How to map an omnichannel customer journey: Your action blueprint

Transitioning to omnichannel client acquisition is easier said than done.

You’ll face data and channel integration issues. Your sales and marketing departments should work together but won’t. Not to mention you’ll need to future-proof your strategy against changing buyer behaviors.

It’s a complex puzzle.

To solve it, investigate how your target audience interacts with different channels at different stages. Once you gather and analyze audience data to understand your buyer’s behavior, you’ll have something solid to build a campaign on.

From there, you can inform the interlinking parts of your client acquisition efforts. Then build a unified understanding of your buyer to achieve shared departmental goals that break down silos.

In this article, we offer Belkins’ step-by-step playbook for mapping and building the omnichannel customer journey. This is the same playbook we use for both our clients and our own lead generation.

What is an omnichannel customer journey?

An omnichannel customer journey is the collection of touchpoints a potential customer has with a brand across different channels at different stages of awareness.

By first understanding the different channels that your customers use, and how they educate themselves and engage with peers. It’s also important to think about how you can get the most out of your current working channels. From there, you set the groundwork for building an omnichannel campaign.

Here’s how we at Belkins define an omnichannel approach:

The effectiveness of your omnichannel campaign depends upon how closely it aligns with the full definition provided above.

For a deeper understanding of what omnichannel is, check out this video:

The end goal of mapping and building the omnichannel journey is business growth. Omnichannel differs from single or multichannel in terms of how it achieves that goal.

Omnichannel campaign objectives:

• Improved sales and marketing outreach for each channel
• A consistent and compelling message across all platforms
• A seamless and personalized experience for prospective customers
• Tailored communications based on specific customer behaviors and preferences
• Integrated data and insights for each channel
• Improved conversions across all stages

Why buyers are demanding omnichannel journeys

Buyers want to be met where they are in the decision-making process. They want to take their time educating themselves on problems, solutions, and vendors. Rushing the sale only works against you.

Take a look at the modern B2B buying process. It commonly includes multiple decision-makers, buying committees, internal and external stakeholders, preexisting media consumption and online habits, staged goals, and expected lengths for each part.

The other reason buyers demand omnichannel is because the old methods of marketing are falling short in the following ways:

• Siloed lead generation (initiatives separated by channel, funnel stage, or market segment) doesn’t work when a single purchase decision is made by multiple people interacting with different channels.
• Oversaturated channels are further complicated by algorithmic updates, new regulations, and evolving spam filters.
• Buyer behavior has changed to include an increasing number of channels, more self-education, and the avoidance of sales reps until the end stage.
• It takes 350 days to make a buying decision, and 72% of B2B vendors are experiencing increasingly longer sales cycles. At the same time, half of deals are being lost to indecision, meaning you need sales and marketing to collaborate as they engage buyers for multiple months.
• Personalization expectations have risen. Buyers are becoming more familiar with and smarter about marketing tactics. They expect in-depth conversations and personalization. Messaging and outreach need to inform and build upon themselves, continuing the conversation from channel to channel.

What you need before mapping the customer journey

Here’s what you need to achieve — in order — to ensure your omnichannel customer journey map leads to effective outreach.

Define goals and vision

Establishing clear goals and a vision for your customer experience (CX) strategy is crucial. At Belkins, we help clients define their desired vision of success and translate it into specific, measurable objectives.

Target audience and industry details

Identify your target audience by considering factors such as industry size, job title, and geographic location. Keep in mind that different segments will have different conversion rates.

Next, use the scorecard below as a reference to evaluate and prioritize different audience segments (the data is based on hundreds of Belkins’ projects).

Analyzing current metrics

Examine the sales cycle length, average contract value (ACV), closing rate, and other key metrics. These will help you predict pipeline potential, projected closing revenue, and return on marketing investment (ROMI).

For instance, if your sales cycle is typically 6 months, your ACV is $10,000, and your closing rate is 20%, you can estimate how much pipeline you need to build to achieve specific revenue targets.

Defining your omnichannel strategy

Start mapping channels by identifying existing ones. Next, develop a cross-channel strategy that integrates all your marketing channels. That means creating a plan that outlines how you’ll allocate your budget across different channels (like social media, email, or advertising), what conversions you expect (such as sales or sign-ups), and how you’ll benchmark performance (like tracking engagement or sales growth).

Next, establish a vision for success with specific goals, such as revenue targets and expected ROI. Here’s what that might look like:

• Vision: Achieve $2 million in new revenue within the next fiscal year.
• Goals:
  • Maintain a customer acquisition cost below $500.
  • Achieve an ROI above 150%.
  • Increase the sales pipeline by 30% within the first quarter.

Understand the modern B2B buyer

Learn how your buyers behave. Include their research habits, channel preferences, and the number of touches required to move them from one awareness stage to the next. This includes knowing how to adapt outreach to multiple decision-makers and understanding each individual’s needs.

The average B2B buyer uses more than 10 channels to communicate with vendors and 62 touches throughout the entire journey.

How closely do those figures align with your ideal customer profile (ICP)? The end user? Decision-makers? Budget holders? Secondary stakeholders?

Source

Michaels’ post further illustrates how touches need to be distributed across the buyer journey, not just at the end, and not just by one department.

Assessment and planning

Assessment and planning require a deep dive into understanding your current situation, your target audience, and your objectives.

Refine your target market

Once you know how your buyers behave (psychographics) and who they are (demographics), dig deeper into their pain points and business requirements.

Next, conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis by looking at factors such as:

• How long did it take to close the client, from the first touchpoint to the signed deal?
• How difficult was it for the salesperson to close them, for customer success to handle their queries, etc.?
• What’s the total dollar amount they’ve brought your company?
• How much have they cost you in additional time and resources?
• How long have they been with you?
• Do they sing your praises on social media or refer other clients to you?

The idea is to crystallize the best of the best customers into your ICP. From there, you can build specific personas to inform your content and outreach efforts.

Analyze value propositions and differentiators

Make sure your company’s value propositions articulate clearly (to the newly refined target audience) how your offer solves their pain points and differentiates you from the competition.

Understand the current sales process

Map out your existing sales process to identify all current touchpoints and understand how leads are currently handled.

Look at past sales and marketing efforts to get an idea of what worked and what didn’t. Some examples of specific metrics to review are as follows:

• Email open and click-through rates
• Number of demo requests generated by a campaign
• Conversion rate into paying customers
• Sales team feedback on lead quality from a specific campaign

Develop an engagement road map

Based on your research and analysis, create an engagement road map that outlines how to interact based upon both the channel and the stage of the buyer journey.

Identify the precise locations where potential clients interact with your brand. This provides a basis for understanding which channels are most appropriate for each stage. It also tells you the audience’s stage-specific preferences and goals.

If you’ve done your homework correctly, your engagement road map will contain a mix of outbound (email, cold calling, LinkedIn) and inbound (content marketing, SEO, social media) for each stage. If not, dig through your case studies and whatever other data you have to draw insights from. Without understanding how your user likes to engage, you cannot map an omnichannel customer journey.

Last, be sure to balance speed to market with the number of touches required to achieve sufficient conversions. This will help you form a plan for early quick wins while building long-term momentum.

Identify roles within the buying committee

From your buyer personas, recognize and assign roles within the buying committee. Each role has different business objectives, pain points, and levels of influence.

Understanding each role helps you tailor messaging and engagement strategies.

For example, in a B2B software purchase:

• Someone in an Initiator role might be a department head who recognizes the need for new software.
• The Decider could be a VP who chooses the solution.
• An Influencer might be an IT manager evaluating the technical aspects of the product.
• The Buyer is the procurement officer.
• The Gatekeeper could be an executive assistant who filters all incoming information.
• The Approver is a CFO who authorizes the purchase.
• The User could be the actual employee who uses the software daily.

We recommend targeting 3 personas and including their roles within buying committees.

Here’s a single-persona example taken from a past campaign:

Select omnichannel engagement options

First, map the channels to understand which ones you engage prospects through.

Once you have your list of channels that prospects are active on, go stage by stage (in terms of awareness stages). We define this as 4 major stages:

1. Awareness: The initial stage is designed to make the prospect aware of the problem and what it’s costing them.
2. Activation/Attention: The prospect takes some kind of action, usually an indirect form of engagement, like signing up for a newsletter, downloading a resource, or clicking a link to an article in a cold email.
3. Engagement: Direct response in the form of a reply, social media engagement, live conversation, etc.
4. Conversion: The prospect has a meeting with a salesperson, signs up for a free trial, or satisfies some other high buying intent conversion goal.

Next, you figure out the best mix of different channels for each stage. To be clear, channels are not specific to different stages. The notion that LinkedIn is only used for early awareness stages is not true.

Here’s an example of what your channel mix for a single specific stage, like the final conversion stage, might look like:

• Cold email
• LinkedIn outreach
• Intent-based calling + cold calling
• PPC
• Retargeting ads
• Email marketing
• Industry events + face-to-face meetings

The key is to understand that each channel (outreach method) is simply the vehicle for the right message and CTA. The stage of awareness largely determines what that message and CTA should be.

By connecting the stage with the channel via messaging, you achieve a much higher level of relevance than you could with a multichannel or single-channel campaign.

Integrate your teams

Whether you’ve got in-house and outsourced teams or just internal sales and marketing departments, you’ll need to set up shared goals and objectives.

When we work with clients, we define responsibilities between internal and external teams, leveraging the strengths of each. This involves stakeholders from marketing, sales, finance, and other relevant departments.

Collaboration is no longer optional. Shared goals are given for both sets of teams, as well as sales and marketing departments, such as:

• Generating a specific amount of new revenue across the pipeline
• Improving deal velocity
• Closing a set number of new deals

Commonly, our clients’ marketing teams align on content, paid advertising, and event strategies while we focus on lead generation, outbound marketing, and buyer research.

The client’s sales team often provides feedback on lead quality and engages with qualified prospects. The finance department is involved in budget allocation and ROI tracking.

In an omnichannel campaign, the handoff between marketing content and sales outreach must seamlessly continue the conversation. No more siloed departments. 

5 steps for mapping and building the customer journey

After completing the above stages, you’ll have all the pieces to map an omnichannel customer journey. You can now arrange them in a way that satisfies each stage of awareness — aka the buyer journey.

The 5 steps below are straight from the playbook we use for ourselves and employ for our clients. They’re laid out in the context of the goals each stage should achieve.

1. Make decision-makers aware of the problem

Goal: The decision-maker notices something isn’t working.

Job to be done (JTBD): Notice opportunity for improvement.   

Attention level: Low (0–2 on a scale). They’re not actively searching for solutions yet.  

Emotional state: Beginning to feel discomfort or frustration with the current situation. Negative emotions are emerging, so messaging must be carefully considered.

Resonating with buyer psychology: Highlight discomfort, since your buyer is beginning to realize that they don’t like something about their current business operations. As they become more aware of their problem, their emotional state gets more negative, requiring carefully tailored messaging.

Universal brand message: “Hey, you have a problem. Here’s the cost of it.” Or, “What if things didn’t have to be this way?”

Channels and influences to leverage:

• Existing network: What thought leaders or peers do they listen to?
• Social media: What platforms are they active on? What groups do they belong to?
• Email: What newsletters do they subscribe to?
• Podcasts: What podcasts do they listen to?
• Trade shows/conferences: Which industry events do they attend?
• Online communities: Are they active in any relevant forums or online groups?
• Content consumption: What content do they prefer (articles, videos, infographics, etc.)?

Initiatives to consider:

• Content marketing:
  • Blog posts
  • E-books/white papers
  • Case studies
  • Infographics
• Social media marketing:
  • Targeted ads
  • Thought leadership
  • Community engagement
• Email marketing:
  • Targeted newsletters    
  • Personalized emails
• Podcast marketing:
  • Sponsorships
  • Guest appearances
• Event marketing:
  • Sponsorships
  • SEO

Common call-to-action goals:

• Downloads of content
• Newsletter sign-ups
• Relevancy checks
• Deeper content exploration
• Impressions on messages that don’t require click-throughs

2. Spark internal discussion about needs and potential action

Goal: The decision-maker articulates the problem and considers taking action. They may seek additional opinions or information, often consulting trusted parties within their organization or network. Occasionally, organizations will issue audits and cost-benefit analyses.

JTBD: Define the problem more clearly and consider options.

Attention level: Increasing (3–5). They are starting to actively gather information.

Emotional state: Seeking validation and justification for their concerns. They are looking for evidence to support the need for change.

Resonating with buyer psychology: Show empathy.

Universal brand message: “Hey, here’s some analysis and information related to what you already care about.”

Channels and influences to leverage:

• Internal communication platforms: What channels (Slack, Teams, etc.) are used for internal discussions?
• Industry reports and analyst data: What research sources do they trust?
• Webinars and online events: Do they attend webinars to learn about best practices and solutions?
• Peer networks: Do they participate in industry forums, associations, or mastermind groups?
• Internal experts: Whom within the organization do they consult for advice?

Initiatives to consider:

• Content marketing:
  • Thought leadership articles    
  • Webinars
  • ROI calculators and assessment tools
  • Comparison guides    
• Social media marketing:
  • Sharing industry insights    
  • Engaging in discussions    
  • Running polls and surveys    
• Email marketing:
  • Targeted email campaigns    
  • Nurturing sequences    
• Sales enablement:
  • Providing sales reps with talking points    
  • Developing case studies & testimonials    
  • SEO
  • Paid media

Common call-to-action goals:

• Click-throughs
• Follower count increases
• Shares/links to your content
• Opens and replies
• Check relevancy
• Downloads

3. Push stakeholders to seek solutions

Goal: Stakeholders decide to shop for solutions. At this stage, buying committees may form to outline requirements and review the different types of available solutions.

JTBD: Evaluate different types of solutions.

Attention level: High (5–7). They are actively researching and comparing options.

Emotional state: Hopeful but also overwhelmed by the number of choices. They are seeking clarity and guidance.

Resonating with buyer psychology: Guide the buyer and provide a road map.

Universal brand message: “Hey, here are solutions to your problem.”

Channels and influences to leverage:

• Search engines: What keywords are they using to search for solutions?    
• Review websites: What review sites (G2, Capterra, etc.) are they consulting?
• Vendor websites: Are they visiting vendor websites to learn about different solutions?
• Industry events: Are they attending industry events to see demos and talk to vendors?    
• Consultants/Advisors: Are they engaging with consultants or advisors to help them evaluate options? 

Initiatives to consider:

• Content marketing:    
  • Solution-focused blog posts 
  • Product demos 
  • Webinars showcasing solutions
  • Comparison charts    
• SEO:
  • Targeted keyword optimization
  • Review site optimization
• Social media marketing:
  • Running targeted ads
  • Sharing customer success stories
• Email marketing:
  • Personalized email sequences
  • Case studies
• Sales enablement:
  • Sales scripts addressing common objections
  • Competitive analysis

Common call-to-action goals:

• Clicks
• Newsletter sign-ups
• Increased session time
• Multiplied reply rates
• Repeat vs. new visitors
• Booked appointments
• Invite to participate

4. Generate leads

Goal: The organization contacts potential vendors and asks for proposals.

JTBD: Contact potential vendors and request proposals.

Attention level: Very high (7–9). They are actively seeking vendors and solutions.

Emotional state: Ready to solve the problem, but potentially cautious about making the wrong choice.

Resonating with buyer psychology: Nurture enthusiasm and excitement.

Universal brand message: “Hey, here’s how we could solve your problem.”

Channels and influences to leverage:

• Vendor directories: Which online directories (Clutch, G2, etc.) are they using?
• Referrals: Are they asking for referrals from their network?
• Search engines: Are they conducting searches for specific vendors or solutions?
• Social media: Are they engaging with vendors on social media?

Initiatives to consider:

• Content marketing:
  • Case studies
  • White papers
  • E-books
• SEO:
  • Targeted keyword optimization
  • Landing page optimization
• Social media marketing:
  • Running targeted ads
  • Sharing customer success stories
• Email marketing:
  • Personalized email sequences
  • Free trials
• Sales enablement:
  • Create compelling proposals
  • Provide product demos

Common call-to-action goals:

• Social engagement
• Buying intent
• Appointments booked
• New pipeline deals
• Achieved or improved cost per appointment (CPA)
• New pipeline created

5. Appeal to consensus and convert

Goal: Buying committees discuss proposals and weigh options against requirements to strike the best balance between investment risk and potential impact.

JTBD: Shortlist vendors, discuss proposals, and balance options against requirements.

Attention level: Peak (9–10). They are at the final decision-making stage.

Emotional state: Anxious to make the right decision, seeking reassurance and validation. 

Resonating with buyer psychology: Build trust and confidence. Before the buyer is ready to commit to a purchase, they might get cold feet and return to a more risk-averse mindset, so handle things with care.

Universal brand message: “Hey, here’s why our solution is perfect for you.”

Channels and influences to leverage:  

• Customer testimonials: Are they reading testimonials to help get an unbiased perspective?  
• Case studies: Are they reading case studies?  
• Analyst reports: Are they reading analyst reports to help guide their decision?  
• Product demos: Are they attending product demos?  
• Sales representatives: Are they in contact with sales representatives?

Initiatives to consider:  

• Content marketing:  
  • Customer testimonials  
  • Case studies  
  • Product comparison guides  
• Sales enablement:  
  • Product demos  
  • Negotiation and contract support  
  • Pilot program offers  
  • Executive summaries  
• SEO  
• Retargeting the final-stage leads

Common call-to-action goals:

• New qualified pipeline created
• Proposals sent
• Achieved or improved ACV
• Closed revenue
• Offline meetings
• Sales calls

Building a successful omnichannel campaign

Running an omnichannel campaign requires continuous testing and optimization.

However, if you haven’t properly mapped the buyer journey, you’ll spend your time endlessly repairing something and not getting very far.

When you’ve properly integrated the different parts of your omnichannel strategy, the hand-off between sales and marketing teams becomes seamless. Messaging becomes more consistent. Engagement and conversions increase across all stages of awareness. 

To leave you with a lasting impression of what a well-executed omnichannel campaign can do for your business, take a look at this case study summary about one of our clients — a startup investment platform. We helped them turn lower-than-industry conversion rates into those exceeding the industry average.

Here’s a summary of the results that came from transitioning to an omnichannel approach:

• After the first 4 months of collaboration, we doubled their monthly meeting quota from 15 to 30.
• We helped them close 13 deals with what they considered top-tier clients within the first year, bringing in $150,000 in revenue.
• We also added $434,000 in projected value for pending deals to their pipeline.
• We booked a total of 346 appointments within 15 months of collaboration: 285 from email, 40 from LinkedIn, and 21 from calls.

In the end, we were able to produce a 125% ROI (the industry average is 107%-110%) for our client.

Ready to integrate teams and tech and start mapping your omnichannel campaign? Contact us to discuss your current marketing efforts, challenges, and transformational goals.