If you’ve ever tried to map a customer journey and ended up with a tangled mess of sticky notes, you’re not alone. Mapping out what customers actually do—versus what you think they do—is tricky business. Valkre’s workflows promise to make this easier, but only if you use them with a clear head and a bit of skepticism. This guide is for anyone who wants to map customer journeys that actually help you fix problems and improve your service, not just create pretty diagrams for slides.
Why Map Customer Journeys, Anyway?
Let’s get this out of the way: not every business needs a glossy, multi-stage customer journey map. But if you’re struggling to see where customers get stuck, or if your team’s arguing about what “the process” even is, mapping it out can save huge headaches. It’s about seeing things from the customer’s side, not your org chart. If you’re using Valkre, you’re probably past the “should we do this?” stage—so let’s focus on how to do it well.
Step 1: Get Real About Your Goals
Before you open Valkre or start interviewing customers, nail down why you’re mapping the journey. This isn’t just busywork. Are you:
- Trying to reduce churn?
- Looking for upsell opportunities?
- Fixing onboarding confusion?
- Hoping to align sales and support teams?
Write down your top 1-2 reasons. Share them with the team. If you skip this, you’ll end up mapping every possible touchpoint—then realize nobody knows what to do with the map.
Pro tip: If your goal is “understand everything,” that’s not a goal. Get specific.
Step 2: Gather the Right People (and Leave Some Out)
You need a mix of folks who actually know the customer experience. That usually means:
- Someone from customer support (they see the pain)
- Someone from sales (they know what gets promised)
- A product person (they know what’s possible)
- Someone who talks to real customers (not just managers)
Who to skip, for now:
The C-suite, unless you want this to turn into a political debate. Keep the group small. You can always share later.
Step 3: Collect Actual Customer Input
Here’s where most journey maps go off the rails. Don’t just guess—ask real customers. Use Valkre’s workflow tools to:
- Send short surveys focused on recent experiences.
- Run a few quick interviews (even 15 min is enough).
- Gather feedback from support tickets or chat logs.
Don’t get hung up on sample size. Five honest customers beat fifty vague survey responses.
What to ignore: Generic “voice of the customer” decks from last year. You want real, recent, specific input.
Step 4: Outline the Major Touchpoints
Open Valkre and create a basic workflow for the customer journey. Start simple:
- Awareness (how they found you)
- Consideration (what made them sign up)
- Onboarding (first steps)
- Usage (day-to-day)
- Support (when things go wrong)
- Renewal or churn (why they stay or leave)
Drag and drop these in. Don’t worry about getting every detail right—just map the big beats.
Pro tip: If you’re debating what counts as a “touchpoint,” ask: Would a customer notice if this didn’t happen? If not, leave it out.
Step 5: Fill In What Actually Happens
For each touchpoint, add:
- What the customer does (not what you wish they’d do)
- What your company does (emails, calls, demos, etc.)
- Where things can break down
Use Valkre’s workflow fields to assign owners, link to support tickets, or drop in customer quotes. The more grounded in reality, the better.
What doesn’t work:
Making this a wish list. Don’t map your “ideal” journey unless you want to feel bad when reality doesn’t match.
Step 6: Identify the Pain Points
Now, look for trouble spots. Valkre lets you tag steps with “friction,” “delay,” or “confusion.” Focus on:
- Steps with lots of customer complaints
- Drop-off points (where customers ghost you)
- Areas where internal handoffs get messy
Flag these clearly. If everything looks smooth, you’re probably missing something.
Step 7: Prioritize and Assign Actions
You can’t fix everything at once. Use Valkre’s workflow assignment features to:
- Pick 1-2 high-impact pain points
- Assign owners to dig deeper or propose fixes
- Set due dates, but keep them realistic
Don’t drown in action items. It’s better to fix one thing that matters than brainstorm fifty you’ll never touch again.
Step 8: Share, But Don’t Overhype
Export or share your Valkre journey map with the right teams—but skip the “look at this beautiful map” presentations. Focus on:
- What you learned that surprised you
- The top pain points and owners
- What you’re going to try next
What to ignore:
Long, jargon-filled explanations about “customer centricity.” People care about what’s broken and what you’re doing about it.
Step 9: Keep the Map Alive (But Don’t Obsess)
Customer journeys change. People leave, products evolve, and processes get tweaked. Schedule a review in Valkre every quarter or after big product changes. But don’t turn this into a full-time job.
- Update only the steps that actually changed.
- Archive outdated workflows, don’t try to “version control” every tweak.
- If nobody’s looking at the map after a few months, ask why. Maybe it’s not useful—or maybe the process is working fine now.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works:
- Grounding your map in real customer feedback, not guesses
- Focusing on problems you can actually fix
- Keeping the workflow simple and actionable
What doesn’t:
- Mapping every theoretical touchpoint “just in case”
- Letting the project morph into a political turf war
- Treating the workflow as a one-and-done document
What to ignore:
- Fancy journey mapping templates that don’t fit your business
- Generic best practices that nobody on your team understands
- Overly ambitious action plans (start small, then build)
Keep It Simple, Keep It Honest
Customer journey mapping with Valkre can save you time, frustration, and even money—if you keep it grounded and practical. Don’t chase perfection. Start with a real goal, talk to real customers, map what actually happens, and fix what’s broken. The best maps are the ones you’ll actually use. Iterate as you go, and don’t be afraid to throw out what isn’t working.
Simple, honest, and useful beats glossy and complicated every time. Now go map something that matters.