Marketers are often true romantics. They’ll grab your attention with their clever words, draw you in with a great deal, and sweep you off your feet with an amazing product.
But then what? Do they deliver on their promise? Do they keep you happy for the rest of your life? Or at least until death do you part?
We aim to answer these questions by understanding the stages of the consumer lifecycle. This framework describes how the customer-brand relationship evolves over time.
The customer lifecycle documents a consumer’s journey from the first encounter to the first purchase to developing loyalty and affinity for the brand. Not all customers make it through every stage of the lifecycle, and most don’t even make it past stage 1.
However, with the right lifecycle marketing techniques, we can help as many prospects as possible move through the six distinct consumer lifecycle stages.
The six stages of the customer lifecycle are:
- Awareness
- Engagement
- Evaluation
- Purchase
- Product and support experience
- Bonding/Advocacy
A good marketer knows that love at first sight is rare, which means every customer touchpoint is key to convincing a prospect that you are the one for them.
What is customer lifecycle marketing?
Lifecycle marketing involves using various techniques to alter consumer behavior in your favor. At every stage of the customer lifecycle, we want to increase our chances of turning interest into activity and converting curious consumers into brand-loyal customers.
The techniques and strategies you should use depend on your business. For example, a brand that sells fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), like Target or 7/11, will need to convince customers to make a return purchase almost immediately. Meanwhile, a brand that deals with slow-moving consumer goods (SMCGs), like Chevrolet or Rolex, is less reliant on regular purchases and more focused on developing long-term emotional connections to its products.
However, the ultimate goal for both of these businesses is brand loyalty.
Whatever your business, the consumer lifecycle stages remain the same. You attract them with great marketing, convince them to purchase a solid product, and treat them well to ensure they return as loyal customers.
What are the customer lifecycle stages?
These are the six consumer lifecycle stages in chronological order:
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Stage 1: Awareness
Also known as the reach, discovery, or attraction stage, the awareness stage in the consumer lifecycle is where a customer first discovers your brand. They may have found you through a recommendation, your social channels or promotions, or maybe completely accidentally. The point is that they’re aware of your existence, and in a world full of choice, that’s a good start.
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Stage 2: Engagement
In the engagement stage, a consumer’s awareness has become intrigue, and they’re now looking to learn more about your business. This is where your website, social media marketing, and SEO come into play because if your user experience isn’t up to scratch, you’ll turn away customers in seconds. To improve your lifestyle marketing, imagine you are a first-time customer and go through the process yourself. That way, you’ll spot any potential stumbling blocks.
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Stage 3: Evaluation
It’s crunch time. Have you done enough to convince your consumers that you are the right brand for them?
Whether it’s months or minutes, they’ll spend this stage of the consumer lifecycle reading reviews, understanding your mission, and comparing you to competitors. This crucial moment is often where your relationship lives or dies because you never know the deciding factor.
One way to seal the deal? Minimize product returns by ensuring your product information is accurate and easy to understand. Products with low return rates boost buyer confidence.
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Stage 4: Purchase
Congratulations, you’ve converted a prospect into a customer. Your efforts have borne fruit, and your official seller-buyer relationship has begun.
But the hard work doesn’t stop here. You’ll want to keep your clients happy – so happy that they write a glowing review, recommend the product to the network, or make a second purchase. It’s not guaranteed even then, as one in four satisfied customers don’t return.
So, to increase customer satisfaction, ensure that their experience before, during, and after purchase is second to none.
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Stage 5: Product and support experience
Attracting customers is one thing, but keeping them is another. The fifth stage of the customer lifecycle is all about retention. It’s where consumers start to form lasting opinions of you and your products.
If you haven’t already, you should also ask customers about their experience so far. A customer survey is a great place to start. You’ll be able to gauge their overall satisfaction level and take action if necessary. Social media can also be your best bet for reducing churn.
Although difficult, retaining a customer is much cheaper than acquiring a new one; it can cost five times less. The more support you give your consumer, the better.
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Stage 6: Bonding and advocacy
Often referred to as the Loyalty stage, this is the last part of the consumer lifecycle and your final chance to ensure the longevity of your client relationship.
When you build brand loyalty, you create a long-term asset that continues to invest in your business year on year.
Though crucial to your business’s survival, loyalty cannot be created instantly. It must be built with continuous support and attention throughout the customer lifecycle.
Various tools can assist you in forming and extending brand loyalty. For example, Emplifi’s social media management platform connects every touchpoint across the consumer lifecycle to increase engagement, revenue, and loyalty.
How to create a customer lifecycle marketing strategy
A well-executed lifecycle marketing strategy can dramatically improve your brand’s performance. By delivering the right message to the right consumer at the right stage, you can create a personalized customer experience that is genuine, authentic, and effective at building brand advocates.
A good lifecycle marketing strategy can:
- Increase the size of your audience
- Boost revenue
- Convert occasional shoppers into repeat buyers
- Create loyal brand ambassadors
- Maximize return on investment (ROI)
Each stage of the consumer lifecycle requires specific marketing techniques. Keep reading for some of the most effective ways to start.
Awareness stage
This stage is all about getting eyes on your brand, so content is key.
Here’s what you can do:
- Create a 30-day content plan that focuses on brand-building and education for your target audience
- Uncover the keywords that will help customers find your business
- Use these keywords in blogs, on your website, on socials, and across other content
- In your social posts, use broad targeting with video content introducing your brand
- Monitor your brand mentions and sentiment to gauge customer awareness and consideration
Engagement stage
Once you’ve found your audience, reel them in. Impress them with engaging content that resonates.
- Design a 15-day engagement calendar emphasizing user-generated content (UGC) and product demonstrations
- Set up an automated welcome series of messages for new followers
- Update your website to ensure it’s informative, inviting, and easy to use
- Show your knowledge and expertise with community insights and trends
Evaluation stage
During this stage of the consumer lifecycle, your prospect considers their options. Here’s how you can convince them:
- Craft a 7-day conversion-focused calendar that includes limited-time offers and social proof elements (reviews and case studies of satisfied customers)
- Create triggered messages based on user interactions
- Retarget website visitors with carousel ads that showcase your product benefits
- Offer competitor comparisons to show how your product is superior
Purchase stage
Everything so far has led up to this, the first purchase. However, your work’s not done yet. Use these strategies to give your customer the best and most authentic experience possible:
- Track purchase intent keywords to identify users in the decision stage
- Create and post dynamic product ads for users who have shown high intent
- Implement retargeting campaigns for cart abandoners
- If relevant, offer a complimentary demo or free trial to give them a taste
Product and support experience stage
Think of this as your aftercare stage. You want to ensure your client has enjoyed your product fully.
- Ensure support is readily available. If it’s in chatbot form, make sure you have an option for customers to contact a human
- Build excitement with new product launches
- Create paid ads for related products
- Update them with ways to maintain or improve their purchases
Bonding and advocacy stage
The difference between a satisfied and loyal customer is great, so this is your chance to make the conversion stick.
- Develop loyalty program reminders and exclusive content for repeat customers
- Offer incentives for sharing testimonials
- Analyze post-purchase conversations to improve retention strategies
- Exclusive-offer ads for past customers to encourage repeat purchases
- Build reactivation campaigns to attract lost customers
Social media is a tool for advancing at every stage of the consumer lifecycle. Therefore, marketers should use lifecycle-optimized social media ads across every platform.
Here are some ideas:
- Facebook: Use custom audiences to target users at specific lifecycle stages with relevant ad content.
- Instagram: Create Story Highlights for every stage, showcasing appropriate products and services.
- LinkedIn: Develop thought leadership content to nurture awareness among prospects.
- TikTok: Create trending challenges that align with different lifecycle stages to boost engagement and brand awareness.
- X (Twitter): Create hashtags that appeal to niche audiences and draw them to your profile.
Not all of these strategies will be relevant to your business, but they should help you master the stages of the consumer lifecycle.
Final thoughts on the consumer lifecycle
The consumer lifecycle framework is useful for any marketer looking to map and understand customer relationships.
It helps to shape marketing, sales, and support processes and reminds us to treat each stage of the lifecycle with the same level of importance. With the right strategy, you can ensure your brand is hitting the mark at every point.
If you’d like support with ushering prospects through the stages of the customer lifecycle, get in touch with Emplifi today.
