Jessica Andrews
VP Marketing
How often do you come across a brand, explore their website, and then walk away without taking any action?
If you’re like most people, the answer is probably "too often." It’s not because you’re uninterested—it’s because something along the way didn’t click.
This is exactly what happens when a customer journey lacks strategy. In industries like media, consulting, and creative agencies, where buying processes already involve multiple layers, an unoptimized journey can easily lose a potential client.
For B2B businesses, mapping the customer journey isn’t just a best practice—it’s how you stay relevant.
What today’s B2B customer journey looks like
Let’s start with a reality check: today’s B2B buyers aren’t the same as they were a decade ago. Millennials now make up 65% of B2B buyers, and this group brings new expectations to the table. They’re digital-first, they value immediacy, and they don’t have time for outdated or overly complicated processes.
Social media is also transforming the landscape. In 2024, social media is still a major player in how professionals engage with business content, with over 5.1 billion people—more than 59% of the global population—using these platforms. Currently, LinkedIn remains the go-to for 97% of B2B marketers. But, these buyers aren’t just sticking to LinkedIn—they’re open to professional messaging on personal channels like Instagram as well.
Here’s the part that should make every marketer and business owner sit up and pay attention: 90% of the buyer journey happens before a salesperson even gets involved. Buyers are exploring your content, reviewing your portfolio, and forming impressions online long before they’re ready to reach out.
What does this mean for you? It’s not just about meeting buyers where they are, it’s also about aligning every touchpoint with their expectations. Whether it’s a thought leadership post on social media, the layout of your website, or how quickly you respond to inquiries, every interaction shapes their experience.
By designing a customer journey that accounts for these behaviors, you’re setting your brand up as a trusted partner long before a deal is ever on the table.
What is B2B customer journey mapping?
At its core, journey mapping is about seeing your business through your customer’s eyes. It’s documenting every step they take, every touchpoint they interact with, and every frustration they face. Done well, it helps you meet buyers where they are, both literally and metaphorically.
Journey mapping lets you answer critical questions, like:
What channels do buyers frequently use to interact with the company?
What pains and frustrations do they experience?
What key messages are they receiving?
What information or content formats do they want at each stage of the customer journey?
What actions are needed to nudge them along the path to purchase?
When you have these insights, you’re no longer guessing. You’re creating an intentional experience designed to win.
And, at Copper, we practice what we preach. The customer journey isn’t just a theory for us, it’s a priority. From acquisition to onboarding, we focus on delivering a seamless and impactful experience. Our onboarding process, for example, ensures new users not only understand the platform but also feel confident and supported from day one. This approach helps us build trust with our customers and demonstrates the value of intentional touchpoints across every stage of their journey.
Because, here’s the reality: according to research shared by Aberdeen, while 48% of companies report having some form of a customer journey map, 40% of those admit their maps aren’t well built. This leads to inefficiencies that impact both marketing and sales efforts. Clunky or overly complex maps fail to deliver value, with 27% of marketers stating their maps require too much mental effort to use.
When done well, journey maps drive results. Companies that use both buyer personas and customer journey maps see a 70% increase in conversion rates compared to those that don’t. Collaboration is also key, with 63% of marketers who involve their sales teams in building journey maps reporting better alignment and success.
A well-designed journey map isn’t just a tool; it’s a strategy. It helps you turn customer insights into action and ensures every step of the buyer’s experience feels intentional and impactful.
Steps to create a customer journey map
Let’s break this down step by step, with a focus on actionable insights you can put to work today.
1. Gather comprehensive customer data
Start with research, but don’t just collect random data: focus on what’s meaningful for your business. This means understanding the industries your customers operate in, their company size, their buying processes, and the influencers who help shape their decisions.
Tools like LinkedIn can help you uncover key details about your prospects. Pair this with your CRM, like Copper, to see patterns in existing customer behavior. For example, do your best leads always attend webinars before reaching out? Or do they prefer whitepapers over blog posts? Knowing this changes the game.
2. Develop buyer personas and ideal customer profiles (ICPs)
Personas are more than a list of demographics: they’re detailed profiles that capture your customer’s motivations, challenges, and preferences. When building B2B personas, you’re looking at the whole picture:
Job roles and goals
Challenges and frustrations
Preferred communication channels
Your ideal customer profile (ICP), on the other hand, zooms out further to define the types of companies or organizations that align with your offerings. Think of it as the blueprint for your most successful relationships.
To create an ICP:
Identify your best customers: Look at accounts with high ROI, long-term loyalty, or significant value gained from your product.
List their attributes: Note key details like industry, size, budget, and challenges.
Interview them: Ask about their pain points, decision-making process, and what led them to choose your product.
This structured approach makes sure your marketing and sales efforts are targeting the right audience with precision.
Ultimately, both personas and ICPs give you clarity about who you’re targeting and how to tailor the experience for them.
3. Define customer journey stages
The B2B buyer journey isn’t linear—it’s a maze of stages, touchpoints, and decision-makers. Breaking it into manageable pieces gives you clarity and helps you guide buyers at every step.
Here’s what the typical journey looks like:
Awareness: This is when buyers realize they have a problem or a need. They’re asking themselves, “What’s going wrong, and how do I fix it?” At this stage, your job is to be helpful. Share educational content like blog posts, infographics, or social media snippets that address their pain points. Be the lightbulb moment they’re looking for!
Consideration: Now they’re diving deeper, looking at potential solutions. Your role is to show up and stand out. Think whitepapers, webinars, and case studies: content that proves your value and positions you as a serious contender.
Evaluation: The decision is getting real. Buyers are narrowing down their options and looking for trust signals like reviews, testimonials, and free trials. This is where you double down on transparency. Let your success stories do the talking!
Decision: It’s go time. Buyers are weighing their options and asking themselves, “Is this worth it?” Make their choice easy with clear pricing, straightforward proposals, and responsive communication. No hoops to jump through.
Post-purchase: The deal is done, but the journey doesn’t stop here. Buyers are asking, “Did I make the right choice?” This is your chance to turn them into advocates. Nail your onboarding process, follow up with them, and keep delivering value.
The best way to define these stages is to think like your buyer. What’s keeping them up at night? What questions are they asking? When you have this mapped out, you’re not just guessing—you’re actively meeting them where they are.
4. Map customer touchpoints
Touchpoints are where the magic, or the frustration, happens. These are the moments buyers interact with your brand, whether it’s a blog post, a product demo, or a conversation with your sales team.
Start by asking:
Where do buyers first hear about you?
What content or interactions move them closer to a decision?
Where are they dropping off?
For example, maybe you notice buyers are engaging with your ebooks but ghosting after the follow-up email. That’s a signal. Maybe your email sequence needs some work, or the content isn’t what they’re looking for.
This is where tools like Google Analytics and CRMs shine. With Google Analytics, you can see what pages buyers visit and where they bounce. And with Copper, which is integrated with Google Workspace, you can track every email, call, and meeting to figure out which touchpoints are actually driving progress.
The goal here isn’t just to collect data, it’s to connect the dots. When you know how buyers move from one touchpoint to the next, you can create a journey that feels intuitive, useful, and even delightful. And let’s be real, that’s what gets results.
Why it matters
B2B customer journey mapping isn’t just an exercise; it’s a blueprint for sustainable growth. In a world where buyers demand fast, seamless, and personalized experiences, taking the time to understand their journey is what sets thriving businesses apart.
The better you know your buyers, the better you can align your strategies to meet their needs at every stage—from the moment they discover your brand to their experience as loyal customers. It’s about more than just closing deals; it’s about creating lasting relationships that drive trust, loyalty, and advocacy.
At the end of the day, mapping the journey isn’t just about where your buyers are going, it’s about making sure that your business is ready to guide them every step of the way.
The journey starts here, so make it count!
