Purpose

Existing research on customer journeys has tended to focus on the customer’s purchase decision-making and firm-controlled touchpoints, overlooking indirect touchpoints where customer resources and behaviors influence the firm and other actors, beyond financial patronage. This article develops the concept of engagement journeys and discusses their implications on journey design and management.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual article synthesizes the customer journey and engagement literature to delineate the concept of engagement journeys. Insights from engagement research are reflected in the current journey management orthodoxy to provide novel implications for the management of engagement journeys.

Findings

The engagement journey is defined as the customer’s process of diverse brand-related resource investments in interactions with the brand/firm and/or other customers, reflecting the customer’s cognitive, emotional and behavioral disposition. The analysis outlines the manifestations and nature of different types of touchpoints along the engagement journey, and the novel requirements for journey management.

Research limitations/implications

The developed conceptualization opens up new avenues in both journey and engagement research.

Practical implications

Some commonly held assumptions regarding journey quality and management do not hold true for engagement journeys, so there is a need for new approaches.

Originality/value

Despite the proliferation of both journey and engagement research, only a handful of studies have considered the link between the concepts. The proposed novel conceptualization of an engagement journey breaks free from a predominant focus on purchase decisions. The analysis of engagement journeys and their management advances both customer journey and engagement research.

中文翻译：

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了解和管理参与旅程

目的

现有的客户旅程研究往往侧重于客户的购买决策和公司控制的接触点，而忽视了客户资源和行为影响公司和其他参与者（超出财务赞助范围）的间接接触点。本文提出了参与旅程的概念，并讨论了它们对旅程设计和管理的影响。

设计/方法论/途径

这篇概念性文章综合了客户旅程和参与文献，以描述参与旅程的概念。敬业度研究的见解反映在当前的旅程管理正统观念中，为敬业度旅程的管理提供了新颖的启示。

发现

参与旅程被定义为客户在与品牌/公司和/或其他客户互动时进行各种品牌相关资源投资的过程，反映了客户的认知、情感和行为倾向。该分析概述了参与旅程中不同类型接触点的表现和性质，以及旅程管理的新要求。

研究局限性/影响

发达的概念化为旅程和参与研究开辟了新的途径。

实际影响

关于旅程质量和管理的一些常见假设并不适用于参与旅程，因此需要新的方法。

原创性/价值

尽管旅程和参与度研究不断增多，但只有少数研究考虑了这些概念之间的联系。所提出的参与旅程的新颖概念打破了对购买决策的主要关注。对参与旅程及其管理的分析促进了客户旅程和参与研究。