Mapping Out Customer Touchpoints

Last week, I shared how Gen AI is moving us from the age of information to the age of intelligence. Technology is changing rapidly and the way customers shop and buy is changing, too. We need to understand how the customer journey is evolving in order to drive customer connection today. That is our bread and butter at HubSpot - we’re deeply curious about customer behavior! So I want to share one important shift we’re seeing and what go-to-market teams can do to adapt. Traditionally, when a customer wants to learn more about your product or service, what have they done? They go to your website and explore. They click on different pages, filter for information that’s relevant to them, and sort through pages to find what they need. But today, even if your website is user-friendly and beautiful, all that clicking is becoming too much work. We now live in the era of ChatGPT, where customers can find exactly what they need without ever having to leave a simple chat box. Plus, they can use natural language to easily have a conversation. It's no surprise that 55% of businesses predict that by 2024, most people will turn to chatbots over search engines for answers (HubSpot Research). That’s why now, when customers land on your website, they don’t want to click, filter, and sort. They want to have an easy, 1:1, helpful conversation. That means as customers consider new products they are moving from clicks to conversations. So, what should you do? It's time to embrace bots. To get started, experiment with a marketing bot for your website. Train your bot on all of your website content and whitepapers so it can quickly answer questions about products, pricing, and case studies—specific to your customer's needs. At HubSpot, we introduced a Gen AI-powered chatbot to our website earlier this year and the results have been promising: 78% of chatters' questions have been fully answered by our bot, and these customers have higher satisfaction scores. Once you have your marketing bot in place, consider adding a support bot. The goal is to answer repetitive questions and connect customers with knowledge base content automatically. A bot will not only free up your support reps to focus on more complex problems, but it will delight your customers to get fast, personalized help. In the age of AI, customers don’t want to convert on your website, they want to converse with you. How has your GTM team experimented with chatbots? What are you learning? #ConversationalAI #HubSpot #HubSpotAI

Are you generating enough value for users net of the value to your company? Business value can only be created when you create so much value for users, that you can “tax” that value and take some for yourself as a business. If you don’t create any value for your users, then you can’t create value for your business. Ed Biden explains how to solve this in this week's guest post: Whilst there are many ways to understand what your users will value, two techniques in particular are incredibly valuable, especially if you’re working on a tight timeframe: 1. Jobs To Be Done 2. Customer Journey Mapping 𝟭. 𝗝𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗧𝗼 𝗕𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗲 (𝗝𝗧𝗕𝗗) “People don’t simply buy products or services, they ‘hire’ them to make progress in specific circumstances.”  – Clayton Christensen The core JTBD concept is that rather than buying a product for its features, customers “hire” a product to get a job done for them … and will ”fire” it for a better solution just as quickly. In practice, JTBD provides a series of lenses for understanding what your customers want, what progress looks like, and what they’ll pay for. This is a powerful way of understanding your users, because their needs are stable and it forces you to think from a user-centric point of view. This allows you to think about more radical solutions, and really focus on where you’re creating value. To use Jobs To Be Done to understand your customers, think through five key steps: 1. Use case – what is the outcome that people want? 2. Alternatives – what solutions are people using now? 3. Progress – where are people blocked? What does a better solution look like? 4. Value Proposition – why would they use your product over the alternatives? 5. Price – what would a customer pay for progress against this problem? 𝟮. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 Customer journey mapping is an effective way to visualize your customer’s experience as they try to reach one of their goals. In basic terms, a customer journey map breaks the user journey down into steps, and then for each step describes what touchpoints the customer has with your product, and how this makes them feel. The touch points are any interaction that the customer has with your company as they go through this flow: • Website and app screens • Notifications and emails • Customer service calls • Account management / sales touch points • Physically interacting with goods (e.g. Amazon), services (e.g. Airbnb) or hardware (e.g. Lime) Users’ feelings can be visualized by noting down: • What they like or feel good about at this step • What they dislike, find frustrating or confusing at this step • How they feel overall By mapping the customer’s subjective experience to the nuts and bolts of what’s going on, and then laying this out in a visual way, you can easily see where you can have the most impact, and align stakeholders on the critical problems to solve.

🛑 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗙𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱: 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 Having trouble keeping pace with your customers' desires and needs? If you're not leveraging real-time data on customer behavior and preferences, you're essentially flying blind. 💥 This lack of insight can cripple your marketing and sales efforts, leading to ineffective customer engagements and stunted sales growth. Here’s where Voice AI steps in as a powerful ally: ❇️ Real-Time Data Collection: Implement Voice AI to engage with customers directly. This technology collects essential data on preferences, concerns, and feedback as the conversation happens. ❇️ Instant Feedback Loop: Set up your Voice AI to provide real-time feedback to your marketing and sales teams. This means they can pivot and adjust strategies instantly, enhancing the effectiveness of your campaigns on the fly. ❇️ Real-Time Alert System: Integrate a real-time alert system within your Voice AI setup. This can notify team members immediately when it detects key customer triggers, like expressions of dissatisfaction or excitement, prompting swift and appropriate action. By integrating these strategies, you'll not only meet but exceed customer expectations, enhancing engagement and driving sales. How are you leveraging technology to stay on top of customer preferences? Share your strategies below! #innovation #digitalmarketing #technology #bigdata #entrepreneurship #voiceai

𝗪𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿—$3B+ ARR, 20,000+ employees. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗲𝘆𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵. When I saw this deal come through on Slack, I was pumped. The last touch attribution said: Brand Keyword. Most B2B companies would stop there, assume the deal came from a Google search, and pour more budget into branded keywords. But here’s the thing: that’s NOT what actually happened. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝗱𝘂𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮, 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: → 21 unidentified visitors from the account → 4 identified visitors with 10+ web visits → 5 visits to our case study page → 1,000+ LinkedIn impressions with 100+ engagements over the past year This deal wasn’t the result of one touchpoint. It was the culmination of countless interactions across multiple channels over time. 𝗬𝗲𝘁, 90% 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. In 2025, with tighter budgets and growing pressure to deliver more with less, that’s a dangerous game. Because if you don’t see the full buyer journey, you’ll end up misallocating resources—like pumping 90% of your budget into branded keywords while ignoring the touchpoints that actually influenced the deal. Here’s the takeaway: People don’t make decisions because of one touchpoint. They make decisions because of many. The question is: do you have visibility into those touchpoints? What’s your approach to mapping the full buyer journey?

Is the era of the Google search results page fading for discovery? The data suggests a rapid shift is underway. We're seeing a seismic shift in how information is discovered - moving rapidly from keyword searches yielding lists of links towards a conversational AI delivering direct answers (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google Gemini, etc.). This isn't a slow evolution; it's happening fast. Consider this: Adobe Analytics recently reported a 1200% YoY increase in traffic from gen AI sources to US retail websites. While this is retail data, view it as a leading indicator. This behavioral change - seeing answers, not just links - will ripple across all customer journeys, B2C and B2B alike. I've heard from multiple B2B startups that they are getting more inbound from ChatGPT than Google Search. What does this mean for the customer journey? * Discovery & Search: Buyers won't just browse websites. They'll increasingly ask AI models for comparisons, summaries, and recommendations. * From Answer to Action: This isn't just about information retrieval. With AI agents like OpenAI's Operator, Google's Project Mariner, and Amazon's "Buy with Me", we're seeing the potential for AI to move directly from discovery to research to purchase. The Implications: * For Marketers: The traditional customer journey playbook needs a significant update. How do you ensure your solution is surfaced, understood, and trusted by the AI? Getting discovered in an answer-first world requires new strategies, likely involving structured data on both 1st party and 3rd party sites taking advantage of protocols like the emerging Model Context Protocol (MCP) to effectively communicate to the models. * For Founders: There's an opportunity to build the next generation digital experience platform. We need solutions purpose-built for this new reality across Customer Experience technology categories - consider that in a post AI world the next customer may by AI, which means leveraging conversational interfaces, agent capabilities, and protocols like MCP. It isn't just about new features; it's about rethinking the entire go-to-market motion in an AI-world.

Surveys can serve an important purpose. We should use them to fill holes in our understanding of the customer experience or build better models with the customer data we have. As surveys tell you what customers explicitly choose to share, you should not be using them to measure the experience. Surveys are also inherently reactive, surface level, and increasingly ignored by customers who are overwhelmed by feedback requests. This is fact. There’s a different way. Some CX leaders understand that the most critical insights come from sources customers don’t even realize they’re providing from the “exhaust” of every day life with your brand. Real-time digital behavior, social listening, conversational analytics, and predictive modeling deliver insights that surveys alone never will. Voice and sentiment analytics, for example, go beyond simply reading customer comments. They reveal how customers genuinely feel by analyzing tone, frustration, or intent embedded within interactions. Behavioral analytics, meanwhile, uncover friction points by tracking real customer actions across websites or apps, highlighting issues users might never explicitly complain about. Predictive analytics are also becoming essential for modern CX strategies. They anticipate customer needs, allowing businesses to proactively address potential churn, rather than merely reacting after the fact. The capability can also help you maximize revenue in the experiences you are delivering (a use case not discussed often enough). The most forward-looking CX teams today are blending traditional feedback with these deeper, proactive techniques, creating a comprehensive view of their customers. If you’re just beginning to move beyond a survey-only approach, prioritizing these more advanced methods will help ensure your insights are not only deeper but actionable in real time. Surveys aren’t dead (much to my chagrin), but relying solely on them means leaving crucial insights behind. While many enterprises have moved beyond surveys, the majority are still overly reliant on them. And when you get to mid-market or small businesses? The survey slapping gets exponentially worse. Now is the time to start looking beyond the questionnaire and your Likert scales. The email survey is slowly becoming digital dust. And the capabilities to get you there are readily available. How are you evolving your customer listening strategy beyond traditional surveys? #customerexperience #cxstrategy #customerinsights #surveys

The future of customer experience is proactive, personalized, and powered by AI. This new era in customer experience represents a fundamental shift in how businesses will connect with their customers. Here’s how it’s taking shape: 1. Seamless AI-Human Collaboration The future of CX lies in the synergy between AI and human touch. AI will handle repetitive tasks and complex analysis, freeing human agents to focus on empathy and nuanced problem-solving. This isn't about replacement, but enhancement. 2. Proactive Issue Resolution We're moving beyond reactive CX models. Advanced AI systems will detect patterns and flag potential issues before they impact customers, shifting the paradigm from problem-solving to problem prevention. 3. Real-Time Personalization Beyond basic segmentation, AI delivers truly personalized experiences by analyzing customer data and contextual signals instantaneously. This enables businesses to dynamically adapt every touchpoint, creating experiences that feel custom-crafted for each customer. 4. Emotionally Intelligent Interactions The next frontier is AI that can sense customer sentiment and adjust communication accordingly. This emotional intelligence will be crucial in creating authentic, empathetic customer experiences at scale. 5. Evolving CX Systems: Static systems are becoming obsolete. The future belongs to AI that continuously learns and evolves from every interaction, constantly improving the entire CX infrastructure. The companies poised to lead are doing more than deploying AI—they’re reimagining the entire customer journey with AI at the center. I'm curious to hear from fellow leaders and innovators: What AI-driven CX innovations have caught your attention recently? How do you see these advancements shaping your industry? #CustomerExperience #AI #BusinessTransformation #CX

Customers are commenting on your survey. Here's how to analyze 100 surveys in 30 minutes (without software). 1. Make a check sheet You can use a spreadsheet, Word document, or even a piece of paper. Make a table with one column for every possible score on your survey rating scale. For example, if the scale is 1-5, you'd add five columns to your check sheet. Label the columns for each point on the scale. 2. Read the surveys Quickly read the comments in each survey. For each comment, write a brief one or two-word theme on the check sheet under the column that corresponds with the overall survey rating. In the pictured example, a customer rated the restaurant a five and commented on the importance of having reservations because the restaurant was busy. That translated to "reservations" being written in the "5" column. For each subsequent review, save time by adding a check mark next to each theme that's repeated. For example, seven additional customers mentioned reservations while giving the restaurant a five rating, for a total of eight mentions. 3. Search for trends The check sheet makes your survey trends more visible. In the pictured example, you can see the restaurant is doing great overall. When customers do give a lower rating, it tends to focus on the restaurant being too busy. Note the themes from customers who rated the restaurant a two: They felt the food was great. (That's why there's a "+" next to the food.) Their negative comments focused on the restaurant being unable to handle walk-in guests or large groups. Take Action: The trends tell you what you're doing well, and where you need to improve. This restaurant's guests loved the food, service, and atmosphere. The challenge was it was too popular! Potential guests were disappointed if they didn't have a reservation or wanted to dine with a group. The restaurant acted on this feedback by creating a private dining area for larger groups, adding additional bar seating, and holding aside a few tables for walk-in guests. Not bad for 30 minutes of work. What can you learn from your survey comments? #ServiceCulture

The day after a customer onsite, you should call each person that you met with and do the following: 1. Thank them 2. Ask for feedback Use these conversations to: 1. Set additional demos/meetings (set multiple next steps in parallel, do not do them in linear fashion unless you want to slow down your deal) 2. Learn where you stand in the evaluation 3. Figure out who at the company actually has influence on the decision-making process If you do this right you'll go from having 1 main contact at an account to having multiple relationships driving your deal forward. You can even run this play on virtual demos if there is a big group. Big team meetings can be one of your best multithreading tools if you take this follow-up approach.

𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝟵𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗻—𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁. In MedTech sales, the real test begins after the first sales conversation. HCPs are busy. Committees get delayed. Priorities shift. If your “follow-up” is just 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 with, “Did you have a chance to review...?” …you’ve already lost. Great follow-up isn’t about nagging. It’s about 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦: ➡️ Send an article that speaks directly to a concern they raised. ➡️ Reframe their hesitation into a patient-centered question: “How would this impact outcomes for the next 10 cases?” ➡️ Anticipate roadblocks before they bring them up. ➡️ Keep them updated with relevant information on the product and ways to buy it. Here’s the part most reps miss: follow-up is where trust compounds—or erodes. Each touchpoint tells the customer whether you’re a partner or a pest. In my book, 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 – 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, I call follow-up “the graveyard where good opportunities go to die.” MedTech reps who master follow-up are the ones who quietly dominate their markets. 𝗕𝗮𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝘂𝗽. 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲? _______________________________ Did you know I send out weekly message with insight and hacks for medical sales professionals? It's called, "The Medical Sales Minute." Sign up for free. Link in bio "About" section.