Many of the businesses you will frequent today have no idea how you became a customer. What’s worse than not knowing what brought you there is either making an incorrect assumption or not having an interest in your journey at all. It’s easier than ever in an online world to understand where customers come from, but if we want to create and grow sustainable businesses, we also need to pay attention to what they do and why they come.

Whether your business operates online or offline it’s possible to get better at learning from the customer’s journey. Every day I see people walk into delis, boutiques and bookstores to browse, sometimes they leave without buying anything, but they always leave clues as to the purpose of their visit, their mindset or worldview. For example, consider the shopper who whips out his smartphone to snap a photo at the local bricks and mortar store to keep a record of the things he’d like to research or order online later.

Questions To Consider About The Customer Journey

1. What prompted the customer to visit today?
2. Where did they hear about you?
3. What did they look at, browse, pick up or buy?
4. Why did they buy?
5. What did they browse, pick up and not buy?
6. Why didn’t they buy?
7. Why were they researching or shopping?
8. How could you fulfil their needs and wants in the future?
9. What might make them return?
10.How can you create opportunities that enable you to get to know them better?

What we learn from our customers’ actions and reactions teaches us where best to focus our energy and why. Curiosity is an underrated business resource.

Image by Toshihiro Gamo.