Transforming shoppers into brand advocates transforms the customer lifecycle into a profitable business.
The e-commerce customer lifecycle is a step-by-step process. It differs from the flywheel, which is a continuous improvement model that, when combined, creates a reinforcing loop that drives more customers and revenue.
The customer lifecycle flywheel creates a loop that increases sales with every rotation.
E-commerce Customer Lifecycle
a Customer Lifecycle Generally, there are five big steps that go from discovering your brand or product to becoming an advocate for your business.
E-commerce marketers often focus on one or two of these steps. For example, some spend most of their time engaging with and acquiring shoppers, which is an essential but never-ending task.
Marketers who rely on advertising for customer acquisition will never eliminate paid customer acquisition or reduce its cost. Growth is proportional to investment.
In contrast, those same marketers may cultivate brand advocates and soon find that steps one (engagement) and two (acquisition) are filled with referred shoppers.
E-commerce stores shouldn’t stop advertising, but they should think of the customer lifecycle as a flywheel.
Stage Connections
There are rules to a business flywheel. First, a virtuous cycle means that each step on the flywheel leads smoothly to the next. For example, many marketing teams move shoppers from Engage to Buy now (get).
Each step in your business flywheel should flow smoothly into the next.
A lead moves from the engagement step to the acquisition step when they have enough context to buy. Ecommerce marketing teams are usually very good at this step: they run ads, monitor clicks and visits, and measure conversions.
Move shoppers out of Acquire Raise It should be just as smooth. Perhaps you need an email sequence after a purchase to encourage them to sign up for a newsletter. Or maybe a thank you email from your store.
Each step should lead to the next. Driving advocacy is the final step, which leads back to Engage. Your store advocates are now your marketers, referring potential customers to your business. So Engage now includes both referred shoppers and shoppers who make purchases.
The final step in the business flywheel, encouraging advocacy, starts the cycle again.
easily
The second rule of the business flywheel is that each spin gets easier, and this happens when marketers focus on the entire cycle and encourage advocacy.
Here’s a hypothetical example: What if each brand advocate generated one lead per rotation of the flywheel? If we assume that your company typically gains 100 engaged shoppers per cycle, your advocacy efforts could add 47 engaged shoppers by the fifth rotation.
For brand advocates, the apex of the cycle (engage) is growth, as customers beget customers.
effect
The third rule of the business flywheel is that with each spin, efficiency increases.
This is also true when marketers consider the entire lifecycle.
In the example above, more leads will enter the engagement step, which in turn will move on to acquisition, retention, and advocacy.
Flywheel
A linear conversion process implies an end, which is why marketers often focus on the steps that will immediately lead to a sale.
But transforming that process On the flywheelThen suddenly, advocacy is not the end, but the beginning of a bigger opportunity. Develop promotional tactics for each step of the cycle. Increased flow means increased revenue and profits without any additional investment.
