Marketing funnel
Strategy and planning
Strategy and planning
The marketing funnel describes the path to a purchase in stages: awareness, consideration, conversion and loyalty — with a share dropping off at each stage.
At the top someone does not know you exist and searches broadly. In consideration they compare solutions and suppliers. At conversion it comes down to final doubts: price, terms, proof and convenience. Loyalty follows: repeat purchase, expansion and referral.
Each stage needs different means and different measures. Top: reach and recognition. Middle: engagement and information requests. Bottom: conversion rate and cost per enquiry. After that: repeat purchase and customer value.
The funnel shape describes numbers, not behaviour. People jump around, arrive at the bottom through a referral, or return months later. Use the model to find where the leak is, not to impose a route on the customer.
In practice
Investing only at the bottom because it measures best. Without supply at the top the bottom dries up — usually visible a quarter later.
Related terms
- FunnelA funnel is the model describing the path from unknown visitor to customer in steps, with a share dropping off at each step.
- Customer journeyThe customer journey is the route someone travels from first contact to customer and beyond, including every touchpoint along the way.
- Top of the funnelTop of the funnel (ToFu) is the top of your funnel: people with a question or problem who are not yet looking for your offer.
- Middle of the funnelMiddle of the funnel (MoFu) is the stage where someone knows what to solve and compares options: approaches, suppliers, prices and risks.
- Bottom of the funnelBottom of the funnel (BoFu) is the bottom of your funnel: someone wants to buy or enquire and is only choosing who from.