Sales Funnels vs. Customer Journey Mapping
At Peak Planning and Creative, we often get asked about the difference between mapping a sales funnel and mapping a customer journey. While both tools are essential for understanding and improving the customer experience, they serve distinct purposes and focus on different aspects of the customer’s interaction with your brand.
In this blog, we’ll break down the key differences between the two, explain why each is important, and show how they can work together to drive better business outcomes.
What is a Sales Funnel?
A sales funnel is a structured framework that outlines the stages a potential customer goes through before making a purchase. It’s focused on the conversion process—how leads move from awareness to becoming paying customers. The sales funnel is typically divided into stages such as:
Awareness: The customer becomes aware of your brand or product.
Interest: The customer shows interest and seeks more information.
Consideration: The customer evaluates your offering against competitors.
Intent: The customer demonstrates intent to purchase (e.g., adding to cart).
Purchase: The customer completes the transaction.
Retention: The customer becomes a repeat buyer or advocate for your brand.
The goal of mapping a sales funnel is to optimize conversions by identifying where potential customers drop off and implementing strategies to move them smoothly through each stage.
What is a Customer Journey?
A customer journey is a broader, more holistic view of the customer’s experience with your brand. It maps out every interaction a customer has with your business, from the first touchpoint to post-purchase follow-up and beyond. The customer journey focuses on the entire experience, including:
Touchpoints: Where and how the customer interacts with your brand (e.g., website, social media, email, in-store).
Emotions: How the customer feels at each stage of their journey.
Pain Points: Challenges or frustrations the customer encounters.
Opportunities: Areas where the experience can be improved.
The goal of mapping a customer journey is to enhance the overall customer experience by understanding the customer’s needs, emotions, and behaviors at every step.
Key Differences Between Sales Funnels and Customer Journeys
While both tools involve mapping customer interactions, they differ in scope, focus, and purpose. Here’s a breakdown of the key differences:
How They Work Together
While sales funnels and customer journeys are different, they are deeply interconnected. Here’s how they complement each other:
1. Sales Funnels Are Part of the Customer Journey
The sales funnel is essentially a subset of the customer journey. It focuses on the specific stages that lead to a purchase, while the customer journey encompasses the entire relationship, including post-purchase interactions and advocacy.
2. Customer Journeys Provide Context for Sales Funnels
Mapping the customer journey gives you a deeper understanding of the emotions, motivations, and pain points that influence how customers move through the sales funnel. For example, if your customer journey map reveals that customers feel frustrated during the research phase, you can address this in your sales funnel by providing clearer product information or comparison tools.
3. Sales Funnels Highlight Conversion Opportunities
While the customer journey focuses on the big picture, the sales funnel zooms in on the critical moments that drive conversions. By mapping your sales funnel, you can identify specific areas where you can optimize the customer journey to improve conversion rates.
4. Together, They Drive Better Business Outcomes
When used together, sales funnels and customer journeys provide a complete picture of the customer experience. They help you:
Attract and convert leads (sales funnel).
Build long-term relationships and loyalty (customer journey).
Example: Sales Funnel vs. Customer Journey
Let’s say you run an e-commerce store selling outdoor gear. Here’s how the two maps might look:
Sales Funnel
Awareness: Customer sees a Facebook ad for a hiking backpack.
Interest: Customer clicks the ad and visits the product page.
Consideration: Customer reads reviews and compares the backpack to other options.
Intent: Customer adds the backpack to their cart.
Purchase: Customer completes the checkout process.
Retention: Customer receives a follow-up email with care tips and a discount code for their next purchase.
Customer Journey
Discovery: Customer hears about your brand from a friend and visits your website.
Research: Customer browses your blog for hiking tips and reads product reviews.
Purchase: Customer buys the backpack and receives a confirmation email.
Post-Purchase: Customer uses the backpack on a hiking trip and shares photos on Instagram.
Advocacy: Customer leaves a positive review and recommends your brand to others.
When to Use Each Tool
Use a Sales Funnel When:
You want to optimize your conversion process.
You’re focused on driving sales and revenue.
You need to identify and address drop-off points in the purchase path.
Use a Customer Journey When:
You want to improve the overall customer experience.
You’re focused on building long-term relationships and loyalty.
You need to understand the emotions and pain points of your customers.
Final Thoughts
Mapping a sales funnel and mapping a customer journey are both essential tools for understanding and improving the customer experience. While the sales funnel focuses on the conversion process, the customer journey takes a broader view of the entire relationship. Together, they provide a comprehensive understanding of how customers interact with your brand and how you can create experiences that drive both short-term sales and long-term loyalty.
At Peak Planning and Creative, we use both tools to help our clients achieve their business goals. Whether you’re looking to optimize your sales process or enhance the overall customer experience, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.
Ready to map your way to success? Let’s get started!
