Journey maps aren’t just pretty diagrams (or scrabbled words on a napkin from lunch). They’re strategic tools that define how people experience your organization from first contact to lifelong loyalty. When they’re working correctly, they create consistency, eliminate friction and turn routine interactions into relationship-building opportunities.
But here’s the problem: most organizations either never create journey maps create them once and then forget about them. Markets change. Consumer expectations evolve. Your organization grows and adapts. Meanwhile, your actual service experience becomes increasingly disconnected from your original vision and future aspirations.
How do you know when it’s time start fresh? Here are three unmistakable signs that your current bank or credit union journey mapping approach isn’t cutting it anymore.
1. Your Service Experience is a Free-for-All
Pay attention to how different staff members handle similar situations. If every interaction feels like it’s being improvised on the spot, your journey map has either disappeared entirely or never existed in a meaningful way.
As Lewis Carroll wrote in Alice in Wonderland, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” And that quote becomes a reality with a respected journey map.
One team member might handle newcomers with a warm, thorough process that makes them feel welcome and informed. Another rushes through the paperwork and sends people on their way with minimal explanation. One employee takes time to understand consumer goals and offers relevant solutions. Another focuses purely on the transaction at hand.
The free-for-all problem isn’t about individual staff performance – it’s about lack of systematic guidance. Without defining touchpoints, expectations and desired outcomes, even your best employees are left to figure things out on their own.
This inconsistency doesn’t just frustrate people; it creates missed opportunities. Every interaction that doesn’t follow a strategic path is a wasted chance to deepen relationships. Every improvised experience is a potential moment of excellence that falls short because no one defined what excellence should look like.
Bank and credit union journey mapping solves this by creating shared understanding of how every interaction should unfold, what outcomes you’re trying to achieve and how each touchpoint connects to the bigger picture.
2. You’re Decent…a Decent Snoozefest
Here’s a painful truth: perfectly acceptable service can completely fail to create emotional connection or memorable experiences. Your journey map might be functioning…but it’s designed for adequacy instead of excellence.
This shows up in consumer feedback that’s consistently lukewarm. “They’re fine.” “No complaints.” “They get the job done.” These aren’t the words of loyal advocates. They’re the words of people who would switch to a competitor for a slightly better deal or more convenient location.
This problem happens when nothing is designed to surprise, delight or create genuine connection. Maybe everything goes fine, but people can get fine anywhere.
Your journey map should identify where you can exceed expectations, not just meet them. It should work intimately alongside your brand to provide an experience unlike those at other institutions. This isn’t about operations as much as it is about creating a distinctive, branded service culture.
3. The Destination is Lousy
Your journey must take people to the right place. The famous Ralph Waldo Emerson dictum – “It’s about the journey, not the destination” – is wrong here. Both are vital.
At the end of the day, people want their needs met. It doesn’t matter if you gave them a coffee and a hug along the way if they walked out without an open account. You can, of course, give them more than what they wanted. That’s excellent! But overpromising and underdelivering just leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths.
Your journey map should remember its destination. Don’t get so caught up in the cute and clever things you can do along the way that you forget the payoff. Consumers always remember the end of an experience…it’s the last thing they do with you in an interaction. Spend a lot of time crafting the ideal conclusion.
Time for a New Journey Map?
Journey mapping isn’t a one-and-done exercise. It’s a strategic tool that should evolve as your organization grows, your market changes and your understanding of consumer needs deepens.
If you’re seeing signs of service inconsistency, emotional disconnection or poor outcomes, it’s time to create a new journey map that reflects where your organization is today and where you want to take your people tomorrow. Book a free consultation and get a professional trail guide to lead your new service program to success.
