The Customer Lifecycle Isn't a Funnel You Force People Through.
- Elizabeth Mead
- Sep 2
- 3 min read
It's a Relationship You Choose to Steward
At Tandem, we believe in the customer lifecycle funnel, but not in the way most people picture it. For us, it isn’t a rigid chute you shove people down. It is more like a Connect 5 game for entrepreneurs and their teams, designed to create engagement, alignment, and momentum.
Because here is the truth: relationships do not happen in one size fits all funnels.
They do, however, flourish when you intentionally design the experience and opportunities. Without a full funnel mindset, people tend to fall out of the process...
AND the research confirms it.
McKinsey found that loyalty does not come from the initial sale but from the quality of the ongoing relationship. They call it the “customer decision journey” and discovered that 70 percent of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated.
In other words: loyalty is not manufactured in a funnel. It is cultivated in a relationship.
I have watched businesses spend tens of thousands on lead generation tactics designed to squeeze people down a narrow path. And then they wonder why conversions stall or loyalty fades. The problem was not the product. The problem was the posture.
People do not want to be forced. They want to be cared for.
I once worked with a company obsessed with top of funnel growth. They poured every dollar into chasing new leads while their churn rate quietly climbed. Customers came in fast but left even faster. It was not until they shifted their focus, more listening, more follow up, more care, that things changed. Within a year, their renewal rate doubled, and growth did not feel like running on a treadmill anymore.
On the other hand, I have also seen the opposite. A small nonprofit I supported barely had a marketing budget. No automation. No sophisticated tracking. What they had was intentionality. They called donors by name. They wrote personal thank you notes. They remembered anniversaries. And their donor retention rate was one of the highest in their sector.
Not because they had access to fancy tools. But because they chose to steward every relationship.
So how do you steward relationships well?
The customer lifecycle is not a sales diagram. It is a living relationship.
And if you treat it like a funnel, you will squeeze the life out of it.
So I am asking myself tonight, and maybe you too:Am I building systems that force people through? Or am I cultivating spaces where they want to stay?
Because one grows numbers. The other grows loyalty.
A few practices I’ve seen make all the difference:
Listen longer than you pitch. People will tell you what they need if you give them room.
Respond quickly, even when you do not have the full answer. Presence builds trust faster than perfection.
Design follow ups that add value instead of pressure. Make it about them, not about you.
The customer lifecycle is not a sales diagram. It is a living relationship.
And if you treat it like a funnel, you’ll squeeze the life out of it.
So I’m asking myself tonight, and maybe you, too.
Am I building systems that force people through, or am I cultivating spaces where they want to stay?
Because one grows numbers, the other grows loyalty.
Elizabeth Mead, affectionately known as "EM," is an award-winning Tactical Strategist and a go-to consultant for organizations needing hands-on support in the trenches. When she's not crafting value-driven strategies, you can find her on her ranch, embracing what her husband calls "the pace of choice." It’s a lifestyle that reflects her love for solitude, the beauty of nature, sipping coffee from a rocking chair, riding quads with the kiddos, singing with her pal Joey, slow-cooking farm-fresh meals, and losing herself in a great book.
