A customer journey map shows the story of a customer’s experience with your product. It begins with the initial contact and why they had a need for your product, and ends with them using the product to achieve a certain result.
Customer Journey Mapping is an extremely effective way to "walk a mile" in your prototypical customers' shoes. Start your map by focusing on a particular problem the customer is having. Acknowledge that this problem exists, and look for ways to solve it. If you were the customer and you were experiencing this problem, what outlets would you use to search for a solution – Social media? Search engines? Ask friends? This allows you to pinpoint which marketing channels may be most effective. Next, map out how your customer would first interact with your product. Be sure to note what may be confusing or difficult for them when first using the product, and tailor your onboarding process to alleviate those issues. Finally, map out how your product improves the customer's quality of life and gets rid of their problem. That becomes your sales pitch.