Mastering your customer journey with the COM-B model

How do you transform an unaware web user to an unwavering brand advocate? Well firstly, you need to understand them – and then you need to show them the path of least resistance. And to do that, you need a customer experience journey map.

A well-mapped customer journey is your clearest route to better business outcomes. It shows you every step your audience takes – from their first touchpoint to post-purchase interactions – revealing exactly what they need, feel, and do at each stage. These are not just nice to have. They’re a necessity, because you can’t fix what you can’t see.

However, a lot of these maps are built on assumption, rather than solid customer behaviour analysis and action. This is why we use behavioural science frameworks like the COM-B model to dig deeper and design journeys that actually positively change behaviour, not just reflect it.

What is customer behaviour?

Put simply, customer behaviour is the sum of every decision a person makes about your brand products, or services – particularly how they make those decisions, including the psychological, emotional, and environmental drivers. To truly influence the factors that influence customer behaviour you first have to understand it. And to understand it, you need to look beneath the surface.

What is customer experience journey mapping?

Customer experience journey mapping is a visual representation of every interaction your customer has with your brand, from discovery to loyalty. Rather than build this on assumptions and hunches, we map journeys grounded in deep customer behaviour analysis and UX research, we map journeys grounded in real behaviour, not hunches. It’s not just seeing what customers are clicking on, it’s about uncovering why they click. And this is where the COM-B model of behaviour change comes into play.

What is the COM-B model?

The COM-B model – short for Capability, Opportunity, Motivation – Behaviour – is a science-backed framework that helps explain how and why people change what they do. At its core, it’s simple: for any behaviour to happen, three conditions need to be in place.

• Capability. Does your customer have the physical and psychological ability to do what you’re asking? For example, maybe a form is too confusing or long for them to fill in, or they lack the knowledge to understand your processes. Maybe they put off a phone call but would be happy to chat online, or forget to schedule demos without implementing it in their calendar.

• Opportunity. Are the external conditions helping or hindering your customer? Perhaps they don’t have the time or resources, such as being on the go and unable to enter payment details easily.

• Motivation. What emotional or rational factors are driving (or blocking) your customer’s decision to act? They could be unsure the product is right for them, or worried about security. These can be automotive motivations (less conscious thought processes such as desires, impulses, and emotional reactions), or reflective motivations (more active thought processes such as weighing up costs and benefits, goals, plans, and intentions).

When one or more of these areas are lacking, behavioural change is unlikely. But by diagnosing where the friction lies, we can prescribe smarter solutions to align all three conditions. From content to design to web functionality, these solutions serve as catalysts that begin changing customer behaviour in the real world. Examples of this could be:

• Simplified checkout flows – removing steps to support capability and reduce basket abandonment.

• Responsive design – to ensure the opportunity for action is always available.

• Trust signals – like verified reviews, certifications, or user-generated content to strengthen motivation.

Putting the COM-B behaviour change model into action

The COM-B model is widely used across some of the country’s largest organisations to drive lasting behavioural change. The NHS, for instance, has used it to improve public health outcomes, such as encouraging people to stop smoking. Similarly, government campaigns have used it to identify opportunities to lower Covid-19 transmissions and reach climate and environmental goals. It works, because it’s based on how humans actually make decisions.

By using it to figure out what's really driving (or blocking) customer action at each stage of their journey, you can design a practical, psychology-backed map that nudges customers toward your desired outcomes. Here’s how we do it:

1. Diagnose behaviours

Using real customer interviews, website heatmaps, journey analytics, and search intent, our robust customer behaviour analysis process is designed to drive your KPIs. Whether you're trying to increase demo sign-ups, improve customer retention, or drive newsletter subscriptions, using this approach to behavioural science in marketing can show you where to look, what to prioritise, and how to get real results. For each of your audience segments, we’ll ask questions such as:

• Who are they?

• What are they looking for?

• Which channels are they using?

• How are they feeling?

• What do you want them to do next?

• What’s stopping them from doing what you want them to do next?

• What support or incentives might help?

2. Map the current experience

Following a workshop, we’ll further develop these initial thoughts, ideas, and information to create a user experience journey map that reflects real customer needs, pain points, and behaviours. We spot high-friction touchpoints – like form abandonment or hesitation at checkout – and tie them back to capability, opportunity, or motivation gaps.

3. Prescribe solutions that close the gaps

Once we’ve diagnosed where the friction lies, we prescribe practical, psychology-informed solutions to help move customers from inertia to action.

• If the barrier is capability, we’ll look at how to enhance understanding and ability. This might include using different marketing channels, onboarding email sequences that nurture new users and spark early wins, or explainer videos that build confidence around complex products. Or, we might build a strategic FAQs section into your site, designed to overcome objections by answering questions before they become blockers.

• When the issue is opportunity, the focus shifts to reducing friction in the user experience journey map. This could be ensuring your site is optimised for mobile, cutting down the number of clicks to conversion, or adding CTAs at natural decision points to lay the path of least resistance.

• If motivation is the sticking point, we turn to the emotional and psychological drivers behind action. Here, persuasive copy is key, reframing benefits to speak to deeper desires and values. Emotional storytelling can help customers see themselves in the solution, while tiered sales packages support faster decisions by easing decision paralysis. And while we avoid manipulative urgency, we do spotlight value and relevance at the right time, helping customers feel confident in choosing now, not later.

4. Track and optimise

With a clear customer journey experience map, we can continuously test, measure, and adapt to what works and what doesn’t as your audience evolves. Whether this is measuring leads, engagement, or conversions, we can track and refine accordingly.

Our Think Big! research and discovery workshop helps pinpoint where the barriers lie for your customers, so we can design smart, targeted interventions to make it easier for them. Depending on your specific business findings, this can be anything from small improvements to UX flow, to full behaviour change marketing campaigns. Need a helping hand figuring it all out? Let us guide the way.