Is the Traditional Marketing Funnel Dead? [+3 Modern Alternatives]
The marketing funnel is likely to be one of the first — if not the first — things you pick up in Marketing 101. But the traditional marketing funnel is changing. Its days as the cornerstone of how we understand customer behaviour may be numbered.
Today’s customers — particularly the younger generations — behave differently from those of previous decades. Driven by digital transformation, they’re discerning and well-informed, and expect more than just transactions: they want meaningful interactions, genuine engagement and community.
For example:
- More than half of Gen Z say their favourite brands make them feel part of a community.
- 40% of Gen Z look for reviews from online influencers, compared to 31% of Millennials.
- 57% of Gen Z go to YouTube to learn about new brands, products, services and experiences.
Gone are the days when a linear marketing funnel could predictably guide prospects from awareness to purchase. As Vogue Business describes, the modern consumer journey is ‘an infinite loop of inspiration, exploration, community and loyalty.’
To thrive in this environment, marketers must embrace models that prioritise engagement and personalisation at multiple touchpoints.
In this article, we’ll explore:
- What the traditional marketing funnel is — and is traditional marketing dead?
- Changes in consumer behaviour and emerging digital trends
- Alternative models to the traditional marketing funnel and practical steps for marketers
What is the traditional marketing funnel and why does it matter?
The traditional marketing funnel has long been a cornerstone of marketing strategy. It illuminates the journey a prospect treads from being unfamiliar with a product (or there being a need for it), through to raised awareness and finally, a purchase. Historically, this model served a good function. Originally conceived in the 19th century, the traditional funnel model was instrumental in helping marketers understand and influence consumer behaviour at various stages — typically outlined by the AIDA model, as follows:
- Awareness: The prospect becomes aware of their problem and potential solutions. Marketing efforts are focused on reaching as many people as possible to build brand recognition.
- Interest: The prospect shows interest in a group of services or products. Content and engagement strategies nurture this interest and provide more information about the offerings.
- Desire: The prospect begins to evaluate a specific brand. Personalised marketing and targeted campaigns play a crucial role in influencing the prospect's perception and desire for the brand's products or services.
- Action: Finally, the prospect decides whether to make a purchase. Effective call-to-actions and seamless purchasing processes encourage sales.
By providing a clear path from awareness to action, the funnel reveals what your company must do to influence consumers at each stage, driving greater sales, loyalty and brand awareness. It also helps identify where potential customers might drop off and allows for targeted strategies to address these gaps.
Is traditional marketing dead? Changes in consumer behaviour and digital marketing trends
The traditional marketing funnel has held an important role in illuminating consumer behaviour and interactions with brands. However, this linear progression from awareness to purchase has been challenged by the growth of the internet, technology and social media. In light of this, is traditional marketing still relevant?
Archrival’s research for Vogue Business highlights that what once was a direct beeline from awareness to sale is now more of a leisurely stroll, with multiple pitstops and detours en route. Here’s why traditional marketing isn’t working like it used to:
Community
A sense of community and identity is a powerful driver of loyalty and engagement. 54% of Gen Z say their favourite brands make them feel like they belong to something bigger and 84% say they’re more likely to purchase from brands that they see as ‘cool’.
Social media and influencer marketing
Social media platforms have become central to brand discovery and engagement. The top platforms where Gen Z learns about new brands, products and experiences are YouTube (57%), TikTok (53%) and Instagram (44%). Additionally, 51% of Gen Z believe social media influencers are key trendsetters, making influencer marketing more crucial than ever.
Consumer discernment
70% of Gen Z and 69% of Millennials only trust a brand after conducting their own research. This makes educational content, product reviews and active online communities vital components of a successful marketing strategy.
Real-life experiences
It’s not all about digital. Three-quarters of Gen Z think real-life experiences are more important than digital ones, compared to 66% of Millennials. Contrary to what you’d expect, this suggests a growing emphasis on in-person engagement with brands to guide purchasing decisions.
3 alternative models to the traditional marketing funnel
The way consumers interact with brands has clearly changed. And with it, the traditional marketing funnel may no longer suffice.
Instead, multiple new models for conceptualising customer journeys and interactions with brands are emerging, each with its own features and benefits.
Here, we explore and compare three of the most popular: the Content Experience Model, the Flywheel Model and the Customer Journey Model.
The Content Experience Model
Imagine a world where content isn’t just a step in the process but the journey itself. The Content Experience Model shifts the focus from guiding prospects through a funnel to creating engaging, personalised experiences at every touchpoint. Rather than viewing content as a means to an end, this model treats content as a continuous, evolving journey — an end in itself.
Why it works:
- Personalisation: Tailors content to individual user preferences and behaviours, making each interaction meaningful.
- Engagement: Keeps the audience captivated through interactive and immersive experiences.
- Flexibility: Adapts to various customer journeys, making it more versatile than the traditional funnel.
- Brand authority: Builds brand loyalty and authority by providing value, knowledge and satisfaction.
- ROI: Minimal investments can yield significant returns through valuable content experiences.
Example:
Landing page software LeadPages embraces this model by offering a comprehensive suite of educational resources, including webinars, guides and podcasts, to keep their audience engaged and informed. The focus is on providing valuable content across the board to engage and inspire their audience, ultimately converting them into customers and brand advocates.
The Flywheel Model
Championed by HubSpot, the Flywheel Model redefines customer interactions as a cyclical process focused on three key stages: attract, engage and delight. This reprioritises marketing efforts around customer satisfaction under the ethos that happy customers are powerful promoters who drive new business through word-of-mouth and referrals.
Why it works:
- Customer-centric: Places customers at the heart of all activities, ensuring their satisfaction and loyalty.
- Sustainable growth: Creates a self-sustaining growth cycle by leveraging customer satisfaction.
- Seamless experience: Encourages collaboration across departments to enhance the customer experience.
- Leverages Reviews: Utilises customer reviews and recommendations to influence potential buyers.
Example:
Not just talking the talk, HubSpot uses the Flywheel Model throughout its own marketing strategy. By investing in customer marketing, advocacy and onboarding processes, Hubspot creates a cohesive ecosystem that enhances brand value and customer loyalty.
The Flywheel Model helps Hubspot not only enrich customer experiences but also identify weak spots for improvement. For example, free software is used to enhance the customer onboarding experience and a broad range of educational content is published on its site with a focus on providing extraordinary value to its audience.
The Customer Journey Model
The Customer Journey Model involves mapping out the entire journey a customer takes with your brand, from initial contact to post-purchase interactions. This approach helps identify and optimise key touchpoints that influence purchasing decisions specific to your customer segments.
Why it works:
- Holistic view: Provides a comprehensive understanding of customer interactions across all channels.
- Optimisation: Identifies critical touchpoints for improvement to enhance overall customer experience.
- Alignment: Ensures that all marketing efforts align with customer needs and behaviours.
- Customer Insight: Deepens understanding of customer demographics and psychographics.
- Empowers customer service: By highlighting touchpoints where customers feel delight or friction, it allows for strategic intervention across the customer journey.
Example:
Dapper Apps uses detailed customer journey maps to outline the steps customers go through when interacting with them, including initial research and post-purchase phases. This helps them plan effective marketing and customer service strategies.
Expert opinions: Is the traditional funnel still relevant, or evolving into something new?
To understand if the traditional marketing funnel really is evolving — and what it's evolving into — we asked marketing industry experts for their take. How have they noticed the traditional funnel model change in practice in their marketing strategies, and which approach best describes this new landscape?
‘Customer journeys are not straight lines anymore’
- Joosep Seitam, Founder, Icecartel‘In my business, I've seen the traditional marketing funnel change a lot. Nowadays, customer journeys are not straight lines anymore; they go back and forth between different stages.
This change is because people use many digital touchpoints and their phones to shop. New models, like the "messy middle" described by Google, focus on understanding what customers want at each stage.
For example, Ulta Beauty's loyalty program, called Ultamate Rewards, is very popular. It has over 33 million members! This program offers points for every dollar spent, which can be used for discounts on future purchases. Because of this program, Ulta has seen a big increase in repeat customers. In fact, Ulta reports that their loyalty program members spend more and shop more often than non-members… Loyalty members make up over 95% of Ulta's total sales.’
‘A more cyclical or iterative model’
- Karen Chen, Manager, Journaling Supplies‘We’ve observed that the funnel is evolving into a more cyclical or iterative model. Modern approaches, like the “Customer Journey Map” and “Flywheel,” account for post-purchase experiences and ongoing engagement. For instance, after implementing a content marketing strategy with interactive journaling workshops, we shifted from a linear funnel to a cyclical model where repeat engagement and customer advocacy are central. This approach helped us build a loyal community that continuously advocates for our brand.’
Shifting towards educational content
- Rich Casselman, Chief Marketing Officer, DJC Law‘I worked with a company that was struggling to convert leads into customers using a traditional marketing funnel approach. By shifting their focus towards creating educational content that addressed their customers' pain points, they were able to build trust and establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry. This led to a significant increase in conversions and customer loyalty.’
Practical steps for marketers
What can marketers take away from the evolution of the traditional marketing funnel? What actionable steps can ensure marketing strategies stay ahead in a digital world that’s always on the move, and where consumers expect more and more from brands? Here’s how marketers can navigate this new terrain:
1. Build a community
As we’ve seen, modern consumers expect much more from brands than mere hand-holding towards a purchase. Younger generations in particular want fully-fledged experiences, connection and a feeling of inclusion in the company’s story. Building a brand community and identity is essential.
There are a whole host of ways you can build an engaged and loyal following around your brand. For example:
- Collaborate with influencers who resonate with your target audience to drive trend adoption and purchase decisions.
- Showcase customer reviews and user-generated content (UGC) to build trust and authenticity.
- Foster a sense of belonging by engaging with customers through events, interactive content and exhibiting shared values.
- Whether online or offline, create experiences that cater to your audience's preferences, such as in-store experiences for those who prefer physical shopping, while maintaining engaging online interactions.
- Respond to micro-trends on social media, ensuring your brand remains relevant and part of the culture and conversation.
Alt text: A group of three girls point at a laptop screen, indicating engagement with an online community. Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash
2. Analyse, optimise, adapt
Your marketing should never — I repeat, never — be a stab in the dark. Marketing strategies should be guided by data rather than assumptions, using analytics to inform your decisions, optimise your funnel and adapt your content to better meet customer needs.
Track both qualitative and quantitative data to gain a comprehensive understanding of consumer behaviour. With this, you can review and adapt your marketing in response to changing consumer behaviours and market dynamics, including identifying bottlenecks, testing new strategies and optimising your efforts.
The Customer Journey Model can be particularly useful here, as it helps map out and improve key touchpoints throughout the entire customer journey.
Wide Angle Analytics features for tracking and analysing web interactions will also help you make informed, data-driven decisions that enhance your marketing effectiveness. With tools like Custom Events and Actions, you can capture a wide range of interactions, giving you the detailed data needed to refine your strategies and improve conversion rates.
3. Focus on the customer journey
The customer journey doesn’t end at checkout. Did you know reducing churn by just 5% can lead to an increase in profitability of up to 125%? By investing in customers even after they buy, you can significantly boost profitability.
To achieve this, integrate stages of loyalty and advocacy into your strategy and create engaging, personalised experiences at every touchpoint, including for past customers.
Get the customer insights you need with Wide Angle Analytics
If not totally dead, the traditional marketing funnel is at the very least evolving. In an era where consumer expectations are fluid and digital interactions are multifaceted, the static stages of the traditional marketing funnel struggle to capture the full picture.
Models like the Flywheel, Customer Journey Mapping and Content Experience offer a more nuanced approach than the traditional marketing funnel. They move beyond linear paths to refocus marketing towards creating engaging, personalised experiences that nurture relationships throughout the entire customer lifecycle. These methods better align with modern consumer behaviours, helping brands foster deeper connections and drive growth. But to truly thrive and understand your audience, having the right tools at your disposal is essential.
Wide Angle Analytics provides the insights you need to adapt and excel. Our analytics platform helps you understand your audience, track key metrics and optimise your marketing strategies — all while maintaining strict data privacy compliance.
Ready to understand your audience better?
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Lauren Meredith is a seasoned content marketing strategist and writer helping online businesses connect with their audience and maximise organic success. Her SEO content secures #1 positions on Google, features in publications such as The Independent, Yahoo and academic domains, and has won an award at the Digital Growth Awards.