Customer journey map for small businesses: five stages

A customer journey map shows, stage by stage, how a person gets to know you, decides to hire you, starts working with you and stays or leaves. In a small business a sheet with five columns is enough, filled in by the people who deal with customers.

Reviewed on 2026-10-10. BAI Business offers a CRM and publishes this article.

What it is and what it holds

Nielsen Norman Group describes the journey map as a visualisation that starts from a person's goals and actions arranged on a timeline and is completed with what they think and feel, to form a narrative. Its basic elements are: an actor, a scenario, the phases, the actions, the thoughts and emotions, and the opportunities for improvement (source: Nielsen Norman Group, accessed on 2026-10-10).

For a small business the exercise comes down to an audit of how you work: it forces you to put in writing what you think you know about how your customers arrive, decide and stay.

The five stages

1. Discovery. How does a customer get to know you the first time? An internet search, a recommendation, social media, advertising, the sector community, word of mouth. Key question: what share comes from each channel? If you don't know, you already have your first finding.
2. Consideration. The customer compares you with others: looks at your website, reads your copy, checks your social media, asks around, compares prices. Key question: at what exact point does a suitable customer decide not to go on with you?
3. Decision. They fill in a form, book a call, ask for a quote or buy. Key question: how long passes between the request and the signature? If it is long, there is friction to fix.
4. Onboarding. Contract, first invoice, the details you need, getting started. Key question: does the customer know what to do each day after signing? If they call to ask "and now what", onboarding has a gap.
5. Loyalty. Support, renewal, additional services, reviews, recommendations. Key question: how many renew and how many recommend you?

A one-page template

Divide a sheet or a board into five columns, one per stage, and fill in three rows: what touchpoints there are, what the customer feels and what friction you have found. The friction examples in the table are illustrative.

Stage	Touchpoints	What the customer feels	Example friction
Discovery	Search engine, social media, recommendation	Curiosity, doubts	The website doesn't make clear what sets you apart
Consideration	Website, copy, quote	Compares, hesitates	The quote is slow to arrive
Decision	Form, call, signature	Trust, anxiety	A contract full of jargon
Onboarding	Welcome, first invoice	Excitement, confusion	No clear steps after signing
Loyalty	Support, renewal	Weighs up whether it is worth it	Nobody asks how it is going

Findings that tend to appear

They are not statistics, but what we see most often when doing the exercise:

• The quote takes longer than the customer expects. Whoever asks for a quote usually asks several people. Replying quickly, even just to say when it will arrive, helps.
• Onboarding is a generic email. The customer doesn't know who their contact is or what to do first. A named person and clear first steps fix it.
• Nobody follows up after the sale. Regular contact with each active customer stops them hearing from you only when you want to sell to them.
• Each channel says something different. The sentence that explains what you do must be the same on the website, social media, quote and contract.
• Getting paid is a friction. An invoice in a PDF that gets lost in the inbox drags out payment. A payment link and automatic reminders help.

Where BAI fits in

According to the sheets for its solutions, BAI Business saves in each customer's record what arrives through forms, bookings or the receptionist, assigns each new customer with a deadline to respond, lets the customer follow the status of their matter from their own link and, if an invoice falls due unpaid, sends a reminder with the link to pay. You can see it on the CRM for your business page.

Frequently asked questions

What is a customer journey map?

Nielsen Norman Group describes it as a visualisation of the phases a person goes through to achieve a goal, to which their actions, thoughts and emotions are added to form a narrative (accessed on 2026-10-10).

Do I need a consultancy to do it?

Not necessarily. The knowledge of your business is in your team; one session with the people who deal with customers is enough to have a first map.

How often should it be reviewed?

When your product, your channels or your customers' behaviour change. Set a periodic review date so it doesn't go out of date.

Do I need one map for each type of customer?

Yes, if the journey is different. Nielsen Norman Group starts from a specific actor and scenario; if two types of customer take different paths, they need different maps.

You may also be interested in

• First 30 days with a new CRM: how to set up the CRM with the real stages.

Sources

• Customer Journey Mapping 101, Nielsen Norman Group, accessed on 10 October 2026.