Articles from February 2025

Work Orders: What They Are & What They Look Like [Template]

Maintenance teams run like a well-oiled machine when there’s structure — without it, things can spiral into confusion fast. From my experience, one of the simplest yet most effective tools to keep everyone aligned is the work order. Think of it as a clear, actionable blueprint for assigning and managing tasks, so nothing slips through the cracks.

Whenever an appliance breaks or the heater needs to be turned on in my apartment, I file a work order. If I notice something needs fixing at the HubSpot office, I file the same paperwork. Work orders make the world go round!

Ahead, I’ll share what a work order really is, break down its essential parts, and show how it’s different from a work request (yes, there’s a distinction). I’ll also detail the work order management process. And to make your life easier, there’s a plug-and-play work order example template waiting to help you hit the ground running.

Download Now: Free Project Management Template

Table of Contents

Types of Work Orders

I‘ve found that there’s no single, catch-all category that covers all work orders. Each one is unique — even if it’s for recurring maintenance. Still, your average work order will generally fall within one of the following buckets:

1. Corrective Maintenance Work Orders

These pop up when something unexpected needs fixing during other tasks. Say a tech spots a damaged fan belt while servicing an HVAC system. A corrective work order gets created right then, spelling out exactly how to fix it and listing the tools and materials needed.

2. Emergency Work Orders

Emergency work orders are used for unplanned asset breakdowns requiring immediate action. For example, if a production line conveyor belt suddenly stops during peak operations, an emergency work order ensures it’s all hands on deck to fix it fast and keep operations running smoothly.

3. Inspection Work Orders

These focus on checking things out to catch potential issues before they become big problems. For example, scheduling an annual fire extinguisher inspection ensures everything’s up to code. These orders detail what to check and how to report it.

4. Preventive Maintenance Work Orders

Think of these as your asset’s routine health checkups. Lubricating machinery quarterly to prevent wear and tear is a classic example. It’s all about staying ahead of costly repairs by keeping everything in top shape.

5. General Maintenance Work Orders

I see these work orders for all the odds and ends that don’t fit elsewhere. From patching drywall and painting office walls to tidying up a storage room, they ensure no task — big or small — slips through the cracks.

6. Electrical Work Orders

Electrical work orders handle tasks related to wiring, installations, or electrical repairs. For example, if an office requires additional power outlets for new workstations, this work order would outline the installation process and safety protocols.

7. Special Project Work Orders

Got a big improvement or installation project? That’s where these come in. Whether it’s setting up a new production machine or revamping a workspace, these work orders focus on the details to ensure everything runs smoothly. This also makes them more complex, needing detailed planning.

8. Safety Work Orders

These are all about keeping people safe and workplaces compliant. Think non-slip flooring for busy areas or safety training for employees. Safety work orders prioritize risk reduction and a healthier work environment.

9. Standing Work Orders

For the routine tasks that happen like clockwork—daily workstation cleanup, weekly tool checks, or monthly safety meetings. Standing work orders keep these recurring responsibilities organized and on track.

Work orders are often conflated with similar documents called work requests and purchase orders. Let’s take a look at what distinguishes one from the other.

Work Order vs. Work Request

The difference boils down to who starts the process. A work order is created internally by maintenance teams to assign tasks and manage responsibilities, while a work request comes from someone outside the maintenance team — usually to report an issue or request a service.

In practice, I’ve experienced how a simple work request, like reporting a broken machine, sets the wheels in motion for an efficient maintenance process.

Once the request is received, it’s up to the maintenance manager to turn it into a work order. That work order outlines the task, assigns it to the right person, and ensures it gets done. This system doesn’t just keep things running smoothly — it bridges the gap between teams, cutting out miscommunication and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

Work Order vs. Purchase Order

The difference between a work order and a purchase order lies in their purpose and who drives the process. A work order assigns tasks and manages responsibilities—think repairs, maintenance, or service jobs. A purchase order, on the other hand, tracks and authorizes transactions, like buying goods or services.

In practice, I’ve seen how the two often work hand-in-hand. For example, let’s say there’s a broken HVAC unit in your building. A work order gets created to outline the repair job, assigning it to the technician. But what if replacement parts are needed? That’s where a purchase order comes into play. The procurement team uses it to authorize buying the parts, ensuring everything’s tracked and accounted for.

This system works because it covers two critical bases: getting the job done and ensuring the tools or resources are in place to do it. When both documents do their job, you avoid delays and miscommunication.

Phases of a Work Order

The work order management process can often be boiled down to a simple progression — covering everything from work request approval to closure. Let me walk you through the critical phases:

1. Work Request Approval and Work Order Creation

The work order management process begins with someone submitting a work request. If the request is deemed urgent and necessary by the maintenance manager, it gets approved, and a work order is officially created. I’ve personally discovered that clarity at this stage saves countless headaches later.

2. Prioritization

Not all work orders are addressed immediately. Tasks are prioritized based on urgency. For instance, an emergency repair takes precedence over preventative maintenance. This prioritization ensures that the team focuses on high-impact issues first.

From my experience, being streamlined is vital here — especially in larger organizations. The goal here is to:

  • Verify the necessity and feasibility of the task.
  • Allocate resources.
  • Assign the right personnel.

💡Top tip: I’ve seen teams get stuck at this phase due to unclear hierarchies. That’s why I always recommend defining who has the final say before a work order even lands on their desk.

3. Scheduling

This is where a good plan transforms into actionable steps. You assign specific dates and times, ensuring the task aligns with overall priorities. I’ve learned that overloading schedules — or underestimating time requirements — is a recipe for delays. At this stage:

  • Confirm availability of personnel and equipment.
  • Coordinate schedules to avoid conflicts.
  • Communicate timelines to all relevant parties.

4. Assignment

After scheduling, you’ll assign work orders to the most qualified maintenance staff members. This ensures the job is done correctly and on time.

5. Distribution

A work order is useless if it doesn’t reach the technician responsible for executing it. Distribution can happen through various channels: in person, via email, through mobile apps, or using a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). This step ensures the assigned technician has all the details they need.

6. Execution

This is the hands-on stage where the technician executes the task specified in the work order. Whether it’s repairing equipment, performing maintenance, or conducting inspections, execution is where the actual work gets done.

Having clear instructions and accountability makes all the difference here. In my experience, providing detailed guidelines during the creation phase pays off during execution. Workers knew exactly what was expected, and tasks were completed with fewer questions and delays.

Key elements of this phase include:

  • Monitoring progress.
  • Addressing unforeseen challenges.
  • Ensuring adherence to the schedule.

7. Documentation

Once the task is complete, it’s essential to document the details: what was done, the time it took, the tools used, and any other relevant insights. Accurate documentation provides valuable data for future reference and helps improve the efficiency of the process.

I find this step invaluable for refining workflows. A thorough review can highlight inefficiencies or gaps that might have been overlooked during planning.

work order examples

8. Closure

Once the work is documented, the work order is marked as complete, allowing the technician to move on to other tasks. Closure also provides an opportunity to review the process and ensure that everything is handled properly. Ensure that:

  • All data is archived appropriately.
  • Any post-completion tasks, like billing or reporting, are completed.

I’ve personally found that organized records at this phase make future audits or repeat tasks much smoother.

What should a work order include?

Here’s what I’ve found to be the key elements every work order should include:

1. Brief Description

Start with a concise, high-level overview of the request or issue. This acts as the headline of the work order, giving everyone a clear idea of the task at a glance. For instance, instead of writing “Fix plumbing,” specify, “Repair leak in second-floor bathroom sink.”

A little detail here goes a long way in setting the right context.

2. Contact Information

Include the details of the person or department submitting the request. Having a clear point of contact is invaluable when clarifications or updates are needed. Be sure to include:

  • Name of the requester
  • Their department or role
  • Email and/or phone number

3. Assignee

Every work order needs an accountable party. Clearly identify the individual or team responsible for completing the task. Assigning ownership ensures accountability and eliminates any “I thought someone else was handling it” scenarios.

4. Due Date

A specific due date gives the assignee a clear timeframe and allows you to prioritize tasks effectively. I feel being explicit about deadlines — rather than vague terms like “ASAP” — helps manage expectations on both sides.

5. Priority Level

Use clear priority labels — high, medium, low — to help the team tackle the most urgent tasks first. I’ve seen teams thrive when they know exactly what needs attention immediately versus what can wait a little longer.

6. Status Field

Tracking progress is essential. A status field allows you to monitor the work order as it moves through its lifecycle — from open to in-progress to completed. This transparency helps keep everyone informed and reduces the need for constant updates or follow-ups.

Trust me, it’s a game-changer.

7. Approvals

Before closing out a work order, make sure it’s signed off by the right stakeholders. Approvals ensure the work meets expectations and provide a final layer of quality control. I see this step as the difference between “done” and “done well.”

Now that you have some background on what work orders should include, below is a helpful template you can use to put work orders of your own together.

Work Order Template

If you’re looking to streamline your task management, I recommend HubSpot’s Work Order Template. This free, customizable Excel and PDF template helps you efficiently assign and track work orders. By standardizing your work order process, you can reduce miscommunication and enhance productivity.

Download Your Free Work Order Template Today

Now that you have a template to create your own work orders, here’s a look at what a work order might actually look like in practice.

work order examples

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Getting Started

Work orders are central to virtually every maintenance team’s operations. They provide the necessary structure to reliably delegate and execute the responsibilities that keep company assets sound and operations moving. If you have any place in requesting or carrying out maintenance at your business, work orders will be your best friend.

Top 12 Free Help Desk Software & Ticketing Systems in 2025

Help desk software was my daily command center when I worked at HubSpot Support. Our customer service ticketing system was the brain of daily operations for the support team and me as a whole. It was central to my workflow and experience as a support rep, and I can’t understate its impact on my ability to solve for the customer.

Without a proper ticketing system or help desk solution, scaling and maintaining a customer service team is nearly impossible. In my opinion, choosing the right help desk solution is just as critical as hiring the right people.

Get Started with HubSpot's Help Desk Software for Free

Are you looking for the right help desk software for your team? I’ve got you covered. In this article, I’ve compiled 12 of my favorite help desk solutions to help you make the right choice. But before we get there, let’s talk about what a help desk is, how to choose one, and why you should use one.

Table of Contents

What is a help desk?

A help desk distributes incoming service requests to support team members and helps them manage follow-up communication on long-term cases.

Help desks come with several valuable features, such as:

Knowledge Base

A knowledge base is a self-serve library of information that helps customers find answers to troubleshoot problems without contacting a customer service rep. 79% of businesses offer a knowledge base to help customers independently solve their issues.

We have a perfect one here at HubSpot, and several of my colleagues contributed to it. We also had an “internal knowledge base” private to HubSpot support reps, which was invaluable in answering employee questions.

Whether internal or external, most knowledge bases include the following:

  • Directions and tips for using your products and services.
  • Answers to FAQs.
  • Content you’ve created that can provide in-depth solutions.
  • Video demonstrations.
  • Company information.
  • Info on different business departments.

Ticket Management

Ticket management streamlines customer support requests. This feature lets you receive and assign tickets, track their progress, and escalate issues when necessary. You can also organize tickets based on priority, status, and severity, shortening your response time for time-sensitive matters.

At HubSpot, our ticket management system prioritized tickets that had been in the queue the longest. These tickets were assigned to reps first unless there was a critical situation where we needed to act on other cases immediately.

Ticket Automation

A customer support rep handles an average of 21 tickets per day. Ticket automation allows you to set up triggers and rules that automatically assign tickets, send notifications, and perform other actions based on specific conditions.

This allows you to streamline your workflow and focus on higher-value tasks, and it can also provide customers with a better frontline experience.

Ticket Escalation

Ticket escalation is the process of moving a customer support ticket from an initial representative who isn’t able to resolve the issue to a higher-level rep or manager. Help desk software can help with this process by ensuring high-priority problems get the attention they deserve.

For instance, you can set up automations that prioritize high-severity tickets and route technical issues to more senior representatives. At HubSpot, we would route questions related to payment services to our billing department since they were more equipped to handle these issues.

Ticket Distribution

56% of customers say they have to repeat themselves when they’re handed off to a more experienced rep. Ticket distribution helps get a ticket to the most appropriate service rep the first time. In my opinion, ticket distribution is the foundation of any help desk.

This feature automatically routes tickets to the appropriate rep based on their skill set, availability, and/or workload. Managers can also use ticketing software to monitor ticket distribution, reallocate tickets when necessary, and maintain a balanced workload across their teams.

Multiple Contact Options

Help desk software gives customers options when contacting your business. These options range from traditional phone and email support to live chat and conversational bots.

Reps don’t have to specialize in one channel, either. When I worked in support, I received tickets from social media, live chat, and email, all in one inbox. The outgoing messages appeared to be coming from the same channel the customer contacted.

Having multiple communication channels available to your customers will help you effectively meet their needs and increase their overall satisfaction.

Customer Support Analytics

Customer support analytics provide valuable insights into your customer service efforts — they also let you know as a rep whether or not you’re having a good day.

These features track performance metrics, such as knowledge base usage, ticket volumes, response times, customer feedback, etc. This information can be used to improve support processes and identify areas where additional service resources are needed.

If these features aren‘t enough, let’s discuss some valuable returns from adopting this software.

Benefits of Free IT Ticketing Systems

1. They efficiently manage support requests.

75% of CRM leaders say they’re receiving more support requests than ever, which makes a support ticketing system necessary.

With ticketing systems, your team can manage support requests much more efficiently than you would if you did everything manually. It allows you to receive, track, and assign tickets to individual contributors or groups in one centralized place, ensuring that each request is addressed promptly.

Help desk software automates tedious processes like ticket routing, escalation, task creation, and customer marketing emails. In my experience, this reduces time spent handling routine tasks and gives you more time to focus on deeper, more complex problems.

2. They increase the bandwidth of your support team.

92% of CRM leaders say AI has improved their customer service response time. Since these systems simplify the organization and management of support requests, your team will have more bandwidth to serve a higher volume of customers in less time.

Additionally, because they allow you to automate many routine tasks, there’s more room to work on new strategies and projects.

A good example? Yours truly. I used my free time to write about customer service. Not only did I parlay that into a career, I generated free marketing content for HubSpot while working in customer support.

3. They improve customer satisfaction.

A free IT ticketing system can help improve customer satisfaction by streamlining your company’s support process and handling customer issues promptly. Because of the multiple contact options, such as chatbots and live chats, customers have more tools to communicate with support staff about their needs.

78% of customer support leaders say their customers prefer to solve issues independently. Self-service options, like knowledge bases, help customers find solutions to problems independently, reducing the need to contact support staff.

4. They save your company money.

The average customer support professional uses four separate tools to support their role. A subscription to each of these tools adds up quickly. Support ticketing systems often combine the tools into one platform.

While free IT ticketing systems may not have all the bells and whistles of a premium version, they will get the job done in a pinch and save you money while you figure out which system is best for your company.

Premium and enterprise-level help desks have additional features to improve your customer experience, although these systems can be pricey. A paid version may not be possible or advantageous for businesses working within a tight budget.

Before you even begin shopping for a customer support tool, you need a plan. Check out this free customer support strategy template to get started.

Ready to start shopping for your ticketing system? Let’s take a look at some of the top help desk software and ticketing systems your team can start using for free.

1. HubSpot Help Desk

support ticketing system, hubspot

Start using HubSpot’s Free Help Desk and Ticketing software.

HubSpot’s Free Help Desk and Ticketing Software is a unified help desk dashboard where all customer requests are stored so your entire team can easily track, prioritize, and manage them.

Staying organized becomes more challenging as you scale your business, making it more challenging to give each customer issue the attention it deserves. HubSpot allows you to monitor each issue and efficiently resolve it.

Key Features

  • AI-powered efficiency: Built-in AI powers automatic recommendations, and AI assistant features encourage rep efficiency at every click.
  • Personalized support: HubSpot Help Desk integrates with your marketing and sales data to provide personalized support with unified customer insights built into every interaction.
  • Ticket automation and routing: Tickets are automatically assigned to the appropriate rep using skill-based assignment and intelligent routing.
  • Unified analytics: Gain full visibility into customer metrics to understand recurring issues and keep a pulse on customer health.

Pros

  • Seamless integration with HubSpot CRM: Directly connects with HubSpot CRM to eliminate data silos and bring clarity across your organization.
  • Automation features: Not always available in free products, but we’ve got them!
  • Scalability: HubSpot is equipped to handle your business needs across all departments as you grow, unifying Sales, Service, Marketing, Operations, and more.

Cons

  • Limited seats: You’ll need to upgrade or purchase additional seats.
  • Limited email templates: Limited to five email templates at the free level.

Best for: Businesses of all sizes looking to unify information across all internal teams, especially those already using HubSpot CRM.

What I like: I love HubSpot because it unifies all of your customer data so that you can provide a 360-degree customer experience. When I use HubSpot, I have complete visibility into a customer’s history, past tickets, and which representative they have worked with before. Armed with a full customer timeline, I can provide personalized, empathetic support and fully understand the customer’s needs and challenges.

HubSpot’s Help Desk and Ticketing software are just pieces of the puzzle. You can also use its all-in-one customer service software to streamline all your service efforts from the same place. For example, you can gauge your team’s performance by monitoring metrics like average response times and close times. You can also deploy and manage feedback surveys and more.

Pro tip: Use HubSpot’s Help Desk software to track all customer requests, manage tickets, and prioritize and distribute work among reps.

Pricing: You can get started with HubSpot’s Help Desk for free. For more functionality, consider upgrading to the Service Hub Professional tier for $90 a month per seat.

2. Zoho Desk

support ticketing software, zoho desk

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Zoho Desk is a multi-channel help desk ticketing system designed to help businesses manage customer service operations efficiently. It handles incoming service cases via phone, web, email, chat, and social media, making for an omnichannel experience.

Key Features

  • Ticket management: Manage, organize, and track incoming support tickets.
  • Multi-channel support: Centralized email, social media, and web forms.
  • Knowledge base: Maintain a self-service hub so customers can answer questions independently.
  • Mobile app: Stay on top of tickets on the go with the Zoho Desk mobile app.
  • Contextual AI: Zoho’s Zia quickly answers customer queries, identifies and tags support tickets, and detects anomalies and unusual ticket activity.
  • Automation: Automate ticket assignments, escalations, and workflows.
  • Integration: Connect Zoho Desk with other software or embed applications and widgets.

Pros

  • Search functionality: Simple, attractive, and intuitive to use.
  • AI tools: Generates responses, monitors data, and detects unusual activity.
  • Multi-channel support: Handle tickets from email, social media, and web forms.

Cons

  • Steep learning curve
  • AI tools: Requires your own ChatGPT API.
  • Reporting and analytics: Reports can be a bit complex.

Best for: Small businesses, startups, or freelancers seeking a cost-effective help desk system chocked full of features to manage customer queries and tickets on a small scale.

What I like: Zoho Desk offers a widget tool that you can embed on your website. When loaded in a browser, the widget turns into a support form that customers can fill out to request assistance. They can describe their problem in detail and request a preferred communication channel.

This makes it simple for customers to access your support team. It also allows reps to analyze and find solutions for incoming requests easily, significantly improving first-call resolution rates and customer satisfaction.

I also like their time-tracking feature, which records how much time you spend doing different things on each ticket. This gives you more insight into the hurdles a rep has to overcome to solve a specific issue.

support ticketing software, zoho desk

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Pricing: You can sign up for a free 15-day trial of Zoho Desk. After your trial, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan. Paid plans start at $7 a month for the Express tier and increase to $40 a month for enterprise-level users.

3. Groove

screenshot of groove’s demo interface

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Of all the options I tested, Groove is one of the simplest and most cost-effective cloud-based help desk software solutions for small businesses. It helps companies personalize their communication with their customers via email, live chat, social media, and phone calls.

Over 10,000 users trust Groove as a simple yet powerful Zendesk and Freshdesk alternative. According to them, Groove’s help desk is easier to use, quicker to set up, and provides a much better customer experience.

Key Features

  • Shared inbox: Organize your messaging channels, including email and Slack, to streamline and align ticketing support.
  • Self-service knowledge base: Create a branded knowledge base paired with analytics to help track performance metrics.
  • Live chat: Chat with your customers across your app or website, or enable automation to collect customer information in the off hours.
  • Reporting and analytics: Understand your customer satisfaction rates, conversions, and conversations.

Pros

  • User-friendly interface: Simple, attractive, and intuitive to use.
  • Collaboration tools: Enable support teams to work together effectively.
  • Multi-channel support: Handle tickets from email, social media, and web forms.

Cons

  • Limited shared inboxes: Only two shared inboxes are allowed at the lowest tier.
  • No AI features at lowest tier: Must upgrade to Plus or Pro for AI features.
  • Basic reporting: Limited reporting capabilities at the lowest tier.

Best for: Small and growing businesses looking to personalize their support ticketing and customer interactions.

What I like: Groove felt like a more cost-effective and feature-rich alternative to companies like Zendesk and Freshdesk. During my 7-day free trial, I liked using the “instant replies” feature, which produced canned responses to recurring problems. Even more impressive, you could trigger follow-up actions within the help desk after sending the canned response.

groove support ticketing system

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Groove’s help desk software allows companies to accept, track, and respond to support requests in an organized fashion with ticketing, live chat, knowledge base, self-service portals, SLO management, multiple mailboxes, task management, and reporting.

Pricing: You can try Groove free for 90 days. After your trial, you’ll need a subscription. Subscriptions start at $24 a month for the Standard tier, which allows for up to 25 users and two shared inboxes.

4. Spiceworks

screenshot of spiceworks’s user interface

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Spiceworks is a ticketing system that helps businesses manage both internal and customer-facing tasks. The software is all online in a cloud, so there’s no hassle in getting it set up and maintaining it. Once I signed up, I was immediately redirected to my inbox, where I could start answering mock tickets.

Best of all, Spiceworks is free without limits on tickets, devices, or agent access. So, it’s not a bad option if you just want to explore the basic features of a help desk.

Key Features

  • Ticket management: Manage tickets from a shared inbox.
  • IT asset management: Keep track of internal IT resources like company laptops.
  • Customizable self-service portal: Unified portal for users to submit tickets and view resources.
  • Advanced reporting: Create filters to quickly access open or pending tickets.

Pros

  • Completely free with no upcharge.
  • No user limits.
  • Free mobile app.

Cons

  • Basic interface: Less attractive than other paid options.
  • Banner ads: It’s gotta be free somehow!
  • Limited support options: Community support is your only option if you need help with the software.

Best for: IT departments and small businesses who do not mind a scaled-down system if it saves them money.

What I like: Because Spiceworks is a cloud-based help desk, I could log in from any web browser and get to work. It also offers a help desk mobile app that keeps you updated on all your tickets. It is not that anyone wants to work outside of office hours, but it does give you the option to respond to customers in a pinch if needed.

Spiceworks also offers an inventory management integration that can help your team oversee product orders that are in progress. It uses an IP scanner to locate orders and notify you of their progress. As a rep, I can then proactively relay that information to the customer so they know of any delays with their delivery.

Pricing: Free.

5. Keeping

screenshot of keeping’s user interface

Of all the options I tested, Keeping is one of the simplest and most cost-effective Gmail-based help desk solutions for small businesses. It transforms your Gmail inbox into a shared help desk, allowing companies to manage customer support directly from their familiar email interface.

Many users trust Keeping as a simple yet powerful alternative to traditional help desk software like Zendesk and Freshdesk. According to them, Keeping’s help desk is easier to use, quicker to set up, and provides a much better customer experience by eliminating the need to switch between platforms.

Key Features

  • Gmail collaboration: Team members can access support tickets from a designated tab in their Gmail account. Keeping prevents duplicate work by locking tickets when an agent is working on it.
  • Streamlined integration: Set up your Keeping account in less than ten minutes, including connecting your team members to the shared inbox.
  • Shared notes: Maintain a ticketing record system to keep your team on the same page.
  • Automation and canned responses: Keeping’s AI detects support messages, like a thank you from a customer, that do not require a response.
  • Round-robin assignment: evenly distribute support tickets across your team.
  • Analytics and metrics: Identify areas of performance improvements and analyze key metrics, like email volume, response time, and resolution time.

Pros

  • User-friendly interface: Familiar Gmail environment reduces the learning curve.
  • Easy setup: Very quick and easy to set up and try with their free trial.
  • Affordable pricing: Cost-effective solution for small teams.

Cons

  • Limited to Gmail users: Only works with Gmail and Google Workspace.
  • No multi-channel support: Does not support channels like social media or live chat.
  • Advanced features require higher tiers: Some features are only available in premium plans.

Best for: All departments who use Gmail, including HR, IT, and Finance. It also integrates with Shopify, making e-commerce support in Gmail easier.

What I like: Keeping felt like a more cost-effective and user-friendly alternative to companies like Zendesk and Freshdesk, especially for teams already using Gmail. During my free trial, I appreciated the seamless integration and the ability to manage support tickets without leaving my inbox. The automation features, like canned responses, significantly improved response times.

Pricing:

Keeping offers a 14-day free trial. Small teams who need just two workflows can subscribe to Keeping for $12 a month per user. Larger organizations with more than 10 users can subscribe to Keeping for $49 per month per user.

6. Help Scout

screenshot of help scout’s interface

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Help Scout is a ticketing system that puts the customer first. With a simple interface, the software is easy for reps and customers alike to navigate while offering excellent features such as a shared inbox, omnichannel support, live chat, automation, and a mobile app.

Although Help Scout does not offer a 100% free plan, it does offer a 15-day free trial to test the software. No credit card is required; just click it to get started.

Key Features

  • Multi-channel inbox: Combine your email, social, live chat, and voice mailboxes into one streamlined interface.
  • AI tools: For improving replies and summarizing conversations.
  • Analytics and reporting: Access and analyze data like customer satisfaction rates, wait and response times, chat duration, and social media support metrics.
  • Integration options: Such as Jira, Salesforce, Slack, Trello, and HubSpot.
  • Self-service portal: Customizable to the look and feel of your brand.

Pros

  • User-friendly: This is one of the more attractive and intuitive interfaces I’ve encountered.
  • Collaboration tools: It’s simple to loop in other agents directly on a ticket.
  • Multi-channel support: Including email and live chat in a unified interface.

Cons

  • Limited AI features: If you’re starting with the lowest tier.
  • Storage limitations: Limited storage for attachments and data at the lowest tier.
  • Basic reporting capabilities: Must upgrade to higher tiers for advanced reporting.

Best for: Startups, small businesses, or any company looking for a user-friendly interface.

What I like: Creating a chatbot on Help Scout was straightforward. In fact, it was one of the first things I did in the setup guide. I like chatbots because they are a reliable communication channel that customers can access around the clock.

Help Scout also has cloud-based features that small companies love, such as a shared inbox and knowledge center capabilities. In addition, every pricing level comes with the ability to embed help widgets on your website that you can set to fire on specific pages. In the world of many alternatives, Help Scout stands out for its simplicity and ease of use.

Pricing: If you have a small client base of 50 customers or less, you can use Help Scout for free. Or, if you have 100 or more contacts, you can try a free trial of Help Scout’s Standard subscription. Once your trial ends, you’ll pay $50 a month for your subscription.

7. Hesk

screenshot of hesk support ticketing system

Hesk is a minimal but effective helpdesk ticketing system that is completely free. I played around with the demo version for a while, and I was impressed with it, considering its non-existent price tag. The interface reminded me a little bit of the backend of a WordPress website, which was welcoming and familiar, albeit not incredibly sleek. The system was intuitive, and there were plenty of mock contacts for which you could create tickets.

Key Features

  • Ticket management: Track and manage all your support tickets in one place.
  • Knowledge base: Create self-service resources for customers to answer common questions independently.
  • Email piping: Converts incoming email to Hesk tickets.
  • Reporting tools: Essential customer service reports and analytics.
  • Customer-facing interface: A single location for customers to find knowledge articles, submit a ticket, or review their ticket status.

Pros

  • Unlimited users: Most competition limits the number of users per tier.
  • Simple install and configuration: Get up and running quickly.
  • Essential feature set: Basic yet functional capabilities for organizations with limited needs.
  • Robust knowledge base: Hesk offers a large knowledge base to help its users navigate and troubleshoot common issues.

Cons

  • No personalization: Canned responses don’t auto-populate with the customer’s name or other information.
  • Limited integration options
  • No AI features
  • Learning curve

Best for: Small customer service teams and businesses looking for a support ticketing system without extra bells and whistles.

What I like: Hesk offers a reliable ticketing system that takes minutes to download and set up. You can create custom ticket fields and modify the display to align with your team’s workflow. It even offers a ticket submission form where customers can open web-based tickets that are managed within the app. I like Hesk for basic customer support situations that only necessitate tracking email correspondence.

8. Freshdesk by Freshworks

support ticketing system, freshdesk

Freshdesk includes all the basic features you need to meet customers’ needs, including shared inbox, social media support, automated ticket assignment, public knowledge base, and more. It allows you to collaborate with your team on high-severity issues in real time and has reporting tools that provide valuable insights that can help your team improve performance.

Freshdesk’s forever-free plan provides a simple customer service solution for small businesses, startups, and teams of 10 reps or fewer. Freshworks also offers premium customer service management software through Freshservice, with plans starting at $15 per user a month.

Key Features

  • Knowledge base: Create self-service resources for customers or employees.
  • Ticket management: Manage and track incoming support tickets from multiple channels.
  • Collaboration features: Easily loop in teammates for assistance on tickets.
  • Automation: Automate admin tasks, like assigning agents support tickets.
  • SLA management: Monitor, track, and assess agent performance.
  • Reporting and analytics: Generate custom reports, like ticket response time and timesheets.
  • Helpdesk AI: Recognizes customer sentiment and summarizes support situations to help agents quickly solve issues.

Pros

  • Up to 10 users: This is a high number of seats for a free plan.
  • Extensive integration options: Compatible with HubSpot, Slack, Salesforce, and more.
  • Clean, attractive interface
  • Quick customer support

Cons

  • Limited feature set: Compared to paid options.
  • Limited reporting capabilities: Advanced reporting is available at higher paid tiers.
  • Limited automation: Automation features are limited to paid tiers only.
  • Limited AI: AI features are limited to the pro and enterprise tiers.
  • Limited customer portal: The Customer Portal feature is limited to paid tiers.

Best for: Growing companies who want to scale their support ticketing system as their client base grows.

What I like: The first thing I noticed with this help desk was how clean the user interface was. It was easy to find tickets assigned to me and different contacts and companies associated with my account. One feature I enjoyed during my demo was the To-do widget integrated into the main dashboard.

support ticketing system, freshdesk

I definitely would have used a feature like this during my time as a support rep. It’s nothing crazy, but it’s a little detail that makes life as a support rep a little more streamlined compared to keeping a to-do list manually or with a separate app.

Pricing: Small teams of two agents can use Freshdesk for free with limited capabilities. For teams of three or more, you’ll need a subscription. The Growth tier starts at $15 a month per agent. The Pro tier, which includes AI capabilities, is $49 a month per agent.

9. UVdesk

UVdesk is an open-source help desk software designed with ecommerce businesses in mind. Although it is aimed at online stores, I found that UVdesk is fully featured and versatile enough to benefit customer support operations across many types of companies.

I signed up for a free UVdesk account, and I’ve got to warn you that the signup process was a little wonky. The name and business name fields didn’t accept dashes (my last name and the name of my business both contain a dash symbol). When I generated a long, secure password with lots of special characters, it was marked as invalid, forcing me to use that one simple password I’ve used for a few too many websites (we all have one; don’t deny it!).

All that being said, there is a lot to love about UVdesk.

Key Features

  • Ticket management: Manage and organize support tickets with customizable workflows, including ticket assignment.
  • Multi-channel support: Manage email, social media, live chat, and web form inquiries as tickets in a unified interface.
  • Knowledge base: Create and maintain a self-service knowledge base so customers (or your employees) can find answers to common queries.
  • SLAs and escalations: Define SLAs and create escalation rules to ensure timely responses. This feature is typically not available in free help desks.
  • Form builder: Create and embed customizable contact forms.
  • Customer follow-up: Prompt customers to follow up with their ticketing requests by sending automatic follow-up emails.
  • Helpdesk migration: Transfer your files and support tickets from your existing helpdesk to UVdesk.

Pros

  • Open source: Highly customizable to fit specific business needs.
  • No user limits: As many reps as your heart desires!
  • Comprehensive feature set: Offers features typically only found in paid help desk ticketing systems.

Cons

  • Technical setup required: The initial setup can be complex because of the product’s open-source nature, likely requiring development experience.
  • Basic interface: Functional but basic compared to other solutions.
  • Limited support: Community support (forums) is your only resource if you need assistance with the product.

Best for: Service teams who want full control over customization of their knowledge base and support contact forms. Also great for teams who want to scale their customer support across multiple channels.

What I like: UVdesk’s superpower is its open-source nature. Why is that important? Since UVdesk is open source, the entire software code is accessible for modification, integration with other systems, custom features, and even altering the product’s UI.

Now, I don’t know the first thing about modifying open-source software. However, if someone in your business can handle such a task, UVdesk is a highly customizable and cost-effective help desk solution. In addition, I like the increased security factor since all users can inspect and maintain the source code to eliminate vulnerabilities, hidden backdoors, or malicious code.

Overall, UVdesk is an astonishingly fully featured and functional free product. However, these things come at a price, and this time, it isn’t money. Instead, it comes in the form of a steep learning curve and technical know-how, but once you get everything up and running, it will seriously be worth the time and effort.

Pricing: You can use UVdesk for free. If you want access to pro features, like multi-channel integration or service agent performance data, you’ll need the Pro plan. The Pro plan costs $22 a month for a minimum of two agents.

10. Front

support ticketing system, front

I’ll admit it. I have a weakness for modern cloud-based software with single-noun names. Front is one of those. Front is a help desk software for omnichannel customer support with streamlined communication and a focus on collaboration.

I started a free trial of Front and was impressed by the speed of the application and the intuitive UI. Front came loaded with the competitive features I expected to see, such as a shared inbox, SLAs, chatbots, and more.

One feature I enjoyed during my trial was the knowledge base. Creating and publishing articles to a sleek, blog-style interface was easy and intuitive.

Key Features

  • Shared inbox: Organizes communications from multiple channels into a unified inbox for your team.
  • Email management: Features like email templates, reminders, and snooze let you manage customer email communication swiftly.
  • Team collaboration: Slack-style collaboration features are intuitive and encourage teamwork.
  • Integrations: Integrates with many popular apps like Slack, Salesforce, and HubSpot CRM.
  • Omni-channel interface: Organize your apps and channels all within the Front interface.
  • Reporting and analytics: Track performance, assess workloads, and measure customer satisfaction rates.
  • Front’s AI: Detects simple inquiries and provides real-time AI editing assistance in customer messages.

Pros

  • Attractive interface: My favorite UI of all the products on this list.
  • Workflow automation features: Not always available for free tier products.
  • Intuitive knowledge base: Publishing self-service content is simple and intuitive.
  • Collaboration: Allows for sidebar chats and saves them in chronological order.
  • Customizable settings
  • Mobile app

Cons

  • Limited AI functionality: Only available with paid tiers.
  • Limited storage: Storage limitations for emails and attachments at lower tiers.
  • Basic reporting: Advanced reporting is only available at paid tiers.

Best for: Collaborative teams who offer customer support across various platforms, including social media and email.

What I like: If your team uses Slack for communication and collaboration, you’ll feel at home with Front. Front features an internal messaging system that lets you collaborate with other reps, comment on tickets, and tag users with the familiar @username format to loop them in where attention is needed.

I like Front because it feels modern, sleek, and intuitive. Front’s interface sparks a little bit of joy in me, which is important if you’re going to be staring at it day in and day out.

Pricing: You can try Front for free. However, once your trial ends, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid tier. The Starter Plan is $19 a month per agent.

11. Hiver

support ticketing system, hiver

Hiver is a clever app that transforms your Gmail inbox into a fully-featured customer service ticketing system. Using Hiver, you can manage incoming customer inquiries, collaborate with teammates, set up approval workflows, and more from your Gmail inbox.

I started a free trial of Hiver and installed their Chrome extension. The added UI elements to my Gmail inbox were unobtrusive, and I could create a shared inbox in a matter of seconds. Additionally, Hiver caused no conflict with the HubSpot Sales extension I already had installed to track and log emails to HubSpot, which is a plus.

Key Features:

  • Gmail integration: Transforms your Gmail inbox into a help desk.
  • Shared inboxes: Reps can manage all support tickets from a single inbox, all within their Gmail interface.
  • Collision detection: Prevents multiple reps from responding to the same customer email request.
  • Tasks: Convert emails into tasks and manage them directly in Gmail.
  • Live chat: Reps can chat with customers within their inbox, set away hours, and connect knowledge base articles to responses.
  • Self-serve portal: Customer-facing interface for customers to submit tickets, check the status of their queries, or search for answers in the knowledge base.
  • Workflow automations: Free up agent time by filtering urgent requests.
  • Hiver’s AI: Summarize emails, auto-close conversations, and generate email templates.

Pros

  • Familiarity: Your team members are likely familiar with Gmail, so starting Hiver won’t be a big learning curve at all.
  • Outlook compatibility: They didn’t forget about you Windows users!
  • User-friendly UI: The interface is functional and leverages the familiarity of the Gmail UI without getting in the way.

Cons

  • Limited advanced features: Only available at paid tiers.
  • User limit: Limited to three users at the free tier.
  • Limited to Gmail and Outlook: I’m not even sure what other email clients there are, but if you use something other than the big two, you’re out of luck.
  • Mobile app: The mobile app is sometimes laggy.

Best for: Teams looking to incorporate AI into their help desks and support ticketing systems.

What I like: I like Hiver because of its simplicity and ease of use. If you’re familiar with Gmail (which is likely), then Hiver reduces the help desk learning curve and integrates smoothly into your existing workflow. Hiver is a valuable solution for small businesses and startups beginning their customer support journey.

As your business grows, you may want to upgrade to a standalone help desk solution. Still, don’t underestimate Hiver’s potential to transform your Gmail into a customer service HQ.

Pricing: You can use Hiver for free. However, to access premium features, like round-robin auto assignment or analytics, you’ll need a subscription. The LITE plan starts at $19 per month per user.

12. HelpDesk

support ticketing system, helpdesk

HelpDesk is an advanced ticketing system designed to enhance customer support operations for businesses of all sizes. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, HelpDesk enables support teams to efficiently manage customer inquiries across multiple channels, including email, chat, and social media.

Key Features

  • Ticket management: Logs, tracks, and prioritizes customer cases. Each customer inquiry or problem is assigned a unique ticket.
  • Issue resolution: Facilitates the resolution of customer issues by providing a platform for support agents to communicate with customers, troubleshoot issues, and offer solutions.
  • Asynchronous communication: Communication between support agents and customers via various channels, including email, chat, contact form, and social media.
  • Effortless automation: Automation and AI-based features help streamline repetitive tasks, route tickets to the appropriate departments, and provide quick responses to common queries, improving the efficiency of support operations.
  • Feedback collection: Gathering customer feedback is essential for understanding their needs and improving products and services.
  • Analytics and reporting: Create visual reports to better understand agent performance and customer satisfaction rates.
  • Knowledge base: Create an optimized library of troubleshooting articles.
  • Personalization: Brand your communications with a custom domain and address.

Pros

  • User-friendly interface: Intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface, making it accessible even for non-technical users.
  • Automation features: It offers robust automation capabilities such as automated workflows, ticket assignments, and canned responses.
  • Customizable ticketing system: The platform allows users to customize their ticketing workflows to fit their support process. You can set rules for prioritizing tickets, create tags, and categorize tickets for better organization.
  • Integration with other tools: Integrates well with other tools, such as Webflow, WordPress, LiveChat, and email providers.
  • Analytics and reporting: The platform offers insightful reports on ticket resolution times, team performance, and customer satisfaction, providing teams with the data they need to improve support quality.

Cons

  • Limited free tier: Offers a free version of HelpDesk for 14 days. Long-term free options are unavailable; however, you can choose between three plans designed to best suit your team.
  • Asynchronous communication only: HelpDesk is ideal for handling tickets and asynchronous communication, but it doesn’t support synchronous chat features (only by integration, such as LiveChat).

Best for: Small and medium-sized businesses looking for a branded solution to connect all their customer communication in one simple dashboard.

What I like: I really like HelpDesk because it is simple to use for handling customer support tasks. The user-friendly interface makes it easy for anyone to manage tickets without a steep learning curve. The automation features include setting up workflows and automating repetitive tasks, streamlining support processes, saving time, and improving team productivity.

Another strength of HelpDesk is how it centralizes communication. This allows businesses to manage all their customer inquiries in one place, whether they come from emails or contact forms. In addition, its integration capabilities with tools like LiveChat allow businesses to build a more cohesive support ecosystem.

Pricing: You can sign up for a 14-day free trial. Paid subscriptions start at $29 a month per team member.

How to Choose the Right Support Ticketing Tool

Your support ticketing tool significantly impacts your team’s ability to do their jobs efficiently and solve for the customer. Accordingly, selecting your help desk warrants some serious consideration. But how do you know you’re choosing the right one?

I think it comes down to finding a tool that strikes the right balance between features and budget.

Assess your needs.

When choosing your support ticketing system, the first step is to evaluate your needs. There are many factors to consider.

  • How large is your team?
  • What’s your expected volume of incoming tickets?
  • What channels will customers be contacting you from?
  • Do you have any unique requirements or needs for special features like automation or AI?

Your answers to these questions will be the baseline criteria for selecting your help desk. For example, if you run a small support team that only handles limited email inquiries, you’ll only need a lightweight system. In comparison, a large enterprise team may require a robust solution with customization options and the ability to handle hundreds of team members.

Identify key features.

I touched on this above, but assessing your needs will help inform the key features your team requires. Some examples of make-or-break features may include:

  • Ticket automation and follow-up.
  • Reporting capabilities.
  • Integration options.
  • Omnichannel ticketing.
  • SLA (service level agreement) management.

And much more. Based on your team’s needs, I suggest making a list of required features and “nice to have” features. Then, search for help desk software that checks off as many boxes as possible within your budget, which brings me to the next step.

Set a budget.

It all comes down to money, of course. Setting a budget for your customer service ticket system will help narrow your options. You want to maximize value, meaning you get the most high-quality features for your money.

I think help desk software isn’t the place to cut corners. If ever there was a place to stretch that budget a little, it’s here. Why? Because it’s an essential tool for your team’s ability to satisfy customers. It’s not worth cheaping out on your help desk software if it means missing out on critical features and creating a bottleneck in your ability to help customers.

That being said, it all depends on your needs, and if your needs are basic, you can take advantage of many free help desk solutions.

Consider scalability.

I think it’s critical to choose a customer ticketing software that can grow with your team. Many solutions offer a free tier, which is excellent for smaller teams just starting out. However, it’s essential to consider your team’s growth trajectory when selecting the right option.

After all, you don’t want to choose help desk software that you’ll need to replace after only a year or two, which will result in lots of lost time in retraining and integrating a new system into your workflow.

Service desk software like HubSpot is fantastic because it offers a free option to get you started. There are then increasing paid tiers that expand upon feature sets to align with your growing business needs.

Test multiple tools.

I’ve been writing about and researching customer service software for a while now, and I’ve found that the market is relatively competitive. What I mean is, generally, there is parity regarding features and capabilities amongst the foremost service desk options.

So, how do you choose between solutions that offer the same features at similar price points? That’s where the fun comes in. Testing!

Well, maybe it’s only fun if you’re a software nerd like me. Regardless, it’s essential to audition a few tools to figure out which fits your workflow best.

How I Chose the Best Help Desk Software

After testing many free help desk ticketing systems, there can only be one winner. Well, actually, there are two. My favorite free helpdesk solutions are UVdesk and HubSpot.

I considered two factors when forming my opinion on my favorite help desk ticketing systems: first impression and value.

First impressions are everything, and when it comes to evaluating software, that equates to my initial experience with the UI and how intuitive it feels to navigate around the product and locate the features and functionality I’m looking for. UVdesk and HubSpot both pass this test. UVdesk’s interface is more basic than HubSpot, but what it lacks in looks, it makes up for in value.

Value is a big one. In my mind, value is the idea of how much you’re getting for what you pay. Of course, you want the most bang for your buck. Now, both of these options are free, so what you pay isn’t always money. UVdesk and HubSpot both offer a competitive feature set that keeps up with the competition.

UVDesk

When it comes to free software solutions, there’s usually some kind of trade-off. Typically, you get fewer features compared to paid versions, or you have to put up with banner ads in the header and sidebar. However, the only trade-off with UVdesk is effort. It’s not for everyone due to its open-source, self-hosted nature and technical implementation, but the amount of premium features and customization available within UVdesk blew me away.

If you have the technical experience or development resources to deploy and maintain UVdesk, you have an enterprise-level ticketing system for free. The time and effort required to deploy and maintain such a system are a cost to consider, but if UVdesk is the right fit for your team, then I think the value is astronomical.

HubSpot

I’ll admit it: I have a SoftSpot for HubSpot (see what I did there). All jokes aside, HubSpot strikes the perfect balance between value and usability. The HubSpot interface is remarkably intuitive and attractive, and I would be happy to look at it daily.

Regarding features, the free version of HubSpot Help Desk won’t give you access to all the enterprise-level features you’re getting with UVdesk for free. However, I believe that 99% of small organizations are better suited for a solution like HubSpot. At the free tier, HubSpot offers all the help desk features you’ll need to run a basic customer service operation, and it is effortless to get up and running.

What sets HubSpot apart from similar help desk ticketing systems is its potential for scalability. HubSpot can grow with your business and become the complete operational hub for your entire organization. Native integration with HubSpot’s free CRM alone is a remarkable value that brings elevated visibility into customer interactions compared to other options on this list.

Find the Right Help Desk Software for Your Team

As your company grows and takes on new clients, your customer service team will also work to keep up with increased demand for customer support requests. Help desk software will allow reps to effectively and efficiently organize those requests, manage ticket volume, and provide support.

After testing all these different help desk solutions, I’ve found that my favorite ones are those with the sleekest, most minimal UI. For the most part, all of the help desk solutions on the market offer similar capabilities and features, so your choice should come down to usability and workflow within your budget.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in March 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How Does a General Ledger Work? A Beginner’s Guide

If you’re not an accountant, the term “general ledger” probably sounds pretty foreign. It wasn’t until I started learning about ledgers that I realized I (and probably you) am more familiar with the accounting concept than I initially thought.

Ledgers are used to meticulously document all of the money coming and going out of a business. While you and I rely on our banking apps to record all of our transactions, businesses need to maintain more detailed general ledgers to accurately and legally conduct financial transactions.

Below, I’ll share examples of general ledgers, how businesses document and measure finances using a general ledger, and how the general ledger helps businesses track financial health and growth over time.

→ Download Now: 7 Financial Planning Templates

Table of Contents

How a General Ledger Works

There are a couple of things to know about using a general ledger. First, it must always be in balance between the credit and debit amounts. Second, the information recorded holds all account information about a company over the course of its lifetime, and all of this information is needed to prepare the financial statements.

This used to be a more tedious and painstaking task than it is now. Before general ledger software existed, accountants had to use journals to record transactions and organize them into “credit” and “debit” columns. Now, there are many accounting software solutions companies can use to maintain their general ledgers.

The reason a general ledger details all financial transactions of all accounts is to accurately account for and forecast the company‘s financial health. Think of the general ledger as the main database of a company’s financial records and information, with other financial documents being derived from the information recorded in the general ledger.

How to Use a General Ledger

If you’re new to accounting and want to familiarize yourself with financial planning for your business, you’re probably wondering exactly how to use a general ledger. To help you out, I asked the experts what steps to follow when using a general ledger.

Define your accounts.

First, make sure you have access to all of your company’s financials so you can organize data into the appropriate categories. Then, decide which accounts you want to organize into your general ledger.

“To maintain a general ledger, a company must define the buckets in which it wants to measure accounting information,” says Robert Belsky, CEO at Bob’s Bookkeepers. “This is called a chart of accounts.”

A chart of accounts, or COA, is an index of all financial accounts in a company’s general ledger. Not only does it organize all of the company’s finances into categories, but it can also be shared with investors or shareholders as an overall view of the company’s financial health.

Categorize transactions.

Next, you’ll record and categorize all business transactions into relevant buckets, balancing debits and credits.

“Over a period of time (e.g., weekly or monthly), all of these entries will be reconciled,” says Alex King, accountant and founder of the personal finance platform Generation Money. “This means each debit and credit must be appropriately recorded and logged so that the balance sheet will balance.”

Review bank reconciliations.

Finally, an accountant typically reviews the entries and posts the information to be used in generating a trial balance and financial statements.

Once the reconciliation is done, these initial entries will be transferred to the general ledger which is the “golden source” of accounting data, says King.

Not only does the data in your general ledger serve as the foundation of your company’s accounting, it can also be used for financial analysis, suggests King.

“As an accountant, I can use this information to analyze various account lines to identify trends or anomalies and to check against budgets and long-term plans,” he says. “The general ledger is useful for drilling down into the details behind the financial statements and helps understand the line items better. For example, revenue lines will show if there’s a particular customer or geographic region where sales have trended differently to expectations.”

Elements of a General Ledger

Now that I’ve shared how and when to use a general ledger, let’s dig into what’s included in a general ledger.

A general ledger is made up of every financial transaction made by a company and organized into different categories. There are five different categories the general ledger is broken down into. These categories are known as “accounts.”

Ledger Accounts

The general ledger typically includes a front page that lists the names of the accounts documented within, and this list is known as the “chart of accounts.” The documentation of one account within the general ledger is referred to as an “account ledger.”

1. Assets

Assets are any resources that are owned by the business and produce value. Assets can include cash, inventory, property, equipment, trademarks, and patents.

2. Liabilities

Liabilities are current or future financial debts the business has to pay. Current liabilities include things like employee salaries and taxes. Future liabilities can include bank loans or lines of credit and mortgages or leases.

3. Equity

Equity is the difference between the value of the assets and the liabilities of the business. If the business has more liabilities than assets, it can have negative equity. Equity can include things like common stock, stock options, or stocks. This all depends on whether the company is privately or publicly owned by owners and/or shareholders.

4. Revenue

Revenue is the business’s income that is derived from the sales of its products and/or services. Revenue can include sales, interest, royalties, or any other fees the business collects from other individuals or businesses.

5. Expenses

Expenses consist of money paid by the business in exchange for a product or service. Expenses can include rent, utilities, travel, and meals.

Sub-Ledgers

Sub-ledgers within each account provide details behind the entries documented in account ledgers, such as if they are debited or credited by cash, accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc.

Double-Entry Bookkeeping

The double-entry bookkeeping method ensures that the general ledger of a business is always in balance — the same way you and I might keep our bank accounts balanced. Every entry of a financial transaction within account ledgers debits one account and credits another in an equal amount.

For example, if $1,000 was credited from the Assets account ledger, it would need to be debited to a different account ledger to represent the transaction.

This bookkeeping method helps ensure that the business never over-extends itself financially and that the general ledger is always in balance to maintain the accounting equation:

Assets = Liabilities + Equity

General Ledger Examples

Below is an example of what a blank general ledger sheet would look like before filling in any accounting information. In the “Account” cell, you would fill in which account ledger’s transactions you were recording:

general ledger sheet example https://www.double-entry-bookkeeping.com/bookkeeping-basics/general-ledger-sheet/

If you’re like me and appreciate seeing templates filled out, here’s what a few accounts within the general ledger would look like filled out with transaction information.

As you can see below, each account has a specified purpose, and transactions related to those accounts go in their relevant columns.

general ledger journal exampleshttps://www.accountancyknowledge.com/general-ledger-examples/

Looking for more templates as you work on your business accounting? You can download these free financial planning templates and easily fill them in with your company’s financial information.

General Ledger’s Role in Financial Planning

Next, I’ll dive into a few other financial accounting documents that are closely related to, but distinct from, the general ledger. You might see these terms used interchangeably with “general ledger” but they all have different meanings.

General Ledger vs. General Journal

Sometimes referred to as “the book of original entry”, the general journal lists all financial transactions of a business. This differs from the general ledger, which organizes and balances transactions.

A business’ financial transactions are first recorded in a general journal and listed according to date. From there, the specific amounts are posted into the correct accounts within the general ledger.

General Ledger vs. Balance Sheet

A balance sheet provides a quick snapshot of the business’s financial health at a specific moment in time by measuring if its accounting equation is balanced.

As Belsky explains, “The balance sheet is one of the three main financial statements a business maintains. You can derive the income statement and the balance sheet from a general ledger.”

The balance sheet documents the accounting question measured above (Assets = Liabilities + Equity) and pulls those numbers from account ledgers within the general ledger.

Balance sheets are typically used when businesses are being evaluated by banks, creditors, or investors, versus general ledgers, which are maintained internally.

For example, here’s how HubSpot’s balance sheet looks. You can see the real-time version here.

hubspot’s balance sheet, which is different from a general ledgerhttps://www.investopedia.com/markets/quote?tvwidgetsymbol=hubs#financials

General Ledger vs. Trial Balance

A trial balance is an internal report that lists each account name and balance documented within the general ledger. It provides a quick overview of which accounts have credit and debit balances to ensure that the general ledger is balanced faster than combing through every page of the general ledger.

What I Learned About The General Ledger’s Role in Financial Planning

While the term “general ledger” sounds old-school (and maybe even intimidating if you’re like me and don’t have any accounting experience), it’s simply a system to record all of your business transactions.

My biggest takeaway is that most of us probably already use some sort of general ledger to manage our financial transactions, whether that’s through a banking app, a checkbook, or accounting software.

But for businesses who want to ensure they’re properly tracking and recording all of their financial data, a general ledger is essential. By using financial planning templates and accounting software, creating and using a general ledger has never been easier.

Product Differentiation and What It Means for Your Brand, According to Experts

When I think about product differentiation, I think about my trips to the grocery store. If I’m looking for hot chocolate, how do I make the choice? Everything is very similar, so I reach for Ibarra. This Mexican chocolate brand is rich, warm, and has a pinch of spice. It’s different and stands out, so I put it in my cart.

Whether you’re selling sweet beverage mixes or software, your product needs to be distinct from your competitors. Product differentiation is key to communicating a company’s value to consumers. That’s a full-blown strategy that may affect your product offering, pricing, service, and more.

So, how can a differentiation strategy work for your business? Let’s demystify the process.

→ Download Now: Free Product Marketing Kit [Free Templates]

Table of Contents

Product differentiation is a method for companies to make their products stand out and grab consumers’ attention. It’s also known as a product differentiation strategy.

Your strategy should tap into what your brand does best and then communicate those advantages to potential customers. A business’s differentiation strategy depends on its industry, competitive market, and products or services.

Now that you know what product differentiation is, why does having a strategy in place matter? Well…

The Importance of Having a Differentiation Strategy

A product differentiation strategy helps a brand to develop a competitive advantage. And, that can be tough. According to Gila Shapiro, a product marketing manager at Riverside.fm, “the most challenging part of developing a truly distinctive product in my industry is noise.”

There are so many options to choose from that sometimes, consumers face choice overload and decision fatigue.

“Most competitors all claim to be “the best” at everything. Cutting through that requires more than innovation — it demands precision,” Gila says.

That’s why your differentiation strategy matters. You can’t just make new offerings and expect people to come over. You have to communicate your advantage in a way that builds goodwill with customers. Your strategy gives buyers a reason to come back to you again and again.

Businesses that make product differentiation work for them have the following qualities:

  • They’re innovative and inventive. New offerings can help products stand out. These brands have a strong research and development team.
  • The company has the resources to create high-quality products or services. For example, a company may have a distinctly responsive support team.
  • The brand’s marketing and sales strategies communicate the competitive advantage of the product.

If your brand is distinct, your company becomes recognizable. Customers are also more likely to pick your product over a generic or undifferentiated product or service. Think about how Heinz Ketchup. I love the brand’s blend of sweetness and vinegar. Generic brands can’t compare, so I always reach for Heinz.

Apple is another example — and I’m a huge fan! I find Mac computers easy to navigate. Plus, software like Pages and iMovie still come with the computer, something PCs don’t offer. It’s often more money, but I’m too loyal to change.

Types of Product Differentiation

Like every strategy, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. However, there are a few buckets that product differentiation falls into. Keep reading to see where you fit.

types of product differentiation

Price

If your product is cheaper than competitors, you can attract business. In the best-case scenario, the cheaper option is just as good as the more expensive option (a dupe, if you will). However, sometimes a cheaper product is what you need, even if the quality isn’t top of the line.

A great example? Swinging by a Dunkin’ for coffee. A Dunkin’ iced coffee is usually cheaper than its competitors. It’s not as fancy as Blue Bottle, but when I need a quick caffeine boost, it gets the job done.

Quality and Reliability

Sometimes, price is less important than the quality. You may want something top-of-the-line that will last a life time, pulling you away from lower-caliber offerings. As my dad always says, “But once, cry once.”

When I think about quality, food always presents a great example. Rao’s tomato sauce is expensive. However, the quality of the ingredients and the flavor can’t be beat. Meanwhile, when it comes to reliability, I think about cars. Toyotas and Hondas have a reputation for lasting decades before they break down. When I ask about reliable cars, these two brands always come up.

Features

This category is very straightforward. Offering features that other brands don’t can set your product apart. That can be especially helpful if you have a genuine helpful feature in your bundle that other companies lack.

For example, in the world of CRMs, not every offering complies with HIPPA. So, a health insurance company would be limited to CRMs that allow for this compliance.

Design

Great design — whether that be for a physical or a digital user interface — can attract customers. If your product is easier to use than other options, customers in search of a no-fuss fix will flock your way.

I bought a Breville Bambino, a simple espresso machine that I can have at home. I picked this specific model because it’s easy to use. I can choose between a double and a single shot of espresso. Then I press a button to foam milk. I chose this simple design so I can make great lattes at home easily.

Location

If your business is brick-and-mortar, location is an important differentiating factor. Your customers want to go to the closest option for, say, groceries or a cup of coffee. That’s why I go to the 99 Ranch by my house instead of the Asian grocery store across town.

Brand Image

There’s a little bit of storytelling that goes into differentiation. You can see this in brand image. If your customers love what you stand for or how you run your business, you can earn their loyalty. For example, Patagonia uses sustainable materials and Fair Trade Certified factories. Because I care about the planet, I’m more likely to shop from the clothing brand.

Customization

While customization can mean adding a name to a product, the concept goes so much further. If people can pick exactly what’s in their plan and choose from a buffet of options, they get a customized experience. Both approaches can help you gain market share.

Think about Spotify’s suggestions and end-of-year Wrapped recap. That’s an offering customized to the listener.

Distribution Channels

Distribution channels are where products are available for customers to purchase. For example, a denim jacket can be sold online, at the brand’s store, and at third-party retailers. Where your product is available can be a differentiating factor. For example, I may be more likely to try a new snack I find at the store than one I gave to buy online.

Post-Sale Support

For certain purchases, customers want guidance even after they’ve swiped their credit card. In these instances, post-sales support is an essential differentiating factor. For example, when I shopped for a web hosting platform, I wanted an option with human customer support to help me get set up.

Vertical Product Differentiation vs. Horizontal Product Differentiation

Product differentiation typically falls within two categories: vertical and horizontal. However, customers may use a mix of the two to determine whether or not to make a purchase.

Vertical Product Differentiation

Vertical product differentiation is based on a measurable attribute like price or quality. For example, a customer may choose a product that ranks highest for quality over other brands. For other customers, price point may be the most important factor, so they choose the least expensive item.

For example, generic vs. branded products at the grocery store. Swanson chicken broth tastes better than the generic brand at Safeway — I can tell when I take a taste of both. But, if I’m making a bigger dish with a little bit of broth, I may opt for the cheaper, generic option.

Horizontal Product Differentiation

Horizontal product differentiation refers to factors that aren’t measurable, such as personal preference. This typically occurs when products or services have roughly the same price point. For example, a customer may choose the chicken sandwich from Shake Shack over Chick-fil-A based on personal preference rather than quality or cost concerns.

Customers may use mixed differentiation when making more involved purchases that combine vertical and horizontal differentiation attributes.

For example, if you want to buy health insurance, you’ll consider vertical differentiation attributes like cost, in-network physicians, and coverage. You may also consider brand recognition and perceived image, which would fall under the horizontal differentiation category.

This decision is a mix of vertical and horizontal product differentiation.

Product Differentiation Strategies That Work

There’s a lot of talk about differentiating a product in a market. But how exactly can businesses make it work? Here are some tried-and-true strategies, including insights from expert product marketing managers.

Use the MAYA principle.

The MAYA principle stands for “Most Advanced, Yet Acceptable.” It is a design principle that guides brands in creating products that balance innovation and user ease of use.

Concerning the MAYA principle, Mia Čomić, a product marketing manager at Learnworlds, says, “If you’re too novel, the customers will tune you out. If you’re too familiar, you won’t captivate their attention. It’s sort of like a Goldilocks’ issue of product development.”

Instead of innovating or adding new features just because everyone else is doing so, you should focus on what those features can do for your users. Ask yourself: Do my users need these features? Does this feature assist them in my product’s typical use case?

Čomić adds, “Innovation can be easily communicated if you center your narrative around what specific features can do for your users. It’s so simple, yet very few companies do it right. But you won’t get far if you innovate just for bragging rights and PR.”

For example, Čomić notes that LearnWorlds made a decision to carefully think through how they would implement AI functionality within the platform. “It was never about having AI just for the sake of it. If innovation is in the service of the users, then my job as a PMM gets a lot easier,” Čomić says.

Focus on your customers.

There will always be noise, and chasing the next new shiny thing might seem exciting. But, instead of doing that, focus on your customers.

This was what Shapiro did with her team.

Shapiro notes, “Instead of joining the noise, we focused entirely on our customers. What inspired our audience? What did they secretly wish for but hadn’t been offered yet? Differentiation, we realized, wasn’t about us — it was about showing them how they could achieve more.”

So, what can you do to focus on your audience or customers? Here are Shapiro’s top three recommendations.

  • Dig into their emotional needs. Beyond features, explore what would make your audience feel confident and capable. How could you help them create something extraordinary? Frame every message around what your audience would gain and not what you’re selling.
  • Be simple and clear. Focus on the one promise you can deliver better than anyone else. Then, communicate it in a way that cuts through the clutter. Instead of a laundry list of features, answer their most pressing question: “How will this help the customer succeed?”
  • Continuously refine your message. Your messaging shouldn’t be static. Instead, treat it as a live conversation, testing what resonates, listening to feedback, and adjusting quickly. When something clicks, lean in harder. When it doesn’t, pivot.

Sure enough, this strategy helps Riverside.fm differentiate its products in the market. But it does way more than that. The strategy has helped them build connections with their audience. Now, users feel Riverside.fm is a product made just for them.

A resource like the HubSpot Product Marketing Kit provides critical support for teams executing these customer-focused strategies. This resource offers templates, guides, and frameworks that enable product marketing teams to research customer needs across channels.

Consolidate services.

While it’s vital to focus on a particular feature that makes you stand out, sometimes what you’re known for is that your product is a one-in-all solution. All of the strategies work together. Listening to or focusing on your customers often reveals that they don’t want to deal with software bloat. They want a tool that provides all they need in one place.

Bolaji Anifowose used this strategy as a PMM at Simpu.

He says, “During my time at Simpu, we operated in a crowded market for customer communication tools. To differentiate, we focused on creating a product that combined marketing (email and SMS) and support (chat, text, email, and social media) into one seamless platform.”

According to Anifowose, many competitors offered marketing and support tools as standalone solutions. However, Simpu identified the frustration early-stage companies and SMBs faced when juggling multiple disconnected platforms.

He continues, “Our solution was tailored specifically for these businesses, which often couldn’t afford enterprise-level tools or the inefficiencies of managing separate systems.”

You can tell whether you need to consolidate services and products by adopting a customer-centric approach. This approach involves conducting extensive customer interviews to understand their pain points. You can then prioritize features that alleviate these challenges.

Challenge the status quo.

Challenging the status quo as a product differentiation strategy is one of my favorite approaches because it’s bold. It’s about addressing inefficiencies and unmet needs in an existing market. Often, it feels like rooting for the underdog who sees things differently and takes on established giants.

It’s a strategy Dollar Shave Club used to stand out in a market dominated by overly complicated products. It was how Apple disrupted the tech industry and how Tesla did the same in the electric vehicle market.

Of course, you cannot challenge the status quo with an inferior product. Your product needs to be on par and, in many cases, better than what is already available to customers.

What I find especially powerful about this strategy is the storytelling. It’s not just about saying, “We’re different.” It’s about showing why the old way isn’t working and how the new way makes life better for people like me. That authenticity and sense of purpose make me more loyal to those brands.

Challenging the status quo is a high-risk, high-reward move. When executed correctly, it can result in strong customer loyalty and even a cult-like following.

Use design and style.

Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, it’s not. Most companies create outstanding products that hide behind boring designs. You can differentiate your product by making it beautiful and memorable. Great design can elevate even the most mundane items and turn them into something exciting.

Consider Happy Socks’ example. They make socks — products don’t get much more boring than that. However, by using bold colors and quirky patterns, they turned a simple, everyday product into a fun statement piece.

product differentiation example, happy socks

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These designs communicate without words and spark a connection between products and the market. Whenever I buy something because of its design, it feels more like a personal experience than a transaction.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Product Differentiation

Before pursuing a product differentiation strategy, it’s best to review its advantages and disadvantages. This knowledge can help you know where to lean in and which pitfalls to avoid.

Advantages of Product Differentiation

  • Product differentiation will give your prospective customers added value. This value can come directly from the product, service, or brand perception.
  • Every time people see your products on store shelves or in an online ad, they‘ll know exactly what your brand represents. Plus, they’ll be more likely to choose your product over the competition.
  • With product differentiation, companies can compete in areas other than price. They can innovate in style, quality, features, etc. It’s up to the business to decide which area of differentiation will work best for their target markets.

Disadvantages of Product Differentiation

  • A differentiation strategy doesn‘t necessarily guarantee that consumers will see the value that distinguishes your product from other standard options. For example, if your product is more expensive because of its quality and the consumer doesn’t see the added value, they’ll choose the cheaper option.
  • As consumers become savvier and technology and products advance, your product’s differentiation might no longer provide value to customers. You should consider how long your differentiation strategy will last and whether it will need to be modified at a later date.
  • Pursuing a differentiation strategy means investing resources in developing a product that sets itself apart. This can burden R&D teams, product manufacturers, and your profit margins. These effects are felt more by smaller businesses that have few employees and limited resources.

Product Differentiation Examples

1. Trader Joe’s

Main Competitors: Whole Foods, Kroger, Sprouts

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[alt text] example of product differentiation: Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe‘s has earned a dedicated following among shoppers thanks to the brand’s friendliness and unique items. I mean, who can resist those Hawaiian shirts, free samples, and friendly banter?

Trader Joe‘s sets itself above the competition by leveraging its friendly service and combining it with unique, often seasonal, items. Its stores’ compact footprint and handwritten signs advertising the day‘s deals make shoppers feel like they’re in a local establishment rather than a national chain.

Most of all, Trader Joe‘s delivers high-quality items shoppers can’t get anywhere else, all at a budget-friendly cost.

2. Airstream

Main competitors: Fleetwood, Jayco, Winnebago

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[alt text] Product Differentiation Example: Airstream

Airstream RVs have a retro mystique. They’re silver, streamlined, and highly recognizable on the road. The company sets its RVs apart from the competition by focusing on quality — which increases the product’s value over time. Higher quality means lower maintenance costs and higher resale value.

Plus, they’re known to last for generations. According to the company’s site, “Since the 1930s, Airstreams have been handed down from generation to generation, passed on to family members, friends, or new adventurers.”

Airstream’s brand is further developed through its heritage, which builds trust with potential customers and highlights its success over the years. With the tagline “Live Riveted,” Airstream inspires people to travel with an RV.

3. Billie

Main Competitors: Flamingo, Harry’s, Dollar Shave Club

product differentiation example: billie razors

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Billie differentiates itself from typical direct-to-consumer body care brands by focusing on women first. The brand combats the pink tax, provides premium products, and makes the future brighter for all women. This strategy has helped the company realize monumental success and develop a recognizable brand with a positive reputation.

Billie’s co-founder, Georgina Gooley, said in an interview with Columbia Women’s Business Society, “We knew right away that we wanted to create a brand that put women first in a category that had always considered them an afterthought. Our goal is to create a little bit of magic in the mundane and make an everyday routine more enjoyable (and a lot more affordable!).”

By positioning itself as a champion of women of all sizes, shades, and grooming habits, Billie has carved out a niche in direct-to-consumer personal care.

4. Fabletics

Main Competitors: Lululemon, Athleta (by Gap)

example of product differentiation: fabletics

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Like Billie, Fabletics positioned its brand toward women of all sizes and backgrounds for its direct-to-consumer activewear brand. With Kate Hudson at the helm, Fabletics offers quality, stylish clothes on par with competitors like Lululemon, minus the elitism.

The company often partners with celebrities and athletes for each of its campaigns, including Kevin Hart, to launch its new menswear line. Additionally, they’ve partnered with Lizzo to launch her new size-inclusive shapewear line, YITTY.

Each month, Fabletics rolls out a new collection of styles, separating it from the competition and ensuring that consumers always have fresh looks to try.

5. Nike

Main competitors: Under Armour, Adidas, Reebok International

product differentiation example: nike

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What separates Nike from the competition is its branding. The company positions itself as innovative and creates high-quality sports apparel and shoes.

The company partners with high-profile athletes, including Serena Williams, Michael Jordan, Cristiano Ronaldo, and others, to wear and promote Nike apparel. Such partnerships attract new (and returning) customers because many aspire to be like their favorite athletes.

Nike also creates new and innovative product lines. These offerings create buzz and excitement. Promotions pique the interest of new customers and keep existing customers returning for more.

6. Lush

Main competitors: The Body Shop, Origins, Sephora

product differentiation example: lush

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Lush stands out from other cosmetic brands because it focuses on fresh, handmade cosmetics — something most generic cosmetic brands don’t often do.

Messaging is another area where Lush stands out from the crowd. Their target customer values social responsibility, and the company takes it to heart. All the products are made using natural, vegetarian ingredients, reusable and recyclable packaging, and without animal testing.

Each visit to a Lush store offers a unique experience. You can test out products and have your questions answered by friendly store associates. Each aspect of Lush’s differentiation strategy makes it a recognizable and well-loved brand.

For even more product differentiation examples, check out these companies that brilliantly differentiated themselves from the competition.

A Product Differentiation Strategy is Key to Success

A well-planned product differentiation strategy can set your business and brand apart from competitors and make it memorable. It’s about giving your customers a reason to choose you in a sea of competitors.

Whether through bold design, innovative features, or challenging the norms of your industry, differentiation creates value that resonates on a deeper level. For me, the best strategies are the ones that feel personal and authentic. I want something that solves real problems and sparks joy.

Inside the MEDDPICC Methodology — Insights From the Sales Pros Who Use It

MEDDPICC is a game-changing B2B sales qualification framework. It will help you decide which leads to invest your time into and which leads don’t help you achieve your business goals or may not convert. This way, you can focus your time on the most fulfilling leads that feel like the right fit for your business and motivate you and the sales team.

Sounds like the dream, doesn’t it? And it is!

Free Download: Sales Plan Template

Learning about qualified leads feels like a turning point in any B2B operation. To begin with, any lead feels like a goal, but over time, if you’re marketing yourself correctly, you should have more leads than you can serve. A healthy pipeline is a goal for most businesses; there’s security if you have more work than you can do now.

I’ve learned the hard way (hello, burnout) that you simply can’t invest time equally in every prospect, and any prospect you do invest your time into needs to be a qualified lead that you can — and want — to serve.

In this article, I’ve deep-dived into the MEDDPICC sales methodology, from what it is and how you can use it, to top tips from seasoned sales pros who use MEDDPICC and describe it as “transformational.”

I thoroughly enjoyed writing this one. The experts were generous with their examples and tips and incredibly insightful. By the time I’d finished this article, I was already bringing the MEDDPICC sales methodology into my own business. I hope you find it as useful as I did.

Table of Contents

What is the MEDDPICC methodology?

MEDDPICC is a B2B sales qualification framework designed to help salespeople identify and focus on high-potential leads. The goal is to attract more qualified leads and spot a weak lead from a strong one while increasing the chances of closing complex, high-value deals.

MEDDPICC is an acronym, and it stands for:

  • Metrics
  • Economic Buyer
  • Decision Criteria
  • Decision Process
  • Paper Process
  • Identify Pain
  • Champion
  • Competition

Later in this article, I’ve broken down each component, why it’s important, and how you can use it for sales success.

infographic outlines what meddpicc stands for and briefly explains its relevancy to the meddpicc sales process.

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MEDDIC vs. MEDDPICC

The differences between MEDDPICC and MEDDIC are clear. Yes, it’s the addition of the “P” and the extra “C.”

So, MEDDPICC expands on the MEDDIC framework and includes the:

  • Paper Process
  • Competition

While the core elements are the same, the two serve slightly different purposes.

MEDDIC might be considered more suitable for shorter sales cycles, smaller businesses, and less competitive markets.

MEDDPICC is better for longer, more complex sales cycles, larger enterprises, and highly competitive environments.

infographic shows the acronym meddic so readers can see the addition of “p” paper process and “c” competitors in the meddpicc sales process.

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If you ask me, it can’t hurt to be more thorough and use MEDDPICC as your sales methodology over MEDDIC, no matter how big or small your business and sales cycle. You’ll learn a lot about your business that can be insightful for other departments (not just sales.)

That said, if you’re overwhelmed, start with MEDDIC.

What are the benefits of MEDDPICC?

The benefits of MEDDPICC are vast! I will list some of them below, but if you’re still unsure or looking for something more tangible, keep reading. Later, I’ll share real-life examples from sales professionals using a MEDDPICC sales process and their top tips.

Clarity

Before you can implement the MEDDPICC sales methodology, you need to establish an understanding of what you’re selling, who you’re selling it to, why it’s important to them, and who else you’re up against when it comes to sealing the deal.

Through the MEDDPICC sales process, you will outline answers to these questions, meaning you must think about them properly. As a result, all your ideas will be in one place, which is ideal if you’re managing a large team and need everyone working toward the same objective.

The answers to these questions are covered in the following components.

  • Metrics. Data-driven metrics help guide messaging.
  • Economic Buyer. The person you need to impress so they’ll open the purse to the cash!
  • Decision Criteria. What clients want from you and how they’ll judge you.
  • Competition. Other businesses offering your prospects the same or similar solutions.

There’s a good chance you have a solid idea of how to address these components of MEDDPICC, but walking through the MEDDPICC sales process forces you to think critically about it. Ideally, you’d discover and settle on answers to these with a team, considering all angles.

Finally, you gain clarity on precisely who you’re targeting, why, and how you can stand out and win prospects over.

Improved Lead Qualification and Team Morale

Once your sales process is fully integrated with MEDDPICC, sales personnel will save time and enhance lead quality. They will have the framework to qualify or disqualify opportunities early in the process.

Teams can focus on high-probability leads instead of spending time on low-quality leads.

Better quality leads mean more motivation and fulfillment for sales teams. Morale in sales is something that John Rankins talks about in his article The Impact of Lead Quality on Your Business.

Rankins says, “Picture the frustration of your sales team when they continually encounter unqualified leads. It’s demotivating to see their hard work result in dead ends. This frustration can lead to burnout, high turnover rates, and a decrease in overall team morale. After all, who wants to make dozens of calls each day, only to be met with rejection or disinterest?”

If your team is motivated, fulfilled, and excited about their job, then sales calls will be better, and the customer experience will be enhanced.

There are no negatives to improving lead quality and empowering sales teams with the knowledge to identify a hot lead from a cold one.

Better Competitive Analysis

The “Competition” component of MEDDPICC asks you to gain a deeper understanding of competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. You’ll need to get real about what competitors do better than you, what you truly excel at, and how you’re going to disarm competitors at every step of the sales process.

As a consultant, I work with a variety of businesses. Clients have told me, “We don’t have any competitors because…”

The thing is, unless you’re doing something completely unique and there is no other solution — which seems highly improbable — you’ve got a competitor, and every business benefits greatly from knowing who they are. The MEDDPICC sales process forces you to face this on a deeper level.

Remember, “Competition” is one of the additions of MEDDPICC compared to MEDDIC. It’s an important component and hugely beneficial to sales and businesses in general.

Free Resources: If you’re just getting started with MEDDPICC, there are resources to help. HubSpot has a step-by-step guide to the MEDDIC sales qualification process and 101 sales qualification questions.

How to Use the MEDDPICC Methodology

Here’s a step-by-step guide for each component of the MEDDPICC process, including what each component is and how you can use it to achieve sales success.

If you love video, I think this one by James White is brilliant. White is a sales growth specialist. In his MEDDPICC video, he explains more about MEDDPICC, the history of this methodology, and works through MEDDPICC step-by-step.

How to close B2B sales deals with MEDDPICC

Metrics

Your metrics are the data, or performance indicators, that your buyer most needs. What you want to do is gather the data about how what you do or sell supports or achieves these metrics.

The thing with metrics, as explained by Joel Popoff, CEO of Axwell Wallet, is that you need to turn data into concrete outcomes that actually mean something.

Popoff says, “Customers connect with concrete outcomes, not abstract data. Rather than emphasizing technical specifications, we offer scenarios like ‘This wallet blocks 99% of RFID skimming threats,’ demonstrating tangible advantages to security-conscious shoppers. This method has considerably increased our conversion rates.”

Economic Buyer

Your economic buyer is a key player in the MEDDPICC sales methodology. This person has control of budgets and needs to know that the service will perform for the company. You may or may not speak with them directly, but you must understand who this person is and how they can be positively influenced.

For Tyler Hull, founder and sales manager of Modern Exterior, MEDDPICC’s strength lies in its Metrics and economic buyer components. Hull believes that these metrics “anchor every discussion on specific, quantifiable results and align them with the decision-maker at the top of the budget.”

Hull explains how this worked: “After introducing MEDDPICC at Modern Exterior, we estimated that our customized solutions reduced clients’ project costs by 25% over two years.”

“We’ve noticed prospects progress much further when they are confident in the numbers we provide to support our propositions.”

It makes sense. After all, decision-makers need to know that their investment will pay off, and data (or outcomes, as Joel Popoff suggests above) gives them that security.

Decision Criteria

Your decision criteria are the elements that your buyer will judge you. They will have a list of requirements that they need to meet. The criteria could vary by prospect but include things like cost, implementation, collaboration, product quality, and so much more.

If you know what criteria you’re judged on, you can make sure you can meet that demand.

Hull provided insightful examples of decision criteria and how they helped Modern Exterior. “The Decision Criteria component optimized how we sell value, helping us close 15% more deals within six months. In my experience, the framework improves transparency, making it significantly easier to track progress and identify blind spots.”

Decision Process

Without a framework like MEDDPICC sales methodology, you might make educated guesses about components, like decision-makers or influences in the decision-making process. And in many cases, experience will serve you well, and you’ll be right.

But, with MEDDPICC, you might uncover incorrect and leading assumptions about who influences the decision process and the weight of some team members.

Edward White is head of growth at beehiiv and relies on a MEDDPICC sales process. With MEDDPICC, the team at beehiiv discovered an unexpected influencer.

White told me: “We found a back-end developer influencing integration decisions, which we’d have missed otherwise. Engaging with them boosted technical alignment and saved us 10+ hours on support post-sale.”

White’s discovery makes complete sense. A backend developer should influence integration decisions since it’s likely the developer who would deal with the integration, if not in the early phases, but certainly once it is live. Any good organization would consult the in-house developer, but, in most cases, developers are not in charge of the budget, may not be on early – or any – sales calls, and are, therefore, easy to forget since they’re not front of mind.

If you can understand the decision process, you spot potential influencers you need to appease to close a deal.

Paper Process

The “Paper Process” is the second addition to MEDDPICC (from MEDDIC) and asks teams to understand the paperwork involved in a sale. This includes elements like legal and administrative requirements.

When I spoke to sales experts about MEDDPICC, one in particular mentioned the paper process. Jay Soni, co-founder and director of sales and marketing at Yorkshire Fabric Shop, said, “Keep detailed documentation of every step of the MEDDPICC process for each transaction. Exhaustive documentation of the ‘Paper Process’ can reveal potential bottlenecks on contract sign-offs or legal audits and allow your team to mitigate them quickly. Believe me, you’ll be reducing risk and creating predictability with this!”

Identify Pain

Your product or service should solve a pain point for your customer. If you know exactly what this is, then you can show your prospects how you can alleviate pain.

Jose Angelo is a growth marketer and founder of Jose Angelo Studios. He has an impressive example where MEDDPICC implementation increased a sales cycle by 60%.

Angelo says, “The most successful MEDDPICC implementation I have worked on was for a Fortune 500 technology client.”

Using MEDDPICC, the client was able to understand who their economic buyer was, the chief revenue officer, and resolve a $2M revenue leak.

Angelo says, “Structuring the solution directly at their pain points resulted in closing a $400,000 deal within 45 days, or 60% faster than our typical sales cycle.”

Champion

Your champion is the person who is most invested in you or your company. This is someone who is already supporting you and wants your business to win the deal and have some influence over others within their business. They’re basically an internal salesperson rooting for you.

The best thing you can do with your champion is esteem them and prepare them with information so they have more persuasion power and may be able to close the deal for you.

Taylor Hull (mentioned above) has a tip on getting the most out of your champion. He says, “Make the Champion an endpoint, not an extra step. It’s essential that your Champion truly understands the value your solution provides in addressing specific pain points and feels empowered to communicate that value internally.”

“For instance, providing Champions with personalized ROI breakdowns helped us close 25% more deals, as they had the data needed to influence internal stakeholders effectively.”

Competition

Competition is the final “C” in MEDDPICC. I think of this one as highly important, but then I do a lot of competitive research in my day-to-day at work. However, it’s no coincidence that competition was a new component enhancing what was MEDDIC.

In the video shared above, James White advises being careful when discussing competition; bad-mouthing doesn’t work, but you can ask your prospects questions.

White suggests asking:

  • Who else is involved in the process?
  • Who are you talking with?
  • Who are you working with at the moment?
  • What do you like/dislike about your current solution?

Tips for Using MEDDPICC

I’ve scattered a lot of tips about using MEDDPICC throughout this article, but a few important ones stood out to me, so I listed them here.

1. Focus on lead qualification.

Edward White suggests you focus on lead qualification. This was mentioned earlier as a benefit because it saves time and builds morale, but White has a real-life example where lead qualification increased sales success rate.

White says, “Diving deep into the Decision Criteria stage, we realized creators valued the ease of integration as much as monetization potential. Addressing that upfront increased our onboarding success rate by 15%, saving us hours of back-and-forth clarifications. It’s about solving pain points before they become barriers.”

Pro tip: Use these sales qualifications questions to help you hone your talking points.

2. Use it for ecommerce.

Most think MEDDPICC is just for enterprise sales, but it’s powerful for consumer-focused ecommerce.

Joel Popoff said, “We utilize [MEDDPICC] to evaluate Decision Process criteria on bulk orders, such as customers buying multiple wallets as gifts. Understanding why buyers prioritize customization possibilities (like laser engraving) has increased our upsell rate by over 20%.”

3. Demonstrate cost-saving metrics to prospects.

Jay Soni says MEDDPICC has been the most helpful in mapping out their sales process.

Soni says, “The “Metrics” aspect has changed the way we engage with potential clients. I recently did a project with an office design firm. We demonstrated how our stain-proof fabrics reduced cleaning costs by £8,000 a year across their portfolio of properties. It was effective. If you can base a sales pitch on real data such as this, then I think it instantly changes the dynamic. We shifted the conversation from opinions to outcomes that we can prove, which helps drive buy-in more quickly from the decision-makers.”

I’m Using the MEDDPICC Sales Methodology. Are You?

I loved writing this article on the MEDDPICC sales methodology. I manage sales (though I don’t consider myself a salesperson!) for my B2B business, and at times, sales can be complex with many decision-makers, some of whom I don’t even speak to.

While some components of the MEDDPICC sales process come naturally to me, I will be making a conscious effort to incorporate the complete MEDDPICC sales process into my business. After writing this article, I see how powerful this methodology is. Plus, I really like how MEDDPICC provides a framework to encourage me to consider each component for each client properly.

Everything I Learned Cultivating An Entrepreneurial Mindset: How to Overcome Challenges, Set Goals, and Build Your Dream Business

If you want to know the secret to honing confidence as an entrepreneur, here it is: Starting a successful business isn’t just about having a groundbreaking idea, the perfect timing, all the resources in the world, or even a whole lot of money. It’s also about having the right mindset to navigate the highs, the lows, and the inevitable plot twists.

Download Now: 2024 Entrepreneurship Trends Report

The way you think, adapt, and push through challenges does determine whether you’ll thrive or throw in the towel. That said, how you cultivate your entrepreneurial mindset is based on a plethora of things; those factors will shift as you grow your business. In this post, I’ll break down what it really means to think like an entrepreneur, how you can channel your potential (without the fluff), and I’ll offer some inspiration to hopefully motivate you to lean into your entrepreneurial mindset way more this year.

Table of Contents:

To start, I think it’s worth clearing up a misconception you’re likely already forming: That the entrepreneur mindset is entirely specific to hard-boiled entrepreneurs. This, my dear reader, is entirely wrong.

Here’s my rebuttle: Anyone (yes, even you) can demonstrate it. Even if you haven’t quite figured out every moving part of your business yet. Even if you haven’t written down every detail about how you’ll make your ideas tangible. Whether you’re an employee looking to start taking that passion project you had seriously or a freelancer that’s ready to turn your talents into something bigger, embracing your entrepreneurial mindset will empower you to:

  • Think creatively
  • Solve problems proactively
  • Seize opportunities

At its core, an entrepreneurial mindset is about fostering a solution-oriented approach to challenges, no matter how difficult they are. Even more so, honing your entrepreneurial mindset means developing strategies to take on whatever comes your way and building a tolerance for pushing through setbacks. After all, success isn’t about never failing; it’s about how you get back up.

If you’re interested in cultivating this way of thinking, check out the following section for a breakdown of the key characteristics you can expect to develop as you progress.

Entrepreneurial Mindset Characteristics

Locking into your entrepreneurial mindset starts with embracing a growth-oriented perspective. Before you even think about solidifying a business strategy or securing a grant, you’ve got to train your mind to see things differently. By differently, I mean reframing your attitude around encountering the hard stuff as you navigate your journey toward becoming an entrepreneur.

No one starts with all the answers on how to do this, but I’ll tell you one thing: You can shift your mindset by making little changes, starting with how you think. Check out a list of characteristics I put together to help you establish a strong foundation and confidently tackle challenges:

a graphic showcasing how someone can develop an entrepreneurial mindset

1. Self-Drive

As an entrepreneur, you should aim to be self-driven. Why? Because you’re solely responsible for your business’s success. You need to motivate yourself and push through obstacles without anyone telling you what to do and when to do it.

The great thing about self-drive is that it can look like anything, from staying focused on your goal (as entrepreneurship can require long hours, hard work, and dedication) to seeking new opportunities and learning experiences. Being self-driven allows you to take initiative and make decisions that will move your business forward, even when uncertain.

2. Flexibility

As an entrepreneur, you have to be open-minded about approaching your work … it comes with the territory if you will. Whether it be willing to pivot when necessary, working with diverse groups of people, or listening to critiques, you’ve got to be willing to adapt, learn, and evolve based on new information and feedback.

By staying flexible, you can adapt to change and take advantage of opportunities as they arise, instead of letting them pass by.

3. Creativity

To think like an entrepreneur means you have to get creative. Many people like the sound of running their own business but need more creativity to develop the solutions and strategies required to gain and retain a customer base.

Plus, even if you’re not serving a “creative” industry, your choices — from your supply chain to your marketing — can capture your target audience’s attention. Everything you’ll do will be assessed against your competitors, so you’ve got to come correct with a unique value proposition, compelling branding, and innovative problem-solving that sets you apart from everybody else.

4. Authenticity

Authenticity is one of the most challenging qualities to maintain as an entrepreneur. With all the industry noise and trend-chasing hoopla, staying true to yourself, your brand’s mission, and, most importantly, your customers is hard, to say the least.

However, staying committed to authenticity builds trust and creates a strong connection between you and your customers. When you’re true to yourself, your customers are likelier to trust you and feel engaged with your business.

5. Tenacity

According to data from The Hustle’s 2024 Entrepreneurship Trends Report, only 28% of businesses are profitable within their first year of starting; 36% are super profitable within two years of operation.

What does this data tell us? Well, in short, it proves that entrepreneurs have to have the tenacity, or determination, to keep trying if they want to see the results they’ve dreamed of. Going through setbacks (i.e., low sales or lack of brand visibility) can chip away at your confidence, but true entrepreneurs understand that the climb to success isn’t free of challenges, so no matter what comes your way, you’ve got to see all of it through.

Employee vs. Entrepreneur Mindset

Individuals who acquire the entrepreneurial mindset — or entrepreneurial spirit — will do what others won’t: They take initiative and make a point to create opportunities rather than wait for them. They embrace leadership opportunities and learn what they can at every possible turn. Those qualities — among others — set the entrepreneurially minded apart from, well, those who just aren’t. I like to call those folks “employee-minded.”

Here’s some insight into the key differences between the two thought processes:

a graphic showcasing the difference between an employee mindset vs. an entrepreneurial mindset

1. Entrepreneurs zero in on individual tasks more than employees.

Argue with me if you want to, but ‘multitasking’ isn’t a thing. It’s a buzzword that means rapidly jumping from individual task to individual task, which ultimately implies sacrificing some level of quality and thoughtfulness along the way.

But if there’s one thing entrepreneurs know how to do without fail, it’s focus. As an entrepreneur, you learn that deep, intentional work consistently outperforms scattered effort. Plus, success doesn’t happen because you do everything at once. It coalesces when you’ve learned what’s deserving of your attention. Prioritization, not multitasking, moves the needle forward, my dear reader.

2. Entrepreneurs have an ‘on to the next one’ mentality.

Employee-minded folks are known to get fixated on their mistakes; entrepreneurs breeze by ‘em.

You see, a good entrepreneur sees the good in failure. To unlock your entrepreneurial mindset properly, you must understand that every mistake is a learning experience. You have to confidently know that the world isn’t over with every screw-up … and be able to quickly derive lessons from any that may take place. This may take some time, but once you’ve uncovered a strategy that works for you, you’ll have a solid approach to managing missteps.

3. Entrepreneurs partition and prioritize their work differently.

When employees apply themselves to something, it isn’t a problem. What typically causes issues is how they use their time and energy. Some folks prefer to tear through all their work as it comes to them, others like to pace themselves through different tasks, and some choose to just plain ol’ procrastinate.

On the other hand, entrepreneurs often use a different method. Oppositely, they make a point of working smarter and are skilled at partitioning their work thoughtfully. They know that time is the most essential professional commodity, so they handle it with tact.

4. Entrepreneurs are wise about risks and confront them head-on.

Employee-minded individuals have a reputation for being risk-averse. They value stability, which is totally understood, but they may lack a nuanced understanding of what it takes to go above and beyond for long-term growth and innovation. Entrepreneurs, however, know to expect moments when their business priorities will have to take precedence over their work life, personal life, and, yes, their sleep schedule.

Entrepreneurs take calculated risks and anticipate having to take a leap of faith at some point in their business growth process. The key difference here is a matter of mindset. Entrepreneurs know what comes with the territory of their dreams; employee-minded folks are known to seek the comfort of structure and, to some degree, predictability.

5. Entrepreneurs aren’t threatened by people more intelligent than them.

You’ve probably heard the old saying, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, leave that room.” For some employee-minded individuals, that phrase presents … a tricky concept. For entrepreneurs, it emphasizes valuing learning opportunities more than ego.

As an entrepreneur, nurturing a good sense of humility will help you realize your ambitions and bolster your professional skill sets.

6. Entrepreneurs own all their decisions — good and bad.

Some employee-minded people may deflect responsibility for the consequences of their actions entirely, but here’s one thing you can expect while pursuing entrepreneurship: You’ll have to hold yourself accountable for poor decisions as much as you tout your accomplishments. There’s no trying to avoid blame, no distancing yourself from any less-than-ideal calls you make; this accountability comes with the beauty of being your boss.

As I’ve mentioned, entrepreneurs view screw-ups as learning experiences that don’t define them or dictate their professional value. Take your shortcomings on the chin and keep moving forward.

Pro Tip: My advice for preventing stressful business things before they happen? Create a business plan that outlines everything, from your business name to how you’ll pitch your business to investors. I recommend using HubSpot’s Business Startup Kit if you want to organize your thoughts with easy-to-follow, easy-to-share templates.

How to Develop the Entrepreneurial Mindset

a graphic showcasing how someone can develop an entrepreneurial mindset

When folks bare their “secrets” about adopting the entrepreneurial mindset, they don’t share how nonlinear the journey really is. The road map to get there is paved with tons of vague instructions. Folks will say, “Be fearless, work hard, take risks,” but they don’t provide the concrete steps or how-to guidance that help others make it happen. But lucky for you, my dear reader, I’m not like those people. Instead, I’ve written the complete playbook to tapping into your entrepreneurial mindset.

Here’s every actionable step you should take to engage your entrepreneurial mindset in day-to-day life, no holds barred:

1. Set clear goals.

First thing’s first: You can’t make progress as an entrepreneur if you don’t know which direction you’re going in; at this stage, having dreams or wishes is not enough. You need clear goals.

Start by outlining a handful of SMART goals to hit each week or month, ones that are:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Attainable
  • Relevant
  • Time-bound

Chip away at them every day and see how far you can get. If you have trouble staying accountable, write your goals down or share them with family, friends, colleagues — hell, even your LinkedIn network. Remember: Big achievements are often the result of small, consistent actions. Don’t get caught up in perfection; moving forward is all that matters.

2. Prioritize learning.

When discussing “learning,” you probably picture it super formally, like completing a training or certification. Now, don’t get me wrong. Formal learning is vital for professional development, and you shouldn’t pass up on those kinds of opportunities … but you can also learn by simply listening to others in a way that works for you.

Don’t hesitate to ask questions fueled by curiosity. Seek out a mentor, read an expert-backed article, message a peer on LinkedIn, listen to motivational podcasts, take an online course. People who have done what you’re doing have the wisdom to share; don’t miss any chances to get the answers and resources you need.

If it helps, technically, I didn’t even come up with this — Jim Rohn, the late entrepreneur and author, did. He once said, “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”

3. Reframe failure.

Here’s a not-so-shocking statement: Failure doesn’t feel good. It likely won’t ever feel good. But the best entrepreneurs know that failure, rejection, risk, and criticism are all part of the gig, and choose to see them as common side effects of ambition. Instead of folding under pressure, a good entrepreneur learns to keep moving.

The key word here is to learn, since reframing your mindset around failure takes time and effort. The trick is not to think of failure as something to fear or avoid but, rather, a tool to understand situations better and make more informed decisions in the future.

A different perspective can entirely change your growth trajectory, so choose yours wisely.

4. Embrace risk-taking.

Here’s something you probably didn’t expect to hear from me: Failure is the best teacher.

When you take a risk, you either a) win or b) learn a lesson. This doesn’t mean you should spontaneously quit your job or say “yes” to the next opportunity that comes across your desk (or your Gmail? Maybe? Who knows these days). My point is, my dear reader, it’s all about calculated risk.

A calculated risk is a carefully considered decision with a degree of risk and a reasonable chance of a positive outcome. For instance, it’s common for entrepreneurs to put some of their personal assets on the line to finance operations. Yes, this is risky, but if you can get past the initial fear of such a risk, many benefits can await you on the other side.

Entrepreneurial Mindset Quotes

Sometimes (especially depending on the day you’re having), motivation doesn’t come from within. Sometimes, motivation comes from hearing someone else’s take on success. Or struggle. Or just trusting the process. My point is this: It helps to hear someone else’s take on how they made things happen when things got tough.

Whether you’re looking for an alternative view on resilience or just need a pick me up, here’s a curated collection of quotes I put together that I hope helps you see the entrepreneurship grind in a slightly different light:

On Perseverance

  • “Every no gets me closer to a yes.” — Mark Cuban
  • “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” — Robert Collier
  • “Life keeps throwing me curve balls and I don’t even own a bat. But my dodging skills are improving.” ― Jayleigh Cape
  • “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” — William Feather
  • “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.” — Vince Lombardi

On Work Ethic

  • “Be true to your heart, and if you’re passionate about your dream, work towards it. But don’t allow your idea of how you think it should manifest to prevent what’s actually unfolding from happening.” — Keke Palmer
  • “Success isn’t owned. It’s leased, and rent is due every day.” – J. J. Watt
  • “So often people are working hard at the wrong thing. Working on the right thing is more important than working hard.” — Caterina Fake
  • “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” — Muhammad Ali
  • “I never dreamed of success. I worked for it.” — Estee Lauder

On Taking Risks

  • “Go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.” — Jimmy Carter
  • “Don’t be afraid of the answers. Be afraid of not asking the questions.” — Jennifer Hudson
  • “Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” — Frederick Wilcox
  • “Everything is a risk. Not doing anything is a risk. It’s up to you.” — Nicola Yoon
  • “Rarely are opportunities presented to you in a perfect way. In a nice little box with a yellow bow on top. Opportunities – the good ones – are messy, confusing and hard to recognize. They’re risky. They challenge you.” — Susan Wojcicki

On Handling Failure

  • “I don’t like to lose — at anything — yet I’ve grown most not from victories, but setbacks.” — Serena Williams
  • “Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” — Bill Gates
  • “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” — Henry Ford
  • “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”― Maya Angelou

On Motivation and Drive

  • “Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” — Conrad Hilton
  • “The question isn‘t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” — Ayn Rand
  • “Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a new way to stand.” — Oprah Winfrey
  • “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs
  • “No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one.” — Jessica Savitch

On Leadership

  • “To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.” — Montesquieu
  • “Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.” — Brian Tracy
  • “The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have.” — Padmasree Warrior
  • “Leadership is a series of behaviors rather than a role for heroes.” — Margaret Wheatley
  • “Do it from the heart or not at all.” ― Jeanette Winterson

Entrepreneurial Mindset Examples

In my experience of chasing big goals, it’s always been helpful to see people who’ve made their dreams plausible and attainable regardless of the odds they faced. I think it could benefit you, too, my dear reader.

Check out these folks whose entrepreneurial mindset took them pretty far:

1. Alicia Scott — Range Beauty

an image of range beauty entrepreneur alicia scott on shark tank as an entrepreneurial mindset example

Image Source

Believe it or not, Alicia Scott — Founder and CEO of Range Beauty — started her ance-safe and eczema-friendly makeup business with only $150. After appearing on Shark Tank and securing a deal with Lori Greiner, Scott’s makeup brand became the first-ever Black woman-owned beauty brand to receive funding from the show. Since then, Range Beauty has relaunched, received a Glossier Alumni Award, and is now being sold nationwide at Sephora. Still, none of its success happened overnight; as a matter of fact, her company is still growing.

Alicia’s commitment to trusting her process, taking as much time as needed to do fundamental research, and refining her business truly reflects her entrepreneurial mindset. In an episode of The Foundr Podcast, Alicia admitted that it took three years to fully ideate and build Range Beauty into what it is today; she even mentioned that she bootstrapped her first product batch. “I moved to Atlanta, Georgia, worked a 9 to 5, made sure all of my expenses and personal bills were taken care of, but whatever residual income I had after my paychecks, that’s what went toward building Range Beauty,” Scott shared.

Range Beauty’s climb to success is still in progress, so there’s much to learn from Scott’s entrepreneurial mindset. Here are the takeaways I’ve extracted that I think could apply to you:

  • Be prepared to go back to the drawing board. Scott shifted Range Beauty’s brand identity and vision several times before landing on something that felt authentic to the business and product she was developing.
  • Expect setbacks and handle them with grace. Alicia received a cease-and-desist letter regarding a former tagline for Range Beauty; she revealed she was happy about it, too. Although the cease-and-desist may have delayed Scott’s business expansion, she reframed the situation as an opportunity to spend more time ironing out her brand’s niche.
  • Do it all by yourself until you can’t anymore. When Alicia began fulfilling orders for Range Beauty, she boldly confessed to utilizing every room in her apartment to create products and get them out to customers. As an entrepreneur, you’ll likely want everything you need to start your business right away, but the reality might be that it could take a while to get there. Don’t feel ashamed about getting DIY if it means getting started.

2. Creator Tea Talk/Em Dash Co. – Jayde Powell

an image of creatorpreneur jayde powell speaking at an adobe event as an entrepreneurial mindset example

Image Source

According to CNBC Make It, Jayde Powell — who only recently began her career as a full-time creatorpreneur and founder of two content and creative development-focused ventures — made $27,000 by leveraging her voice through LinkedIn and social media content creation.

I spoke to Jayde a few months back to pick her brain about what encouraged her to quit her 9 to 5 and pursue her solopreneurship as a round-the-clock gig; here are my takeaways about Jayde’s entrepreneurial mindset that I think are worth sharing:

  • Invest in continuous learning as much as you can. Jayde shared that entrepreneurs should “level up their skills” whenever possible. As an entrepreneur, you should always be thinking about ways to elevate your offerings and how to appeal to new clients.
  • Accept that entrepreneurship is fluid. Your goal may be to scale your business to a multi-billion dollar company; you could also not have this goal, which could completely change how you view milestones and success. Regardless of how you want to grow, know that your perception of “making it” may not look like what you’ve seen from other big-name business owners or companies.
  • Don’t let optics rule decision-making around your business. Jayde’s biggest piece of advice? Craft an entrepreneurship experience that is specifically tailored to you and your dreams. Entrepreneurship can be whatever it needs to be to suit the needs of your life and the timeline you’ve set for yourself.

Anyone Can Have An Entrepreneurial Mindset

You don’t necessarily have to self-identify as an entrepreneur to exhibit “the entrepreneur mindset.” Heck, most entrepreneurs don’t until they’ve been in the game for a decent amount of time. However, no matter where you stand in your business growth process, know that embracing the entrepreneurial mindset is a tool for preparing for future successes.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with this:

  • All unexpected twists and turns aren’t bad; they often indicate progress.
  • Take risks. Risks invite opportunities, and opportunities open doors to advancement.
  • Starting your “side hustle” plants a seed for bigger things to come. And — in the words of the incredibly awesome Victoria Monet — when you want something, the only thing between you and your goals is time.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in March 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Inside the SPICED Methodology — Insights From the Sales Pros Who Use It

A few years ago, I was in the market for a learning management system. While I was looking into the different offerings, I noticed that each arm of these businesses felt like a different company. The marketing side was fun and relatable. The sales team knew the product best but took a totally different tone. Reading different web pages felt like different experiences.

So, how do you create a company that feels unified? Well, that’s where the SPICED sales framework comes in. This sales method focuses on teams working together so the customer feels like they’re working with one, connected company.

Let’s take a look at the basics of the method and how you can best apply it to your own sales process.

Free Download: Sales Plan Template

Table of Contents

What is the SPICED sales framework?

SPICED is a customer-centric framework that provides a unified approach for all revenue teams. It gets sales, customer success, and marketing speaking the same language so buyers don’t feel like they’re talking to three different companies. From the first call to the final signature, SPICED keeps things consistent and clear.

“SPICED” stands for:

  • Situation. Understand the customer’s current state and challenges.
  • Pain. Identify specific pain points and frustrations.
  • Impact. Assess the consequences of not solving these issues.
  • Critical Event. Highlight any deadlines or events driving urgency.
  • Decision. Clarify the steps and stakeholders involved in decision-making.

By aligning sales efforts with the customer’s priorities, SPICED empowers sales teams to close deals more effectively and build lasting relationships.

What are the benefits of SPICED?

the benefits of the spiced methodology

Builds Strong Customer Relationships

The SPICED framework is especially effective for sales in subscription-based models, which are becoming increasingly common as more B2B companies adopt this approach. Below, we’ll discuss exactly how the SPICED framework does this.

Fosters Personalized Customer Understanding

SPICED is all about tossing the generic sales pitch. Think of it as curating a Spotify playlist — every recommendation is spot-on because it’s based on what your customer actually needs.

Given that 76% of B2B buyers expect personalized attention from solution providers, this tailored approach is a must. By addressing these expectations, SPICED helps establish strong, trust-based relationships with buyers.

Encourages Long-Term Relationships

Recurring revenue hinges on customer loyalty, yet many industries prioritize acquiring new customers over retaining existing ones. This can be costly. An Accenture Interactive study found that 80% of frequent B2B buyers have switched suppliers within 24 months.

SPICED ensures continuous engagement by revisiting customer needs as priorities change. Retention is also highly profitable. Acquiring a new customer can cost five-to-seven times more than retaining an old one, and improving customer retention by just 5% can increase profits by 25-95%.

Balances Consultative and Provocative Selling

SPICED encourages sales professionals to engage in consultative conversations that prioritize understanding the customer’s needs while incorporating a provocative edge to challenge their current perspectives. By investing time in understanding and addressing customer problems, you build trust.

Think of SPICED as your guide to being a trusted advisor with a little edge. Buyers want someone who knows their stuff, isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo, and builds trust along the way. In fact, 88% of buyers say they’ll only make a purchase if they see the salesperson as a trusted advisor.

That’s the vibe SPICED helps you deliver — insightful, credible, and just bold enough to make an impact.

Offers a Unified Framework for All Teams

One of SPICED’s greatest strengths is its versatility. Unlike frameworks like BANT or MEDDIC, which are designed for specific teams or motions, SPICED can be adopted by all revenue teams.

SPICED is the ultimate team huddle — it gets AEs (Account Executives), marketers, support, and CSMs playing from the same playbook. No more mixed signals or rogue plays — just a unified strategy for winning deals.

This alignment ensures that every team operates with a shared understanding, delivering a consistent customer experience throughout the buyer’s journey. Buyers encounter the same language, objectives, and focus at every stage, creating a unified approach to addressing their needs.

Helps with Forecasting and Pipeline Management

SPICED offers clear insights into deal timelines by focusing on critical events and the decision-making process. This clarity enables teams to prioritize effectively and forecast revenue with greater accuracy.

For leadership, SPICED delivers the added benefit of consistent reporting across teams. A unified framework offers a comprehensive view of pipeline health, identifies gaps, and highlights opportunities. This consistency empowers leadership to make informed decisions and align strategies more effectively across the organization.

How to Use the SPICED Method

how to use the spiced method

Now that we understand the value of SPICED, let’s dive into implementing this sales methodology effectively. I’ll also explore how CRM systems like HubSpot Sales Hub can simplify and enhance this process.

Step 1: Understand the situation.

When approaching a sale, always start by doing your homework. You should have a clear picture of the customer’s current circumstances. What’s their position in the market? Who are their biggest competitors? What are the headwinds that they’re most worried about? This step involves understanding their business environment, workflows, and existing challenges.

When you have a lead enter your pipeline, I suggest doing some digital digging before you make contact. Many of the questions above can be found with a little bit of research. You can also see what the person has posted on LinkedIn during your hunt for clues.

However, your independent research will inevitably leave some gaps. You can piece together the puzzle when you hop on a call. I recommend asking open-ended questions like: “Could you describe your current workflow and point out any areas where you encounter challenges or inefficiencies?”

In Practice

Let’s say I’m in the market for a project management system to help me stay on top of my workload. To sell to me, a salesperson would need to understand the challenges of freelancing.

Ideally, they would highlight the difficulty of managing multiple clients with overlapping deadlines. They could also pitch an offering like Asana that has multiple boards and calendars to track my due dates.

Step 2: Identify the pain.

Once you understand your prospect’s background, it’s time to explore their pain points. Be sure to ask what challenges their customers or the internal team face. At the end of this step, you should understand why the prospect is seeking a solution.

Here, you should know if your offering is a good fit for what they need. If you have multiple solutions, you should be able to tell which ones can help the buyer.

To identify the pain points, try:

  • Engaging in active listening during calls or meetings to identify recurring frustrations.
  • Asking specific questions like: “What are the most significant roadblocks preventing you from achieving your goals?”

Pro tip: You can leverage Sales Hub’s recording and transcription features to review conversations for missed insights.

In Practice

As a freelance writer, I want to create helpful content that helps my clients meet their marketing goals. One common roadblock in this field is client management. Reaching out proactively can help me find writing opportunities and foster these relationships. A SPICED method seller would explain how a project management system can remind me of when to reach out.

Step 3: Assess the impact.

Now that you know the problem, how urgent is the solution? This step is all about quantifying impact and creating a timeline for your buyer’s needs. The goal here is to demonstrate the tangible and emotional impact of inaction. That can show your prospect why moving forward is essential.

I recommend that you work with the prospect to estimate the cost of inefficiencies or missed opportunities. You can show them how they could drive more business or save with your offering. You can also foster reflection with targeted questions, like “What happens if this issue persists over the next six months?”

In Practice

Client communications and asking about new work do have a dollar value. A SPICED sales rep would help me put a value on those missed opportunities. From there, they would show me how big a blow my business would take if I didn’t make moves to solve my problem. This all highlights why a project management system would benefit me.

Step 4: Highlight the critical event.

From there, reps should highlight the moments that matter — deadlines, market shifts, or big milestones that put your solution on the customer’s radar. Empahsizing these critical events is like finding the plot twist in a movie — it keeps things moving and makes the stakes clear.

You can identify critical events by:

  • Doing your research and being mindful of business trends that could be affecting their decision-making.
  • Asking questions to narrow down specifics and tailoring the question to find critical events unique to your lead. For example, you could ask: “Are there any upcoming deadlines or business changes that make this a priority?”

Pro tip: Use Sales Hub to set reminders for follow-ups aligned with these critical events, ensuring you never miss an opportunity.

In Practice

So, what would a critical event look like in my freelance writing example? The first thing that came to mind was a big contract renewal date. I don’t want to miss my important clients’ messages related to my contract. That can make a clearer timeline for my purchase.

Step 5: Understand the decision process.

Gain clarity on how the customer will make their purchasing decision, including who is involved and what criteria will drive their choice. To break down the decision-making process, try:

  • Mapping out the decision criteria.
  • Determining the decision-making hierarchy by asking questions, like “Who else will be involved in the decision, and what role do they play?”

Pro tip: Hubspot’s Deal Pipeline can help you track where the deal is in the process and ensure all decision-makers are engaged.

In Practice

In my example, I run my freelancing business. That makes it really easy to find the decision maker — there’s only one! However, in a larger business, you may need to talk to a person in compliance and accounting before a sale goes through. You may even need to talk to your prospect’s manager to pitch them your solution.

Knowing who to talk to can help you create the right roadmap for your sales process.

Step 6: Build emotional and logical connections.

The last step brings everything together. This is your appeal to both the logical benefits of your solution and the emotional gains your offering can create. I recommend taking a consultative tone here. You should be invested in your prospect’s issue and able to pair your product’s features with their situation.

You can build those connections by:

  • Engaging in consultative conversations to uncover unmet needs.
  • Provoking new ideas by asking questions like: “Have you considered how implementing this solution might open up new opportunities for growth?”

Pro tip: Use Sale’s Hub sequences to send personalized follow-ups reinforcing both logical and emotional appeals.

In Practice

So, what are some helpful connections for my project management example? A project management tool can help me keep track of my deadlines, so I can maintain strong relationships with my clients. They’ll know I’m reliable and never late, so they can trust me with important tasks.

Beyond that, I’ll be able to get reminders of when I should reach out to my clients. Timing this communication means I can maximize my number of assignments, so I don’t miss any business opportunities.

All of this will make running my business more efficient and help me maintain a balanced life as a freelance writer. Even writing that out, the idea sounds great!

Tips for Using SPICED

Mitigate information limitations.

The effectiveness of SPICED depends on the quality of information shared by the prospect, which may not always be complete or accurate. Building trust early through open communication is the key to success.

To do so, consider using a CRM like Sales Hub to document and cross-check information gathered from various touchpoints. Once you have a unified view of your customers, you can better understand what they need.

Further, if a prospect is unaware of their pain points, share insights from similar industries or businesses to guide the conversation. That’s where doing your homework comes into play.

Stay flexible and adaptable.

While SPICED offers structure, rigid adherence without adapting to the prospect’s unique needs can limit success. Make sure that you customize your approach throughout the sales process.

So, flexibility is important. Be prepared to pivot during the conversation if the customer’s priorities shift. For example, if the prospect emphasizes growth opportunities rather than pain points, focus on the “Impact” and “Decision” stages to demonstrate how your solution drives growth.

It’s essential to regularly check in with your clients and their priorities, even after securing them. After all, maintaining relationships is a key aspect of SPICED.

Manage time and resource demands.

SPICED requires significant time for research, conversations, and analysis, which can be challenging when handling multiple prospects. Make sure your team is spending time where it matters by automating your processes.

Categorizing leads in a CRM allows you to prioritize high-value prospects effectively. This approach enables you to dedicate more time to in-depth SPICED analysis for enterprise clients while applying a streamlined version for smaller prospects.

On average, workers save five hours per week by automating day-to-day tasks, freeing up their brainpower and time for more critical activities.

Moving Forward with SPICED

Working on this piece reminded me how much smoother things go when everyone’s on the same page. SPICED isn’t just about selling. It’s about aligning teams and building trust with customers. It’s like upgrading to a better GPS: once you see the clear path ahead, you can’t imagine navigating without it.

What stuck with me most is how SPICED strengthens relationships — within teams and with buyers. As someone who writes for others, I know how frustrating misalignment can be. SPICED eliminates that guesswork, making collaboration more effective and outcomes more rewarding.

If your sales process feels disjointed, SPICED might be the change you need. Sure, there’s a learning curve, but the payoff? Totally worth it.

Understanding Customer Identity Management: A Guide to CIAM

Managing customer identities effectively is more critical than ever. As businesses expand their online presence, ensuring secure and seamless access to services becomes paramount. This is where Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) comes into play.Download Now: 8 Free Customer Profile Templates

With such an essential component of any digital strategy, businesses need the tool to manage customer identities efficiently. Today, I‘ll explain what CIAM is, how it operates, and why it’s indispensable for businesses today.

It’s a specialized subset of Identity and Access Management (IAM) tailored specifically for customer interactions. While traditional IAM focuses on internal user management, CIAM is designed to manage identities outside the organization. This difference is crucial as CIAM addresses external user needs, such as providing a seamless login experience and ensuring privacy compliance.

The heart of CIAM lies in its ability to secure customer data while simultaneously enhancing the user experience. By implementing CIAM, businesses can ensure that customer information is protected through measures like multi-factor authentication, while also facilitating a smooth user journey with features like single sign-on and social login options.

what is ciam (2)

How Customer Identity Management Works

Implementing customer identity management involves various processes essential for a robust system. Key components include user registration, authentication, and profile management, supported by technologies like OAuth, OpenID Connect, and biometrics.

To effectively implement CIAM, businesses should follow these steps:

  1. Define clear objectives and requirements for customer identity management.
  2. Choose a CIAM solution that integrates well with existing systems and supports scalability.
  3. Implement security measures like encryption and multi-factor authentication.
  4. Continuously monitor and update the system to address evolving security threats and customer needs.

Why CIAM is Important

In the current digital landscape, where customer data is a prime target for cyber threats, CIAM plays a critical role. By providing a secure framework for managing customer identities, CIAM enhances trust and satisfaction, leading to stronger customer relationships. It also ensures compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA, mitigating legal risks associated with data breaches.

Afterall, many customers may argue that the most important value you can offer them (outside of your product or service) is the protection of their customer data. According to 2025 HubSpot research, approximately 20% of businesses understand that consumers are less trusting with their personal data.

CIAM Benefits

CIAM offers a host of benefits for both organizations and their customers:

  • Improved User Experience: Simplifies the registration and login processes, increasing satisfaction with self-service management features.
  • Enhanced Security: Offers robust protection with multi-factor authentication, safeguarding personal information from threats.
  • Scalability: Accommodates growing volumes of user identities and interactions, supporting business growth.
  • Personalization: Enables personalized user experiences and targeted marketing by leveraging customer data.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Facilitates adherence to data protection laws by ensuring secure data handling practices.
  • Centralized User Management: Streamlines administration across multiple platforms, reducing costs.
  • Analytics and Insights: Provides valuable analytics for informed decision-making and improved customer engagement.

Use Cases for CIAM

CIAM finds its applications across almost any industry. To give you more perspectives, consider these industries:

Retail Example: CIAM enhances the shopping experience by providing personalized recommendations and seamless checkouts.

Finance Example: The software protects sensitive financial data while offering secure mobile banking services.

Healthcare Example: CIAM ensures patient data privacy, enabling secure access to health records and telemedicine services.

Invest in CIAM

In summary, CIAM is an indispensable asset for businesses navigating the digital landscape. For businesses aiming to establish a strong, trustworthy online presence, investing in CIAM solutions is not just beneficial — it’s crucial. Consider integrating CIAM into your digital strategy to unlock new potential and foster deeper customer connections.

AI Meets Customer Experience: Mapping Journeys with Machine Learning

As an entrepreneur, I’m always looking for more tools and strategies to both run my business more efficiently and boost my revenue. Given that I’m a one-woman team, I’m constantly exploring AI tools that can help me run my business better.

One use case I’ve found particularly interesting is how I can use AI to improve my customer journey — which essentially ensures that I’m delivering value to potential customers at various points of their buying journey. To learn more about the areas of opportunity, I spoke with some experts in this space and also demoed a few innovative tools.

→ Download Now: The State of Customer Service [Free Report]

In this article, I’ll walk you through everything I’ve learned about AI and customer journey mapping. You’ll see how you can use machine learning to process large amounts of customer data, uncover hidden patterns, and predict future behaviors with uncanny accuracy. And whether you’re a solopreneur like me or leading a fast-growing tech startup, you’ll find learnings and tips you can apply to your business.

Note: You’ll see references to both Claude and ChatGPT throughout the article. I tested both throughout the writing process — and you can apply the prompts to whichever tool you prefer.

Table of Contents

What Is AI-Powered Customer Journey Mapping?

AI is transforming the way businesses understand and map their customers’ journeys. By leveraging machine learning algorithms and big data analytics, AI can process vast amounts of customer data to identify patterns, predict behaviors, and uncover insights that might be missed by human analysis alone.

customer journey map stages: awareness, consideration, decision, retention, loyalty https://blog.hubspot.com/service/customer-journey-map

For example, a traditional customer journey map visualizes how customers move from awareness to acquisition, and ideally, to becoming loyal customers. AI enhances this process by:

  • Processing large volumes of data from multiple touchpoints.
  • Identifying hidden patterns and correlations.
  • Predicting future customer behaviors.
  • Personalizing the journey in real-time.
  • Providing actionable insights for optimization.

How can AI improve the customer journey mapping process?

To understand how valuable AI can be, you should be familiar with the pain points (pun intended!) of the journey mapping process. Two of the biggest ones are the time it takes to build out and the vast amount of data needed to process. (Think about all the customer touchpoints you might have as an ecommerce startup, for example.)

A traditional customer journey map could take you days or even weeks to finish, according to a Nielsen Norman Group survey. And that’s not including all the time it takes to collect and synthesize customer feedback.

The process is time-consuming due to several factors. Data collection from various sources like website analytics, social media, customer service logs, and sales data can be lengthy. Analyzing this data to identify patterns and insights is often a manual, time-intensive task. Collecting insights from different departments and conducting customer interviews or surveys adds to the timeline. Lastly, it takes significant effort and skill to create a visually appealing and easy-to-understand map.

Here are some other use cases for AI in the customer journey mapping process, according the experts I spoke with:

  • Defining and outlining the customer journey.
  • Designing marketing/sales/CS processes for engagement along the customer journey.
  • Architecting workflows/automations for data management and outreach campaigns.
  • Predicting future customer behaviors and needs.
  • Analyzing customer sentiment across multiple touchpoints.
  • Personalizing customer experiences in real-time.

What are the limitations of using AI to create a customer journey map?

Given that AI is still a relatively new technology, we are still learning a lot about its limitations. I always recommend trying any new AI tool with a healthy dose of skepticism. (After all, I’m a journalist at heart!)

Erik Karofsky, CEO of VectorHX, has used AI to develop journey maps and feels it’s not quite ready for prime time yet.

A big challenge with creating a journey map using AI is that “it doesn’t serve any user well,” he says. “AI can produce overly complex maps cluttered with unnecessary information or may generate overly simplistic, generic maps that fail to provide valuable insights. These journey maps frequently require extensive revision, and during this process, gaps in the journey become apparent.”

However, where AI can be useful (with some caveats) is in providing insights that contribute to a better journey or influence the journey itself (though a UX professional is still essential to the creation process), he explains.

Here are some real-life examples he shared with me to illustrate:

  • Summarizing qualitative insights to highlight key steps and pain points can be helpful, but the data must be rich and well-curated.
  • Segmenting audiences based on specific criteria and analyzing their behavior has improved, but it still largely remains within the realm of analytics rather than journey mapping.
  • Offering personalization suggestions is valuable, yet it’s merely one component of a broader journey.
  • Engagement across touchpoints, such as delivering targeted content via chat or email, can influence outcomes within a journey, but it doesn’t define the journey itself.

That being said, let’s explore how you can create a customer journey map with AI — with a focus on using it as a partner in the process instead of an overall replacement.

How to Create a Customer Journey Map With AI

This is where the fun begins. My biggest pro tip when incorporating AI into any aspect of your business is to take the time just to experiment without putting pressure on the outcome. Try different tools and prompts to see what’s possible.

Take a look below to see an example of how one tool, Journey AI, helps synthesize customer data and create a personalized journey in a matter of seconds.

how to create an AI customer journey map with JourneyAI

Image Source

Don’t worry, we’ll get to the tools shortly. But before we get there, let’s cover the basics. Here are the first steps you should take to create a customer journey map with the help of AI.

Step 1: Define your objectives.

You’ll want to begin by clearly outlining what you want to achieve with your customer journey map. For example you could focus on any of the following:

  • Boosting customer retention.
  • Increase conversions.
  • Enhancing overall customer satisfaction.
  • Identifying new upselling opportunities.
  • Identifying and addressing customer pain points.

According to a study by Gartner, companies that prioritize and effectively manage customer journeys are twice as likely to significantly outperform their competitors in revenue growth. This underscores the importance of setting clear objectives for your journey mapping process.

As I walked through these steps for my own business, I really wanted to find opportunities to increase conversions among my potential customers. This helped me keep a narrow focus as I built out a customer journey map.

If you’re at a larger organization, John Suarez, director of client services at SmartBug Media, first recommends interviewing marketing/sales/customer service to understand their customer and ideal journey. From there, you can be laser-focused on gathering the specific data you need.

How to implement AI at this stage: Test out different ChatGPT prompts to uncover your objectives and find ways to narrow down your customer journey map. Here’s an example prompt below I tried with Claude.

ChatGPT prompt for ai customer journey mapping

Step 2: Gather customer data.

First, gather all relevant customer data from various touchpoints. This will depend on your specific business, of course, but it can include:

  • Social media interactions.
  • Customer service logs.
  • Purchase history.
  • Website analytics — and more.

For my business, my main two touchpoints for potential customers are my business website and my social media profile. From there, I’m able to pull reports using tools like Google Analytics to learn more about my website visitors. I can learn more about what links they click on and where they drop off in the user journey.

If you’re a startup or small organization, gathering customer data is crucial but can be challenging due to limited resources and a potentially small initial customer base. A lean approach might involve leveraging a combination of free and low-cost tools to collect data across various touchpoints.

How to implement AI at this stage: Once you’ve gathered all of the data you’ll need, you can dump it into Claude or ChatGPT and try something like the prompt below. By asking specific questions in your prompt, you can tailor the responses and data analysis to your needs.

how to use AI for customer journey mapping

Use AI-powered tools to integrate this data into a cohesive dataset.

In the era of big data, consolidating information from various sources into a unified, actionable dataset is a major challenge for businesses of all sizes. But this is an important step creating accurate and comprehensive customer journey maps — so you’ll want to get it right.

A survey by Forrester found that 80% of companies struggle with data silos, which can lead to incomplete or inaccurate customer journey maps. Thankfully, AI-powered data integration tools can help overcome this challenge by automatically consolidating data from multiple sources.

Step 3: Analyze the data with machine learning.

Apply machine learning algorithms to your integrated dataset. These algorithms can identify patterns, segment customers, and highlight key touchpoints in the customer journey.

Here is an example prompt you can try, just make sure to tweak your own data points.

chatGPT prompt for analyzing data for customer journey

There are also more advanced tools you can use — especially if you’re a developed business with a massive quantity of data to analyze.

Step 4: Use NLP to analyze customer feedback.

Next in your process, you can use natural language processing (NLP) to analyze customer feedback and communications. This helps in understanding customer emotions and sentiments at different stages of their journey.

For example, you can use AI to analyze the sentiment of customer feedback, categorize feedback into themes, discern customer intentions, and predict future customer behaviors. All of these tasks can give you invaluable learnings about the customer journey.

Step 5: Visualize the data with AI tools.

Use AI visualization tools to create a dynamic, data-driven representation of the customer journey. This visual map should highlight key touchpoints, pain points, and opportunities.

Pro tip: Suarez recommends using a tool like Whimsical Diagrams’ Custom GPT for Flow Mapping at this stage. I was fascinated with how quickly this tool created a simple customer journey map flow chart.

use Whimsical’s Custom GPT for Flow Mapping

Image Source

Step 6: Validate with human insight.

As with any AI tool, you’ll want to approach it with a hefty amount of skepticism and validate your findings with human expertise. Even in this process, I sometimes had ChatGPT recommend studies that simply didn’t exist.

While that’s especially not ideal for writing an article — it can be harmful if you’re relying on this to build your business and boost your bottom line. By combining the AI-driven insight with feedback from your customer-facing teams and actual customers, you’ll get the highest quality output possible.

Pro tip: If you want help getting started with your own customer journey map, check out our templates here.

Don’t forget that the customer journey continues post-purchase. Check out our Post-Sale Playbook for more insights and strategies.

ChatGPT Prompts for Customer Journey Mapping

To see how I could use AI to learn about customer journey mapping, I first turned to ChatGPT to brainstorm some helpful prompts. I think of this step of the process as tapping into a research assistant where I’m simply experimenting ways to improve the customer journey process.

You can see an example prompt and ChatGPT response here:

chatGPT prompts for ai customer journey map

Here are some top prompts I’ve discovered that can save you a ton of time:

  • Identify the key stages in a typical customer journey for [your industry].
  • What are common pain points customers face when interacting with [your product/service]?
  • List potential touchpoints between a customer and [your brand] throughout their journey.
  • How can we measure customer satisfaction at each stage of the journey?
  • What metrics should we track to evaluate the effectiveness of our customer journey?
  • Suggest ways to personalize the customer experience at different touchpoints.
  • How can we use customer feedback to improve our journey map?
  • What are potential obstacles that might cause a customer to abandon their journey?
  • Identify opportunities for upselling or cross-selling in the customer journey.
  • How can we streamline the onboarding process for new customers?
  • What post-purchase interactions can we implement to increase customer loyalty?
  • How might customer needs and expectations change throughout their journey?
  • What are effective ways to gather customer feedback at different stages?
  • How can we use AI to predict potential customer churn points?
  • What are key differences in the journey between new and returning customers?
  • How can we create a more emotionally engaging experience throughout the journey?
  • What are potential triggers that move a customer from one stage to the next?
  • How can we better align our marketing efforts with the customer journey?
  • What role does customer support play in the overall journey, and how can it be improved?
  • How can we use AI to create more accurate customer personas for our journey map?

Pro tip: When using AI, remember your outputs will only be as good as your inputs. The more details you can give about your business, your objectives, your data points, etc., the more tailored your responses will be.

Testing It Out: How I Created a Customer Journey Map With AI

To learn how to build a customer journey map with AI, I wanted to try it out myself.

Here’s a simple prompt that I tested out. Keep in mind that I added some background information about what services I offer, who my customers are, etc., so that I would get a more tailored response.

prompt for chatgpt to create an ai customer journey map

The response? I was able to turn the initial results into a simple chart with the help of Claude. You’ll see that it covers touchpoints, client actions, opportunities, and metrics at each stage of my buyer’s journey. Not a bad start if you ask me!

Touchpoints

Client Actions

Opportunities

Metrics

Awareness

Website, social media, referrals

Discovering your services, initial research

Improve SEO, create valuable content, enhance social media presence

Website traffic, social media engagement

Consideration

Portfolio, testimonials, blog posts

Comparing services, reading reviews

Showcase diverse writing samples, highlight client success stories

Time on site, portfolio views

Interest

Contact form, email, phone call

Reaching out for more information

Quick response time, clear communication of services and process

Inquiry rate, response time

Evaluation

Proposal, follow-up emails, consultation call

Reviewing proposal, asking questions, considering options

Personalized proposals, addressing common concerns proactively

Proposal acceptance rate, time to decision

Decision

Contract, payment process

Signing contract, making initial payment

Streamline contract process, offer multiple payment options

Conversion rate, time from proposal to contract

Onboarding

Welcome email, project kickoff call

Providing project details, setting expectations

Smooth onboarding process, clear communication of next steps

Client satisfaction score, project start time

To take it one step further, I took this data and added it to a Whimsical Diagrams GPT to create a visual chart. There were still some kinks to work out with the prompting, but I eventually got to a basic version that I’m pleased with.

example ai customer journey map created with ChatGPT

Image Source

Going through this process, I discovered that I had two problems (read: areas of improvement) on my hands. The first is that I lacked a lot of customer data that I needed to input into the AI — so this was a good nudge for me to find better ways to monitor my customers’ journey. The metrics column here offers a great starting point for KPIs I can track — and ideally improve.

I also found that there was a pretty big gap for buyers at the consideration stage. I don’t always make it clear why they should hire me compared to my competitors. Luckily, this chart is actionable for me. I’m able to focus on creating more diverse writing samples and client success stories — and will be tracking this through my site metrics.

Helpful AI Tools for Customer Journey Mapping

Of course there are so many incredible AI tools on the market that go beyond ChatGPT. If you’re serious about incorporating more AI into your process, I highly recommend checking these out. Again I tested each of these out for my own business to see first-hand what the experience is like as a user.

1. Taskade

You might already be familiar with the AI tool Taskade. It offers a ton of helpful work management features, like managing tasks and team collaboration. But I found their User Journey Map Generator (powered by AI) to be a really helpful tool in both brainstorming and visualizing the customer journey map.

how AI can help you build a customer journey map; Taskade

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Key features:

  • AI-driven journey map creation.
  • Real-time collaboration capabilities.
  • Customizable templates.
  • Integration with other project management tools.

Pro tip: Taskade’s AI can help generate journey maps based on your input, making it an excellent starting point for beginners new to journey mapping (aka me!). What I really liked is that you can use their AI agent at various points of the process, which will help you research specific bullet points, develop an outline, and even spell check.

how AI can help you build a customer journey map; Taskade

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2. Twilio Segment

Twilio Segment is a powerful customer data platform that can help make your journey mapping a breeze. While not exclusively a journey mapping tool, it has strong capabilities for data collection and analysis that can help you create a more detailed customer journey.

For example, you can visualize the journey a specific customer might take who hasn’t purchased from you in three months but has visited your site in the past month. Without using AI, think how much time you could spend trying to track, identify, and tell a story from these data points.

AI tools for customer journey mapping, Twilio segment

Image Source

Key features:

  • Unified customer data collection.
  • AI-powered customer segmentation.
  • Real-time data analysis.
  • Integration with over 300 tools and platforms.

Pro tip: This also helps CX teams increase their personalization — which is a top priority according to our State of Customer Service report.

3. Journey AI

Although last on this list of tools, Journey AI is one of the most fascinating tools I discovered during my research process. Created by TheyDo, Journey AI instantly converts customer research into journey maps packed with actionable insights — and saves you hours worth of manual work.

For example, you can input your text-based research (think everything from sticky notes to surveys) to create a customer journey map tailored with customer feedback.

AI tools for customer journey mapping, JourneyAI

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Key features:

  • Standardize and scale customer journey mapping and management.
  • Intuitive, easy-to-use editor.
  • Creates customer journey maps in a matter of minutes.

Personalize Your Customer Journey With AI

As I was researching and reviewing these AI tools, what I found most fascinating is all the ways you could personalize and improve customer journey maps with the click of a few buttons (plus some trial and error). Keep in mind that what works for a B2B SaaS company is not the same thing that is necessary for me as a solopreneur and freelancer. However, I was able to tweak my prompts and inputs throughout to tailor it for my specific business and needs.

And if you can apply the same lessons, the outcome is powerful. AI can help transform a task that is arduous, time-consuming, and complex into one that is streamlined, driven by data, and easy-to-understand. This empowers me on my business journey to focus more on what I do best — while also ensuring that I keep a steady stream of happy customers. (A win-win!)

Of course this is a great place to remind you that AI is not a magic solution. It‘s a powerful tool that works best when combined with human insight and expertise. As I continue to test new tools, I’m excited to see how AI will further help me to improve my customer journey and build my business.

Customer Journey Maps: How to Create Really Good Ones [Examples + Template]

Customer Journey Maps: How to Create Really Good Ones [Examples + Template]

Did you know 70% of online shoppers abandoned their carts in 2024? We’ve all done it — I can’t tell you how often I add items to the cart, get distracted, and forget to check out.

But why does it happen? The answer lies in understanding customer behavior. That’s where customer journey mapping comes in.

Download Now: Free Customer Journey Map Templates

customer journey map templates

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While I can’t promise you’ll predict every step perfectly, customer journey mapping is a great way to track the critical milestones every customer reaches. In this post, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about customer journey mapping — what it is, how to create one, and best practices to help you get it right.

What You’ll Learn in this Post

Customer Journey vs. Buyer Journey

I’ve noticed a lot of businesses get confused when it comes to understanding the difference between the customer journey and the buyer journey.

Here’s the deal:

  • The buyer’s journey covers the entire process from the moment someone becomes aware of your product to the point they purchase it (and even beyond). Buyers don’t just wake up and decide to buy — they go through stages of awareness, consideration, and, finally, decision-making.
  • The customer’s journey, on the other hand, is all about how your brand fits into that process. It’s the specific customer touchpoints where you interact with your customers during their buying journey. By mapping out your customer journey, you’re making sure every interaction is intentional and impactful, rather than just hoping for the best.

At HubSpot, for example, we break our customer journey into three main stages: pre-purchase, onboarding, and ongoing use/renewal.

At each stage, we have key touchpoints — like educational blog posts or onboarding tools — that guide our customers along the way.

customer journey map, hubspot

Your brand’s customer journey stages might look different, and that’s okay. What matters is starting with a clear plan. Let’s discuss how you can create a customer journey map.

What is a customer journey map?

By mapping your customer journey, you can use the information to improve the customer experience, increase conversions, and boost customer retention.

Keep in mind: The customer journey map is not to be confused with a UX journey map — here’s the difference:

What is UX journey mapping?

A UX journey map represents how a customer experiences their journey toward a specific goal or completing a particular action.

For example, I can use the term “UX journey mapping” interchangeably with the term “customer journey mapping” if the goal being tracked is the user’s journey toward purchasing a product or service.

However, UX journey mapping can also be used to map the journey (i.e., actions taken) towards other goals, such as using a specific product feature.

Why is customer journey mapping important?

I’ve learned that the customer journey isn’t as simple as it looks. It’s easy to think: offer a product → customer buys. But honestly, it’s way more intricate.

Before a customer even knows about your product, they need to know they have a problem and know that it needs solving. Sometimes you need additional education to get them to that point.

Throughout their journey, they’ll hit different touchpoints. Maybe they’ll see a competitor’s ad, read a review, hop on a sales call, or try out a demo. Each of those interactions shapes how they feel about your brand.

Here’s something I find interesting: 80% of customers value their experience with a company just as much as the product itself.

By mapping out the customer journey, I’ve seen how it gives marketing, sales, and service teams a clear understanding of each stage. It reduces friction and leads to happier customers. And when we meet customer needs quickly? We see higher brand loyalty.

That’s huge — so don’t miss out on the power of customers.

What data is necessary for customer journey mapping?

When I’m mapping the customer journey, I focus on real data, not assumptions. It takes the form of both solicited data — when I ask customers for their input — and unsolicited data that gives insights into their actual behaviors.

As email strategist and customer journey strategist Lindsay Hope explains, “You don’t want just any data. You need to dig deep to get to the actionable insights that show you exactly how your audience thinks, feels, and behaves at each stage of their journey. Unfortunately, most businesses get stuck because they think they know what their customers want. But assumptions ≠ reality. You have to collect the right data, so you’re working with facts, not guesses.”

Customer Surveys and Interviews

I find that asking customers directly through surveys or interviews reveals valuable insights into their experiences, pain points, and how they use the product. This is solicited data because I ask for it specifically.

Tools like Net Promoter Scores (NPS) surveys, customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores, and social media polls give me important insights into how customers actually feel about their experiences with us.

Specific actions you can take might include:

  • Using post-purchase surveys to understand what they loved or struggled with during their buying journey.
  • Talking with customers 1:1 to understand deeper motivations behind their decisions.
  • Talking with people who didn’t buy to understand why.

While I love this type of customer information, it does have limitations. It relies on customers sharing their real opinions — in interviews, it might skew to the positive even if there were things that could have gone better. And, it typically only reflects a specific touchpoint and may not reflect their entire experience.

Expert tip: Hope shares, ”When collecting solicited data, ask questions to highlight feelings and friction. (Not just what your customer did but why they made that choice.) For example: Instead of ‘What features did you like?’ ask ‘What made you confident this was the right solution?’”

Unsolicited Data

As I mentioned, unsolicited data is more quantitative, based on specific numbers.

By this, I’m referring to data from customers they don’t actively provide upon request. The data I find beneficial includes:

  • Website behavior — the pages they view, the order of pages they click, bounce rates, and abandoned cart information
  • Email behavior — open rates, click rates, calls from the email, and other types of engagement.
  • Social media mentions and reviews — public comments can help us identify things that could be improved as well as areas that delighted them.
  • Operational data — this is internal data like delivery delays or support ticket response times that help us improve the way we serve our customers.

If we find that customers are abandoning their carts at the payment stage, we may identify long load times or our payment options as the causes of friction.

The Importance of Both Data Types

While unsolicited data often lacks the context that solicited feedback provides, we typically get more of it because we’re not relying on customer motivation to respond.

When you use the two types of data together, you’ll gain a more comprehensive view of your customer journey as well as any gaps.

My favorite part of combining solicited interviews with unsolicited reviews is the absolute goldmine of voice of customer data — or the language they use that will resonate with them.

Ivan Venberg, Head of Content at Yango Ads, agrees, and offered this recommendation “Pay attention to the language people use. I recommend Sarah Winters’ book Content Design, where she discusses how she struggled to attract users to the UK government site due to her use of the term ‘fracturing.’ By simply talking to users, she discovered that “fracking” was the term they used, which dramatically improved conversions.”

For example, you might get positive feedback from potential customers, but they don’t go through with purchasing and you may learn this happens after they get shipping costs (and deem them too high).

Or, your support transcripts may indicate that people are waiting for a long time and are quite frustrated with the process even though they rate your support team highly for their ability to help.

The bottom line? Both types of data are invaluable in your customer journey map.

Expert tip: Hope shares some valuable advice here. “Treat this as an ongoing process. Your audience’s needs evolve — and so should your map,” she said.

This process provides insights that help you understand how customers experience their journeys and identify potential bottlenecks.

Note that most customer journeys aren’t linear. Instead, buyers often experience a back-and-forth, cyclical, multi-channel journey with multiple touchpoints.

What is a touchpoint in a customer journey map?

I want to make sure we’re on the same page about what a touchpoint really means in the context of a customer journey map. Touchpoints refer to every instance your business comes in direct contact with a potential or existing customer. It could be online, in-person, through your messaging, website, or app and any number of other circumstances. What you need to know is every time your customer interacts with you, they form an opinion of your business.

1. Use customer journey map templates.

Why make a customer journey map from scratch when you can use a template? I saved so much time by downloading HubSpot’s free customer journey map templates. They cover everything from a buyer’s journey to a day in your customer’s life and lead nurturing.

These templates helped my team in sales, marketing, and customer support understand our buyer personas better. And honestly, that led to a noticeable improvement in our product and customer experience.

2. Set clear objectives for the map.

Before you dive into your customer journey map, ask yourself why you’re creating one in the first place.

  • What goals are you directing this map towards?
  • Who is it for?
  • What experience is it based upon?

If you don’t have a buyer persona yet, trust me, it’s worth creating one. It’s a fictional profile that reflects all the demographics and psychographics of your typical customer. For me, it really helped keep the journey map focused on the right audience.

3. Profile your personas and define their goals.

At this point, I’d focus on deep research. This is where having customer journey analytics ready is super helpful. If you’re like me and don’t have that set up yet, don’t worry — HubSpot’s Customer Journey Analytics tool is a great starting point.

Personally, I find questionnaires and user testing to be invaluable for gathering customer feedback. But I always make sure I’m reaching out to actual customers or prospects — people who have interacted with the business or plan to. Getting feedback from the right people is key.

Here are some questions I’d ask:

  • How did you hear about our company?
  • What first attracted you to our website?
  • What are the goals you want to achieve with our company? In other words, what problems are you trying to solve?
  • How long have you/do you typically spend on our website?
  • Have you ever made a purchase with us? If so, what was your deciding factor?
  • Have you ever interacted with our website to make a purchase but decided not to? If so, what led you to this decision?
  • On a scale of 1 to 10, how easily can you navigate our website?
  • Did you ever require customer support? If so, how helpful was it, on a scale of 1 to 10?
  • Can we further support you to make your process easier?

💡Top tip: Use this buyer persona tool to fill in the details you procure from customer feedback.

The B2B Angle

As CEO and Founder of Keystone Click, Lori Highby works primarily with B2B companies and has developed a framework to ask the same five questions at every stage of the buyer journey:

  • What is the prospect thinking and feeling?
  • What actions are the prospects taking?
  • What are their touchpoints with the business?
  • Where is there hesitation or friction?
  • What are opportunities to add value?

Highby and her team focus on moving prospects through five stages of the buyer journey: awareness, consideration, action, experience, and advocacy.

She says that asking the same questions is important “because it opens up the opportunity to get a holistic view of the customer experience while identifying trends and opportunities to maximize the overall experience you are providing.”

4. Highlight your target customer personas.

After getting all that information, I’d narrow my focus to one or two key customer personas.

It’s important to remember that a customer journey map follows the path of a specific customer. If you lump too many personas together, the map won’t capture their unique experiences.

When creating your first map, it’s best to pick your most common customer persona. Also, consider the route they would typically take when engaging with your business for the first time.

I’d also use a marketing dashboard to compare different personas and pick the one that fits best. And no pressure — any personas you leave out can always be mapped later.

5. List out all touchpoints.

I always start by listing the touchpoints where customers interact with the brand.

These moments, no matter how small, are when customers form an opinion, whether it’s great or not-so-great. Think of it this way: If I saw a display ad for your business or ran into a 404 error page, those would be touchpoints that matter.

It’s easy to forget that your brand isn’t just the website. It extends beyond that — into social media, email campaigns, paid ads, and even customer service interactions. What I’ve found is that mapping out these touchpoints helps spot areas for improvement in the customer journey.

Once you’ve got your list, you’ll start to see patterns. Are customers using fewer touchpoints than expected? That might mean they’re leaving your site too early. Are they interacting more than expected? Maybe your website requires too many steps to get anything done.

Either way, it’s a signal that tells you how smooth or bumpy the journey is.

When I do this, I don’t just stop at the website. I take a broad view — Google searches, third-party reviews, and mentions on social media. A quick Google search of your brand can show you all the places customers might be finding you.

Then, I back it up with data from Google Analytics to see where the traffic is actually coming from. From there, I narrow down the most important touchpoints, the ones that are really driving action.

At HubSpot, we took this process seriously. We ran workshops where employees from different teams pointed out moments when our product or brand left an impression on customers.

The proof is in the pudding: You can see us literally mapping these touch points out with sticky notes in the image below. Seeing it all laid out helped us notice inconsistencies in how we communicated with customers.

customer journey mapping in the hubspot office

When creating a customer journey map, here are some key touchpoints I always consider:

Customer Actions

I track every single action customers take with the brand, whether it’s typing in a search keyword, clicking an email, or scrolling through a product page. You’ll probably end up with a long list, and that’s fine.

I’ve learned that recognizing where customers have to take too many steps is crucial. Reducing the number of steps a customer takes in their journey might feel risky, but in my experience, it almost always leads to higher conversions.

Customer Emotions & Motivations

All marketing is a result of cause and effect. Likewise, every action your customers take is motivated by emotion. And your customers’ emotions will change depending on which part of their journey they’re at.

From what I’ve seen, a pain point or a problem is usually the emotional driver of your customers’ actions. Knowing this will help you provide the right content at the right time to smooth each customer’s emotional journey through your brand.

Customer Obstacles & Pain Points

I always dig into what’s blocking customers from moving forward.

Take shipping costs, for example. If I love your product but find out at the last minute that the shipping fee is too high, I’ll probably abandon my cart.

Sometimes, the obstacles are harder to spot. Dedicated sales software is a good idea here. It lets you examine your sales pipelines and pinpoint what might cause prospects to turn away. Identifying these roadblocks lets you address them head-on. One simple fix I’ve used is adding an FAQ page to tackle common concerns, like unexpected shipping fees.

6. Determine the resources you have and the ones you’ll need.

As I work through the customer journey map, I get a clear picture of what we have and what we’re missing. For example, I might notice that our team doesn’t have the tools to follow up effectively with customers. That’s when I’d suggest we invest in some solid customer service tools to handle the demand.

Or maybe I spot some customer touchpoints we’ve been underusing, like I mentioned earlier. In that case, I’d recommend looking into a unified marketing software solution that helps us track and make the most of those touchpoints.

Including these tools in the map helps me predict their potential impact, making it easier to convince leadership to support the idea.

7. Take the customer journey yourself.

For me, mapping the customer journey isn’t finished until I’ve walked in the customer’s shoes. By experiencing the journey firsthand, I’ve found that you can uncover subtle pain points or areas of friction that might not be evident in the data.

I like to follow the path for each person — scrolling through their social media, reading their emails, doing a search — to really understand where they might get stuck or drop off.

For example, I might:

  • Search for my product or service using.
  • Search for a competitor’s product or service.
  • Sign up for my own email list.
  • Navigate my website or app with fresh eyes.
  • Reach out to support.

Each of these items can provide insights that offer additional context to your data. For example, while analytics might show a high bounce rate on a page, manually going through the customer journey might help you realize the page loads slowly or has unclear navigation.

8. Analyze your results.

It’s important to understand the customer journey map is just the start. The real value comes from analyzing the results for actionable insights.

I’ll ask questions like:

  • Are people visiting our site but not converting?
  • Are we meeting their needs at each step?
  • What are the top-performing touchpoints (and the lowest)?
  • What friction are people experiencing?

This process helps me see where we can improve. Analyzing the results will help me pinpoint where customer needs aren’t fully met and make sure we’re delivering a valuable experience.

Keep in mind that you can use the process to test certain assumptions and validate gut feelings. However, it’s important to keep an open mind because it’s almost guaranteed you’ll find something unexpected.

9. Update your map over time.

As I dig into my data, I always get a clearer idea of where I want my website to go. From there, I make adjustments, whether it’s adding more specific calls to action or beefing up product descriptions to ensure they’re crystal clear.

Big or small, these changes matter because they directly address my customers’ pain points. With my customer journey map as a guide, I can always make sure I’m tackling those needs.

How often should you update your customer journey map?

My map — as should yours — is a constant work in progress.

I make a point to review it monthly or quarterly to spot gaps or new opportunities to make the journey smoother. By leveraging data analytics and customer feedback, I can catch any roadblocks early. I also use tools like Google Sheets to keep everyone on the same page, which is super helpful for collaborating with stakeholders.

I’ve found that holding regular meetings to discuss how new products or features are shifting the customer journey is key to staying on top of things.

Featured Resource: Customer Journey Map Template

customer journey mapping template

HubSpot’s free customer journey map template was a game-changer for me. It saved me time and made it so much easier to organize and outline the experience, showing exactly how my website impacts users.

Plus, it’s a fantastic tool for identifying areas in your product, marketing, or support that need some fine-tuning.

Download a free, editable customer journey map template.

1. The Buying Process

customer journey mapping, buying process

When mapping out a customer’s buying process, I gather data from various sources — prospecting tools, CMS, behavior analytics, etc. — to really understand how they move from their first contact to the final purchase.

You don’t have to get bogged down in the details, though. You can categorize it into broad stages: awareness, consideration, and decision.

Some data points I always check include:

  • Website visits.
  • Social media engagement.
  • Customer service interactions.
  • Purchase history.
  • Survey feedback.

These insights paint a clearer picture of how customers engage with your brand.

2. Emotions

customer journey mapping, emotions

No matter the goal, your customers are on a journey to solve a problem, and with that comes emotion. Maybe they feel excitement, relief, or even a bit of worry. Capturing those emotions in your journey map helps identify where things go wrong and how to fix them.

We use emojis on HubSpot’s journey map to represent potential emotions at different customer journey stages.

It might seem strange to ascertain customer emotions with data analysis, but it’s common. Customer sentiment can be measured using data from:

  • NPS surveys.
  • Online reviews.
  • Social media monitoring.
  • Customer interviews and focus groups.
  • Customer support data.

3. User Actions

customer journey mapping, user actions

Understanding what customers do at each stage is key. Maybe they download an ebook or sign up for a webinar during the awareness phase.

I consider the following data points for customer journey mapping:

  • Page views.
  • CTA clicks.
  • Email opens.
  • Email list signups.
  • Ebook downloads.

The idea is to explore how your customers move through and behave at each stage of their journey.

4. User Research

customer journey mapping, user research

Like the last section, this element describes what or where the buyer researches before taking action.

In the awareness stage, they’re likely Googling potential solutions. Pay attention to this — it’s your chance to step in and answer their questions before anyone else does. So you’ll want to analyze things like:

  • Search engine queries.
  • Chatbot queries on your site.
  • Competitor analysis.
  • Social media interactions.
  • Review sites.

The idea here is to make sure you’re reaching your target audience when they’re actively considering you.

5. Solutions

customer journey mapping, solutions

Finally, my team and I brainstorm solutions to make the journey smoother.

The goal here is simple: fewer pain points, more satisfied customers. What can you tweak in the buying process to make it easier for them to achieve their goal? That’s the real question.

Specific tools you might use include:

  • Customer feedback software.
  • Behavior analytics tools.
  • AI-powered chatbots and support “teams.”

Types of Customer Journey Maps and Examples

There are four types of customer journey maps, each with unique benefits.

To move your business from point A (deciding to focus on customer journeys) to point B (having a journey map), a key step is choosing which customer mindset to focus on.

This choice will guide you in selecting the right template. Pick the one that makes the most sense for your company.

1. Current State Customer Journey Map

These customer journey maps are the most widely used type. They visualize the actions, thoughts, and emotions your customers currently experience while interacting with your company. They’re best used for continually improving the customer journey.

customer journey mapping, current state

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2. Day in the Life Customer Journey Map

These customer journey maps visualize the actions, thoughts, and emotions your customers currently experience in their daily activities, whether or not that includes your company.

This type gives a broader lens into your customers’ lives and what their pain points are in real life.

Day-in-the-life maps are best used for addressing unmet customer needs before customers even know they exist. Your company may use this type of customer journey map when exploring new market development strategies.

customer journey mapping, day in the life

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3. Future State Customer Journey Map

These customer journey maps visualize what actions, thoughts, and emotions your customers will experience in future interactions with your company. Based on their current interactions, you’ll have a clear picture of where your business fits in later down the road.

These maps are best for illustrating your vision and setting clear, strategic goals.

customer journey mapping, future state

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4. Service Blueprint Customer Journey Map

These customer journey maps begin with a simplified version of one of the above map styles. Then, they layer on the factors responsible for delivering that experience, including people, policies, technologies, and processes.

Service blueprints are best used to identify the root causes of current customer journeys or the steps needed to attain desired future customer journeys.

customer journey mapping, service blueprint

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If you want a look at an actual customer journey map that HubSpot has recently used, check out this interview we conducted with Sarah Flint, Director of System Operations at HubSpot. We asked her how her team put together their map (below) and what advice she would give to businesses starting from scratch.

customer journey mapping, service blueprint

Click to enlarge image

Customer Journey Mapping Examples and Templates

Here are some examples I’ve drawn inspiration from when building a customer journey map:

1. HubSpot’s Customer Journey Map Templates

HubSpot’s free Customer Journey Map Templates provide an outline for companies to understand their customers’ experiences.

The offer includes the following:

  • Buyer’s Journey Template
  • Current State Template
  • Lead Nurturing Mapping Template
  • Future State Template
  • A Day in the Customer’s Life Template
  • Customer Churn Mapping Template
  • Customer Support Blueprint Template

Each of these templates helps organizations gain new insights into their customer base and help make improvements to product, marketing, and customer support processes.

Download them today to start working on your customer journey map.

customer journey mapping, hubspot template

2. B2B Customer Journey Map Example

This customer journey map clearly outlines the five steps Dapper Apps believes customers go through when interacting with them.

As you can see, it goes beyond the actual purchasing phase by incorporating initial research and post-purchase needs.

customer journey mapping, b2b

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This map is effective because it helps employees get into the customers’ minds by understanding the typical questions they have and the emotions they’re feeling.

There are incremental action steps that Dapper Apps can take in response to these questions and feelings that will help it solve customers’ current problems.

3. Ecommerce Customer Journey Map Example

This fictitious customer journey map is a clear example of a day-in-the-life map.

Rather than just focusing on the actions and emotions involved in the customer’s interaction with the company, this map outlines all the actions and emotions the customer experiences on a typical day.

customer journey mapping, ecommerce

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This map is helpful because it measures a customer’s state of mind based on the level of freedom they get from certain stimuli.

This is helpful for a company that wants to understand what its target customers are stressed about and what problems may need solving.

4. Future B2C Customer Journey Map Example

This customer journey map, designed for Carnegie Mellon University, exemplifies the usefulness of a future state customer journey map. It outlines the thoughts, feelings, and actions the university wants its students to have.

customer journey mapping, b2c

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Based on these goals, CMU chose specific proposed changes for each phase and even wrote out example scenarios for each phase.

This clear diagram can visualize the company vision and help any department understand where they will fit into building a better user experience.

5. Retail Customer Journey Map Example

This customer journey map shows an in-depth customer journey map of a customer interacting with a fictitious restaurant.

This map style is clearly more comprehensive than the others. It includes the customer’s front-of-stage (direct) and back-of-stage (non-direct or invisible) interactions with the company, as well as the support processes.

customer journey mapping, retail

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This map lays out every action involved in the customer experience, including those of the customer, employees directly serving diners, and employees working behind the scenes.

By analyzing how each of these factors influences the customer journey, a company can find the root cause of mishaps and problem-solve this for the future.

Free Customer Journey Map Templates

1. Free Current State Template

If you’re using this template for a B2B product, the phases may reflect the search, awareness, consideration of options, purchasing decision, and post-purchase support processes.

For instance, our Dapper Apps example’s phases were research, comparison, workshop, quote, and sign-off.

customer journey mapping, free

2. Day in the Life Template

Since this template reflects all the thoughts, feelings, actions, needs, and pain points a customer has in their entire daily routine — whether or not that includes your company — you’ll want to map out this template in a chronological structure.

This way, you can highlight the times of day you can offer the best support.

Get an interactive day in the life template.

customer journey mapping, day in the life

3. Future State Template

Like the current state template, these phases may reflect the predicted or desired search, awareness, consideration of options, purchasing decisions, and post-purchase support processes.

Since this will take place in the future, you can tailor these phases based on what you’d like the customer journey to look like rather than what it currently does.

Get an interactive future state template.

customer journey mapping, future state

4. Service Blueprint Template

Since this template is more in-depth, it doesn’t follow certain phases in the customer journey.

Instead, it’s based on physical evidence — the tangible factors that can create impressions about the quality and prices of the service — that often come in sets of multiple people, places, or objects at a time.

For instance, with my fictitious restaurant example above, the physical evidence includes all the staff, tables, decorations, cutlery, menus, food, and anything else a customer comes into contact with.

You would then list the appropriate customer actions and employee interactions to correspond with each physical evidence.

For example, when the physical evidence is plates, cutlery, napkins, and pans, the customer gives their order, the front-of-stage employee (waiter) takes the order, the back-of-stage employee (receptionist) processes the order, and the support processes (chefs) prepare the food.

Get an interactive service blueprint template.

customer journey mapping, service

5. Buyer’s Journey Customer Journey Map Template

You can also use the classic buyer’s journey — awareness, consideration, and decision — to design your customer journey map.

Get an interactive buyer’s journey template.

customer journey mapping, buyers journey

1. Set a goal for the journey map.

Determine whether you aim to improve the buying experience or launch a new product. Knowing what the journey map needs to tell you can prevent scope creep on a large project like this.

2. Survey customers to understand their buying journey.

I’ve learned that what I think I know about my customers and what they’re actually going through can be totally different. So, speak to your customers directly to get an accurate snapshot of their journey.

3. Ask customer service reps about the questions they receive most frequently.

Sometimes, customers need to be made aware of their specific pain points, and that’s where your customer service reps come in.

They can help fill in the gaps and translate customer pain points into business terms you and your team can understand and act on.

4. Consider customer journey mapping for each buyer persona.

One thing I’ve come to understand is that no two customers are the same.

Demographics, psychographics, and even how long someone has been a customer can determine how a person interacts with your business and makes purchasing decisions.

That’s why I create journey maps tailored to each key persona.

5. Review and update each journey map after every major product release.

The customer’s buying process changes every time your product or service changes. Even slight tweaks, like adding an extra field to a form, can become a significant roadblock.

So, review the customer journey map before and after implementing changes.

6. Make the customer journey map accessible to cross-functional teams.

One thing I always do is make the journey map accessible to everyone, not just my team. Having it out there helps other teams give feedback and keeps everyone aligned with the customer’s experience.

If you want to get a head start on your map and analysis, try HubSpot’s tools and create a journey report.

Customer Journey Map Design

Now that you know what goes into making a customer journey map, let’s take a little time to dive into design. How you lay out your journey map — from spacing to the colors you use — makes all of the difference.

I highly recommend the following best practices:

Create a clear layout and hierarchy.

Your layout should flow logically, with a clear visual hierarchy that makes it easy to follow. Use bold headings to break up the sections and keep things readable.

Bullet points? Always a good idea. They make your map easier to digest and keep the info clear and to the point.

Make the most of icons and symbols.

Let’s be real — everyone skims. If your map is a wall of text, most of it will be missed. Icons and symbols are a great way to break things up and highlight key actions, touchpoints, and outcomes. Plus, they can add emotion to your map without needing extra words.

Leverage color coding.

Color is a powerful design element that can help you group similar ideas. You can assign different hues to the stages of your customer journey or to certain touchpoints. This helps you organize information visually and draw attention to the most important parts of your map.

Avoid clutter to create balance.

Too much of anything is just … too much. Like I said, everyone skims. If your page is packed with icons, text, and colors, it’ll get overwhelming. Use whitespace to keep things balanced and organized.

Maintain consistency.

Your customer journey map should be consistent throughout. Pick a font family, color palette, and font sizes. Then, make sure you follow these guidelines throughout your journey map. Bonus points if your elements align with your company branding.

Benefits of Customer Journey Mapping

Customer journey mapping is something that every growing business should be doing, whether you’re a team of one or have hundreds of employees.

As Alexis Trammel, Chief Growth Officer at Stratabeat, says, “Marketers who are trying to perfectly document their customers’ journeys may be setting themselves up for failure. Especially in B2B when cycles are longer, the stakes are higher, and research is KEY.”

In addition to better targeting and serving your audience, you get the following benefits from using customer journey mapping:

1. You can refocus your company with an inbound perspective.

Instead of chasing customers with outbound tactics, let them come to you with inbound marketing. Outbound marketing feels like yelling into the void — costly, interruptive, and let’s face it, annoying. No one likes being interrupted.

Inbound marketing flips the script. You create content that customers are already searching for, grabbing their attention before you even think about selling. A customer journey map helps you see what’s catching their eye and what’s making them turn away. This is where all that data I mentioned earlier really shines.

Trammel shares, “For Stratabeat’s clients, we perform a gap analysis with this content marketing funnel in mind. If we notice something is missing, we add it to our content calendar. And we prioritize content that leans lower down the funnel, knowing AI may be answering many of those TOFU questions for the Unaware or Problem-Aware audiences.”

To nail your customer journey map, use real evidence from customer surveys and marketing analytics software. This will give you a crystal-clear picture of how your audience behaves and what they’re interested in.

2. You can create a new target customer base.

Understanding the customer journey means knowing your customers inside out. Broad targeting wastes time and money, so why bother?

Instead, I recommend deep diving into their needs and pain points. This way, you’ll uncover exactly who’s trying to solve problems with your product or service. With this info, you can fine-tune your marketing to speak directly to that group, making your efforts way more effective.

3. You can implement proactive customer service.

A customer journey map is like a cheat sheet for understanding when customers are happy and when they’re frustrated. You can then jump in with proactive customer service right when they need it. I think of it as being one step ahead.

For example, my friend who works in customer support mentioned how they used to anticipate a holiday rush and send out messages about their adjusted hours and alternative support options.

Customers were prepared, and no one was stuck on hold in surprise. Offering them a chatbot, knowledge base, or live chat gives them more control over how they get help, which leads to happier customers overall.

And to handle all those inquiries? Customer service software with omnichannel messaging and AI support is your friend here. Trust me — it saves so much time.

4. You can improve your customer retention rate.

With a complete view of the customer journey, spotting areas for improvement becomes a whole lot easier. Fewer pain points mean fewer customers jumping ship to a competitor.

Here’s the kicker: Even when people love a company or product, 59% will walk away after several bad experiences, 17% after just one bad experience.

Customer journey maps help you catch people on the verge of leaving. By tracking common behaviors, you can address issues before they become deal-breakers. Even if you don’t save everyone, boosting retention by just 5% can increase profits by 25%-95%. Definitely worth it.

5. You can create a customer-focused mentality throughout the company.

As your business scales, keeping every department as customer-focused as your support teams can get tricky.

Different departments have different goals; some teams care more about leads, others about signups. A shared customer journey map breaks through these silos by laying out every step of the journey, from the first interaction to post-purchase support. It helps everyone, from marketing to sales to service, align with the customer at the heart of their efforts.

6. You can rely on data instead of speculation.

In marketing and business, I find that lots of decisions — far too many, really — are made based on intuition. While, in my experience, there’s a lot to those gut feelings, which are based on years of experience.

However, if you’re wrong, there’s a lot at stake. In today’s world with all the data we have at our fingertips, there’s simply no longer a reason not to involve data in the decision making process and either validate those gut feelings or prove them wrong.

Email engagement and CRO specialist Alice Brown expands on this further, “Being able to triangulate your interview insights with survey responses and other sources of data means you‘re no longer relying on speculation or ICPs dreamed up in a boardroom to base your decisions on. Instead, touchpoints can be confidently built on data. This is how you create touchpoints that don’t just connect emotionally with your customers, but they also drive clicks and conversions.”

Charter the Path to Customer Success

Once you fully understand your customers’ experience with your business, you can delight them at every stage of their buying journey. Remember, many factors can affect this journey, including customer pain points, emotions, and your company’s touchpoints and processes.

I find customer journey maps most effective for visualizing this information, whether optimizing the customer experience or exploring a new business opportunity to serve a customer’s unrecognized needs.

Use the free templates I’ve shared in this article to start mapping the future of customer success at your business.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in August 2018 and has since been updated for comprehensiveness.