A new approach: The Flywheel framework.

A new approach: The Flywheel framework.

My blog last week caused a bit of a stir (if you haven’t read it - go here). In it, I introduced the idea of the Flywheel as a way to simplify growth in business.

Responses ranged from ‘This is *amazing* and so clear, thank you!’, to ‘WTF - I’m more confused than I was before!’. So, let’s clear things up a bit.

How does it simplify?

The default position of any founder/ business owner is to feel overwhelmed, with a never ending list of ‘should do’s’, this is true in any area of business, but none more-so than when it comes to marketing.

Founderbrain: Right, create content that hits all my pillars, must get to that - oh yeah need to do ads too, they really work for us, oh can’t forget SEO, and must remember to look at PR too… then I can get to email and Google ads….

Or should I start with Google?

Sound familiar?

Of course it does, there is SO MUCH FRIKKIN NOISE out there at the moment, and whether that is because things change so fast that they are constantly updated (looking at you, Instagram) or its kept purposely vague and over complicated so someone can sell a course on the back of it, one thing we know for sure is that it isn’t helpful. At all.

Even if it isn’t you running the marketing for your business and you have a team, or an agency in place, the non-stop feed of information and ‘must do’ hacks and ‘must do’ tactics is distracting and overwhelming, and it’s time for change.

Along comes the flywheel.

The simplicity and the power of the flywheel is the answer to all of this. Instead of the never ending list of tactics, this moves the focus to the three areas which provide the motion - Attract, Engage and Delight, and if we are doing them right and turning strangers to prospects to customers to promoters, they become the energy source that keeps it turning and makes it go faster with each spin.?

In the age of social, where everyone is an influencer in the true sense of the word - ie: even if you only have an audience of 100 friends and family, your opinions and recommendations have influence over them, the power of the flywheel sits not in the tactics, but in the community.

Keeping up?

And yes, the traditional funnel hits a lot of these points too - you are looking to attract, engage and convert there too, but then what? You start all over again, with more money and people being fed into the top, following the linear process with no additional energy source added to fuel it’s momentum.

While we’re here

Let me clear something up for those who messaged me to say they are still using funnels and ask what they should do.?

Nothing!?

A funnel will always be used in channels where we are taking the customer on a journey. When I talk about a funnel in this sense, I am referring to the wider customer journey that brings them from a stranger to a customer.

An example of this might be:

Awareness: Search for product or solution and hope they find yours

Interest: Learn about products, and hope they choose yours

Consideration: Read reviews, social proof and compare products

Intent: Select product, add to cart

Purchase: Complete purchase

And then what? You build out all of this to convert 2, 3, maybe 4% if you’re lucky - and then you have to start funnelling people, time and money into the top again.

The genius of the flywheel is that it makes you focus on the areas in a different way - it puts the customer at the heart of the journey, rather than the output.

ATTRACT: Who is the customer and how do we attract them to our brand?

ENGAGE: Once we have attracted them, how do we tell our story to engage and convert?

DELIGHT: What is the customer experience and journey brand side and how do we make it worthy of shouting from the rooftops?

So instead of ticking off a list of never ending channels and tactics, we are looking at the business from a holistic viewpoint to understand the most efficient way to achieve the 3 areas, in the context of your individual business metrics.

The funnel is behaviour centric, whereas the flywheel is people centric. If you attract, engage and then delight them, they will become your promoter and will reduce your CPA more than any creative refresh ever will.

If you are looking to apply this to your business, I recommend you pinch our flywheel framework linked below and look at each area for your business.

GOOGLE DOC

If you have these in place, then you can start adding the fuel… which I will get into next week!

I loved hearing how much this helped you last week, so get in touch and let me know if you'll be using this for growth in '22.