Customer journey in market research

Welcome to our lecture on the Customer Journey in Market Research. Before influencing buying decisions, it is essential to understand the path customers take. The customer journey includes everything from the initial awareness of a need, through researching options and considering alternatives, to making a purchase—and possibly becoming advocates or repeat buyers. Research shows that both rational decisions and subconscious triggers shape this process, so market research must capture every motivation, emotion, and information touchpoint. As customers move across online and offline channels, comprehensive market research is more important than ever. Once we recognise the journey’s importance, the next step is to identify key touchpoints where customers interact with brands, products, or services. This begins with a trigger—a need, problem, or prompt like advertising. Customers then move through awareness, research, evaluation, and decision stages, sometimes looping back for reassurance. Researchers use primary and secondary methods at each touchpoint: qualitative interviews and focus groups reveal attitudes, while quantitative tools like surveys and analytics track behaviour. Social media listening, web analytics, and direct feedback help build a journey map. Successful research requires viewing the journey from the customer’s perspective, enabling the identification of pain points, gaps, and opportunities. Market research has evolved beyond collecting dry statistics; it must now consider the customer’s lived experience. Brand and product experiences are tied to expectations.