Lead Generation 101: Each Stage of the Customer Journey

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Lead generation is a no-brainer for companies like you who are continuously scaling your reach. After all, you are a business; generating leads means more clients and customers. 

But what exactly is lead generation? And how do you generate qualified leads with a high lifetime value?  

By adopting a customer-centric approach and employing dynamic strategies that transform your ideal target audience into high-quality leads that convert repeatedly. Whether you are a B2B or B2C company, a robust lead generation strategy is essential, and sometimes it’s best to go back to the basics.

If you need help understanding the customer journey cycle, look no further. After reading today’s blog post, you will understand each stage of the customer journey so you can spark interest, collect data, nurture leads, convert, engage, rinse, and repeat.

Each Phase of the Traditional Marketing Journey

The traditional sales funnel is a systematic approach to generating leads. It includes three phases and stops shortly after a lead converts. But before creating a customer journey, have an ICP (ideal customer profile) in place to ensure your funnel attracts and retains as many high-quality leads as possible. 

1. Top of the Funnel | TOFU | ATTRACT | exploration and education 

This is the awareness and attraction phase of the customer journey. You want to cast a wide net in this stage, but you also want to ensure that the fruits of your labor generate leads that enter and continue down the funnel. Demand generation sparks interest by introducing prospects to the top of the funnel through content like social media posts, landing pages, blogs, and videos. Lean into paid search and strengthen your SEO with broad match keywords to make your products, goods, or services easy to find.

2. Middle Funnel | MOFU | NURTURE | decision making

Not all leads who enter the funnel are ready to convert. In fact, most leads need a little TLC (tender love and care) before making a decision. Nurture your leads through personalized content that makes their decision-making easier. At this stage, you need to analyze which leads have higher scores and are more likely to convert. Consider automating your lead scoring with tech like Adlucent Index™ and tap into automation like Performance Max to process first-party data and seamlessly segment your content to each lead.

3. Lower Funnel | LOFU | CONVERT | purchase

You’ve done the hard work of attracting prospects, creating leads, and nurturing them; now they are ready to convert. Make the buying journey as easy as possible for leads and analyze what worked and what didn’t so that you have a feedback loop that can continuously inform your lead-generation efforts.

What is the Bow Tie Funnel?

While there is no denying that companies have a bottom line, it’s vital to remember that leads are humans who don’t like being just another number. And while tempting to pat yourself on the back and call it done, dropping converted leads from your efforts is a big mistake.

That’s why the bow tie funnel, with its human-centered approach, might be worth your while. When you turn the traditional marketing funnel on its side and extend the customer journey, you form the bow-tie funnel. A funnel that is customer-centric, omnichannel, nonlinear, and extends beyond the first point of purchase – ensuring qualified leads with a high lifetime value.

But how do brands take advantage of new buyer relationships and continue to nurture them? Through constant iteration, automation, and segmentation.

How do I Extend the Life Time Value of Leads?

Retention is just as important as lead generation. If done correctly, leads can re-enter the funnel on an endless loop creating a happy symbiotic relationship between consumers and businesses. So make sure to lean into these three phases of the customer journey after conversion to extend the lifetime value of your leads:

1. ADOPT

After a customer makes a purchase, they enter the adopt stage. To solidify their decision, businesses can send a post-purchase survey to thank them for their purchase and gather insights on their decision-making process. A thank you email can also be sent to reaffirm their choice and provide additional value.

2. LOYALTY

Customers who remain loyal to a brand enter the loyalty stage. Businesses can tailor offers that resonate with loyal customers and encourage them to “level up.” For instance, if a customer purchased an entry-level subscription service, put them in an email nurture campaign that encourages them to level up.

3. ADVOCATE

Advocates are highly valuable for businesses as they become word-of-mouth marketers for the brand. At this stage, businesses should continue providing value to their customers to maintain a positive relationship. Sharing client stories and testimonials can also help in building trust with potential leads. By nurturing advocates, businesses can ensure a steady stream of leads entering the funnel through referrals.

Conclusion

If you search the web for “marketing funnel,” “lead generation funnel,” “customer journey,” etc., you will find infinite iterations of the customer journey. If you are reading this blog, there is no doubt you see the value in testing, tweaking, and adjusting your funnel according to your brand’s KPIs and business goals. And, odds are, your lead generation journey might look slightly different from ours and others – which is exactly how it should be.

Your brand has unique customers with unique acquisition challenges. And who knows their audience better than you? At Adlucent, we get to know our clients’ needs to help create custom-tailored solutions so you can tap into complex data and generate leads with high lifetime value. A true combination of human ingenuity and machine learning. Interesting in partnering with us? Reach out today.

Eden Pierson

Eden is a content manager with a wide range of experience in the marketing space. From B2B advertising, branding, and retail marketing, she is passionate about curating content that resonates with target audiences.