Customer Journey Framework
Customer Journey Framework Fundamentals
Customer's Journey
Target → Suspect → Lead → Prospect → Client
Contact
A CRM record for an individual person, and also someone who is generally in the Customer Journey. Some companies use CRM to track Vendor and Partner Contacts as well; however, when we refer to “Contacts” in Zero Point Selling we’re speaking specifically about a person in the Customer Journey.
Target
A Contact who is a potential customer. Your company is Unknown to them (they have no idea who you are). Minimum information for marketing to a Target is first name, last name, and location. Use “light touch” marketing to introduce your firm and its value proposition. Try different offers/value exchanges until the Target completes one value exchange.
Suspect
A Target who through successful marketing has become aware of your company – you are Known to them - and opted in to receiving additional marketing from you by completing at least one value exchange. Suspects are NOT ready for a Sales discussion. Keep providing value and offering value exchanges to learn more about their needs while reinforcing your own identity and capabilities in relation to those needs.
Lead
A Suspect who has expressed explicit interest in exploring a business relationship between your two companies. This is a temporary, short-term state. A Lead should be qualified quickly by a sales person. There are three possible outcomes to Lead Qualification: 1) There is a valid Opportunity. The Lead is promoted to Prospect, an Opportunity is created, and the Opportunity is handed off to the Sales Team to manage. 2) There is not a valid Opportunity at this time but there might be in the future. The Lead is downgraded to Suspect, the reason noted in CRM, and he/she continues to receive marketing. 3) There is no valid Opportunity and likely never wil l be. The Lead is downgraded to “Do Not Market,” the reason noted in CRM, and the Contact is removed from all Marketing campaigns.
Prospect
A Contact going through your company’s Sales process. A Prospect must have a properly qualified Opportunity attached/associated to them. At the conclusion of the Sales process, a Prospect either becomes a Client (Opportunity was Closed/Won, Transaction Completed) or is downgraded to Suspect (Opportunity was Closed/Lost).
Client
A Contact who has purchased and paid for at least one product or service from your company. There are rare occasions where contracts are signed but for various reasons a transaction is never completed. Because of that, a Prospect remains a Prospect until one transaction is completed and paid for and the Sales person remains responsible for him or her.
