Service design may come across as something intangible but the Customer Journey Canvas allows you to put your thoughts into words or diagrams in a structured manner. Once you fill up every aspect of the canvas, you will see everything coming together, just like assembling a jigsaw puzzle.
A concept cafe is used as an example in the given Customer Journey Canvas. The first stage of service design is to plan how the service will be marketed and predict the reactions.

Pre-Service Period

Advertisement/Public Relations:

Thinking about the core differences between advertisement and public relations campaign will help you make a decision on how you want people to perceive your upcoming services. Advertisements give you control over the creative direction and content of your message but your intended consumers know you are trying to sell to them. On the other hand, a successful PR campaign will gain the trust and attention of the consumers since they perceive the message as an independent, third party review of your upcoming service. The downside is that you have no control over how people are going to write about your services.
Another marketing element to consider is if you plan to tap into both print media and the internet for your marketing campaign. Most companies tend to go both routes in order to reach out to a larger audience.
In the example, the idea of having a short film that expounds on the cafe’s unique concept is an effective way to capture attention without advertising blatantly.

Social Media:

Twitter and Facebook are the leading social media platforms. You can go beyond these and release updates on your services on social media platforms that are related to your niche.

Word of Mouth:

Think in both the positive and negative context. Imagine yourself as the customer. If you are pleased with the services, which aspects are you likely to be satisfied with? What will you tell your friends and family? In contrast, if you are unhappy with the service, what is likely to have gone wrong? By anticipating these reactions, you can try to further fine-tune your service.

Past Experiences:

It can be hard to fill up this column if you are launching a whole new, unheard of service but you can trace it back to the inception of the service. Was something lacking in a service which customers often complain about, thus inspiring you to create a service to fulfill the needs?

Expectations:

Put yourself in the shoes of the customer who hears of the service. How would you react and what expectations you have in mind? Understanding customer expectations means that you can set well-defined goals.

New Customer Journey Canvas

Service Period

Service Journey:

The service journey details the entire experience of the customer from his arrival to departure. As you can see from the example, the three major touchpoints are: the entrance where the customer gets greeted by the staff and leaves his more bulky belongings, the place where he settles down to order from the menu, and when he exits the cafe. Your service journey may be a lot more detailed but one thing to keep in mind is that the touchpoint may not necessarily involve an interaction with the service staff.

Experiences:

As always, the evaluation of the service will lead to the conclusion of customer experience.

Post Service Period

Customer Relationship Management:

CRM can manifest itself as a software or a system aimed at building a relationship with customers and maintaining it. A successful CRM model is imperative to the success of the business. Depending on your industry, your CRM model will differ but the three major aspects to consider remain the same. They are:
1) People
Everyone in the company needs to breathe and live the CRM initiative. Customer service representatives are usually at the forefront of the initiative since they have direct contact with customers.
2) Process
You should always ask yourself how a particular process can be streamlined to better serve the customer. Companies may often find themselves going back to review this aspect repeatedly because new situations always crop up to reveal a lapse in the service.
3) Technology
Does the company have the technology to support its CRM initiative? This can be in the form of having a software to capture the personal data of customers so they can be sent updates on the service. The system should provide the management valuable insight into the demographic profile and preferences of their customers so they can add a personal touch to the service.

Social Media, Word of Mouth:

These two sections are pretty self-explanatory. Providing a social media platform means that customers will use it as a feedback channel to communicate their experiences and feelings towards the service. The response on the social media platform is likely to reflect the general word of mouth sentiments.

Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction:

As you list out what customers were satisfied and dissatisfied with, it is time to compare it with the customer expectations you have penned down during the first stage. Do the sentimentsmatch up with the expectations? A disparity is a telltale sign that the management need to go back to the drawing board and re-evaluate the entire service design.

The customer journey canvas is a clear overview of the entire service design process. You are likely to refer to it again and again because there are always improvements to be made and problems to be solved. An element of surprise is always possible. When it presents itself to you as a challenge to your business, the customer journey canvas helps you to clearly identify how the problem is related to the service design process. This will helps you stay focused and work on resolving the problem systematically.