Entrepreneurial Mindset – Finding & Exploring Opportunities1
Creating Customer Journey Maps
Assignment: Mapping the Customer Journey
Overview & Instructions
Objective: This assignment will help you visualize the end-to-end experience of a customer
using a Customer Journey Map. You will develop buyer personas, identify touchpoints, and
pinpoint pain points to uncover opportunities for improvement and innovation in the
customer experience.
Description: Create a Customer Journey Map to understand how your target audience
interacts with your product or service. Identify key touchpoints, pain points, and
opportunities to enhance their experience.
Format:
●​ Group Assignment. Work with your MBA group. Submit only one report. Include
names of all team members who contributed.
●​ Length: 700–1000 words (all included - references too, concise yet insightful).
Exclude instructions and questions enunciations. Please use complete sentences to
convey a well-thought out response. Clearly separate and number each answer.
●​ Evaluation: Depth vs. conciseness—articulate complex ideas efficiently, like a
seasoned entrepreneur pitching an idea.
Note on Conciseness & Depth
Successful entrepreneurs avoid unnecessary verbosity like a sailor avoids rough
seas—it slows progress and muddles clarity.
That said, it’s also tempting to be overly brief. While deep analysis is possible in
fewer words, we strongly encourage you to expand the depth of your insights
rather than cut corners. Aim for a well-developed response that ensures
meaningful reflection. This is not a word-count exercise—it’s an exercise in
balancing depth and conciseness.
Verboseness and / or shallowness will result in a grade penalty.
1
Mesquita, Luiz (2025). Finding & Exploring Opportunities: Creating Customer Journey Maps. This
assignment is exclusively for W. P. Carey MBA students in the course Awakening Your
Entrepreneurial Mindset. All rights reserved. Please do not copy, cite, or share without permission.
1
Note on free-riding
This is a group assignment, and you will work with your MBA team to submit one
report on behalf of the group. At W. P. Carey, we place a high value on collaboration
and accountability. Free-riding is not acceptable and will be treated seriously.
If you believe that someone on your team is not contributing their fair share, you are
encouraged to contact me directly and confidentially. To protect team dynamics and
avoid personal confrontations, I will not take immediate action during the term.
Instead, I will follow up discreetly after the course is completed and in consultation
with the MBA program office. This ensures fairness while preserving the integrity of
your learning environment.
To avoid misunderstandings or surprises, I strongly recommend that each team
member stay in regular communication with the group and check in periodically to
ensure that everyone remains in good standing.
Assignment Questions
1. Research & Define: (at least 2) Buyer Personas
●​ Choose a target audience and develop one or two buyer personas based on research.
●​ (Note: two buyer personas imply different customer segments).
2. Create the Customer Journey Map
Design a Customer Journey Map outlining key stages from Awareness to Advocacy. Your map
must include:
●​ Touchpoints: Interactions the customer has with your product or service.
●​ Pain Points: Challenges or frustrations the customer experiences at each stage.
●​ Opportunities for Improvement: Areas where the customer experience can be
enhanced.
●​ Visual Map: Include a clear, structured visual representation of the journey. (The
example below does not include a visual, but your report must include one).
3. Identify Opportunities for Innovation
●​ For each pain point identified in your Customer Journey Map, propose opportunities
for improvement or innovation.
●​ Consider how these enhancements would align with customer needs and create a
better experience.
4. Reflection
2
●​ How did mapping the customer journey help you gain a deeper understanding of the
customer experience?
Example by Prof. Mesquita
E-Bike Subscription Service with Two Buyer Personas
1.​ Buyer Personas:
A.​ Jane (Miami, FL) 34, a tourist visiting Amsterdam for a week. Jane is
eco-conscious, values sustainability, and seeks convenient, flexible
transportation options that allow her to explore the city at her own pace.
She’s a frequent traveler who prefers hassle-free experiences that align with
her environmental values.
B.​ Tom (London, UK) 50, a business traveler in Amsterdam for three days. Tom
values efficiency and convenience. He uses e-bikes primarily to commute
between meetings and explore the city after business hours. Time is critical
for Tom, and he prefers transportation options that offer reliability and easy
access to avoid delays in his tight schedule.
2. Customer Journey Map (note: journey map drawing not included in this example, but
you must provide one)
A.​ Awareness:
○​ Jane's Touchpoints: Jane is researching eco-friendly transportation options on
travel blogs. She sees a digital ad promoting the flexibility of an e-bike
subscription service for tourists, emphasizing unlimited rides and
multiple-day use.
■​ Pain Points: Jane is unsure about the environmental impact of her
transportation options and is overwhelmed by the variety of choices.
○​ Tom's Touchpoints: Tom is searching for convenient, time-saving
transportation options on his business trip. He receives a targeted email
promoting e-bike subscriptions for professionals, emphasizing the service’s
speed and availability across the city.
■​ Pain Points: Tom is concerned about losing time during his short stay
due to unreliable transportation.
B.​ Consideration:
○​ Jane's Touchpoints: Jane clicks on the ad and explores the website, reviewing
pricing plans, customer reviews, and the ability to reserve a bike in advance.
The eco-friendly certification displayed on the site reassures her.
3
■​ Pain Points: Jane hesitates about committing to a longer subscription,
wondering if the bike service will meet her expectations during her
trip.
○​ Tom's Touchpoints: Tom reviews the subscription service's website and finds
the business traveler package appealing, especially the option to reserve a
bike near his hotel and the time-saving benefits of pre-arranged pick-up and
drop-off locations.
■​ Pain Points: Tom needs a guarantee that the bike will be available near
his meetings and that the service will be quick and reliable.
C.​ Purchase:
○​ Jane's Touchpoints: Jane decides to subscribe to the e-bike service for her
entire week-long trip. The online booking process is straightforward, and she
receives a confirmation email with pick-up instructions.
■​ Pain Points: Jane needs reassurance that bike availability and pick-up
will be smooth when she arrives.
○​ Tom's Touchpoints: Tom subscribes to a 3-day business traveler plan through
the website, which allows for priority pick-up near business districts. The
process is seamless, and he receives a confirmation with an option to track
nearby bike stations through the app.
■​ Pain Points: Tom worries that unexpected delays could disrupt his
tight schedule, so he appreciates the app’s real-time bike availability
feature.
D.​ Retention:
○​ Jane's Touchpoints: During her stay, Jane receives push notifications from the
app with route suggestions for eco-friendly tours of the city. The app’s
GPS-guided routes enhance her sightseeing experience, helping her navigate
unfamiliar streets.
■​ Pain Points: Initially, Jane was anxious about navigating the city’s bike
lanes, but the GPS features help alleviate that stress.
○​ Tom's Touchpoints: Tom receives real-time updates about bike availability
near his meetings, ensuring he never wastes time waiting. After each trip, the
app suggests optimized routes for his next meeting, improving his efficiency.
■​ Pain Points: Tom appreciates the proactive updates, which help him
maintain his tight schedule and ensure he’s never late for meetings.
E.​ Advocacy:
○​ Jane's Touchpoints: After her trip, Jane is prompted to leave a review and
share her experience. She’s impressed by the service’s eco-friendly
commitment and the convenience of the GPS features, so she leaves a
positive review and shares her experience on social media, recommending
the service to her eco-conscious friends.
4
■​ Pain Points: None at this stage—Jane is fully satisfied and becomes a
brand advocate.
○​ Tom's Touchpoints: After his business trip, Tom receives a follow-up email
asking for feedback. He praises the service for its reliability and efficiency,
particularly how the app saved him time by showing bike availability near his
meetings. He recommends the service to his colleagues for future business
trips.
■​ Pain Points: None at this stage—Tom is fully satisfied with the service’s
efficiency.
3. Opportunities for Improvement:
1.​ Enhanced GPS Features: Offer even more personalized GPS routes for both tourists
and business travelers. Jane could benefit from routes tailored to eco-friendly and
scenic destinations, while Tom could appreciate business-focused routes to optimize
his commute.
2.​ Priority Reservations for Business Travelers: Provide an even more tailored
experience for business travelers, like Tom, by offering priority bike reservations
during peak business hours.
3.​ Sustainability Partnerships: Further emphasize the company’s sustainability efforts
for eco-conscious users like Jane by showcasing partnerships with local
environmental organizations or certifications that demonstrate a commitment to
green travel.
4. Discussion
Mapping the customer journey provided a deeper understanding of customer needs
by revealing hidden pain points and opportunities for innovation. Initially, the focus
was on providing convenient e-bike access, but through this process, it became clear
that user expectations vary significantly by segment—Jane prioritizes sustainability
and exploration, while Tom values efficiency and time-saving features. This insight
underscores the importance of personalized experiences and targeted solutions,
such as priority reservations for business travelers and eco-conscious route
suggestions for tourists. Additionally, by identifying where friction occurs (e.g.,
hesitation in the consideration phase, concerns over availability), the journey map
highlights how proactive solutions—such as real-time updates and enhanced GPS
navigation—can increase retention and customer satisfaction. Ultimately, this
exercise reinforced that a well-designed customer experience is about anticipating
needs, reducing uncertainty, and creating value at every stage of engagement.
5