down we were checking the menu to order, I was searching for the vegetarian option. But the menu which they gave was completely different from the one I found on Google. The vegetarian food items were too few and it was too difficult to find in the menu which was not as per my expectations.

Touchpoints: menu

Experience: As we reached the cafe we were relaxed, but the owner was not welcoming. The menu was not as expected.

Emotions: 😌…😐…🙁

Photos were taken on the phone by me

The ambiance was good and the crowd was less. My brother ordered a veg sandwich for me and a chicken burger for him and we also ordered Cold coffee and Oreo shake. As we were waiting, the music started playing. it was still raining outside. Within 10 minutes our order arrived, which looked yummy. The food was good. We enjoyed it but I expected the sandwich to be a bit crunchy. We also ordered a sandwich parcel after having the food.

Touchpoints: Menu, Attendant, Food

Experience: As the food arrived our mood was lifted and the food was really tasty.

Emotions: 😐…😄…😍

4. Billing and payments

Photos were taken on the phone by me

We went near the billing counter and the owner asked me to scan the QR code and pay the amount. It was affordable. The parcel was ready so we picked it. We thanked the owner and left the cafe and it was still raining.

Touchpoints: Menu, phone, weather

Experience: Price was affordable

Emotions: 😍

So that was my whole journey of exploring the cafe.

Overall learning: User experience is a crucial part of a user. This exercise made me realize how every small details matter and should be properly taken care of. Also to appreciate the small details we overlook.

Thank You 😄

Happy Reading!