Supporting The Customer Journey Through Successful Flow Tactics

The customer journey is one of, if not the, most important foundations of a successful marketing strategy. The purpose of marketing is to reach the right people and guide them through the marketing funnel to achieve a desired outcome. In this article, we’ll explore how digital marketing can be used to drive customers through the funnel, and the most effective ways to make your campaigns successful.

What Are The Stages Of The Customer Journey?

1. Awareness: This is the stage where you capture the customer’s attention by introducing your brand and what you have to offer. At this point, they may not fully understand their needs, but are interested in learning more. The awareness stage can be effectively reached through social media, advertising, and other visibility-driven channels.
2. Consideration:  In this stage, customers begin to recognise their need or problem and start looking for possible solutions. They research, compare options, and evaluate whether your brand can provide the answer they’re looking for. This is when customers explore your brand more closely, seeking reassurance and understanding of how your offering meets their needs.
3. Purchase: This is the conversion stage where the customer decides to purchase your product or service. For businesses, it’s important to ensure the process is as seamless as possible and that customers are provided with helpful content to support and finalise their decision.
4. Retention: This is where you want to build the long-term foundations of your relationship with the customer, encouraging them to become loyal advocates of your brand. 
5. Advocacy: This is the final stage of the journey, where customers become advocates for your brand. They speak positively about your business, recommend you to others, leave reviews, and share their experiences on social media.

Identifying Your Customers’ Position Within The Funnel 

Website Engagement

Website activity, such as time spent on site, page views, and form submissions, can reveal a lot about a customer’s level of interest. For example, a visitor who has browsed your site several times but hasn’t yet signed up may need an extra nudge,  like a social media ad or email reminder, to move from awareness to consideration.

Social Media Interaction

Social media engagement is another strong indicator of where someone sits in the funnel. Likes, shares, comments, and ad interactions all reflect different levels of awareness. For instance, someone who frequently interacts with your posts or ads might be moving from curiosity into the consideration stage, exploring what your brand offers in more detail.

Email Activity

Your email engagement metrics provide valuable clues about intent. A contact who joined your list but never opens your messages is likely still in the early stages of awareness. Meanwhile, a subscriber who regularly opens, clicks, and engages with your content is signalling a higher level of interest, and could be ready to buy with the right incentive.

Purchase Behaviour

Purchasing data helps you map customers’ progress clearly:

• No purchases: Still in the awareness stage and need encouragement to convert for the first time.
• One purchase: In the retention stage, nurture them with follow-up offers or loyalty content.
• Multiple purchases: Likely advocates who just need a prompt to share their experience or refer friends.
  

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

CLV measures the total value a customer brings to your business over time, both past and predicted. Two customers might each make one purchase, but if one spends £10 and the other £70, their behaviours and motivations are clearly different. Understanding CLV helps tailor your messaging, perhaps offering discounts to value-driven customers and exclusives to loyal, high-value buyers.

Time Between Purchases

The gap between purchases can help you predict loyalty and potential churn. Customers who buy frequently are typically more satisfied, while those who haven’t purchased within their usual timeframe may need a timely reminder or re-engagement campaign.

By keeping track of these insights, from engagement metrics to purchasing patterns, you can accurately gauge where each customer stands in their journey and deliver the right message at the right time to move them closer to conversion and long-term loyalty.

Flows for Awareness

The goal at the awareness stage is to turn strangers into prospects. Automated flows and strategies include:

Opt-In Opportunities

Encourage visitors to subscribe to newsletters or special offers. This helps capture interest and begin nurturing potential customers.

Welcome Series

Once someone subscribes, a welcome series across email or SMS introduces your brand, shares your values, and builds trust, increasing the likelihood of a first purchase.

Moving Customers From Consideration to Purchase

At the consideration stage, customers are evaluating whether your product is the right solution. Automated flows can guide them toward making a purchase.

Browse Abandonment Flow

Targets visitors who browsed products but did not buy. A timely reminder can re-engage them while your brand is still top of mind.

Abandoned Cart Flow

Engages customers who added items to their cart but did not complete checkout. Incentives or limited-time offers can encourage them to finalise their purchase.

Price Drop Flow

Notifies customers when a product they viewed or added to their cart has a reduced price. This re-engages price-sensitive shoppers and motivates them to buy.

Post-Purchase Flows

A purchase does not end the customer journey. Post-purchase engagement is key for loyalty and long-term ROI.

Post-Purchase Flow

Triggered automatically after an order, it thanks customers for their purchase and strengthens the relationship.

Review Request Flow

Encourages customers to share feedback, reinforcing trust and providing social proof for future buyers. Incentives like discounts, free shipping, or loyalty points can further drive engagement.

Creating Long-Standing Customer Relationships

Retention focuses on keeping customers engaged and encouraging repeat purchases.

Replenishment Flow

Reminds customers to reorder products they buy regularly, keeping your brand top of mind.

Back-in-Stock Flow

Notifies customers when previously sold-out items are available again. Shoppers opt in directly from the product page, creating another chance to convert.

These flows strengthen relationships and increase lifetime value, balancing acquisition costs and driving sustained revenue growth.

Turning Customers into Brand Advocates

Brand advocates love your products and actively promote your business, driving new leads and revenue organically. 

VIP Flows

Reward and nurture high-value customers who buy frequently or make significant purchases. Segment-triggered flows can welcome them into a VIP community and provide exclusive rewards.

Review Flows

Encourage feedback, deliver promised incentives, and show customers their opinions are valued.

Referral Flows

Enable customers to share your products with friends and family, expanding reach through word-of-mouth and generating new leads.

By implementing these flows strategically, you can convert loyal customers into enthusiastic brand advocates, a powerful force for long-term growth.

Supporting the customer journey with well-planned flows ensures that your marketing is not just reaching people but guiding them toward meaningful engagement and conversion. From awareness to advocacy, automated flows help nurture leads, retain customers, and build loyal brand advocates, driving revenue and long-term success. 

Reach out to us at Peaky Digital, and we can help you implement a strategy that leverages the customer funnel, taking customers from their first awareness of your brand all the way to advocacy.