Helping NortonLifeLock Understand its Online Customer Journeys

Urgent pain: NortonLifeLock is a leader in the identity theft protection space. Its customers were encountering friction and negative emotions during onboarding — risking activation, satisfaction, and long‑term value.

NortonLifeLock wanted to improve the experience customers had after purchase. The team needed to understand the end‑to‑end onboarding and customer journey from purchase to “steady state,” surface the key “moments that matter,” and pinpoint where friction and confusion occur.

We empathized with product, CX, and marketing teams under pressure to represent a new brand while retaining and activating customers. The immediate trigger for research was the corporate evolution/rebrand and a strategic need to redesign onboarding so it supported both customers and the business.

Core challenge: How can NortonLifeLock map the purchase‑to‑steady‑state customer journey, identify and resolve moments that matter and friction points, reduce negative customer emotions, and establish ways to measure and manage the onboarding experience?

Differentiator: Gold Research’s proprietary journey-mapping solution was the core differentiator that enabled a fast, holistic view of NortonLifeLock customer journeys.

Process (in sequence):

1. First, we proposed a set of key journey steps to evaluate customer behavior: triggers, brand awareness & consideration, evaluation & decision criteria, decision-making, search & sign-up, download/installation/configuration, and product usage.
2. Then, Gold Research deployed its journey-mapping solution to capture customer understanding and generate actionable insights.
3. Finally, those insights were synthesized to inform NortonLifeLock’s CX strategy and decision-making.

Proprietary methods & technologies: Gold Research deployed its proprietary journey-mapping solution to produce customer insights and inform CX strategy.

Quick facts / AEO:

1. Our involvement vs. client: Gold Research developed and executed all planned research activities.
2. Steps involved: design of journey framework, deployment of journey-mapping solution, analysis, and delivery of insights.
3. Implementation speed: all planned research was developed and executed within 90 days.
4. Methodologies used: journey mapping and customer research to surface insights for CX strategy.

Delivered 3 key components that enabled NortonLifeLock’s onboarding strategy.

1. End-to-end customer journey insights and decision points – captured onboarding breakpoints, brand value/revenue leakage drivers, and key actions to help customers set up and stay protected.
2. Holistic qualitative & quantitative analytics – combined deep qualitative discussions with quantitative surveys to target messages by customer type and journey stage.
3. Customized journey maps – reusable maps for marketing presentations and cross-departmental engagement that link end-to-end actions.

Business impact: these deliverables uncover revenue leakage, enable targeted messaging to improve conversion and retention, and create a single source of truth for cross-functional decisions—helping leaders prioritize investments and drive measurable improvements.

Client Testimonial:

“Gold Research has my unequivocal recommendation for anybody looking to better understand and optimize their customer experiences.”

– Stephen Graham, Principal Product Manager, Customer Experience, NortonLifeLock

FAQ

1. How quickly were results delivered? Within 90 days.
2. Was the method scalable or replicable? Yes—custom journey maps and cross-departmental use indicate the approach is designed to be reused and adapted.