Connecting the Dots: Uncovering the Power of Customer Journey Mapping in Boosting Marketing and Sales Alignment

The alignment of Marketing and Sales departments has long been challenging for organizations, as silo culture often impedes effective collaboration. Despite the widespread use of the term "customer journey" and various customer journey approaches, there remains a lack of shared understanding of customer journeys and how they can support marketing and sales management. Current knowledge on customer journeys reflects a mix of perspectives, with some viewing customer journeys as delimited service processes and others as more open-ended processes similar to the customer loyalty staircase. This fragmentation results in isolated sales and marketing activities, leading to a disconnected customer experience. This exploratory research aims to address this gap in the literature by investigating how customer journey mapping can serve as a tool to integrate and reconnect sales and marketing perspectives. Through qualitative interviews, we seek to uncover insights into the potential benefits of customer journey mapping for aligning Marketing and Sales departments and improving overall customer experience. This study has the potential to provide valuable insights for organizations seeking to bridge the gap between marketing and sales and enhance their customer journey management strategies.