What is the lifecycle stage in HubSpot?

When you’re just starting out as a small business owner, it can be really useful if someone shows you basic marketing techniques that will increase sales. The problem with many “marketing basics” courses, however, is that they're often too simplistic or don't go into enough detail about how those particular tips actually work.

One thing I learned early on when working my way up from an entry-level customer service rep at a tech support company was that there were a lot more marketing strategies beyond email lists than simply sending emails to leads. In fact, once I started learning about different types of customers (and their needs) and various other aspects of running a successful online business, I realized that some of these things weren't even related to traditional "sales" tactics like cold calling.

To help you get a better grasp on this, here's a brief overview of five important parts of any marketing plan -- including what each part entails, why it matters, and how to implement each strategy properly.

Let's start by taking a look at what we call the Lifecycle Stage in HubSpot.

What are the 5 stages of product life cycle?

The first step of any marketing campaign should always include identifying the exact target audience you want to focus on. This includes figuring out who exactly is going to buy what you have to offer, where they hangout online to find new products, and which marketing channels they prefer to engage with. Once you know all of that, then you need to understand what kind of person would benefit from using your product.

If this sounds complicated, that's because it usually is. It might seem easy to identify people based upon demographics such as age, gender, income level, etc., but in reality, there are hundreds of factors to choose from. You also have to consider things like location, interests and hobbies, lifestyle, and much more. By understanding exactly who you want to reach, you'll be able to craft your messaging so that it speaks directly to them without being boring or generic.

Once you've figured out who you want to sell to, you can move onto identifying the proper channel through which the message must travel. There are dozens of ways to do this, ranging from social media platforms to offline advertising methods like billboards and direct mail. However, before moving forward, make sure you take note of the following three points:

Knowledge sharing - If you're trying to promote a digital product, it shouldn't feel forced or awkward when users share information about themselves via your website. People tend not to trust businesses that try to force anything down their throats, especially when they see ads telling them to sign up for newsletters only to learn later that said newsletter contains nothing interesting. Instead, allow visitors to control whether they wish to provide you access to their personal data.

Personalization - When crafting content, keep in mind that everyone has unique preferences. Make sure that whatever you're writing isn't overly vague or cliched. For example, don't write something along the lines of "We hope you enjoy our services." That sort of statement seems rather bland and doesn't say very specific things about what you do. On the other hand, if you wanted to appeal to a certain group of people, saying something like "Our team works hard to ensure that every client leaves us feeling satisfied," could easily convey that idea.

Relevance - A big mistake that lots of companies fall victim to is thinking that making their site relevant is enough to attract potential clients. While having good SEO skills certainly helps, relevance goes well beyond that. Think about how long it took you to figure out that what you needed wasn't what Google had suggested...

It takes time and effort to build strong relationships with your followers, so instead of giving up after spending months creating a blog post you think may interest others, spend some extra time polishing your article until it provides real value to its readers. Don't give up when no one likes what you wrote. Keep editing and tweaking, and eventually you'll notice that people begin engaging with your posts more frequently.

Now let's talk about another crucial aspect of the overall marketing process -- finding leads!

What is the difference between lifecycle stage and lead status in HubSpot?

Most marketers aren't familiar with this term, but lifecycles are basically used to organize individual prospects according to their current state. They come in several varieties depending on the type of product you're selling. Here are two examples of common ones:

Awareness lifecycle - These are individuals who haven't made a purchase decision regarding your product yet. They're still interested in knowing more about it and possibly purchasing it sometime in the future.

Consideration lifecycle - These are buyers who have already taken action toward buying your product, but are now looking for alternatives since they didn't receive everything they expected.

For instance, if you own a local store, it'd probably make sense to track awareness lifecycles specifically. But if you run a B2B startup, you shouldn't waste resources tracking consideration lifecycles unless you already have proof that you're losing money due to poor conversions.

Lead status refers to anyone who hasn't reached the next phase -- either awareness or consideration -- within the lifetime stage. To put it differently, it's the period during which a prospect becomes aware of your brand before converting into a paying customer.

In short, lead statuses are temporary states that indicate where a given user currently stands while he/she decides whether to pursue further interaction with your business or not.

So how does lead lifecycle relate to lead status? Well, it turns out that lead status is the final phase within the lifecycle framework. Since lifecycles follow a sequence of progression, you can determine where a given visitor falls within any given lifecycle. Therefore, if you know where the person is right now, you can decide how best to approach him.

For example, if you noticed that someone visited your page but never left his name or phone number, you could send him a personalized video offering free consultations or special deals. Or maybe you saw that he filled out his contact form but ignored multiple messages, so you could encourage him to download a whitepaper or eBook.

You can also analyze past interactions to gain valuable insights into what makes your customers tick. Why did they leave your site without contacting you? What kinds of problems did they encounter? How effective were you at solving them? And finally, what went wrong if you failed to solve them quickly? All of these questions can be answered through careful analysis of previous behavior patterns.

Next, let's discuss how to set up lead statuses correctly.

What does lead lifecycle mean?

As mentioned earlier, lead lifecycles show how far a prospective customer has progressed throughout the entire marketing funnel. They represent a series of steps that a consumer follows before becoming a full-fledged customer.

There are four primary phases within the lifecycle model: Awareness, Consideration, Conversion, and Loyalty. Each one comes with a specific goal, and they progress in order from top to bottom. Let's take a closer look at what happens in each phase:

Awareness Phase - During this first stage, consumers become aware of your existence and potentially seek additional information about your offerings. At the same time, they might be exploring complementary items that match their requirements.

Consumers enter this phase when they visit your homepage and explore your landing pages without ever leaving your domain. Hence, they're unaware of your presence and unable to convert into actual leads.

This is the point where the lifecycle begins. As soon as someone enters your site, he starts progressing through it slowly. He visits your home page, reads some introductory text, looks around the navigation menu, clicks links leading deeper into the site, sees images, checks out testimonials, reviews, blogs, articles, videos, offers, popups, forms, and pretty much everything else.

Then he reaches the end of the road -- the last stop before conversion -- and suddenly realizes that he found himself on a completely unfamiliar platform. So he gives up, closes the tab, and walks away.

Conversion - Conversion occurs when someone becomes aware of your brand, finds what he believes to be a solution to his problem, and attempts to interact with your webpages. Most websites aim to achieve this outcome, although some fail miserably.

People who successfully complete this stage are called qualified leads. Those who miss the mark are labeled unqualified leads. Unqualified leads usually abandon the task halfway through and exit your site immediately.

Your goal is to convert unqualified leads into qualified leads whenever possible. One major reason why people quit prematurely is boredom. Remember back when you were bored reading a book? Same principle applies here.

If you're selling a complex product, chances are high that you won't succeed in turning a prospect into a loyal follower until you address his concerns. Otherwise, why bother putting up a webpage if nobody wants to read it?

Conversions are divided into two categories: 1) non-converting traffic, i.e. prospects who abandoned the search midway through, 2) returning traffic, i.e. prospects who completed the whole journey. Returning traffic represents the percentage of total conversions achieved among previously viewed elements on your site.

Lead Generation Lifecycles can be confusing if you don't know where to start, or even worse -- if you've been using it incorrectly all along. Let's take a look at the different ways that people approach their marketing efforts, as well as an overview of each lifecycle phase so we're better able to understand when exactly we should be applying certain strategies.

Let's break down these phases further by looking into some key questions about each one. What are its benefits? How will it help me generate more leads? And finally, what happens next? These answers are going to guide us through every step of our journey towards generating new prospects.

What are the stages of lead generation?

The first thing you need to figure out before trying to implement any strategy is knowing which lifecycle stage you're currently on. If you want to get started with creating a plan, this is a good place to begin. You'll also have an idea of whether or not your current campaign is working right now based on your results.

There are four main stages, starting with warm market prospecting that focuses on finding potential customers among friends, family members, colleagues, etc., followed by quality-based marketing, then conversion focused marketing (which includes things like email marketing) and lastly, sales promotion.

If you want to learn more about specific tactics within those categories, check out my article called "Where Should Your Marketing Efforts Be Focused?" It goes over each category individually, including best practices and tips from industry experts. In addition to answering those questions specifically, let's continue taking a closer look at the general concepts behind each phase.

Quality-Based Campaigns - This refers to activities such as direct mail campaigns, phone calls, emails, social media posts, or other non-conversion related methods that focus primarily on building relationships rather than driving immediate conversions. The goal here is to establish trust with your audience so that when they actually decide to convert (by signing up for your newsletter, downloading an app, opting in to receive information via email), they feel comfortable doing so because they already know who you are.

Conversion-Focused Campaigns - When someone reaches out to you through a method that isn't necessarily designed to build rapport but instead drive a sale, it's referred to as a conversion-focused effort. Think email newsletters, ecommerce purchases, forms submitted online, or anything else that requires user input that ultimately generates revenue. Conversion-focussed efforts tend to work much faster than others since there's no time wasted waiting around for users to respond.

Sales Promotion Campaigns - All campaigns that directly promote selling something, usually products or services, are considered sales promotion efforts. Things like ads promoting special offers, coupons, free trials, or discounts would fall under this category. Since they require action from the end user, conversion goals aren't typically met. Instead, the primary objective is simply to increase awareness of your brand, product, service, or company.

Now that you've got a grasp on what each phase entails, let's talk about why you'd want to consider implementing a particular tactic during your lifecycle.

Why Choose One Stage Over Another?

For starters, remember that while many marketers believe that only one type of campaign works best, there's really nothing supporting evidence to back this claim. People often try to squeeze multiple types of efforts together without realizing that conflicting styles can prevent everyone involved from reaching their full potential. For example, if you send too many promotional messages at once, users may become annoyed and unsubscribe. Or perhaps if you spend way too long communicating with users, they might lose interest completely and forget about you altogether.

That said, choosing the correct lifecycle stage does matter! Each has strengths and weaknesses, depending on your target demographics, budget, geographic location, and unique personality traits. Here are just a few reasons to choose one over another in accordance to your needs and objectives.

You Want To Grow A Longer Term Relationship With Users & Build Trust

When you're primarily interested in establishing meaningful connections with your ideal customer base, focusing on quality-based marketing makes sense. That means sending regular communications that give value and offer solutions to problems they face regularly, providing content that helps improve their lives, or offering useful resources that can enhance their daily routine. It's important to keep in mind that this phase doesn't support short-term gains, nor does it involve promotions intended to push a single product onto consumers' radar. It's meant to create lasting relationships built upon mutual respect and understanding.

Your Goal Is To Drive Immediate Conversions

While converting immediately is certainly beneficial, it's usually not necessary if you're already engaged in a relationship with a prospective client. Converting early on can sometimes make you appear desperate or overly aggressive. So unless you're dealing with highly targeted traffic, conversion rates won't likely meet expectations. However, if you find yourself needing to boost overall clickthrough rates, it's possible to adjust your message accordingly to appeal to a wider range of audiences.

It Can Also Help You Gain Recognition As An Expert In Your Niche

People naturally gravitate toward expert sources of advice, especially ones who provide valuable insights and guidance. They may seek out experts for assistance, recommendations, and education due to their extensive knowledge and experience. By giving examples of past successes and failures, you can demonstrate that you truly possess expertise in your field, thus making you seem less like just a salesperson and more like someone who understands exactly what clients need.

In fact, studies show that people are willing to pay significantly higher prices for items from companies perceived as being trustworthy. According to one study conducted by Deloitte University Press titled "Trust In Business," 68% of respondents agreed that personal integrity was extremely important when deciding whom to purchase from. Additionally, 73% felt that vendors who were transparent and honest deserved extra consideration compared to others.

To put it simply, if you're confident enough in your abilities to confidently advise fellow professionals, people will see you as the real deal.

What Are Some Best Practices For Different Stages Of Lead Generation Life Cycles?

Here are a few best practices to follow when considering your own lead gen lifecycle. First off, always strive to stay consistent across platforms. Don't mix up messaging and tone from one channel to the next. Doing so could confuse readers, resulting in lower engagement levels and fewer clicks/opens. If you notice discrepancies in tone, copywriting style, or frequency, chances are you're operating in the wrong lifecycle stage.

Secondly, make sure your website reflects the same voice as everything else. This ensures visitors recognize that they're reading authentic material written by a credible source.

Thirdly, avoid generic language whenever possible. Use words that resonate with your audience and convey meaning beyond simple descriptions. Phrases such as "today" or "soon" can easily be misinterpreted and used against you. Consider replacing them with terms like "right now" or "in the coming weeks."

Lastly, never underestimate the power of simplicity. Avoid complicated designs and flashy graphics that draw attention away from your copy. Keep text clean and uncomplicated, and eliminate unnecessary elements that distract users from what matters most.

All of that aside, the most effective way to determine which phase you're in is to monitor your progress closely until you reach a point where you can measure success accurately. Then, evaluate your metrics and tweak your campaign accordingly. Just remember that getting feedback from your subscribers is essential. Take note of the topics that engage them, the comments they leave, and the links they share with you. Make changes to your site as needed to ensure optimal performance.

As mentioned above, HubSpot provides analytics reports that outline trends, patterns, and areas that need improvement. But if you're still confused about what kind of data to expect, check out HubSpot's blog post detailing their reporting capabilities.

How Do I Add A Life Cycle Stage In HubSpot?

Once you've determined your lifecycle stage, adding a new campaign is fairly straightforward. On the homepage, go to Content > Create New Event / Task / Appointment. Once inside, select the appropriate option based on what you wish to track. From there, enter pertinent details regarding your event, assign relevant tasks to team members, set dates and times, and customize your settings per your preferences.

Then, hit save. Now you can view your events dashboard, where you'll be notified when something occurs. There, you'll find a list of upcoming events, plus a detailed summary page showing statistics surrounding your latest activity.

HubSpot Tip #1: While viewing your recent history, you can scroll down to edit individual entries. Simply change the date to reflect the actual occurrence, then hit Save Changes.

How Do I Add A Life Cycle Stage In HubSpot?

After determining your lifecycle stage, setting up a new campaign couldn't be easier. Open up your account home screen, and head to Content > Create New Event / Task / Appointment. Select the corresponding option based on what you intend to track. Enter pertinent details, assign tasks, pick dates and times, and customize your settings per your preferences. Hit save. Now you can view your events dashboard, where you'll be notified when something occurs. There, you'll find a list of upcoming events, plus a detailed summary page showing statistics surrounding your latest activity.

You've heard about it, you see it used everywhere on social media, but have no idea what it means or how to implement it into your marketing strategy. Lifecycles. It's that mysterious thing that Facebook uses to determine which posts appear when. But there's something else lurking underneath the surface called "lifecycle". That's this little-known tool from Hubspot that can be used as an effective way to track user behavior with your website. If used correctly, the lifecycle will help you identify who your ideal target audience is so you can better serve their needs. Here we'll explain exactly what a lifecycle stage is (and how it differs from lead statuses) so you can get started using it today!

What is a lifecycle stage?

In short, a lifecycle stage refers to any point along the path where someone has interacted with your content online. For example, if a person clicks through to your blog post after clicking on your latest ad, then he/she would fall under the category of having interacted with your content within the last 24 hours. This interaction could be anything from reading one article all the way up to completing the entire sales funnel process including filling out your contact form. The goal here is not necessarily to convert everyone into a customer right away, rather it is to create a trail of breadcrumbs that indicate that the person was interested enough in your product or service to want more information. By tracking interactions like these over time, you can begin identifying patterns that show future interest or lack thereof. Once those trends become apparent, you know exactly who your best customers are--so you can start creating targeted campaigns specifically catered towards serving their unique needs.

Here's another great example: let's say I'm looking at my Facebook newsfeed and come across a link to your new blog post. I click on it and read your article, leaving me wanting more. After reading, I decide to bookmark your site because I think it might offer some insight that can help improve my life. You're now following me based off the fact that I clicked on your link and spent some amount of time browsing your site. When I log back onto Facebook later, I notice your page has been updated several times since I left. Based on this pattern alone, you'd assume that I was only just recently active on Facebook. However, by checking my activity logs, I find that I actually visited your page two weeks ago. Now you can see why I bookmarked your site. Not only did I spend quite a bit of time reading, but also I made a conscious effort to share it with friends via my personal profile. In other words, I had already begun considering myself a part of your target audience before ever even setting foot inside your store.

The key takeaway here is that the concept of lifecycle staging isn't limited to websites. Anytime you present people with valuable resources such as freebies, services, products etc., you should consider monitoring their subsequent reactions. As long as you keep tabs on whether or not people took advantage of said resource(s), you'll always be able to make improvements down the road.

What does lifecycle stage mean?

So now that you understand what lifecycle staging entails, let's talk about what it really looks like in action. To do this, we need to take our previous example and apply it to real world examples. Let's look at a hypothetical scenario involving a couple different types of businesses: a restaurant and a fitness center. Say you run a local casual dining establishment known for its tasty food and friendly atmosphere. Your owner decides to launch a campaign urging his patrons to fill out their profiles on your website. He takes pictures of himself behind the counter giving hugs to smiling diners and uploads them to your homepage. Upon seeing this image, many potential clients feel assured that they won't experience rude treatment while eating there. They visit the restaurant's homepage expecting to learn more about the eatery itself and maybe even make reservations without being turned away due to low availability. Instead, imagine if instead of posting the picture above, you posted the following:

"Hi [first name], we noticed you haven't filled out your profile on our website. We hope you don't mind us asking, but we were curious to learn more about your recent visits. Our records tell us that you came in last week with a group of friends."

Now, your client receives this message directly below her photo--along with a button saying "Become My Friend", indicating she wants to connect with you further. She may even include additional details in her response letting you know exactly what type of meal plans she prefers. What makes this approach stand apart from others lies in its ability to engage users in conversation. Rather than sending a prewritten email template or generic reply card, you can tailor each individual message according to the specific situation. And because every visitor becomes categorized in one particular lifecycle stage, you never waste money on irrelevant advertising again. So, next time you hear mention of lifecycles, remember that they aren't limited to websites either. Whenever you provide value to anyone, you should monitor their responses accordingly.

What is lead lifecycle stage?

Lead lifecycle stage is similar to lifecycle stage, except instead of categorizing visitors based upon their current level of engagement, it tracks conversions based on the number of leads generated. Think of it as a simplified version of the conversion rate measurement model commonly referred to as PPC metrics. Leads refer to individuals who submit their data through your optin forms, signup boxes, newsletter subscriptions, etc. A lead is essentially anyone who willingly gives you permission to market to them.

When used properly, lead lifecycle stage helps companies measure ROI against traffic sources, thereby helping optimize efforts. Ideally, you wouldn't rely solely on Google Analytics to evaluate your campaign performance. Lead lifecycle stage provides insights that go beyond simple numbers. For instance, you can view detailed reports showing how much revenue certain keywords contributed to your bottom line. Since the metric values change depending on your goals, you can easily compare results month-to-month and year-over-year. If you plan on launching multiple campaigns simultaneously, you can simply add them together to get aggregate figures, making it easier to pinpoint areas needing improvement.

As you can see, lifecycles are extremely useful for marketers. Understanding the terminology involved is essential for taking full advantage of their power. Next time you encounter the term, try plugging it into context to fully grasp its meaning. Remember, once you master the art of lifecycle management, you'll never have to worry about wasting precious dollars on ineffective ads ever again.

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