Most companies have an imbalance toward acquisition of customers over retention of them. Just compare marketing and advertising to support, service, newsletters and emails. Channeling people through the sales channel far outweigh building trust and relationships.
I found this customer journey created by Oracle, showing an infinite loop. When we travel travel through this journey as customers, we observe what works and what don't. There is often a shift that we can perceive between sell and service.
I like this Oracle model as it conveys empathy with the customer's perspective.
It is essential that we recognize that this is a continuous cycle, as customers come and go, in and out of this journey, and if the sales and service ends well, they would also recommend, and in today's digital world, this may mean that they are part of a new customer's research to start a new cycle again.
-- Robin Low
