As marketing has changed over the years, some traditional marketing basics have changed – or need to be updated. We recently talked about an updated version of marketing’s 4Ps. Another basic – the purchasing/customer journey funnel – could also use a new discussion. 
Over 100 years old, the sales funnel (first created in 1898!) is based on a linear model of customer decision making. Yet today’s customer journey has more touchpoints and includes post-decision customer retention and advocacy. And customers and marketers both have much more data to inform the customer journey.
A flywheel is a mechanical device that increases the momentum of a machine and can build up a reserve of power to be used during interruptions in power delivery to the machine. Today’s customer decision journey can be compared to a flywheel, in that more available digital and physical touchpoints yield more data, leading to more touchpoints, causing the “flywheel” to spin faster as it takes shape. With more touchpoints and more data come increased revenue and ROI.
Has your organization reconsidered its customer journey model?