The Bowtie Model
Map your Customer Journey Lifecycles from Awareness → Customer → Advocacy.The Bowtie model maps the complete customer journey from initial awareness through post-sale expansion—visualizing how prospects move through acquisition stages and customers grow through retention stages, connected at the point of conversion.
Bowtie model credit: Winning by Design
GTM Team(s)
Business DevelopmentBizDev
Sales
Service & Customer Success
Inbound Marketing → DemandGen
Customer Marketing → Loyalty → Referral
Revenue Operations
Awareness
Engage Across Channels
Contact
Key Interactions
- Blog, social media & SEO content
- Paid ads & display campaigns
- Podcast appearances & PR
- First-touch attribution tracking
Consideration
Relationships, Trust, & Value
ContactLead
Key Interactions
- Demo requests & webinar signups
- Case study & whitepaper downloads
- Nurture email sequences
- Lead scoring & qualification triggers
Decision
Stakeholder Engagement
ContactLeadDeal
Key Interactions
- Proposal & SOW review
- Champion & stakeholder engagement
- Legal & procurement negotiations
- Objection Handling
Onboarding
Demonstrate ROI & Value
CompanyService
Key Interactions
- Kickoff call & implementation plan
- Training sessions & enablement
- Milestone tracking & check-ins
- Time-to-value measurement
Retention
Service, Quality, & Renewal
CompanyService
Key Interactions
- QBRs & executive business reviews
- Support tickets & SLA monitoring
- NPS/CSAT & health score tracking
- Renewal planning & risk mitigation
Expansion
Upsell & Expansion
CompanyService
Key Interactions
- Upsell & cross-sell conversations
- New team & department onboarding
- Referral & advocacy program asks
- Expansion revenue attribution
Commit
Opportunity
Customer
Growth FlywheelGrowth
The Growth Flywheel is continuous—customers who adopt, realize value, and succeed fuel retention, upsells, and expansion. That success generates advocacy, referrals, and new awareness—creating a self-reinforcing cycle of mutual growth.
Conversion %
Time
Conversion %
Time
Conversion %
Time
Win/Loss %
Sales Cycle
Conversion %
Time
Conversion %
Time
Conversion %
Time
Lifecycle Stages
Lifecycle stages define where a contact or company sits in your revenue process. Each stage has specific entry criteria, exit criteria, and ownership—creating a shared language between Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success.Other: Contacts or companies that do not follow our Customer Journey stages—such as vendors, competitors, or other non-prospect records. For clients, a reset protocol is applied if they change jobs or re-engage in a different capacity.
Recurring RevenueRecurring $
PLG MotionPLG
00
Subscriber
Contact
01a
Lead
Contact
01b
Engaged
Lead
02
MQL
Lead
02b
PQL
Lead
03
SAL
Lead
04
SQL
Deal
05
Opportunity
Deal
06
Onboarding
Company
07
Adoption
Company
08
Expansion
Company
09
Advocate
Company
Select a Customer Journey or Lifecycle Stage above to view insights, best practices, and CRM requirements.
Definition
Why Is This Important?
Recommendations
CRM Requirement(s)
Lifecycle Stage should never be manually updated by reps or users. Access is restricted—all lifecycle progression is managed through requirements lists and workflows to ensure data integrity and confidence.
Team Alignment (Best Practices)
Core Activities & Engagement
The core activities and high-value engagement efforts that drive momentum at each stage of the customer journey. Use this as an operational playbook aligned to your bowtie model.
Awareness
Core Activities
- Content marketing & blogging
- SEO & AEO optimization
- Paid media & display ads
- Social media engagement
High-Value Engagement
- Podcast guest appearances
- Industry event sponsorships
- Co-marketing partnerships
- Community building & thought leadership
Consideration
Core Activities
- Nurture email sequences
- Webinars & live demos
- Case study distribution
- Lead scoring & qualification
High-Value Engagement
- Personalized outreach cadences
- ROI calculators & assessments
- Peer review site engagement
- Retargeting & intent-based ads
Decision
Core Activities
- Proposal & SOW creation
- Stakeholder mapping
- Competitive positioning
- Contract negotiation
High-Value Engagement
- Executive sponsor alignment
- Custom pilot or POC programs
- Reference customer introductions
- Mutual action plans
Onboarding
Core Activities
- Kickoff call & implementation
- Training & enablement sessions
- Milestone tracking & check-ins
- Go-live readiness checklist
High-Value Engagement
- Dedicated onboarding manager
- Custom playbook creation
- Early-win identification
- Stakeholder success alignment
Retention
Core Activities
- QBRs & business reviews
- Support SLA monitoring
- NPS/CSAT & health scores
- Renewal pipeline management
High-Value Engagement
- Executive business reviews
- Product roadmap previews
- Customer advisory board
- Proactive risk mitigation
Expansion
Core Activities
- Upsell & cross-sell playbooks
- New team onboarding
- Usage-based expansion triggers
- Referral program activation
High-Value Engagement
- Case study & co-marketing
- Advocacy program enrollment
- Speaking & event invitations
- Growth Flywheel attribution
Stuck? Start Here.
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