In the digital age, there is a new framework, called Flywheel Marketing, useful to better represent and optimize the Customer Experience. By adopting this particular model, you can get better results with your startup through a more innovative business growth approach.
You will find out in the next few lines, in more detail, what Flywheel Marketing means and how it works.
What is Flywheel Marketing and how it works
Flywheel Marketing is a model introduced by Hubspot to overcome the limitations of traditional Funnel marketing.
Entirely user-centered, the Flywheel (translatable as “Flywheel”) starts from the basic assumption that satisfied customers can become the best promoters of your business and thereby help generate growth.
The 3 key steps of Flywheel Marketing that you need to focus on are:
- Attraction
- Involvement
- Satisfaction
We will talk more in depth about these three phases in a few lines; for now, to better understand how Flywheel Marketing works, you need to think of this business model as if it were a wheel, capable of ensuring a continuous and virtuous cycle. The amount of energy it takes to create this continuous and virtuous cycle depends on 3 variables:
- the speed of the wheel rotation
- the presence of friction
- the size of the wheel.
To increase speed, you must optimize the stage at which you attract customers, engage them effectively, and provide them with a high level of service, increasing their level of satisfaction.
From the Funnel to the Flywheel: why it’s a revolution in marketing
The main difference between Funnel and Flywheel Marketing lies in the fact that, in the former model, the customer is not considered a growth factor, while, in the latter, the starting idea is precisely that the customer, at the center of the wheel, can be the driving force behind the wheel itself by becoming a promoter of the company, recommending the brand and its products to others.
One of the moments that is most explicative of the difference between Funnel and Flywheel Marketing is the post-sale moment: in the former case it is seen as a simple additional service, while in the latter it is considered a decisive phase in which the customer, precisely, can assume the role of brand promoter.
How the Flywheel Model can grow your startup
Now that you know what the Flywheel model is and how it works, it is time for you to understand how, more concretely, this framework can grow your startup.
Creating sustainable efficiency through the Flywheel
We have already clarified the fact that in Flywheel Marketing the customer is at the center of the wheel and, therefore, at the center of the activities of each area of the company; in this scenario, each area does not represent a watertight compartment, but works together with the others to increase customer satisfaction.
At the center, however, is not only the customer, but also revenue.You can ensure, therefore, sustainable growth only if every area, from the marketing team to customer service via the sales force, acts considering the impact on customer satisfaction and contribution to revenue growth.
The 3 Stages of the Flywheel Model
When discussing what Flywheel Marketing is and how it works, we mentioned the 3 key phases of this particular model.
Attract: how to acquire customers and increase Brand Awareness
The first phase is Attraction: this is when your main goal should be to acquire customers and increase your Brand Awareness. You can do this through Inbound Marketing, creating quality content that can bring real value to your audience.
Engage: converting and valuing the customer
The Engagement phase is where you have to convert and enhance the customer who, from potential, has now become actual. The customer must be involved and positively stimulated on an ongoing basis so that he can continue his search. You could, for example, offer him an initial discount on his first purchase or give him the opportunity to benefit from a free trial period.
Delight: customer retention as a business driving force
The third and final phase of Flywheel Marketing is the Delight phase: through Customer Retention strategies (for example, you might offer free customer service) you need to ensure that the customer experience continues in a positive way after the purchase so that, as a satisfied and happy customer, they can help you promote your products or services by becoming ambassadors of your startup.
Tools for applying the Flywheel in startup marketing
It’s time to move from theory to practice, and in this regard, you should know that you can apply the Flywheel model in marketing your startup by making use of some tools that can offer you all the support you need to achieve success.
Integration of CRM and marketing automation
In the Flywheel model, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is at the center. In both Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation, customer relationship management therefore becomes a key activity: a CRM management software allows you to better create and nurture these relationships, enabling you to build personalized identity cards for each of your customers and keep track of their behaviors and data within one space.
Leveraging customer feedback to increase momentum
If the customer is at the center of the Flywheel model, it goes without saying that every action you take cannot be separated from the feedback the customers themselves give you.
To enhance the value of so-called Customer Feedback you must, first of all, identify the most effective feedback channels. You can use surveys, questionnaires, call centers, face-to-face meetings, software and social listening platforms to gather the information you need. The next step is to analyze and interpret this data so you can use it to implement strategic actions aimed at increasing your startup’s momentum.
The future of the Flywheel: an evolving model
Flywheel Marketing has several advantages: chief among them is the fact that this model is not geared toward short-term gains; rather, it relies on the ability to build steady momentum over time that can secure new revenue without the need for continuous input.
Flywheel Marketing also allows continuous improvement due to the fact that the company, at each stage of the process, collects data that can be used to make more informed strategic decisions about areas and activities to be improved. Beware of underestimating this aspect because, as Aeschylus already argued,
“perseverance is the mother of success.”
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