What Makes a Really Great Data Model? Let's Talk About the Bowtie

Right, let's have a chat about how businesses track customers. For ages, it’s all been about the classic sales funnel, hasn't it? Shove prospects in the top, hope enough drip out the bottom as paying customers. Job done? Well, not quite. Especially not anymore.

As per the Science of Revenue Growth, keeping a customer is often way more valuable (and cheaper!) than constantly chasing new ones, that old funnel feels a bit… incomplete. It stops right when the relationship really begins. That's where the Bowtie Model comes in – a much better way to look at the entire customer journey, from first glance to loyal fan.

We'll look at why it knocks the socks off the old funnel, how it helps you focus on what truly matters (happy customers!), and ultimately, what makes a really great data model for building stronger, more profitable customer connections in the long run. It’s about seeing the whole story, not just the opening chapter.

The Old School: Why the Classic Sales Funnel is Past Its Sell-By Date

Marketing chucks a load of names (prospects) into the wide end of a funnel. These folks get nudged through stages – maybe they become aware of a problem (hello, Leads!), get educated on solutions (Opportunities!), and finally, some make a choice and buy something (Closed/Won!). Sales high-fives, marks it done in the CRM, and moves on to the next chase.

Sounds familiar, right? This funnel has been around for many years, helping businesses sell everything from hardware to software licences. And look, it worked for that model, where the main goal was the initial sale, the upfront payment.

But here’s the catch, especially for businesses built on recurring revenue or subscriptions:

1. It Stops Too Soon: The funnel’s finish line is the sale. But for subscription businesses, that's just the starting pistol! All the crucial stuff – keeping customers, getting them to use the product properly, encouraging them to spend more – happens after the funnel ends. Recurring revenue literally lives outside its walls.
2. It's All About the Seller: The funnel focuses on the seller's process: generating leads, qualifying opportunities, and closing deals. It’s driven by the seller’s need to hit targets. Customer success? That’s often an afterthought, someone else’s problem once the deal is signed.
3. It Pretends Things Are Linear: It makes the customer journey look like a neat, straight line downwards. Reality check: customers bounce around. They might need more education after seeing a demo, or loop back to compare options. The funnel doesn't really show this messy, human reality.
4. It Misses the Loops: Happy customers talk. They refer friends, renew contracts, buy more stuff. Unhappy ones churn. This creates feedback loops that can massively boost (or hinder) growth. The one-way funnel ignores these powerful dynamics.
   
   

Leverage the Bowtie For A Full View of the Customer Journey

So, if the funnel is only half the story, what does the rest look like?

Something like taking that funnel and mirroring it on the other side, creating a bowtie shape.

• The left side is still about Acquisition – Awareness, Education, Selection – getting that initial commitment.
• The knot in the middle is the Mutual Commit – not just "Closed/Won," but the point where both you and the customer agree to work together. It’s the start of a relationship.
• The right side is all about the Post-Commitment Journey – this is where the magic happens for recurring revenue:
  • Onboarding: Getting the customer set up and experiencing that first win or "aha!" moment with your product quickly.
  • Adoption: Helping the customer weave your product into their daily routine, making it indispensable.
  • Expansion: Growing the relationship – think more users, upgrades, new features, renewals.
    
    

This Bowtie shape is more than just a fancy diagram; it represents a fundamental shift in thinking. It moves from being purely seller-centric (How do we close this deal?) to being customer-centric (How do we help the customer achieve the impact they're paying for?).

Instead of just promising Value upfront, the focus shifts to delivering ongoing Impact – the actual, measurable results the customer gets from using your product. Because in a recurring revenue world, if customers don't get that impact, they won't stick around. Simple as that.

What Makes the Bowtie a Really Great Data Model?

Alright, so it looks different, but why is the Bowtie actually a better data model? What makes it stand out?

It Covers the Whole Shebang

This is the big one. Unlike the funnel that clocks off after the sale, the Bowtie maps the entire customer lifecycle. It forces you to think about, measure, and optimise not just how you win customers, but how you keep them happy, successful, and growing with you. You get visibility into onboarding success, adoption rates, churn reasons, and expansion opportunities – data points the old funnel completely ignores. Seeing this full picture is crucial for sustainable growth.

It’s Designed for Modern Business (Hello, Recurring Revenue!)

Subscription and consumption models live and die by customer retention and expansion. The Bowtie puts these front and centre. The right side of the Bowtie directly tracks the stages vital for recurring revenue:

• Successful Onboarding reduces initial churn.
• Strong Adoption proves your product's value and leads to renewals.
• Effective Expansion strategies (upselling, cross-selling) drive growth from your existing customer base, which is often far more efficient than constantly acquiring new customers.
  
  

It aligns your data model with how your business actually makes money long-term.

It Gets Real About Closed Loops

Remember those feedback loops the funnel ignores? The Bowtie embraces them. It helps you visualise and track how success (or failure) in one area impacts others.

• Renewals: The most obvious loop – happy, adopting customers renew, feeding revenue back into the system.
• Advocacy: Delighted customers become advocates, generating referrals and positive word-of-mouth (powerful, often free, marketing!).
• Referrals: Even during onboarding or sales, customers might mention your solution to peers, creating new leads.
• Learning: Analysing your best customers (those who adopt deeply and expand) helps refine your ideal customer profile, improving targeting on the acquisition side.
  
  

A great data model should account for these dynamics, and the Bowtie provides a framework to do just that.

Standardisation is Its Superpower

Not to sound nerdy, but the Bowtie framework uses a standardised structure for its data:

• Volume Metrics: How many? (e.g., number of leads, deals, active users)
• Conversion Metrics: How efficient? (e.g., lead-to-opportunity rate, win rate, retention rate)
• Time Metrics: How long? (e.g., sales cycle length, time to first impact, customer lifetime)
  
  

Why does this matter? Because it allows you to compare apples with apples, even if you use different tactics (like field sales vs. product-led growth). You can benchmark performance consistently over time (trendlines) or even against industry standards (if available). This clarity helps you pinpoint exactly where things are working well and where they need attention, removing guesswork. Understanding these metrics across the entire journey is part of what makes a really great data model so powerful.

Here's a quick comparison to hammer it home:

Putting the Bowtie into Action: Making Smarter Decisions

Knowing about the Bowtie is one thing; using it is where the real value lies. How can your business leverage this model?

1. Identify Bottlenecks: By tracking metrics across all stages, you can see where customers are getting stuck. Is onboarding taking too long? Are users not adopting key features? Is there a drop-off before renewal? The Bowtie helps you diagnose problems beyond just the sales process.
2. Understand Post-Sale Behaviour: Dive into the data on the right side. Which customer segments adopt fastest? What actions correlate with expansion? Why are some customers churning? These insights are gold dust for improving your product and customer success efforts.
3. Optimise for Impact: Shift focus from just closing deals to ensuring customers achieve their desired outcomes. Use adoption data to guide training, support, and product development. Measure success not just by revenue booked, but by customer health scores and impact achieved.
4. Spot Expansion Opportunities: The model highlights the Expansion stage. Use data on customer usage and success to proactively identify upsell or cross-sell opportunities. Understand which customers are most likely to grow their spend and why.
5. Align Your Teams: The Bowtie provides a shared map for Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, and even Product teams. Everyone can see how their work contributes to the overall customer journey and the ultimate goal of delivering recurring impact.
6. Benchmark and Track Trends: Use the standardised metrics to track your performance over time (Are we getting better at onboarding? Is our retention improving?). Compare your metrics (carefully!) against relevant industry benchmarks to see where you might be lagging or leading.
   
   

It allows you to move from gut feelings to data-driven decisions across the entire customer experience.

Wrapping Up: Beyond the Funnel, Towards Real Growth

Let's be honest, clinging to the old sales funnel in today's business world is like using a fax machine for instant messaging – it just doesn't cut it anymore. For businesses built on relationships and recurring value, what makes a really great data model is its ability to reflect the full customer journey.

The Bowtie Model provides that comprehensive view. It acknowledges that winning a customer is just the beginning and that true, sustainable growth comes from nurturing that relationship, delivering ongoing impact, and turning customers into loyal advocates who stick around and spend more.

By adopting a Bowtie mindset and structuring your data accordingly, you can gain deeper insights, make smarter decisions, align your teams, and ultimately build a healthier, more resilient business focused on what matters most: your customers' success. It’s time to ditch the half-story of the funnel and embrace the full narrative of the Bowtie.