According to the wisdom of this episode's guest, Pam Didner, the customer journey is best approached by B2B marketers not from the customer's perspective but from consideration of the touchpoints they, the marketers, have control over.

Otherwise, she says, it's easy to become overwhelmed and confused.

"All of us have thousands of paths or options of journeys that we go through before we make a purchase decision," she explains. "The thing that you need to look at as a marketer is what is in your control and how can you craft the journey that you can guide people through."

It starts by asking questions. "You ask...what do they do? They probably search, they probably talk to people, they probably just go ask around."

For every possible way, you write them down, this is what they would do. Then you ask, What would they do next?"

No matter how many touchpoints you start with, there's almost always a convergence point, and that is where you focus your efforts, Pam says.