Understanding B2B customer journeys for complex digital services: The case of cloud computing

Abstract

Cloud computing services represent a rapidly growing business-to-business (B2B) market, but managers lack guidance on managing the customer journey for these complex digital services. To address this challenge, we conduct an exploratory qualitative study based on 20 interviews with providers and customers of cloud computing services, supplemented by data from observations. Our research highlights critical touchpoints along the customer journey in cloud computing markets and provides implications for B2B customer journey management. A key finding is that B2B customers' IT competency is a crucial differentiator in this market. That is, while IT-savvy companies evaluate these services independently and use them in a self-service fashion, IT-novice companies rely on multipliers (e.g., IT system houses) to act as support and gatekeepers to buying cloud computing services. This difference has implications for the composition of buying and usage centers, the development of the customer journey, and the control of touchpoints by the service provider. Thus, cloud service providers need to manage two types of customer journey: one directly focused on customers and another involving the management of multipliers. Based on these findings, we offer recommendations for B2B practitioners to guide their customers through the journey for this complex digital service.