The nonprofit customer journey map

Most organizations simply don't think about, let alone document, the complete thread of a customer's experience with their organizations.  They're structured to support the functional units within, not in ways that maximize the experience for their varied customers - and they are varied. Donors, partner organizations, vendors, employees, volunteers, community members, and least we forget the ultimate "end user" customer sometimes called client, participant, or stakeholder - they all have unique needs, wants, and desires that must be met in increasingly complex ways, all with (usually) very limited resources.

The idea of documenting all the stuff that happens before, during, and after engagement with an organization is so fundamentally important and awesome, that by just going through this simple exercise should be a huge eye opener. Nonprofits and government (imagine a world where going to the DMV is a delightful experience!) have a tremendous opportunity to become more customer-centric, and a better understanding of their customers' journeys is a great starting point.