Is journey mapping worth it?

Have journey maps fallen out of favor? A few years back they were all the rage. I have to admit that I was smitten. They just made sense to me as a way to capture how a brand could be relevant and meaningful to those it hoped to serve by understanding what people needed wherever they were in the process of engaging with the brand.

I believe the problems emerged when some started treating them like the end-all-be-all for making marketing decisions. Since then, criticisms of journey maps have popped up. Here are a few:

• They oversimplify things. Some characterize the maps as a way to lock down a definition of the customer experience across the journey. The danger here lies in missing the nuances and complexities that characterize the ever-evolving real-world customer interactions.
• They can lack objectivity. Journey maps can become biased if they are based solely on assumptions or limited data. Without accurate and comprehensive data, the maps may not reflect the true customer experience, leading to misguided decisions.
• They can become stale. Customer behavior and touchpoints are constantly evolving. Critics argue that journey maps can become outdated and fail to account for these changes if they are not regularly updated. A static map might not serve a business’s evolving needs effectively.