Introduction
Today’s growth marketers face increasingly complex customer journeys. Traditional funnel models often fall short, as customers interact across multiple channels, stakeholders, and timelines. Adopting a structured framework like Forrester’s Customer Lifecycle Framework helps growth teams align marketing, sales, and product efforts around a clear, customer-centric view.
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Common Challenges in Mapping the Buyer’s Journey
Before we dive into Forrester’s framework, let’s quickly outline the key challenges growth marketers face when mapping customer journeys:
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Increasing complexity: Customers interact with multiple touchpoints, making journeys difficult to track and optimise.
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Non-linear paths: Buyers often move back and forth between stages, complicating traditional funnel models.
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Multiple channels: Customers engage across social media, email, webinars, events, and more, requiring consistent messaging.
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Variable timelines: Especially in B2B, journeys can range from days to years, making sustained engagement challenging.
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Multiple decision-makers: B2B purchases typically involve several stakeholders, each with different priorities.
Given these challenges, adopting a structured approach like Forrester’s Customer Lifecycle Framework can significantly improve your team’s ability to manage and optimise the customer journey.
Understanding Forrester’s Customer Lifecycle Framework
Forrester’s Customer Lifecycle Framework provides a clear, structured way to understand and optimise the customer journey. Here are the key stages:
| Stage | Description |
|---|---|
| Discover | Customers become aware of their needs and start researching solutions. Focus on educational content and brand awareness. |
| Explore | Customers actively evaluate different solutions. Provide detailed, comparative content to help them make informed decisions. |
| Buy | Customers make their purchase decision. Streamline the buying process and remove friction points to facilitate conversions. |
| Use | Customers begin using your product or service. Ensure smooth onboarding and quick value realisation. |
| Ask | Customers seek support or additional information. Provide accessible, responsive support channels to maintain satisfaction. |
| Engage | Customers deepen their relationship with your brand through ongoing interactions. Nurture relationships with personalised content and proactive communication. |
For more detail on customer lifecycle stages, see our article on Customer Lifecycle Stages.
Alternative Frameworks for Growth Marketers
While Forrester’s framework is effective, growth marketers may also consider alternative frameworks depending on their specific needs. Here’s a quick comparison of popular alternatives:
| Framework | Description |
|---|---|
| Chartered Institute of Marketing Buying Journey | A structured approach from awareness to advocacy. |
| Gartner B2B Buying Journey | Highlights complexity in B2B buying, multiple stakeholders, and non-linear paths. |
| Active Campaign Customer Lifecycle | Emphasises engagement and retention through personalised communication. |
| The Pirate Funnel (AAARRR) | Growth-focused framework emphasising acquisition, activation, retention, referral, and revenue. |
| The Inbound Methodology | Centres around attracting, engaging, and delighting customers through valuable content. |
| McKinsey Consumer Decision Journey (CDJ) | Highlights cyclical consumer decision-making, loyalty, and advocacy. |
| HubSpot Flywheel Model | Customer-centric growth leveraging satisfied customers to drive further growth. |
| Customer Value Journey | Maps stages customers go through to become loyal advocates, emphasising value creation. |
| RACE Framework | Practical digital marketing framework covering Reach, Act, Convert, and Engage stages. |
How Growth Method Helps Growth Marketers Implement Customer Lifecycle Frameworks
Managing and optimising customer lifecycle frameworks can be challenging without the right tools. Growth Method is the only work management platform built specifically for growth marketers, combining ideation, experimentation, and analytics in one powerful platform.
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Ideation: Capture and categorise growth ideas aligned with your customer lifecycle stages. Our intuitive system ensures ideas follow hypothesis best practices and are automatically categorised.
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Experimentation: Run structured experiments through clear stages—building, live, analysing, and complete—to increase velocity and learning.
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Reporting: Generate professional, detailed reports to demonstrate the value of your growth marketing efforts to stakeholders.
“We are on-track to deliver a 43% increase in inbound leads this year. There is no doubt the adoption of Growth Method is the primary driver behind these results.” Laura Perrott, Colt Technology Services
Book a call today to see how Growth Method can help your team implement a systematic approach to growth marketing: Schedule a Demo.
Conclusion
Forrester’s Customer Lifecycle Framework provides growth marketers with a structured, customer-centric approach to understanding and optimising the buyer’s journey. By adopting this framework, teams can better align their efforts, identify opportunities, and drive measurable growth. Whether you choose Forrester’s model or an alternative framework, the key is to adopt a structured approach that aligns your marketing, sales, and product teams around a unified customer perspective.