From 97ee2628021b5a1209447a37359b4fda25003ac1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Michael Davis <MichaelBDavis@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2026 18:58:45 -0800
Subject: [PATCH] Create v2/customer-journey.md

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+# Customer Journey
+
+## Purpose
+
+This page describes how the Commercial Organization supports customers across the full customer journey at FlowFuse.  
+It defines lifecycle stages, primary ownership, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure a consistent, coordinated experience from initial engagement through renewal and expansion.
+
+The customer journey is not linear in practice, but clear stage ownership helps reduce friction, confusion, and risk as customers progress.
+
+---
+
+## Customer Lifecycle Overview
+
+FlowFuse organizes the customer journey into the following high-level stages:
+
+1. Awareness & Initial Engagement  
+2. Discovery & Qualification  
+3. Solution Evaluation  
+4. Proof of Concept (PoC)  
+5. Commercial Commitment  
+6. Implementation & Adoption  
+7. Ongoing Value & Expansion  
+8. Renewal & Advocacy
+
+Each stage has a primary owner, with other functions contributing as needed.
+
+---
+
+## Lifecycle Stages and Ownership
+
+### 1. Awareness & Initial Engagement
+
+**Primary owner:** Sales  
+**Supporting functions:** Sales Partnerships
+
+Focus:
+- Initial customer engagement
+- High-level qualification
+- Identifying buying context and intent
+
+Outcome:
+- Decision to enter a formal discovery process
+
+---
+
+### 2. Discovery & Qualification
+
+**Primary owner:** Sales  
+**Supporting functions:** Solution Engineering
+
+Focus:
+- Understanding customer problems and impact
+- Validating intent, urgency, and fit
+- Mapping stakeholders and decision process
+
+Outcome:
+- Qualified opportunity with clear next steps
+
+---
+
+### 3. Solution Evaluation
+
+**Primary owner:** Sales  
+**Supporting functions:** Solution Engineering
+
+Focus:
+- Solution alignment and technical validation
+- Targeted demos and technical deep dives
+- Risk identification and mitigation
+
+Outcome:
+- Agreement to proceed to PoC or structured evaluation
+
+---
+
+### 4. Proof of Concept (PoC)
+
+**Primary owner:** Solution Engineering  
+**Supporting functions:** Sales, Professional Services
+
+Focus:
+- Validating solution fit against agreed criteria
+- Reducing technical and delivery risk
+- Establishing confidence in the proposed approach
+
+Outcome:
+- PoC success or failure against defined criteria
+
+---
+
+### 5. Commercial Commitment
+
+**Primary owner:** Sales  
+**Supporting functions:** Solution Engineering, Professional Services
+
+Focus:
+- Proposal development and pricing
+- Contract and commercial alignment
+- Executive and procurement approval
+
+Outcome:
+- Signed agreement and readiness to implement
+
+---
+
+### 6. Implementation & Adoption
+
+**Primary owner:** Customer Success  
+**Supporting functions:** Professional Services, Solution Engineering
+
+Focus:
+- Onboarding and enablement
+- Initial adoption and usage
+- Delivery of contracted services (if applicable)
+
+Outcome:
+- Customer live and realizing initial value
+
+---
+
+### 7. Ongoing Value & Expansion
+
+**Primary owner:** Customer Success  
+**Supporting functions:** Sales, Solution Engineering
+
+Focus:
+- Monitoring customer health and outcomes
+- Identifying additional use cases or value opportunities
+- Supporting expansion discussions when appropriate
+
+Outcome:
+- Sustained adoption and growth of customer value
+
+---
+
+### 8. Renewal & Advocacy
+
+**Primary owner:** Sales  
+**Supporting functions:** Customer Success
+
+Focus:
+- Renewal planning and execution
+- Commercial expansion (where applicable)
+- Customer advocacy and references
+
+Outcome:
+- Renewed relationship and long-term partnership
+
+---
+
+## Guiding Principles
+
+The Commercial Organization supports the customer journey according to the following principles:
+
+- **Clear ownership at every stage**  
+  One function is always accountable, even when multiple functions contribute.
+
+- **Early collaboration reduces downstream risk**  
+  Engaging the right expertise early improves outcomes later.
+
+- **Customer outcomes over internal convenience**  
+  Internal boundaries should not create customer friction.
+
+- **Progression requires intent and validation**  
+  Customers move forward based on readiness, not pressure.
+
+---
+
+## How This Page Is Used
+
+This page provides shared context for:
+
+- Onboarding new team members
+- Aligning cross-functional engagement
+- Clarifying ownership and handoffs
+- Supporting consistent customer experiences
+
+Detailed execution guidance is documented in:
+- Function-specific pages
+- Sales process documentation
+- Playbooks and enablement materials