Customer Journeys
As Mckinsey points out in their excellent The Customer Decision Journey post buying moves from the bottom of a "conversion funnel" to the middle. Thanks to social media and friends-of-friends marketing winning customer advocacy trumps all.
This post ClickZ post discusses the importance of influencing what happens in this brave new world of customers, journeys, and conversion.
Social media is shifting the "customer journey" and the conversion funnel thinking. Today what happens after an online sales is arguably more important than what happens before. Win advocacy or die.