Increasing perceived safety and trust in a supermarket with journey mapping

Perceived safety and actual safety can be two quite different things. The same is true for a company that is convinced of its high safety standards, and the customer who depends on their own perception based on evidence.

At this time we understand how crucial feeling safe is, even in the most normal moments of our everyday life.

An example journey map for supermarkets

As an example we’re looking at supermarkets. A few weeks ago, they were a normal part of our life and rarely someone was afraid of stepping inside. Times have changed. Within just a few weeks supermarkets have become a perceived high-risk area and customers are hesitant to visit them.

Supermarkets and governments are collaborating to increase the actual safety as far as they can. On the other hand, a big part of making customers feel safe again also depends on the organizations themselves. They need to ask themselves: Do the customers know how much the supermarket cares? Do they feel as protected as they can? And above all, do they know where they need to watch out on their own, and when they can just rely on the supermarket measures?

How can journey mapping help increase trust?

Journey mapping can help detect pain points: actual lacks of service, insecurities and the potential for enlightenment of customers. Journey mapping enables the discovery of moments of insecurity and fear, relieves customers and helps them deal with the situation.

In our new example journey map, we show how a current state and future state journey map can help take customers by the hand and together walk through times of crisis.

The journey map helps to identify moments of high perceived risk and uncovers reasons for dissatisfaction. Through the journey map, actions can be derived: what are problematic areas and moments? And, above all: How to improve the situation?

Special characteristics of this journey map

On the journey map you will find the experience of two personas: Paul, an elderly person belonging to the risk group, and Emma, a young girl. They have different needs, habits, and fears when going shopping.

Please be aware that this is a high-level journey map. You could zoom into every single step and analyze them in detail. Let’s take the first step as an example: How do they get to the supermarket? Is Paul forced to take public transport, whereas Emma drives her bike? What does that mean to them? How does that influence the entire stress level throughout their shopping experience? Also, this map is based on the current situation in Austria. Different governments have different policies and take different measures. Journey maps might therefore vary a lot depending on what point of time and in which specific context you’re analyzing.

Check out this example journey map to get an impression of how journey mapping can help you discover pain points, opportunities, and threats related to a service under specific circumstances like a crisis.

By the way, we also collected various journey map examples from different industries here.