There are a few critical lifecycle marketing flows for email & SMS that you should consider adding to your marketing mix. While customer acquisition is critical, but once you reach early stages of product market fit, it’s likely much of your growth will come from doing more with who you acquire. This is where lifecycle marketing comes into play.
While not universal, for 90% of startups out there – especially consumer facing ones – there are 5 to 10 essential flows that you’ll need to develop to drive predictable revenue. Below we’ll take a deep dive into what each one is, why it’s important, and we’ll show examples that we use here at Growth Minded in our everyday marketing.
Each of these examples were pulled directly from our own product called LifecycleOS that we use internally (and externally), which we built to save countless hours of ideation and content production work. Our “ICP” for these flows are companies that have product market fit and are in expansion mode, usually above $1M in revenue, and who have some email and SMS campaigns that they send, but not a fully optimized lifecycle marketing program in place yet. 👇
Lead Nurture Flow
Lead nurture sits between customer acquisition and the product or PLG components of monetization. A strong lead nurture flow helps bridge the gap between interest and purchase. It can help you build trust, educate prospects, and keep you top of mind while your buyers are in consideration phase.
Flow Overview Example
This strategic 5-email sequence targets service-based retail, eCommerce, and B2C companies over $1M revenue who signed up for the free content generation offer but haven’t completed onboarding. Delivered over 10 days with a quirky, bold brand voice, this flow systematically demonstrates lifecycle marketing value, addresses integration concerns, and creates urgency around revenue opportunities. The sequence emphasizes proven ROI, time savings, and the competitive advantage of having a complete lifecycle marketing foundation rather than relying solely on campaigns.
Quick Notes
Maintain LifecycleOS’s fun, quirky, and bold brand voice throughout while addressing B2C/eCommerce decision makers. Focus on the shift from campaign-only marketing to complete lifecycle foundations. Address the top objections systematically: budget constraints, integration complexity, and resource limitations. Emphasize time savings and proven ROI with quantified results. Create momentum by showing immediate value through the free content generation offer while building toward full platform adoption.
Here’s an example of what our product produced for the content brief for step 1 of this flow:
Here is the email content generated, that we can then edit and launch in our CRM:
Onboarding
Great onboarding has one of the highest correlations to strong retention. A great onboarding experience – from both the product and through smart and personalized email and SMS flows – reduce time to value, and personalization can have a step function difference for retention.
Flow Overview Example
Free trial users who have signed up and accessed their one free flow – targeting service-based retail, eCommerce, and B2C companies over $1M revenue plus growth startups. The goal is to convert trial users from their free single flow experience to purchasing the complete flow maps and content package. This 7-day onboarding sequence focuses on demonstrating value, addressing integration concerns, and showcasing the comprehensive lifecycle marketing foundation that LifecycleOS provides.
Quick Notes
Focus on value demonstration over features – show how lifecycle marketing drives measurable results. Address integration and ROI concerns proactively. Use the fun, quirky brand voice while maintaining professional credibility. Emphasize time savings and revenue impact rather than technical complexity. Create urgency around completing their lifecycle marketing foundation.
Here is what our flow mapping generated – I made minor edits before taking this screenshot:
And here is what we built for content:
Abandoned Cart
Over 70% of actions that lead to purchase go unfinished. This isn’t just for eCommerce companies – this can be for consumer retail, even services. This type of flow recovers lost revenue and helps reveal why people are not buying – data that you can use for the steps above and below.
Flow Overview Example
This abandoned cart recovery sequence targets prospects who showed interest in LifecycleOS but abandoned their signup or trial process. The goal is to convert confused or hesitant prospects into active users by addressing their main concerns (confusion, integration complexity, implementation timeline) while showcasing the platform’s value through free content and social proof. The output is a 7-day sequence combining education, social proof, and gentle persuasion to guide prospects back to complete their signup.
Quick Notes
Focus on clarity and education to combat confusion – the primary abandonment reason. Use LifecycleOS’s fun, quirky, and bold brand voice while addressing top concerns: integration complexity, implementation timeline, and ROI expectations. Leverage customer success stories with quantified results and emphasize the 30-day money-back guarantee. Provide valuable free content to build trust and demonstrate expertise.
Here are the flow mapping starting points:
Here’s the corresponding email:
Upsell Flow
It’s 5–25x cheaper to further monetize existing customers than to acquire new customers. But it’s hard work. Great upsell flows help expand AOV, LTV, and make your company more profitable on a unit basis.
Flow Overview Example
Post-freemium conversion upsell flow for LifecycleOS customers who have upgraded from free to paid. This targets service-based retail, eCommerce, and B2C companies ($1M+ revenue) who have experienced initial success with basic lifecycle marketing features. The goal is to introduce advanced capabilities like predictive analytics, premium integrations, and enterprise features that can significantly amplify their ROI and operational efficiency. This 10-day sequence focuses on demonstrating enhanced value through data-driven insights and proven customer success stories.
Quick Notes
Focus on quantified ROI improvements and time savings since these are key customer feedback themes. Use the fun, quirky brand voice while addressing common concerns about integration complexity and implementation. Leverage social proof early and often, positioning advanced features as natural next steps rather than expensive add-ons. Address the 14-28 day sales cycle by building momentum through progressive value demonstration.
Here is the flow mapping for our upsell flow:
And here is the built out content – for this example I’m showing the 6th touch point with the user:
Sunset Flow
This is almost always overlooked, but it allows for the graceful exit. A great sunset flow protects your brand, can help you collect user feedback, and leaves the door open for future reactivation.
Flow Overview Example
Sunset Flow for LifecycleOS – targeting disengaged users who haven’t interacted with the platform or emails for 30+ days. The goal is to re-engage inactive subscribers by reminding them of LifecycleOS’s unique value proposition – building comprehensive lifecycle marketing strategies and content that dramatically improves conversion rates and customer retention. This 4-touchpoint sequence progressively moves from value reminder to final engagement opportunity, ultimately cleaning the list of truly inactive subscribers while maximizing re-engagement opportunities.
Quick Notes
Focus on LifecycleOS’s core differentiator – being the only platform specifically designed for lifecycle marketing strategy and content creation. Emphasize the massive time savings, improved conversion rates, and competitive advantage. Use the brand’s fun, quirky, and bold voice while addressing common concerns about integration complexity and ROI. Since this is a new product category, education about lifecycle marketing value is crucial. Include social proof around improved metrics and time savings that customers consistently praise.
Here is our flow mapping:
And finally, our email content for the first send:
As you can see, LifecycleOS takes some pretty complex work and simplifies it down to a set of inputs you control, and outputs you can edit. Lifecycle marketing is a whole world to explore, but way too many marketers ignore it. In reality, most of the big wins I’ve seen from marketing teams have come from the middle funnel part of the business – once you figure out how to get some awareness on your brand, you then need to drive conversions. And while the product (or service) you offer should do a lot of that work for you, lifecycle marketing can help you maximize your conversion rates, drive more revenue, and ensure you are getting the highest ROI out of your marketing.
If you’d like to try LifecycleOS, just visit the website – getting started is always free, and you get one free entire flow and content generation for free for life. Sign up here.