Series · The DTC funnel
The funnel is a flywheel.
Seven stages, ten steps, twelve flows. Each flow exists to move a person one step closer to an order, and the last ones send them back to the start. Most brands run three of the twelve and call it a lifecycle program.
7 stages · 10 steps · 12 flows. Hover a stage.
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The stages
Seven stages, one job each.
Stage 1
Awareness: introduce your brand.
Steps: Visit site. Flows: Site bounce.
Writing
Stage 2
Acquisition: earn contact trust.
Steps: Subscribe, Browse, Add to cart, Start checkout. Flows: Welcome series, Browse series, Cart series, Checkout series, Upsell.
Writing
Stage 3
Conversion: win sales.
Steps: Place order. Flows: Post purchase.
Writing
Stage 4
Fulfilment: deliver on promises.
Steps: Fulfill order. Flows: Positive, Negative, Cross sell.
Writing
Stage 5
Loyalty: reward and grow.
Steps: Promoter. Flows: Repeat.
Writing
Stage 6
Support: resolve and win back.
Steps: Detractor. Flows: Winback.
Writing
Stage 7
Sentiment: listen and improve.
Steps: Churn. Flows: none, this is where people arrive or leave.
Writing
How to read it
Stages
What the brand is trying to earn at that point: attention, trust, the sale, the promise kept, the second order, the save, the lesson.
Steps
What the person does: visits, subscribes, browses, adds to cart, starts checkout, orders, receives, recommends or complains, or leaves.
Flows
What the brand sends to move them one step on. The red ones send them back to the start, which is what makes it a flywheel and not a funnel.
The articles
The series lands one stage at a time, on Mondays.
Each stage becomes an assignment: what the step is for, which flow belongs there, the numbers that tell you whether it works, and one thing to build on Monday.