Misses the problem stage (before they know you exist)
Retention and expansion models aren't built in
"Funnels assume all customers and products are the same. It's about the values of the business, not the value to the customer."
The Framework
Customer Journey Mapping: Project Snow White
Struggle Phase: Problem moment + Interest/research stage
Evaluation Phase: First value + Value realization + Integration
Growth Phase: Habit building + Expansion
Each stage has KPIs and milestones with emotional resonance
Inspired by Airbnb's "Project Snow White" storyboards (2013)
The shiftInstead of "how do we push more people through our funnel?" ask "what is the story of how they met and fell in love with our product?"
The Process
4 Steps to Alignment & Growth
Step 1: Identify the Ideal Customer Job Not personas. Not demographics. Focus on the problem they're solving and the context they're in before they discover you.
Step 2: Map the Customer Journey Create storyboards of key milestones across struggle → evaluation → growth phases.
Step 3: Identify Value Moments Define when they reach product activation, value realization, and ongoing engagement.
Step 4: Assign KPIs to Each Stage Measure success at problem, interest, activation, realization, and growth stages.
Real result: Social media tool
Identified one job to be done. Updated messaging on website. Trial conversion jumped 89%. Trial-to-paid conversion increased 40% without touching post-signup experience.
Real result: SparkToro
Applied this framework. Doubled trial-to-paid conversion rate through better positioning and messaging alignment.
The Metric
KPIs by Stage
Problem: Unique website visitors
Interest: Website CTA conversion rate
First Value: Product activation rate
Value Realization: Trial-to-paid conversion
Growth: Frequency of usage + feature adoption
Why it worksWhen you focus on getting the RIGHT customer (not just more customers), all downstream conversion rates improve. A better-qualified prospect has higher activation and lower churn.
Contrarian
Rethinking Growth Metrics
✗Focus on conversion rate at every stepINSTEAD →✓ Focus on customer fit first, then conversion rate will follow naturally.
✗MQLs and SQLs matter for growthINSTEAD →✓ Nobody agrees what MQL/SQL means. Use jobs-to-be-done and value moments instead.
✗Acquisition is the main leverINSTEAD →✓ For SaaS, post-acquisition retention and expansion drive the business. Ignore them and you fail.
✗The problem stage doesn't matter for marketingINSTEAD →✓ Understanding the context customers are living in BEFORE they find you is the most powerful positioning insight.