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Forget the Funnel: A Customer-Led Approach for Driving Predictable, Recurring Revenue
Your product is great. So why is marketing it so hard?
Many SaaS companies struggle with marketing. Teams try everything they can to drive more traffic, leads, and signups. Yet revenue growth remains…lumpy. Slow. Frustratingly inconsistent.
If this sounds familiar, the problem isn’t you or your ideas; it’s that you’re guessing at what resonates with your target customers. In Forget the Funnel, Georgiana Laudi and Claire Suellentrop share the Customer-Led Growth Framework they've developed to help companies of all sizes solve their product marketing struggles and hit ambitious targets. This framework helps you get inside your customers’ heads, map and measure your customers’ experience, and uncover which tactics will actually move the needle for your company.
It’s time to stop guessing. Forget the Funnel is your guide for thinking more strategically about marketing your product and making a meaningful impact on revenue growth.
Many SaaS companies struggle with marketing. Teams try everything they can to drive more traffic, leads, and signups. Yet revenue growth remains…lumpy. Slow. Frustratingly inconsistent.
If this sounds familiar, the problem isn’t you or your ideas; it’s that you’re guessing at what resonates with your target customers. In Forget the Funnel, Georgiana Laudi and Claire Suellentrop share the Customer-Led Growth Framework they've developed to help companies of all sizes solve their product marketing struggles and hit ambitious targets. This framework helps you get inside your customers’ heads, map and measure your customers’ experience, and uncover which tactics will actually move the needle for your company.
It’s time to stop guessing. Forget the Funnel is your guide for thinking more strategically about marketing your product and making a meaningful impact on revenue growth.
160 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 9, 2023
136 people are currently reading
320 people want to read
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May 3, 2023Нарочно не давам оценка на книгата:
- нямам достатъчно познания по темата, нито има с какво да я сравня;
- няма да е честно да дам оценка на база удоволствието ми по време на прочита.
Споделям част от записките, които съм си водил по време на прочита (отчасти, защото знам, че ще ги запилея някъде, а тук ще бъдат лесни за намиране):
"Part II. Getting Inside Your Customers’ Heads
1) Идентифицирай "перфектния" клиент на услугата. В повечето случаи това ще са хора, които:
- разбират проблема чието решения услугата ви предлага;
- плащат за въпросното решение без да се замислят;
- "боли ги" - имат/имали са спешна нужда от решение на проблема си;
- стигнали са до "аха" момента - разбират как услугата ви решава проблема им;
- започнали са да използват услугата ви достатъчно скоро, за да не са забравили какъв е бил животът им преди това.
2) Проведи "интервю" с перфектния клиент с цел разбиране на живота му преди, по време и след използване на услугата ви:
- Как използваш услугата ни в момента?
- Какво те накара да потърсиш услугата ни? (Какво "болеше"?)
- Опиши ни живота си преди да започнеш да използваш услугата ни.
- Ползвал ли си други подобни услуги?
- Разкажи ми за момента, в който разбра, че предишните "инструменти", които си ползвал не са били решение на проблема ти.
- Къде потърси друго решение на проблема ти?
- Как разбра за нас?
- Кога се убеди, че продукта ни е така търсеното от теб решение?
- Какви неща може да правиш сега след като ползваш услугата ни, които преди не можеше?
- Какво би променил/добавил в услугата ни?
3) Намери всички "болки"/проблеми на перфектия клиент.
За по-лесно, може да бъдат структурирани като изречение от 3 части:
- Когато имам .... проблем,
- имам нужда от помощ за ... ,
- за да постигна ... .
4) Фокусирай се върху най-често срещания проблем от 3) и фокусирай маркетинга върху него вместо да показваш всички други проблеми, за които услугата може да помогне.
Part III: Mapping the Customer’s Experience
1) Премини детайлно през изживяването на "перфектния" клиент, който ползва услугата ти.
Може да се раздели на 3 етапа:
- Етап на Борба/Осъзнаване - потребителя осъзнава, че има проблем и започва да търси решение за него;
- Етап на Оценяване/Доверяване - потребителя започва да използва услугата ви и стига до заключение, че това е правилното за него решение;
- Етап на Растеж - потребителя ежедневно използва услугата ви и дори започва да се търси нови начини, по които може да му бъде полезна.
На всеки един от етапите си задайте следните въпроси:
- Какво си е мислил клиента?
- Какво е правил?
- Как се е чувствал?
2) Идентифицирай големите събития/постижения по време на всеки един етап от пътешествието. Въпросните събития трябва да са свързани логически - постигането на едно, прави постигането на второ по-лесно.
3) Идентифицирай ключови показатели за успешност на услугата за всяко едно голямо събитие от 2)."
- нямам достатъчно познания по темата, нито има с какво да я сравня;
- няма да е честно да дам оценка на база удоволствието ми по време на прочита.
Споделям част от записките, които съм си водил по време на прочита (отчасти, защото знам, че ще ги запилея някъде, а тук ще бъдат лесни за намиране):
"Part II. Getting Inside Your Customers’ Heads
1) Идентифицирай "перфектния" клиент на услугата. В повечето случаи това ще са хора, които:
- разбират проблема чието решения услугата ви предлага;
- плащат за въпросното решение без да се замислят;
- "боли ги" - имат/имали са спешна нужда от решение на проблема си;
- стигнали са до "аха" момента - разбират как услугата ви решава проблема им;
- започнали са да използват услугата ви достатъчно скоро, за да не са забравили какъв е бил животът им преди това.
2) Проведи "интервю" с перфектния клиент с цел разбиране на живота му преди, по време и след използване на услугата ви:
- Как използваш услугата ни в момента?
- Какво те накара да потърсиш услугата ни? (Какво "болеше"?)
- Опиши ни живота си преди да започнеш да използваш услугата ни.
- Ползвал ли си други подобни услуги?
- Разкажи ми за момента, в който разбра, че предишните "инструменти", които си ползвал не са били решение на проблема ти.
- Къде потърси друго решение на проблема ти?
- Как разбра за нас?
- Кога се убеди, че продукта ни е така търсеното от теб решение?
- Какви неща може да правиш сега след като ползваш услугата ни, които преди не можеше?
- Какво би променил/добавил в услугата ни?
3) Намери всички "болки"/проблеми на перфектия клиент.
За по-лесно, може да бъдат структурирани като изречение от 3 части:
- Когато имам .... проблем,
- имам нужда от помощ за ... ,
- за да постигна ... .
4) Фокусирай се върху най-често срещания проблем от 3) и фокусирай маркетинга върху него вместо да показваш всички други проблеми, за които услугата може да помогне.
Part III: Mapping the Customer’s Experience
1) Премини детайлно през изживяването на "перфектния" клиент, който ползва услугата ти.
Може да се раздели на 3 етапа:
- Етап на Борба/Осъзнаване - потребителя осъзнава, че има проблем и започва да търси решение за него;
- Етап на Оценяване/Доверяване - потребителя започва да използва услугата ви и стига до заключение, че това е правилното за него решение;
- Етап на Растеж - потребителя ежедневно използва услугата ви и дори започва да се търси нови начини, по които може да му бъде полезна.
На всеки един от етапите си задайте следните въпроси:
- Какво си е мислил клиента?
- Какво е правил?
- Как се е чувствал?
2) Идентифицирай големите събития/постижения по време на всеки един етап от пътешествието. Въпросните събития трябва да са свързани логически - постигането на едно, прави постигането на второ по-лесно.
3) Идентифицирай ключови показатели за успешност на услугата за всяко едно голямо събитие от 2)."
July 27, 2023
A concise and effective book on marketing for SaaS products. It was quite a time saver in evaluating marketing tactics, and I’m sure it will be something I continue to refer to over the years.
May 28, 2023
If you’re tired of pie-in-the-sky marketing books that feel disconnected from the reality of having to roll up your sleeves and actually do the work, I highly recommend this book. It’s a short read, just over 150 pages. Laudi and Sullentrop have trimmed all the fat. Every page is full of tactical advice. So worth the $20! (Very SaaS focused of course, but could still be useful in other industries I’m sure.)
June 4, 2025
Customer-Led Growth Framework
Get into the minds of your best customers.
Map and measure your customer experience.
Unlock your biggest growth opportunities.
This framework requires collaboration across many teams in your company—customer success, sales, product, and marketing. Since alignment across these teams is critical, you need leadership buy-in. Often, the first person (required) to read and implement this book will be an executive leader. So, not sure if I can change my startup culture.
It’s good to learn from customers who have recently started paying for your product and are happy with it. Focus on understanding their needs, not just their demographics. Needs evolve over time, so what your customer needs now may be different from what they needed before.
Use open-ended questions instead of closed ones. For example, you can survey 500 customers and expect around 10% (50) responses. You can also talk directly to prospects—your broader audience.
Write clear jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) statements for your customers. This helps in identifying what your users are actually trying to achieve.
In the world of recurring revenue, you must ensure that customers renew or upgrade their subscriptions. The traditional marketing funnel doesn't work well for SaaS because it has a start and an end. SaaS needs a different, ongoing approach.
In Chapter 4, the authors share a precisely worded questionnaire that you can put on your website. This helps you understand what life was like for users before using your product.
I liked the description of the first two steps in the customer journey:
Step 1: The customer has a problem. They feel pain, frustration, or other negative emotions. They might be trying different ways to meet that need.
Step 2: The customer realizes there is a solution and begins searching for it.
These steps felt real and relatable. They helped me think more clearly about how customers move from problem to solution. I had used similar steps in my JTBD consulting work (Using Hooked Model To Target 25% Improvement In User Retention For SaaS )
Reading about the success stories of the authors—whether in consulting or full-time roles—was inspiring. At the same time, it felt daunting compared to my own limited consulting projects.
I rate the impact of this book on me 3 out of 5. I liked that it had practical advice, persuasive anecdotes, and statistics. But I was aware of most of those from work or other books.
Get into the minds of your best customers.
Map and measure your customer experience.
Unlock your biggest growth opportunities.
This framework requires collaboration across many teams in your company—customer success, sales, product, and marketing. Since alignment across these teams is critical, you need leadership buy-in. Often, the first person (required) to read and implement this book will be an executive leader. So, not sure if I can change my startup culture.
It’s good to learn from customers who have recently started paying for your product and are happy with it. Focus on understanding their needs, not just their demographics. Needs evolve over time, so what your customer needs now may be different from what they needed before.
Use open-ended questions instead of closed ones. For example, you can survey 500 customers and expect around 10% (50) responses. You can also talk directly to prospects—your broader audience.
Write clear jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) statements for your customers. This helps in identifying what your users are actually trying to achieve.
In the world of recurring revenue, you must ensure that customers renew or upgrade their subscriptions. The traditional marketing funnel doesn't work well for SaaS because it has a start and an end. SaaS needs a different, ongoing approach.
In Chapter 4, the authors share a precisely worded questionnaire that you can put on your website. This helps you understand what life was like for users before using your product.
I liked the description of the first two steps in the customer journey:
Step 1: The customer has a problem. They feel pain, frustration, or other negative emotions. They might be trying different ways to meet that need.
Step 2: The customer realizes there is a solution and begins searching for it.
These steps felt real and relatable. They helped me think more clearly about how customers move from problem to solution. I had used similar steps in my JTBD consulting work (Using Hooked Model To Target 25% Improvement In User Retention For SaaS )
Reading about the success stories of the authors—whether in consulting or full-time roles—was inspiring. At the same time, it felt daunting compared to my own limited consulting projects.
I rate the impact of this book on me 3 out of 5. I liked that it had practical advice, persuasive anecdotes, and statistics. But I was aware of most of those from work or other books.
July 2, 2024
An okayish book on marketing and lead generation primarily for SaaS. The concept is equally applicable to other businesses, though.
The book revolves around a Customer-Led Growth (CLG) Framework in which you see your customers as living, breathing, whole people you're in a meaningful relationship with, instead of a number.
While the process is the same - you find gaps in the market, fill the gaps, and develop yourself as per feedback - the approach in this framework is "more" customer-focused.
In the industry terms, the book preaches focusing on the value, instead of mere data.
You might already know everything this book has. It has already mentioned there are no new tactics. What you might like is that the book offers a working blueprint.
Plus, at only a little over 150 pages, it's nothing fluff. The book is pure knowledge. A must-have resource to keep by your side.
Recommended for marketers and founders.
The book revolves around a Customer-Led Growth (CLG) Framework in which you see your customers as living, breathing, whole people you're in a meaningful relationship with, instead of a number.
While the process is the same - you find gaps in the market, fill the gaps, and develop yourself as per feedback - the approach in this framework is "more" customer-focused.
In the industry terms, the book preaches focusing on the value, instead of mere data.
You might already know everything this book has. It has already mentioned there are no new tactics. What you might like is that the book offers a working blueprint.
Plus, at only a little over 150 pages, it's nothing fluff. The book is pure knowledge. A must-have resource to keep by your side.
Recommended for marketers and founders.
January 1, 2025
Should be called 'Intro to user research'. Which is what this is.
It's odd that they never call it that even though literally all the actions in the book so far (worth mentioning I only made it halfway) are pretty basic practices in UX. (They lose a star for not mentioning an entire profession that is based on this kind of thinking)
If you have no idea what I am talking about then yes this book will probably be helpful for you. It's all actionable stuff. No doubt about that.
However, it is hyping up and selling ideas that there are countless books, courses and university degrees on. They have just repackaged it into something directed at business folk who know no better.
But that's marketing isn't it.
Maybe there is some sort pivotal insight in the last half of the book but for me, I haven't come across anything I haven't learned somewhere else, so I'll probably move on to the next book.
.
It's odd that they never call it that even though literally all the actions in the book so far (worth mentioning I only made it halfway) are pretty basic practices in UX. (They lose a star for not mentioning an entire profession that is based on this kind of thinking)
If you have no idea what I am talking about then yes this book will probably be helpful for you. It's all actionable stuff. No doubt about that.
However, it is hyping up and selling ideas that there are countless books, courses and university degrees on. They have just repackaged it into something directed at business folk who know no better.
But that's marketing isn't it.
Maybe there is some sort pivotal insight in the last half of the book but for me, I haven't come across anything I haven't learned somewhere else, so I'll probably move on to the next book.
.
May 30, 2023
This book is super insightful. As a Marketer in the advertising department, I realize that most of the copy, landing pages, etc. focuses on what WE think the customer wants and needs versus what the person really is looking for. I have lots of questions for my team and the Product team on what insights if any do we have to really solve customers’ pain points!
Great read!
In my university days, I went into marketing to focus on the customer but with all of the companies I have worked for, the customer has become more and more far away from me as a Marketer, so I started to guess what the customer wants and needs, awful, I know.
Can’t wait to try this approach in my present and future ads!
Great read!
In my university days, I went into marketing to focus on the customer but with all of the companies I have worked for, the customer has become more and more far away from me as a Marketer, so I started to guess what the customer wants and needs, awful, I know.
Can’t wait to try this approach in my present and future ads!
December 12, 2024
I'm not the target audience for this book. But found it an interesting look for those in the SAAS, (Software As A Service) industry.
This system is an interesting customer relationship focused approach that transcends the Funnel.
They do a really good job explaining the system, research and measurements metrics for the marketing and different departments to holistically work together towards serving the customer and dramatically increasing the company's revenue.
It took me a while to read through because I usually have numerous books I'm currently reading.
Found some good nuggets and wrote 14 pages of notes. Worth a read if you're in the SAAS industry or another field want a more lucrative and ethical way to sell to customers.
This system is an interesting customer relationship focused approach that transcends the Funnel.
They do a really good job explaining the system, research and measurements metrics for the marketing and different departments to holistically work together towards serving the customer and dramatically increasing the company's revenue.
It took me a while to read through because I usually have numerous books I'm currently reading.
Found some good nuggets and wrote 14 pages of notes. Worth a read if you're in the SAAS industry or another field want a more lucrative and ethical way to sell to customers.
February 2, 2024
Muito bom e prático. Só cuidado para não transformarmos em mais uma receita. Há muitos pressupostos envolvidos para que um negócio esteja suscetível ao passo a passo sugerido no livro.
De fato, mudar o paradigma de marketing de "business value" para "customer value" faz muito sentido para muitos negócios, especialmente no caso dos SaaS. Também é uma forma de reduzir a objetificação do clientes, e direcionar o foco para abordagens mais orientadas aos fatores experienciais e humanos, o que é, em si, um desafio para muitos negócios.
De fato, mudar o paradigma de marketing de "business value" para "customer value" faz muito sentido para muitos negócios, especialmente no caso dos SaaS. Também é uma forma de reduzir a objetificação do clientes, e direcionar o foco para abordagens mais orientadas aos fatores experienciais e humanos, o que é, em si, um desafio para muitos negócios.
May 31, 2024
Laudi brings Jobs To Be Done to the world of marketing. This is a great companion to Demand Side Sales 101 and Sales Pitch. A someone who has spend their career looking at how to understand customer needs to create products, it's interesting to see that successful marketers do the same thing once the product is complete. The book gets into a lot of nice, tactical detail for people looking to operationalize these ideas.
September 16, 2023
Not for me
Coming from a Customer-Facing Engineering background, I could not find this book very insightful. Although I suspect someone from a different background who is more at a distance from customers would find it useful. So it's a average-good book filled with fundamentally correct advice but just not very useful for me personally
Coming from a Customer-Facing Engineering background, I could not find this book very insightful. Although I suspect someone from a different background who is more at a distance from customers would find it useful. So it's a average-good book filled with fundamentally correct advice but just not very useful for me personally
January 13, 2024
Talk about a guide to success. This book is filled with examples, tactics and advice. Don't even get me started on the excellent workbook with templates and the newsletter that you can sign up for. If you want to ensure that your customers are successful and that you can retain the revenue, here is your complete guide.
May 26, 2024
I can't tell if this book is for real. CLG, based on this, is what every sales person does. The fact that SaaS companies tend to be PLG and thus forget about customers doesn't make this book rocket science amazing insights. Go read any sales 101 book, same stuff. I give it 2 stars because there are that many people out there with no clue what to do and they do give a good breakdown.
October 5, 2024
Growth the right way: Customer Led
As a technical founder, I heard about product led growth and sales led growth. I was inundated with marketing advice that is all over the place. As an engineer, I needed a fundamental first-principles based approach to growth. Forget the funnels delivered BIG.
As a technical founder, I heard about product led growth and sales led growth. I was inundated with marketing advice that is all over the place. As an engineer, I needed a fundamental first-principles based approach to growth. Forget the funnels delivered BIG.
June 15, 2023
The book is a must for product managers
A new tool for user research. Incredible action items.
Finally I can understand what to do and how to proceed with customer/audience research. The book is accompanied with a workbook full of instructions and helpful exercises.
A new tool for user research. Incredible action items.
Finally I can understand what to do and how to proceed with customer/audience research. The book is accompanied with a workbook full of instructions and helpful exercises.
May 17, 2024
This book contains marketing gold as the most actionable and transformative advice on growth marketing. Customer-Lead Growth is what every business should implement if they want to give their customers the best experience ever.
November 25, 2025
Finally, a business book that doesn’t amount to “hustle harder”. This book is basically a few case studies on how the author worked with product teams at Sparktoro and a few other companies to maximize marketing efforts. Very valuable insight even if you don’t sell SAAS.
August 17, 2023
Felt light
This book is a quick read. But I felt it did itn't deeply explore the subject. I felt at the end something was lacking.
This book is a quick read. But I felt it did itn't deeply explore the subject. I felt at the end something was lacking.
September 27, 2024
DNF, made it 50% through. It’s just about jobs to be done, there is nothing new here.
August 3, 2025
Very useful and applied this to my business. Saw good results and it sparked new ideas!
July 4, 2023
This book provides a good reminder (and insight) on how to truly focus on the customers needs, problems and feelings. It may not be appropriate for all readers, as it focuses exclusively on technology and Saas businesses.
January 13, 2024
This book is a must-read for anyone in SaaS. All too often, teams of all sizes struggle with having a million things to do -- but only one or two that truly matter. Figuring out what that ‘one thing’ is, however, can seem impossible. This book will offer you practical tips, strategic insights, and real examples that will help fast-track your growth beyond any best practice or hack. Stop guessing and pick up this book immediately. You won’t put it down!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews