A customer lifecycle plan encompasses much more than just customer service. It’s a strategic approach that considers the entire journey a customer goes through with your business – from initial awareness to long-term loyalty.

Customer service and customer lifecycle management are related but serve very different functions in the overall strategy and ongoing management of client relationships.

Customer lifecycle management is an essential tool for tracking the customer journey and guiding clients toward brand loyalty and advocacy.  

What’s the difference?

Here, we outline some of the key differences between the customer lifecycle and customer service:

Customer lifecycle – this includes multiple stages such as awareness, engagement, conversion, retention, and advocacy. It involves proactive planning and strategic initiatives across each phase to enhance the overall customer experience and relationship.

The purpose of this is to attract, engage, and retain clients throughout their lifecycle, driving long-term value and loyalty.

Customer service – this is primarily concerned with addressing immediate and ongoing needs of your clients and can involve direct, often reactive interactions between the client and your business. More often than not, it will include resolving problems, answering questions, handling complaints, and providing assistance during the client – adviser relationship.

More importantly, you will need to factor in your client communication strategy as this is also considered part of your customer lifecycle and customer service strategy.

Different lifecycle stages

Here we explain in more detail the five different stages of the customer lifecycle plan. Each stage is just as important as the last in the complete journey; from prospect to a new lead and eventually a client.

1. Awareness – Throughout this stage, a client will discover there is a need and start looking for a solution. This is an opportunity for businesses to engage potential customers through educational blogs on their websites or using social media to highlight potential problems a client might have. 
2. Engagement – This phase begins when a prospect client interacts with your brand or business. They might browse your website or reach out online or call to discover more about your services. It is imperative that your website is up to date to ensure you create a good first impression and show that you have the right the solution to their problem.
3. Conversion – This is when a prospect lead has converted into a client. This part of the lifecycle will generally occur after a client has considered all options and researched competitors. This is just the beginning of the client-adviser relationship and where your customer service strategy will really kick in.
4. Retention – Keeping clients satisfied is so important to the ongoing client – adviser relationship. Offering more to your clients is an easy way to demonstrate added value and keep them engaged. Regular newsletters, emails, or phone calls are the most common channels to use. Creating a client communication strategy will help to keep clients engaged and informed.
5. Advocacy – Turn satisfied clients into brand advocates for your business. Loyal clients are generally happy to refer you to their friends and family. Asking clients to leave Google reviews on your website is another cost-effective way to turn prospects into clients.

While customer lifecycle and customer service complement each other, they are essential for businesses to help drive growth and improve the overall client experience.