"Customer-Centricity at the Core: How Flywheel Prioritizes the Customers"

Centuries ago, the prevailing belief was that the earth was flat until it was scientifically proven to be round. Similarly, monarchies and theocracies were the sole forms of governance until democracy emerged. It is evident that people tend to adhere to and trust a particular notion until a better one is discovered.

For ages, businesses have employed the funnel approach to attract potential customers and convert them into buyers. This conventional method has been widely accepted and yielded positive results. However, does its success indicate that there is no room for improvement? Not too long ago, marketing and sales teams relied on the funnel model to achieve their objectives and considered it the optimal strategy. But things have changed. More and more businesses are moving away from the funnel approach.

Where are they going, you may ask? Nowadays, sales and marketing professionals are adopting the flywheel model to generate sales and revenue like never before. Before we delve into the flywheel model, it's essential to comprehend why the funnel approach was falling short.

The funnel approach is centered around customers as the ultimate goal. Essentially, the funnel works by leading prospects and leads through a series of stages until they finally become a customer.

Typically, a marketing funnel includes four stages that ultimately lead to a purchase and the acquisition of a new customer. However, this is where the funnel approach falls short. The process ends once the customer has been acquired, leaving brands with little guidance on how to manage and retain customers post-conversion, and how to leverage them for future growth. In other words, the funnel approach fails to address the long-term relationship-building aspect of customer retention and growth.

Funnel strategies can be frustrating as each time a new set of leads comes in, you have to start the cycle again from scratch, like playing an online game that doesn't save your progress. The success of the funnel heavily relies on the number of leads entering at the top, which means constantly investing in attracting and engaging new audiences. This focus on marketing and sales disregards the possibility of not getting enough leads at the top and ignores other important areas such as customer support and product development. Therefore, businesses often prioritize marketing, advertising, and sales, leaving the post-purchase customer journey overlooked.

Introduction to Flywheel Model

The Flywheel, a machine invented by James Watt, is an energy-efficient device that relies on the momentum of the wheel to keep it moving. However, the concept of the Flywheel has been applied to businesses by Collins, where happy customers are the driving force that fuels business revenue, rather than speed or mass. Unlike the funnel model, where customers are the end goal, the Flywheel model treats customers as a force that drives referrals and repeat sales, keeping the wheel spinning.

The Flywheel model consists of three cyclical phases.

In the first phase, Attract, the goal is to attract complete strangers to the brand. Quality content relevant to the target audience, including traditional collaterals like ad campaigns, events, and gated content, as well as content generated by customers like referrals, testimonials, and reviews on third-party sites, are used to generate interest in the brand.

The second phase, Engage, is where efforts are made to build a relationship with a prospect to convert them into a paying customer. The sales and marketing teams work together, with the marketing team using guiding content like 'how-to' resources and other online and offline engagement activities, while the sales team builds a connection with prospects through follow-up calls, chatbots, and other channels.

The third phase, Delight, is where the Flywheel model differs from the funnel model. The focus is on building a relationship with customers through exceptional customer service and support, so that they become happy customers. Once customers have had an exceptional experience, they are more likely to promote the brand, attracting new prospects to the brand and refueling the Flywheel. To delight customers, companies can offer referral discounts, reward programs, excellent return policies, and customer support, among other things. The key is to make customers feel valued at all times.

To help you better understand the Flywheel Model, we'd like to highlight some key differences between it and the traditional Funnel Approach.

Marketing Funnel Vs Marketing Flywheel

The Flywheel Model is characterized by three major distinctions:

1. Continuous Process: Unlike the funnel, the flywheel is a never-ending process. It creates a self-sustaining cycle that builds upon itself, rather than starting over from scratch each time new leads are converted into customers.
2. Customer as Fuel: In the Flywheel Model, customers are not just the end goal, but also the fuel that drives business growth. The first set of happy customers kickstart the flywheel approach and keep it going.
3. Cyclical Nature: The Flywheel Model is a circular process that is driven by the momentum generated by satisfied customers. It doesn't just end with acquiring new customers; instead, it leverages their loyalty and advocacy to attract and engage new prospects, thereby creating a virtuous cycle of growth.

We hope these distinctions have helped clarify the differences between the Flywheel and Funnel models.

Summing It Up

All said and done, we’re not completely dismissing the funnel. It has been working for brands for a long time, and we don’t want you to completely let go of it. That being said, it’s maybe time for you to experiment with the flywheel and focus your efforts equally on customer services as you do on marketing and sales. You’d be surprised to see how exponential your growth would be once you let your customers be your advocates.