customer journey’s map 🇫🇷 Français | 🇬🇧 English | 🇪🇸 Español
Within the Diagnostic Series, there’s one essential tool for companies aiming for sustainable growth: the customer experience diagnostic. I’ve used it extensively, particularly in the tourism and hospitality industries.
Why is customer experience diagnosis so important?
Because high-growth companies put the customer at the heart of their strategy. In an economy with overwhelming options and increasingly complex distribution channels, the quality of the experience lived by your customer is the key differentiator.
Let’s take hospitality as an example.
The weight of fixed assets is huge. Every unsold room night is an immediate loss. And if you want to increase your margins, disintermediation is a fast track—but it requires a well-optimized customer journey at every touchpoint.
What is customer experience, and how do you diagnose it?
Customer experience goes far beyond direct interactions with your brand.
It spans the entire journey, from the first idea or need, all the way through loyalty—or abandonment.
Hospitality example:
Customer experience encompasses all emotions, perceptions, and interactions a guest has during their stay.
In hotels, it begins long before arrival with inspiration, and ends well after departure.
A well-designed experience allows you to:
- Build customer loyalty
- Generate positive word-of-mouth
- Earn better reviews and ratings online
- Strengthen your brand image
As a consultant, I step in on-site and act as a mystery guest, to observe, analyze, and suggest concrete improvements in real conditions.
The 5 Key Phases of the Customer Experience
- Consideration (Inspiration)
The client starts thinking about a need or a desire. Your goal is to be part of their mental shortlist—through brand awareness, word-of-mouth, or subtle but strategic presence. - Exploration (Research)
The client actively looks for options. They compare, evaluate. Your goal is to appear in their search results and occupy a convincing position. - Purchase (Booking)
The client decides to buy. Your goal is to remove friction and streamline the process—regardless of the channel. - Use (Experience)
The client uses your product or service. Your goal is to deliver an experience that matches—or exceeds—the promise. - Loyalty
The client returns or refers others. Your goal is to build a long-term relationship, so they skip the first two phases next time.
How to Perform a Customer Experience Diagnostic
Your main tool is the Customer Journey Map. Here’s how to build one and use it effectively:
1. Map the Customer Journey
Draw a horizontal timeline with the five phases above.
This structure is your starting point, and it can be customized for any business.
2. Identify Key Moments
These are “moments of truth”, those critical decisions when the client either continues—or drops off.
Examples by phase:
- Exploration: search quality, comparison tools, online reviews
- Purchase: cart abandonment, indecision, call center experience
In the hospitality sector, these moments are decisive for conversion.
3. Identify Touchpoints and Communication Channels
You must list all touchpoints and channels used at every stage.
Examples:
- Consideration: posters, ads, social media, word-of-mouth (often most influential)
- Exploration: SEO/SEM, social ads, website, OTAs, physical agencies
- Purchase: web forms, booking engine, newsletter, call center, intermediaries
- Experience: pre-arrival emails, front desk, staff interactions, ancillary services
- Loyalty: CRM, post-stay emails, loyalty program, direct outreach
At each phase, ask yourself: What contact points and channels influence the client?
📌 Your diagnostic must account for today’s omnichannel reality:
Customers switch seamlessly between email, social media, phone, travel agents, chatbots, and physical locations. A lack of synchronization between channels can create confusion and harm the overall experience.
4. Identify What Information Is Collected
For each contact point, evaluate:
- What information is available?
- What is actually collected?
- Is it centralized and actionable?
This often requires an analysis of:
- Internal processes
- Information systems
- Team interviews
We call this the O-P-I triangle: Organization – Processes – Information Systems.
5. Identify Friction Points and “Wow” Moments
The key here is listening to the voice of the customer. It is the way to identify Pain points and Love points throughout the customer journey’s touchpoints. for that you may want to create a feedback loop and gather customer insights from data analysis.
You need systems in place to gather feedback, plus KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to track impact over time:
- Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
- Net Promoter Score (NPS)
- Repeat purchase rate
📋 Data sources to analyze:
- Satisfaction surveys
- Online reviews
- Contact forms
- Complaints
- Customer service interactions
- Transactional data
- Social media comments
💡 Nothing beats a mystery shopping conducted by a trained consultant ( like my fieldwork in Punta Cana).
Shadowing staff and qualitative interviews help build a full 360° diagnosis.
6. Identify Gaps Between Expected and Actual Experience
You now have:
- What the customer expects at each stage
- What they actually experience
💥 The biggest improvement opportunities lie in these gaps.
🎯 Focus especially on moments of truth where the customer is most emotionally engaged.
7. Define Corrective Actions and Opportunities
For each gap, brainstorm at least three actionable solutions.
This makes for a great team workshop and encourages collaboration.
Common missed opportunities:
- Poor or unused customer data collection
- Generic or underperforming CRM strategy
- Lack of direct booking incentives (over-reliance on OTAs)
📌 Important: Create a customer journey map for each key persona in your business.
What is a User Persona?
A User persona is an archetype that represents a specific segment of your audience: behavior, needs, decision-making style.
And yes—the same person can shift personas depending on context.
In the hotel industry:
- Business Traveler: bookings made by an assistant, needs Wi-Fi and a quick check-in
- Solo Traveler: seeks simplicity, safety, social spaces
- Family Traveler: looks for affordable deals, family rooms, kid-friendly services
🧠 These personas should be built as a team, based on real customer data. It’s both strategic and unifying.
🌟 5 Key Takeaways for Hospitality Professionals
- Personalization ≠ automation
Automated messages aren’t enough. Ultra-personalization is now a major differentiator. - Human connection drives experience
Investing in staff training yields better ROI than flashy tech. - Optimize the full journey
A smooth check-in isn’t enough—every stage matters. - Surprise strategically
Well-placed surprises strengthen positive emotional memory. - Never neglect the last impression
Checkout and transfers are often overlooked—but should be as polished as arrival.
Ready to Diagnose Your Customer Experience?
🎯 Download your printable diagnostic worksheet now
👉 Download it now
📆 Book a discovery session to review your customer journey
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🔍 Bonus Test for Your Establishment
🎯 For decision-makers and managers:
- Have you recently tested the customer experience you offer? Try booking anonymously.
- Do you use a standard evaluation grid? If not, create one—or bring in an external consultant.
👉 Need a tailored audit or staff training? Contact me to co-design a strategy aligned with your business goals.
📞 Need support? Book a call and let’s explore how to make your customer experience a true growth engine.
Ready to go deeper ?
💬 I offer a free discovery call to help you gain clarity, map out your next steps, and see if my consulting can support your growth journey.
📩 Click here to book a call, or just drop me a message.
Let’s connect on Instagram @tegawende_co or LinkedIn.
Ultimately, improving customer experience means truly understanding what your clients want—and showing them exactly how to achieve it.
“The only way on earth to influence people is to talk about what they want and show them how to get it.”
— Dale Carnegie
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💌 Share it with a friend who’s feeling stuck or ready to grow.
✍️ Comment below — tell me what stood out, what you’ve tried, or what you’re ready to shift.
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