Above is an example of a global customer decision journey map created as part of a research effort for products in the IoT building controllers space.
This is one of the Key Decision Maker CDJ personas we identified on this project.
My teams use both qualitative and quantitative data to conduct a research project. Qualitative research usually entails 20+ facilitated interviews of key account customers to understand their decision making process and the etnographics of the various personas involved in the decision to buy a product. This data is then augmented through qualitative data resulting from call reports, surveys and observation visits. The projects I’ve been involved with range from self service portals with AI capabilities like the example on the right, to eCommerce platforms and connected IoT device products and services.
On the left is a user persona part of a larger research study I led on a Monitoring and Alerting Data Center cloud application. We had a limited number of customers available for on-site interviews which resulted in the need to create an incentive program though a research firm to enlist more qualified subjects for a larger population survey. The study resulted on 5 user personas
Affinity Diagrams.
This type of diagrams are a great way to tease out the interrelationships between the various users or customers that are part of a research effort. They enable the visualization of affinities between their goals, needs and their role in the customer journey as either a key decision maker in the acquisition process or end user of the product (perhaps both). These affinities result in persona archetypes and market segments grouped by customer needs and the value they place on a solutions to those needs.
This is a deep dive into one segment highlight the explicit Customer Decision Journey and Value Drivers.