24763 Chap.5 Customer Journeys, Touchpoints and the Hankins Hexagon
Customer Journeys, Touchpoints and the Hankins Hexagon
Journeys over touchpoints
A journey runs from awareness to post-purchase across channels. The Module 3 reading warns that firms measure single touchpoints and miss the end-to-end experience, which predicts satisfaction and revenue far better.
A non-linear path
The Hankins Hexagon replaces the funnel with six nodes and two-way routes, flipped so purchase sits at the top.
Each category has a dominant path, and the journey map template records touchpoints, emotions, problems and ideas for improvement.
Planning with the hexagon
The module closes with four questions: how likely aware people are to visit the website, which sales routes are most likely, which nodes matter most, and whether the brand behaves like its category.
For everyday goods the answer is often habit.
Where it shows up in assessment
The journey map was the first task, and the group report asks you to use the hexagon to understand three personas.
What this chapter covers
- 01
What a customer journey covers
- 02
The trouble with touchpoints
- 03
The journey scorecard
- 04
The six nodes of the Hankins Hexagon
- 05
Dominant paths and the habit route
- 06
The journey map template and emotion scale
Worked example · free
Trace a phone purchase through the hexagon
- 1No current need, then the cracked screen as the trigger.
- 1Explore possibilities: three models found online.
- 1Compare contenders: two shortlisted from reviews, then tried in store.
- 1Make purchase in store, then experience the product and post a review; the store mattered most at the compare node, where trying the phones decided it.
Key terms
- Touchpoint
- A single interaction through which a customer engages with one part of a business.
- Customer Journey
- The full sequence of interactions from awareness through purchase to post-purchase engagement.
- Dominant Path
- The most likely route through the Hankins Hexagon for a given brand or category.
Customer Journeys, Touchpoints and the Hankins Hexagon FAQ
Why is the purchase funnel called outdated?
James Hankins argues that buying is rarely a straight line. People enter at different points, double back and change their minds, so his hexagon uses six nodes linked by two-way routes. A brand’s job is to find the dominant path in its category and use marketing to push shoppers along it.
What should a customer journey map include?
The template used in this subject records the touchpoints, what the customer is thinking and feeling on a five-level scale from very happy to angry, the problem at each stage, and recommendations or ideas for improvement. In the first assessment you were the persona and mapped up to the purchase point.
Why do journeys matter more than touchpoints?
The McKinsey reading found that satisfaction with whole journeys is far more strongly linked to overall satisfaction and loyalty than satisfaction with individual touchpoints, and that a one-point gain on the most important journeys goes with at least three percentage points of extra revenue growth.
Does every shopper pass through all six nodes of the hexagon?
No. The module stresses that people need not pass every node or follow the most common path. A habit purchase may go from a trigger straight to buying, and someone may compare and then drop out. What matters is the dominant path for the brand and category.
What did the journey map rubric reward?
Its ten points split three for the quality of the map, covering touchpoints, emotions, pain points, delights and photos, three for the depth of reflection, and four for critical thinking about how well the journey was designed, supported by specific examples of positive and negative experiences.
What is the habit route in the Hankins Hexagon?
For everyday goods, a trigger such as running out often leads straight to buying whatever was bought last time, skipping exploring and comparing. The module adds that a price deal or a change of shelf position can disrupt the habit, and notes the claim that most decisions are made at the shelf.
Assessment move
Map one purchase of your own on the template, then redraw it on the hexagon and mark where you entered and which nodes you skipped. Repeat for a habit purchase such as milk, where trigger may lead straight to buying, and compare the two paths. Write the four planning questions at the top of a page and answer them for your case company before you choose any channel.
Keep your first-assessment map nearby, since its pain points are ready-made evidence for the personas and recommendations in the later tasks.
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