funnel framework
The Customer Lifecycle: Five Stages of the Relationship
The customer lifecycle models the entire relationship as five stages: awareness, consideration, conversion, retention, and advocacy. Unlike a pure acquisition funnel, it treats the post-purchase stages as the main event, which is why it is the backbone of lifecycle and CRM marketing.
Where it comes from
A consolidation of decades of CRM and relationship-marketing thinking, now the standard model behind lifecycle marketing platforms and retention programs.
The stages
- Awareness. The buyer discovers the brand.
- Consideration. They evaluate the fit.
- Conversion. They become a customer.
- Retention. They stay and expand.
- Advocacy. They become loyal promoters.
When to use it
Use the customer lifecycle when retention and expansion are where your economics are won, and you want one model that spans marketing, success, and support around the customer rather than the campaign.
How it maps to the marketinque funnel
The first three stages are our pre-sale funnel; the last two are the lifecycle marketing silo. The honest seam is at conversion, which is exactly where our bowtie hands the customer from demand generation to lifecycle marketing.
Related frameworks
Made with marketinque