It’s a journey, not a destination: Understanding users with a Customer Journey Map

Whilst cost per acquisition (CPA) has long been used as a barometer for the success of an operator’s efforts to attract customers, the true ROI picture is incomplete unless lifetime player value (LTV) is also part of the conversation.

After all, logic dictates that LTV must exceed CPA ultimately to justify the initial outlay – otherwise the outlook captures the price of everything, and the value of nothing.

The trouble is that LTV calculations can be notoriously speculative. As Penn Entertainment CEO and president Jay Snowden once said: “People are calculating lifetime value as if that customer is going to be loyal to you forever.”

Truly understanding the all-important customer journey that underpins LTV is vital for any operator seeking to build a sustainable business, rather than merely measuring success through quick wins that may evaporate soon after onboarding.

What is a Customer Journey Map?

Encouraging operators to consider such mechanics was the driving force behind the launch of Uplatform’s Customer Journey Map (CJM) guide.

The strategic tool is designed to visualise a player’s full experience with an igaming brand – from their first encounter with the brand to years later.

“Our approach to CJM is grounded in the belief that optimising the user journey has a direct, long-term impact on LTV, and ultimately that’s what all mature operators strive for,” said Kiri, head of B2B projects at Uplatform.

“Today, the use of CJM is an indispensable part of addressing retention, influencing LTV, reducing the number of incoming requests due to improved user experience, and, of course, addressing the churn rate through an individual approach to the user.

“This approach is especially relevant for operators that actively scale and attract new audiences, work in a highly competitive environment, or seek to improve operational efficiency through automation and analytics.

“Understanding the customer journey is the foundation for strategic growth – and without CJM, managing the user experience is now simply impossible.”

Key touchpoints

The value of a CJM lies in its ability to uncover key touchpoints, pinpoint pain points, and identify opportunities to boost player engagement and retention.

A structured framework also improves player experience by tailoring communications and offers to player behaviours or preferences, as outlined by Uplatform’s recently published CJM report.

The goal is to help operators understand, optimise, and personalise every interaction across the player lifecycle, which comprises seven key stages: ‘Awareness’, ‘Acquisition’, ‘Onboarding’, ‘Engagement’, ‘Re-engagement’, ‘Retention’ and ‘Future-Proofing’ the player’s journey.

“Today, any modern product aiming to deliver accurate and effective user interaction relies heavily on Customer Journey Mapping,” Kiri added.

“This is not just a customer path – it is a tool that allows you to promptly pick up a client, minimise churn, and build logical, personalised communication at each stage of their interaction with the product.

“All operators are engaged in segmentation, with varying degrees of detail, but regardless of the depth, the approach to different segments should be fundamentally different, and it is CJMs that allows this to be implemented systematically.”

CJM benefits

The impact of CJMs are variable, and are contingent on when the mapping is implemented.

When integrated from the very beginning, the focus is typically on increasing engagement, reducing friction and boosting LTV. When introduced into an already operating product, the most conspicuous improvements are typically a reduction in churn and an increase in repeat activity.

The benefits are quantifiable. Uplatform’s interface, for example, shows how many users have entered the journey, how many are progressing, where drop-offs occur, and how many complete the path – and when.

Kiri cites an example of one project targeting an Asian market, where mobile-first behaviour is dominant. After Uplatform built a CJM that was focused on push notifications and aligned with user activity patterns, within a month, churn dropped by 6% and repeat deposit engagement rose by 12%.

In another case, Uplatform implemented CJM scenarios based on behavioural segmentation following the first deposit. This reduced customer support requests by 20% and accelerated the time to the second deposit by over 30%.

“For our partners, CJM is not just a visual flow – it’s a powerful growth tool that enables precise refinement of the user journey.”

“For our partners, CJM is not just a visual flow – it’s a powerful growth tool that enables precise refinement of the user journey, tailored to any region and applicable at any stage of project development,” Kiri said.

“We offer operators a flexible toolset that allows them to build not just linear scenarios but complex CJM workflows that account for geo, user behaviour, communication channels, and timing of interactions.

“Different approaches work best in different countries. For example, email may be more effective in some regions, while push notifications or in-app messages work better elsewhere. Our system makes it easy to account for these differences and tailor journeys to each audience.”

The value of strategic engagement

The process of developing a CJM encourages operators to build solid foundations with a customer so that long-term loyalty is the goal – rather than quick monetisation.

“More and more operators are beginning to recognise the value of a strategic engagement approach, where profit isn’t the starting point, but rather the result of earned trust and a deep understanding of user behaviour,” Kiri said.

“CJM enables the creation of this very path. Through branching scenarios and personalised touchpoints, we can gradually introduce users to the product, present content that’s genuinely relevant to them, offer timely bonuses or activities, and guide them seamlessly through the product ecosystem.”

This carefully considered approach, through which the customer is integrated naturally and logically, ensures that customer journey mapping is not just a conversion tool, but also the foundation for long-term loyalty. Central to this, of course, is truly understanding each user – beyond the demographic details to their location, behaviour, patterns, habits and preferences.

Segmentation challenges

However, challenges in such a process are inevitable.

“We often see that the biggest challenges arise right from the start, during the design phase of the CJM,” Kiri explained. “One of the most common issues is segmentation. When a product is new, or when the specifics of a geo and its user behaviour haven’t been thoroughly studied, it’s difficult to identify relevant user groups and create accurate scenarios for them.

“Another challenge is in building the journey itself and setting up analytical feedback loops. It’s not enough to simply map out a path – you need to understand which triggers are effective, which actions qualify as meaningful conversions, and how often they should be repeated. This requires a structured, iterative approach and ongoing refinement, because there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.”

“We often see that the biggest challenges arise right from the start, during the design phase of the CJM,”

An additional risk cited by Kiri is the danger of overcomplicating the CJM, while managing expectations can be difficult – especially when operators expect big results from the mapping with minimal investment.

However, the main barriers to CJM adoption are usually either a lack of in-house expertise at the outset, or the available tools being too rigid or inconvenient to support a flexible, customised journey, Kiri adds.

Uplatform counters this with a product that can create both simple and multi-stage user journeys, as well as intuitive reporting and analysis tools, allowing operators to monitor key metrics, track progress and adjust their CJM strategies accordingly.

“We continuously optimise our product to meet the evolving demands of different markets – expanding functionality, enhancing flexibility, and improving adaptability – ensuring operators have powerful tools without being overwhelmed,” Kiri said.

“In this way, we don’t just provide technology: we act as a true partner, helping operators implement CJM, grasp its strategic value, and use it as a growth driver at any stage of their project’s maturity.”