---
id: "action-map-customer-journey"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§ Map Business Processes"]
tags: ["process-mapping", "strategy"]
related: ["framework-sap-customer-journey", "framework-ai-deployment-process", "concept-ai-driven-tam-expansion"]
action: "Map the customer journey to identify high cost-to-serve areas before selecting AI tools."
outcome: "Ensures AI investments are targeted at actual business bottlenecks rather than deployed as novelties."
sources: ["commercial"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-commercial"
originDay: 5
articleStem: "hbr-foci-64-ai-broaden-customer-base"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/03/how-one-company-used-ai-to-broaden-its-customer-base"
sourceTitle: "How One Company Used AI to Broaden Its Customer Base"
---
# Map Customer Journey Before AI Selection

**Action:** Before selecting or building AI tools, **map the entire customer journey** (e.g., Discover → Select → Adopt → Derive → Extend) to identify specific bottlenecks, high **cost-to-serve** areas, and opportunities for automation.

**Expected outcome:** AI investments are targeted at actual business bottlenecks rather than deployed as novelties.

This is step 2 of the [[framework-ai-deployment-process]] and produces the [[framework-sap-customer-journey|five-stage SAP journey]] that unlocks [[concept-ai-driven-tam-expansion]].