Marketing Funnel vs Marketing Flywheel

The funnel has been an integral part of the marketing world for many years — 122 years, in fact. First developed by an agency executive named Elias St. Elmo during the late 1890s, it has provided a way for marketers to understand the customer journey on a deeper level.

Within the last decade, the rise of B2B, SaaS and inbound methodology paved the path for a new concept. For the first time in a long time, marketing professionals were compelled to think outside the marketing funnel and look at the buying process in an entirely different way.

Introduced by HubSpot co-founder Brian Halligan in 2018, the flywheel came onto the scene and quickly swept the marketing industry off its feet. This concept was developed to challenge the way marketers think about, treat and involve customers in their business.

The marketing funnel works by visualizing the buyer’s journey as one large funnel that attracts as many prospects as possible to the top and filters them through to the bottom with hopes that at least a few of them will become customers. However, what if instead each and every prospect was part of a giant spinning, momentum-building wheel? A marketing flywheel that accelerates the growth of your business and helps you reach your goals smarter and faster. 

If your team is one of the few that’s still clinging to the marketing funnel concept, it is time to consider making the shift from funnel to flywheel. Here’s why. 

The Problem With The Marketing Funnel 

HubSpot is a great example of the good old marketing funnel at work. (Full disclosure: Author's company is a HubSpot Platinum Partner.) It used the marketing funnel model to grow into the industry giant it is today. So why the sudden change of pace? 

The funnel model is based on the idea that prospects enter the buying process through an awareness stage and then move to the consideration stage and on to the decision phase, at which point they make their purchase. This linear strategy does not account for the significant changes in the way customers learn about a brand and shop for products in the digital age we live in today. 

Now, prospects can enter the funnel at varying phases of the sales cycle. The internet, social media and other modern technologies have allowed buyers to do their own research. They can skip the awareness phase altogether and basically walk themselves through the buying process without ever speaking with a sales representative. 

Another disadvantage of the linear funnel structure is that it treats customers as an afterthought. Marketers spend months nurturing a lead through each phase of their buyer’s journey until they finally come to a decision. Once their purchase is complete, they drop out of the bottom of the funnel, never to be seen again. 

The marketer then starts all over again with a new prospect. All that time and effort put into building a relationship with that customer for a one-time purchase is a ton of work just to head right back to square one.

The Benefits Of The Flywheel

The flywheel, on the other hand, takes into consideration a critical factor that has transformed the modern marketing industry: the customer’s capacity to become an active promoter of a brand. 

Today we have the ability to share products and services we love with our friends, family and followers at the click of a button. With this key aspect in mind, you can take all the time, energy and resources required to nurture a lead into a sale and channel it into a powerful strategy that works to convert customers into loyal evangelists of your business. 

The concept of the flywheel is simple. It works like any other wheel. As you feed it with more energy, it will begin to spin faster and faster. When applied to marketing, satisfied customers are the energy that keeps the wheel spinning and building momentum. They’re the driving force behind the growth of your business. 

How can you guarantee buyers will keep your flywheel spinning? The key is to focus on delighting the customer throughout each phase of their buying experience and even after they’ve completed their purchase. By doing so, you can inspire customers to share their experience and as a result, bring more business your way. 

The funnel structure encourages the notion to concentrate all your resources solely on generating revenue. Alternatively, the flywheel model creates the opportunity to build brand awareness and thought authority within your industry, which allows you to work smarter and more efficiently toward your long-term goals. 

Making The Shift From Funnel To Flywheel 

With the marketing flywheel, you can align your marketing, sales and customer support teams with a single, scalable goal and develop an effective inbound strategy around it. As your entire organization works together with the objective of delighting the customer, you’ll build a fast-spinning flywheel that accelerates your company into a successful future.

Transitioning to the flywheel strategy takes time and major adjusting. In order to align your teams and streamline your efforts toward a common goal, you’ll want to first remove any friction that can slow your wheel down. The key is to identify any areas of communication and organization that can be improved. 

A smooth transition is also dependent on evaluating the core performance metrics that are important to your goals. You’ll want to establish where these metrics stand and how they will relate to your flywheel objectives. 

Lastly, consider the stages of the flywheel. Establish effective strategies for each, while keeping in mind your goals for attracting, engaging and delighting your customers. 

Takeaways

The marketing funnel is quickly becoming obsolete in the modern world. The flywheel has provided marketers with a newfound perspective about the customer’s journey and the tools they need to create a more exciting and enjoyable buying experience for customers and marketers alike. It’s safe to say that it’s no longer a matter of why you should shift to the flywheel, but when.