How a customer journey map made $70m

Diary of a Business Designer

Have you ever wondered what customer journeys maps are? For me, they are how person moves from one step to the next for some goal or outcome to be achieved .. this can be within a business or product cycle, or in a lifecycle. In this episode I describe how one customer journey map created a new $70m revenue business within 18 months. Key takeaways The concept of customer journey maps came about during the mid 1980S when outside-in management thinking was growing and understanding the touchpoints of a customer with a company was needed. I was asked to launch a new segment initiative, to establish a corporate B2B sales channel to chase down the segment. Within 6 months we had exceptional market traction selling the core product. Planning ahead, I was interested in exploring how innovation through adjacency could be realised, so I decided to try this new concept of a journey map .. thinking broader than the business relationship itself and into the entirety of the customers lifecycle journey. This scenario was for the provision of Overseas Visitors’ Health Insurance, a compulsory and mandatory working visa condition here in Australia. However, it was a once-only transaction, yet we knew the journey was far broader than this period and the customer journey spanned 4-6 years. It was across this journey I needed to understand more. In this case the scope boundary I placed on the journey was the topic of our company’s mission: HEALTHIER HAPPIER LIVES. A wavey line emerged where the emotions of such a tremendous journey were evident and once mapped, we decided to explore opportunities across the journey. We tested and failed on 3 experiments … I recommend listening to Episode 5 – From Lean Canvas to Idea canvas. Then like many innovation opportunities, it’s all in the timing, and having deep segment knowledge and industry relationship, we found that the Visa Medical part of the journey was a stale, outdated process, and poor customer experience. With business model innovation, utilising the lean production process mindset, digital innovation, and service model innovation, we opened the doors 12 months later across Australia providing thousands of visa medicals every week with a vastly improved experience. A new $70m business, all from a customer journey map, on a single page. Give it a go! Recommended reading on Amazon

• Blue Ocean Strategy – Kim, W. Chan; Renée Mauborgne
• Testing Business Ideas: A Field Guide for Rapid Experimentation

Timestamps:

• [01:00] – What is a journey map
• [02:05] – Innovation through adjacency
• [02:56] – Scenario – Overseas Visitor Health Insurance
• [04:25] – Discovery process
• [05:28] – Scope boundary
• [06:26] – Emotional journey map
• [08:11] – Three innovation experiments
• [09:30] – The opportunity came
• [11:20] – Blue Ocean Strategy