Mapping Your Client Journey: Designing a Premium Experience
At Dubsado, we know that an exceptional client experience doesn’t happen by accident—it’s mapped with intention. In our recent webinar Mapping Your Client Journey: Designing a Premium Experience, Certified Dubsado Specialist and systems strategist Colie James walked through exactly how to build a streamlined, thoughtful, and repeatable process for your services.
From inquiry to delivery (and everything in between), Colie broke down the steps for mapping your client journey and translating it into an automated workflow using Dubsado—without sacrificing a personal touch.
What is a client journey?
Think of your client journey as the full path your client travels—from discovering you to becoming a raving fan. It includes every touch point, decision, and feeling along the way.
Too often, service providers build their processes backward—starting with what the tool (like Dubsado) can do, instead of what the client actually needs. Colie urges business owners to start with feelings, not features.
“Good systems are based on how people feel at every step—and how they make decisions.” —Colie James
Mapping your journey: pen first, software second
Before you open up a workflow builder, Colie recommends doing a full brain dump on paper (or whiteboard):
Pick ONE service offer to start with to reduce overwhelm
Write down every client interaction from start to finish
Note what you need to do, what the client needs to do, and what happens if they don’t
By answering “what happens next?” at every step, you’ll identify gaps in communication, opportunities to automate, and places where clients may feel stuck or unsure.
Elevating the client experience
Once you’ve mapped your touchpoints, it’s time to make them shine:
Anticipate questions before they’re asked
Share helpful tips and resources to reduce friction
Be clear about next steps in every email
Automate gently, with personal-feeling check-ins
Eliminate dead space in your timeline (no client should go 3 weeks without hearing from you)
As Colie puts it: "Your workflow is what makes the client experience consistent."
Bringing it to life in Dubsado
Finally, you’ll take your mapped journey and translate it into a Dubsado workflow using actions (like sending an email or form) and triggers (like “after form is completed”). But don’t rush this step.
“Dubsado is the last step—not the first.”
Colie encourages testing everything, leaning on smart fields, and being strategic about when you need approvals vs. when you can let the system run. Done right, your workflows will give every client the same care, clarity, and delight—without manual effort.
Ready to build a smoother, more premium client experience?
Watch the full replay of Mapping Your Client Journey below and see how Dubsado can support your systems from inquiry to offboarding.
New here? Start your free trial of Dubsado for up to 3 clients and begin mapping your own client journey today—no time limit or credit card required.
Colie James is a Disney-loving Client Experience & Systems Strategist, Dubsado Certified Specialist, and the host of the Business-First Creatives podcast. Her heart pumps in helping photographers & creative service providers automate their processes, reclaim their time and get back to living!
With 12+ years in the creative space, Colie believes every creative deserves to build a business that is sustainable and profitable, and no one should quit their 9 to 5 only to work 24/7 [in their business].
When Colie isn’t building killer workflows and automations, you can find her spending some much needed time with her husband, James, daughter Chloe, or [you guessed it] at Disneyland.
