You’ve heard about RevOps being the magical strategy for breaking organizational silos, but do you know how to make it effective for your business? There are multiple ways to make RevOps work for you, but one of the particularly effective methods is to implement your RevOps strategy using the Bowtie model. In this article, you will learn more about this model and how to finetune it for your business’s revenue success.
What’s the Bowtie Model?
When you engage experts like RevPartners for the implementation of a RevOps system for your business, they will explain to you that the Bowtie Model, commonly referred to as the Bowtie Funnel, is a marketing technique that businesses use to create infinite loops of recurring revenue from their existing customer base. Unlike traditional models, the bowtie model capitalizes on keeping your current customers engaged to ensure constant business.
The model works on both new customers and existing customers, but the stages differ depending on whether you are using the B2C or B2B model. On the left side of the bowtie, you will typically have stages related to new customers, while the stages on the right side are linked to existing clients.
In a B2C model, the stages on the left side will be as follows:
- Awareness Stage
- Interest Stage
- Consideration Stage
- Conversion Stage
At the center, you can place your core business offer.
On the right side, the stages will be as follows:
- Loyalty stage
- Recommendations stage
- Up-Sell Stage
- Cross-Sell Stage
If using a B2B model, you will use a similar setup, with stages on the left side (new customers) being as follows:
- Awareness Stage (Prospect)
- Education Stage (Lead)
- Selection Stage (Opportunity)
At the center of the bowtie model, you have won the customer’s commitment.
On the right side, you will have the following stages:
- Onboarding Stage (On-Air)
- Impact Stage (Renew)
- Growth Stage (Complete)
The main goal of using the bowtie model is to ensure that the consumer journey doesn’t simply end after the first sale. You want these customers to become loyal to your brand and end up as brand ambassadors.
So, How Do You Succeed in Revops Using the Bowtie Model?
Here are the steps you should follow when implementing the bowtie model to reap long-term business success:
1. Work With Experts
The surefire way to make the bowtie funnel strategy work for your RevOps model is to engage experts in the field. Companies like RevPartners that have been in the industry for a while now and have served multiple customers will help you implement the model using the most effective techniques.
They have the best tips and tricks, thanks to multiple tries and a couple of failures that served as invaluable lessons.
2. Gauge Current Customer Retention Marketing Efforts
If you already have an operational business, chances are you’ve already implemented a marketing funnel. To start with, you’ll want to review your current retention marketing efforts. Measure the efforts to determine what’s working and what isn’t. That way, you can revise or refine your strategy appropriately for the best results.
3. Gather Enough Customer Data
One of the greatest resources for any business is customer data. The bowtie model provides you with a rich source of customer data that you can use to make data-driven decisions. Make sure to collect such data and use it at your departmental and company-wide levels.
It’s advisable to clearly define and set journey touchpoints (points at which customers come into contact with your business) and customer journey KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Also, don’t forget to use the data you’re collecting to stay one step ahead (predicting customer behavior).
4. Bring All Teams on Board
One of the most difficult things to do when trying to ensure an organization’s revenue success is to break silos and encourage collaboration. This problem exists mostly between the sales, customer service, and marketing departments.
A good place to start would be to engage team leaders so they get everyone else actively involved.
5. Tailor-Make Each Stage
The bowtie funnel strategy your competitors use may not work for your business, since each organization is different. Therefore, you’ll want to finetune each stage of the customer’s journey to your organization’s structure.
If, for example, you want your customers to feel more confident during the conversion or selection stage, you can offer coupons and/or send personalized emails (promotional, educative, etc.)
6. Find Out What Your Competitors are Doing Differently
In business, the easiest way to stand out is to study your competitors in detail and come up with a strategy that helps you to perform better than they do. Well, you may have to pick up some of their ideas and techniques, but then make sure to finetune them to set yourself apart.
More like how you’d get a software product but then a different company offers a rather similar product with upgrades or additional features.
To Sum It All Up,
Now you know what the Bowtie Model is all about, and you have an idea of how to implement it when using RevOps for your business. So forget the traditional marketing funnels that you’ve been trying and adopt a funnel that guarantees success in infinite loops.