8 Steps to an Optimal Customer Journey

From initial product discovery to completing payment: every customer follows a journey when buying a product or service.

This journey is unique for each customer — and often filled with emotional decisions. Even shoppers with a full cart can drop off just before the finish line. There are endless reasons why, making it essential to optimize the customer journey.

Increase Your Conversion Rate

Luckily, you have several levers to influence customer behavior and guide them to purchase. Understanding this gives you the power to reduce drop-offs and boost your conversion.

The Customer Journey

While every journey is different, patterns often emerge — like drop-offs at the payment step, or when unexpected shipping costs are revealed. Another classic: forcing users to register before they can pay. Major conversion killer.

Drop-Off Moments

By spotting these patterns, you can identify where customers abandon and optimize your process. But how do you map this journey? And how do you use those insights to fine-tune your checkout?

"Forcing account creation is a major conversion killer"

Step 1: Map Your Process

✔ Dive into the data: Use tools like Google Analytics to see where users drop off — homepage, category, product, checkout, or confirmation pages.

✔ Create a heatmap: Use tools like Hotjar to visualize click behavior. Are buttons visible above the fold? If not, many users may leave before interacting.

✔ Know your customer: Set up a customer panel and ask for feedback about your product, checkout flow, and payment process. Listening brings valuable insights.

"Visitors want to know what to expect at each step of their journey"

Step 2: Provide Certainty

What’s the total cost? When will it be delivered? What risks are involved? Be transparent from the start — especially about delivery fees and timelines. Unexpected costs at checkout? Guaranteed drop-off trigger.

Step 3: Use Personas

Describe your typical users based on demographics, lifestyle, and payment habits. You’ll likely identify a few key personas. Find common preferences and tailor the journey accordingly.

Step 4: Eliminate Distractions at Checkout

✔ Account walls: Let users pay without creating an account.

✔ Discount fields: “Do you have a code?” can trigger FOMO. Use “Coupon code” instead.

✔ Hide the menu: Keep users focused on payment.

✔ Tab key behavior: Poor tab order frustrates users. Fix it.

✔ Fewer fields: Keep forms short and clean — horizontal layout feels lighter than vertical stacking.

"Tailor your checkout to average preferences"

Step 5: Offer the Right Payment Options

In the Netherlands, iDEAL is still king. In Belgium, it's Bancontact. But what about PayPal, Klarna, AfterPay, QR payments, and mobile wallets? Missing someone’s preferred method can cause drop-off — but too many choices overwhelm.

✔ Quick wins:

– Put popular banks (e.g. ING, ABN AMRO, Rabobank) at the top of the iDEAL list

– Highlight a preferred payment method as “Most chosen option”

– Add tooltips or icons to explain options without leaving the screen

Step 6: Invest in Fine-Tuning

The devil is in the details. Successful shops obsess over everything.

✔ Avoid red error messages — they create panic. Use neutral tones and explain the fix.

✔ Use icons (e.g. PayPal logo) instead of text-only payment methods.

✔ Green checkmarks work better than bullet points.

✔ Make it easy to edit the cart — seamless flows keep users engaged.