#44: A 7-Stage Customer Journey To Drive Success Proactively

To have or not to have a Customer Journey?

I’ve always been sceptical of Customer Journeys.

Most companies have beautifully designed documents, outlining their customer journey, step-by-step, from consideration to expansion. Some even have a sentiment map that looks at how customers feel at each stage.

But when you open the curtain, nobody is following the journey.

It’s aspirational at best (delusional at worst).

Two weeks ago at Pulse, I shared a 7-stage journey that cuts through the complexity companies have grown accustomed to.

I’ve been using this template as a starting point to help companies work proactively across all levels of their segmentation strategy. 

In this week's newsletter, I want to dive into each stage with you.

#1 - Sales Handover

Whether your customer is going through a human-led sales process or not, it’s important to have a handshake between the “Buying” and  “Using” stages of the customer journey, so you can tailor their experience based on their goals.

• Goal: To capture your customer’s expected outcomes in the CRM.
• Metric: Successful Completion of Sales Handover.
• Methods:
  • Digital: Required in-Product input from customer triggering automated message.
  • High-Touch: Required 'Deal Information' to be filled out by the sales rep, triggering automated messages, assignments etc.

Take this free lesson if you want to learn how to improve your sales handover process.

# 2 - Success Planning

A Success Plan is a tool to collaborate with the customer and ensure they are guided on best practices to achieve their goals. This might include set-up tasks, courses, and other actions to be taken early on.

• Goal: To create a robust plan based on your customer’s goals.
• Metric: Success Plan Created and % of Success Plan Completed.
• Methods: 
  • Digital: In-App Editable Success Plan with template actions based on use-case.
  • High-Touch: Joint Session with a CSM and Onboarding consultant to design the Success Plan together.

Use this Basic Success Plan Template to get started with success plans.

# 3 - Onboard

This is the phase of the journey where customers are setting up the basic “plumbing” needed to activate their use case. This should not be a cookie-cutter process, but a tailored experience based on the goals shared in the Success Plan.

• Goal: To set up the functionality needed to activate the customer’s use case.
• Metric: Activation.
• Methods:
  • Digital: Automated In-App Experience, supported by customer education.
  • High-Touch: Onboarding Consultant to deliver the onboarding programme.

Check out these HubSpot onboarding templates to inspire your next Onboarding iteration.

#4 - Early Adoption

Once the customer's use case is activated, users start to regularly work within their new system and build upon the basic set-up to make the system more robust. Here is where customers start driving towards the true value of the platform.

• Goal: To maximise adoption of the use case across all users.
• Metric: TTV, Usage and Customer Outcomes.
• Methods:
  • Digital: Outcome-based, persona-specific adoption plays.
  • High-Touch: CSM-led consulting calls.

Here's how to build a smart system that alerts CSMs based on adoption behaviours.

#5 - Value Check-In

At the halfway mark of their contract, it’s important to do a value check-in. This is designed to demonstrate the customer’s progress, identifying and acting on any risks and opportunities early, to avoid early churn. Every value check-in should include clear next steps to continue driving value for customers.

• • Goal: Demonstrate tangible progress towards the desired outcomes.
  • Metric: Customer Outcomes + Action against Recommendations.
  • Methods:
    • Digital: Virtual Value Summary (automatically sent)
    • High Touch: EBR (Automatically created, but edited and delivered by the CSM in partnership with the business users of the customer)

Learn how to automate assets such as EBRs for this phase of the journey, 

#6 - Mature Adoption

In the Mature Adoption phase of the customer journey, customers should have a solid adoption of the current use case and set-up. Thus it's time to nurture them towards expanding their usage to unlock further value.

• Goal: Foster continued adoption and nurture the growth of the use case across all users.
• Metric: Usage + Customer Outcomes + Upsell/Cross-Sell.
• Methods: 
  • Digital: Outcome-based, persona-specific adoption and growth plays 
  • High Touch: CSM-led consulting calls.

Check out this previous newsletter on how to build content that resonates with customers.

#7 - Growth and Renewal

When the customer enters the renewal window of their contract, it’s important to ensure they fully understand the value they get from the product, that any risks are mitigated, and that opportunities are being nurtured.

• Goal: Renew the customer’s contract at a net positive.
• Metric: NRR + GRR 
• Methods:
  • Digital: Automated value summary and automated renewal communication. 
  • High Touch: EBR and rep-led Renewal Conversation.

TL’DR

Every CS organisation should have a single customer journey that they are guiding customers through. Independently of their segment, every single customer should have proactive outreach that is relevant to their use case and drives towards their desired outcomes.

Use this journey template as a starting point for your business.