The Bow Tie Model
The Complete Customer Journey Framework
From Revenue Architecture by Jacco van der Kooij
The Bow Tie is the foundational framework for understanding and optimizing the complete customer lifecycle. It visualizes the journey from first touch to expansion, showing where revenue teams create and capture value.
The Five Stages
1. Lead
First contact, awareness generated
2. Opportunity
Qualified, in sales process
3. Customer
The critical moment - first purchase
4. Renewal
Retain & deliver value
5. Expansion
Upsell, cross-sell, grow
Stage-by-Stage Deep Dive
Stage 1: Lead
Key Activities:
- • Generate awareness through marketing
- • Capture contact information
- • Nurture with valuable content
- • Score and qualify leads
Key Metrics:
- • Lead volume
- • Lead quality score
- • Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)
- • Cost per lead
Stage 2: Opportunity
Key Activities:
- • Discovery calls and demos
- • Understand pain points (SPICED)
- • Present solutions
- • Handle objections
- • Close deals
Key Metrics:
- • Win rate
- • Sales cycle length
- • Average deal size
- • Pipeline velocity
Stage 3: Customer (The Knot)
Key Activities:
- • Smooth onboarding process
- • Set success criteria
- • Deliver quick wins
- • Build relationship foundation
Key Metrics:
- • Time to first value
- • Onboarding completion rate
- • Early adoption metrics
- • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Stage 4: Renewal
Key Activities:
- • Monitor product usage
- • Proactive outreach
- • Address issues quickly
- • Demonstrate ongoing value
- • Execute renewal process
Key Metrics:
- • Renewal rate / Retention rate
- • Churn rate
- • Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
- • Customer health score
Stage 5: Expansion
Key Activities:
- • Identify expansion opportunities
- • Upsell to higher tiers
- • Cross-sell related products
- • Add users/seats
- • Expand use cases
Key Metrics:
- • Expansion revenue
- • Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)
- • Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
- • Average revenue per account (ARPA)
Key Insights from the Bow Tie
The Narrowest Point Matters Most
The customer stage (the knot) is where deals are won or lost. Optimize everything before and after this critical moment. Your conversion rate here determines all downstream revenue.
Post-Sale is Where Money is Made
According to Revenue Architecture, renewals and expansion can drive 120-150% net revenue retention. The right side of the bow tie (post-sale) determines your LTV and ultimate profitability.
Different Teams, Different Metrics
Each stage has different owners and metrics. Marketing focuses on lead volume/quality, Sales on win rate, CS on retention and expansion. Alignment across stages is critical.
Optimize the Whole Journey
Don't just optimize one stage in isolation. A 10% improvement at each stage compounds to massive revenue gains. Look at conversion rates between each stage.
Apply the Bow Tie Framework
Use these calculators to measure performance at each stage: