Hubspot: lifecycle stages & lead status

Okay, let’s get into Hubspots handy feature for keeping an overview of (potential) clients and the stage they are in with your company.

The lifecycle stages are basically labels you put on your contacts in HubSpot. They show you where each person or company is at in their journey with your business. It’s like having a roadmap for each customer. Let us elaborate, why they are so useful and how they differ from the lead status of a client.

Lifecycle stages

So, HubSpot comes with these default lifecycle stages, right? They’re set up to automatically update as your contacts move through different phases of their journey with your business. It’s like having an autopilot that knows what’s up with your customers.

Hubspots lifecycle stages:

1. Subscriber

These are people who signed up to get emails or newsletters from you. They’re just starting to get to know you.

2. Lead

These folks have done something more than just subscribing. Maybe they downloaded something or joined a webinar. They’re showing a bit more interest.

3. Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

Here, your marketing team has flagged these leads as good potential. They’re interacting with your stuff and seem interested.

4. Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)

Now, your sales team is getting involved. They think these leads have a real shot at becoming customers.

5. Opportunity

These are your potential deals. People in this stage are seriously considering what you’re offering.

6. Customer

These people have bought from you. They liked what they saw and made a purchase.

7. Evangelist

These customers really liked what they bought and are telling others about it.

8. Other

This is for anyone who doesn’t fit into the other categories.

But here’s the cool part:

You’re not just stuck with the automatic updates. You can also get hands-on and update these stages manually. This is super handy when you’ve got specific insights or when a contact doesn’t quite fit the typical mold.

For instance, say someone jumps from just knowing about your brand (a Lead) to being super interested in buying (an Opportunity). HubSpot might automatically update them to a Marketing Qualified Lead first, but you know they’re ready for the sales team to take over. In this case, you can jump in and manually update their stage to Sales Qualified Lead or even Opportunity.

This flexibility is great because it lets you tailor the system to fit your unique business flow. You get the best of both worlds – the efficiency of automatic updates and the precision of manual control. It’s all about making the system work for you and keeping your customer engagement sharp and relevant.

AND if you’re in the middle of organising your Hubspot account, it’s also useful that you can bulk update several projects and putting them in the right stages!

Lead status & lifecycle stages

Alright, let’s break down the difference between Lead status and lifecycle stages in HubSpot, and why they play so well together!

The difference

Lifecycle stages are the big-picture labels that show where someone is in their journey with your business. From just getting to know you (Subscriber) to actually buying something (Customer), these stages cover the broad strokes of the customer journey.

A lead status on the other hand this is more specific. It’s a sub-category within the Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) stage. Lead status gives you the fine details about where a lead is in the sales process. Examples for a lead status are: new, open, in progress, open deal, unqualified, attempt to contact, connected , bad timing.

So, while Lifecycle Stages are about the overall journey, Lead Status is about the specific steps in the sales process.

Why they work so well together

Using lifecycle stages and lead status together is like having a super-detailed roadmap for your sales and marketing efforts. The Lifecycle Stage tells you the general area your contact is in, like “Hey, they’re interested!” Then, the Lead Status gives you the specifics, like “They’ve been contacted but haven’t responded yet.” This combo allows your team to tailor their approach precisely. For marketing, it means sending the right kind of content at the right time. For sales, it’s about knowing exactly how to follow up with a lead. It’s all about being relevant and timely, which is key in keeping your leads moving smoothly through the funnel.

In short, while Lifecycle Stages set the scene, Lead Status brings the details. Together, they help you create a more personalised, effective approach for each contact, making sure no one falls through the cracks.

To sum up

For any business these two features, especially combined, are super powerful. They help in segmenting contacts accurately, ensuring that marketing efforts are tailored to the right group. Sales teams can also gauge the readiness of a lead to buy, making their efforts more efficient. This level of detail and clarity in tracking a customer’s journey can lead to more effective communication, better customer experiences, and ultimately, more successful conversions.

In short, it’s about having the right conversation with the right person at the right time, and that’s a game-changer for any business.

Setting up lifecycle stages and lead statuses that actually reflect your sales process is exactly the kind of work our team handles as a HubSpot implementation partner.

We at Flatline Agency are willing to help you with Hubspot as well. As a gold partner we can bring you to the next level with this amazing platform! Fell free to contact us.