Flip the Funnel: How to Use Existing Customers to Gain New Ones

ANOTHER SOLUTION: TURNING IT ON ITS SIDE

In Seth Godin’s e-book Flipping the Funnel, the author makes the great point that your customers are essentially underused “assets.” Given that practically every company has more customers than salespeople, isn’t it logical that customers should have an amplifier or a megaphone (hence the funnel flipped on its side in Figure 6.2)?

Godin astutely notes that former customers or those with grievances already use certain channels—predominantly the Web—as an amplifier. It’s thus incumbent on us to make sure our fans or friends have the same opportunity. Let’s call it equal opportunity for customers.

I’m certainly not criticizing the idea of turning the funnel on its side—except for the fact it’s really comparing apples with carrots insofar as it’s a smart, lateral, and even literal interpretation of a theoretical concept. It also represents a part of the solution to the multitude of problems associated with the traditional funnel (namely, an unhealthy obsession on an acquisition-led process that is neither efficient nor effective).