Deploying the B2B customer journey: a pragmatic framework for implementation

Purpose This study aims to develop an integrative B2B customer journey (CJ) model and provide useful guidance for practitioners. Many researchers in B2B marketing have not separated from the business to consumer characterization of customer experience (CX) and CJ concepts. Design/methodology/approach This research adopts a conceptual approach based on the literature on CX and CJ of the past 30 years, thoroughly scrutinizing 38 manuscripts. The authors validate the general model via an illustrative case. Findings The authors develop a three-layer B2B journey model. The interaction’s layers involve: B2B life-cycle map, expectations and customer service. The authors conceptually contribute specifying the seven phases in the life-cycle map in a sequential development of the B2B CJ over time. The authors also include both supplier and customer perspectives in the analyses and note the difference between a product-centric and service-centric context. Then, the authors introduce into the model the customer team and the supplier team to emphasize that the B2B CJ entails multiple human interaction with support of virtual (nonhuman) elements. Research limitations/implications The development of a conceptual model requires empirical validation. Also, the proposed model is the most representative approach to the CJ. However, several contingencies might affect the deployment of the CJ, which should be further explored. Practical implications The authors provided a B2B CJ mapping, which facilitates the administration of the CX experience throughout a process. The authors argue that success for firms relies on a CJ design and CJ control. Originality/value CJ is a growing in interest concept of marketing science. In B2B research, however, there is no clear understanding of the term and its implications; only a few publications include B2B data in a differentiated manner and analyzed the particularities of the industrial setting.