User Journey Mapping
Purchasing Bluetooth earphones
Intro
In this article, I will map a journey of me buying wireless Bluetooth earphones.
What is a Journey Map?
A user journey mapping is a process of observing and documenting the steps followed by the user in achieving a goal. While doing that some important interactions and actions also called touchpoints are marked.
A user journey map consist —
- persona(user)
- Goals and expectations
- Phases
- Actions
- Touchpoints
- Experience and emotions
- suggestions or opportunities
It is done to understand what goes into the completion of a certain goal, the pain points, frequent behaviors, idle steps which could be eliminated or minimalized, etc from the user’s perspective.
Journey of buying Bluetooth Earphones
1. Need
The journey started when I realized that my wired earphones were having the following issues -
- Restricted hand movements
- Limited distance from the laptop
- Some noise due to improper fitting of earphones jack and laptop
So, I decided to look for alternatives.
Touchpoints — Wired earphone, Laptop
2. Exploration and Discovery
I started searching google on my phone and went through various products like Earbuds, Bluetooth earphones, Bluetooth headphones, etc.
I was confused and overwhelmed by the amount of information available, it became difficult to make a choice. So, I called my friend Dheeraj and discussed the same.
Finally, we decided to go to the mall in our area, where we usually go.
Touchpoints — Mobile phone, Google, Friend
3. Journey to the mall
Stepping out of the house I reached the main road, where I took an auto to my friend's house.
Dheeraj and I then took his bike, from his home to the mall. We were excited to reach the mall.
Touchpoints — Auto, Friend, Bike, Pheonix Mall
4. Exploring the mall and shops in it
Mall
As we entered the mall there was a digital display showing a map of all the floors and also indicating shops on the various floors.
I was happy walking through the mall, using the escalators, looking at the shops, and soaking in the ambiance.
I searched for mobile-accessories-related shops, to explore.
Shops related to mobile accessories
We found some shops related to our needs and we went inside. I asked someone from the staff for Bluetooth earphones and they showed me the way.
I quickly scanned the products and seen some familiar brands like Boat, Boult, Samsung, pTron, etc. But the problem was that you can only see the front side and there was no way to see specifications. I had to call someone from the staff each time I have to ask for specifications. I would have preferred to understand the products on my own first before reaching to someone for clarity.
We found four shops and explored them, the overall experience was almost similar in all of them.
All of this took 3–4 hours and I started feeling tired now so we went to Big Bazaar store on the lower ground floor, there we bought something to eat and drink. After having a snack and beverages we felt refreshed.
Dheeraj told me to buy it from Amazon instead because the prices at the mall were very high in comparison. Then after some more roaming, we left for the home.
Touchpoints — Pheonix mall, Digital Display Map, Shops, Escalator, Shop Employees, Products (wireless earphones), Friend, Big Bazaar store, snacks, and beverages
5. Exploring Amazon
After coming home, I opened Amazon and started searching for Bluetooth earphones. It was very easy to find the right products because of the filters I applied.
There were some pieces from Boat, Boult, and Zebronics that I liked and added to my wishlist. After having enough on my wishlist I opened it and compared it with similar products.
I struggled to choose between two Earphones one from Boult( Rs 799, 12hrs battery backup) and another from Boat( Rs 799, 8hrs backup). The main reason for the confusion was that I have used Boat products before and I trust that brand but Boult was giving better battery backup at the same price.
So, I called a techy friend who is into mobiles and stuff. He told me that his sister is using the same earphone from Boat and she is having a good experience.
I finally decided to go with Boat Rockerz 255.
Touchpoints — Mobile phone, Amazon Website, Products (wireless earphones), Filters, Wishlist, Friend, Boat (Brand)
6. Payment
Proceeding to payment I was again relieved to see my card already registered, asking for a CVV number, among other payment options. After entering it I was shown all the details like delivery address, product, and price one last time before payment.
After completing the payment there was a confirmation message on the Amazon website saying that the order is placed, which was reassuring.
Touchpoints — Mobile phone, Payment Options, Debit Card, Amazon Website, Confirmation
7. Waiting for Delivery
There were proper updates on my delivery status via mobile notification I also went to the website to see a complete status. This whole phase was exciting.
Touchpoints — Mobile phone, Amazon Website, Notifications
8. Delivery
This phase was a little neutral in experience because initially I was excited but after looking at the Amazon casual packaging I was disappointed a little —
- The tape was peeling off.
- The invoice was coming out of the packaging.
Touchpoints — Mobile phone, Delivery boy, Amazon Packaging
9. Unboxing
My mood was better after looking at the boat packaging inside. I opened it and felt excited to see all of the items inside. The black earphone was looking very good but the invoice was not legible.
It was good that Amazon had provided a softcopy of the invoice to download.
Touchpoints — Amazon Packaging, Boat Packaging, Components inside( Bluetooth earphone, Charging cable, extra earpieces, guide, invoice…), Amazon website, e-invoice
10. Checking the earphones on the laptop
I read the guide provided with the earphones to see how to operate them. It started to blink blue when I pressed the center button and the audio voice message told me that the earphone is on.
While charging, it shows a red light till it’s fully charged.
Then finally I did the setup for connecting the earphones to my laptop via Bluetooth. I was happy with the overall quality of the sound and mic.
Touchpoints — Bluetooth earphone, Laptop, Charging cable, Mic, LED indicator
11. Feedback
Finally, I rated the delivery on the Amazon website and also added a comment to reflect the issue. There was confirmation after submitting the feedback.
And this is how my Journey of buying Bluetooth earphones completed. Below you will see the stakeholders chart and User Journey map.
Touchpoints — Mobile Phone, Amazon website, Rating, comment, a confirmation message
Hope you enjoyed the Journey. Thank you guys, till next time…
