𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝘀. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆:𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁

I recently had a humorous debate with a startup founder in the medical retail space about the traditional 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 of the step-by-step path from “𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶?” to “𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺!” - and how it’s slowly fading.

Pointed out that decisions are rarely driven by logic alone - 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹. That’s where 𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 steps in, adding depth to the modern customer journey by capturing what customers 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 at every step, not just what they 𝘥𝘰.

𝗦𝗼, 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲?

𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆: Tracks actions - Click, Buy, Install, Complain, Repeat. Basically, it’s the 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝘀 of user behavior.

𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴: Tracks 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 - Excitement, Confusion, Frustration, Relief, Joy. Think of it as the 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 playing in their heads throughout the journey.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿?

Because no one remembers what they clicked. But they 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹, Clicks fade from memory, but emotions stick - kind of like the joy of finding extra onions in your biryani order!

Refer Swiggy or Zomato.

𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆:

1. Search for food.

2. Select restaurant.

3. Place order.

4. Track delivery.

5. Eat happily.

𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴:

1. Hunger Craving – Excited!

2. Menu Browsing – Confused. Too many options!

3. Checkout Price – Shocked. Swiggy, why you do this?

4. Order Tracking – Anxiety. Why is the delivery guy circling ?

5. Food Arrives – Relief and Joy!

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝗵?

𝗠𝗮𝗽 𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Attach emotional states to each step of the customer journey.

𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁: Like adding “Cash on Delivery” for Indian parents who still don’t trust online payments.

𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀: Surprise discounts or funny delivery updates - because who doesn’t love a “𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘪 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦!” text? 

Customer Journeys tell you 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 customers do. Emotional Mapping tells you 𝘄𝗵𝘆 they do it - and why they sometimes rage - quit in the middle. Combine both, and you’ll build products that customers don’t just use - they 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 for.

— -

Ravi Daparthi,

Entrepreneur, TEDx Speaker, Economic Times Global Leader, IIMB & IISc Alumnus, T-Hub Mentor, Investor