What is the traditional marketing funnel?
For decades, the marketing funnel has been the foundation of how brands plan campaigns and measure success. It provided a simple and structured way of understanding consumer behavior:
Awareness → Consideration → Purchase
The funnel worked because customer discovery was once straightforward - print ads, TV spots, or direct sales calls. A step-by-step journey made sense when information was limited and buying decisions were slower.
But today’s consumer journey looks nothing like that. Shoppers switch between platforms, devices, and formats. They research on Google, scroll TikTok, read reviews, and ask friends before they ever reach your website. The funnel hasn’t disappeared, but it no longer reflects how people actually buy.
How is the Marketing Funnel and Consumer Journey Changing?
The rise of new media platforms, short-form video, and on-demand search has reshaped how people make purchasing decisions. Today’s buying journey looks a lot different - non-linear and fragmented. A potential customer might:
- Discover your brand on TikTok
- Search for reviews on Google
- Click a retargeting ad
- Ask a friend for their opinion
- Read a blog post
- Watch a Youtube video demo
all before deciding to purchase. Many skip steps entirely or jump back and forth between different stages.
For performance marketers, this means the “funnel” is no longer a fixed sequence - it’s a flexible, looping network of possible paths. At Rely Digital, we’ve learned to design campaigns that meet people wherever they are, rather than forcing them into a rigid structure.
So how does this shift play out in real campaigns? We’ve put together a few examples from our own work, where data and flexibility outperformed traditional funnel logic.
Example 1: When Viewers Jumped Straight to Conversions
For a B2B software client, our analytics shows that a large number of users went from watching top-of–funnel brand videos directly to downloading bottom-of-funnel assets, skipping over the mid-funnel educational content entirely.
Traditional funnel logic would have kept showing these users more educational content, slowing down their journey. But the data showed they were already sales-ready.
We retargeted video viewers directly with bottom-of-funnel ads promoting product demos and pricing
The impact? Shorter conversion paths, more qualified leads, and a lower cost per acquisition.
Example 2: When Landing Pages Matched the Users, Not the Funnel
Why should landing pages align with user intent?
Because forcing every visitor through the same generic page ignores the diversity of their needs and buying stages.
For another client, we replaced a single all-in-one landing page with service-specific landing pages, each optimized for keywords and ad copy driving the traffic.
Someone searching for a specific service is more likely to convert when the page speaks directly to that service, not when they have to dig for relevant information.
We built targeted pages with copy, CTAs, and visuals tailored to each service offering.
This resulted in 223% more MQLs in one month, better Google Ads optimization scores, and stronger ad placements.
Example 3: Why Channel Performance Changed the Plan
Should you stick with your original channel mix if it underperforms?
No, data should always drive decisions.
For MEC, an e-commerce brand focused on quality outerwear, our launch plan paired Meta ads for top-of-funnel awareness with Google Shopping for bottom-of-funnel sales. But shopping struggled due to low search volume and limited spend potential.
Many marketers stick to the planned funnel mix, even if one channel clearly isn’t pulling its weight, because “that’s the funnel structure”
We replaced Shopping with Demand Gen ads for awareness and shifted bottom-of-funnel efforts to Google remarketing.
We saw a 204% increase in product sales across paid channels in just 28 days.
Example 4: When a Best-Seller Became a Retention Engine
How can a top-selling product drive long-term growth?
By using it as a gateway to deeper customer relationships not as a final transaction.
For one eCommerce brand, we noticed a consistent pattern: a particular product category was the first purchase for a large percentage of customers.
Many businesses treat that first sale as the end point in their funnel, missing the chance to grow lifetime value..
We set up Meta’s dynamic retargeting to sync with post-purchase data, showing customers personalized product sets like “complete the set” or “you might also like.”
We saw increased upsells, higher-margin product adoption, and stronger ROAS, all without additional customer acquisition costs.
What This Means for Modern Marketing Cycles
What’s the biggest shift for performance marketers?
The traditional funnel shouldn’t be forgotten, but the fact that it’s no longer linear should be acknowledged. This means:
- Campaigns must adapt to real-world user behavior rather than forcing a predetermined path.
- Messaging and creative should allow multiple and entry and exit points
- Performance data should guide channel allocation and creative choices in real time.
- Retention strategies can be powerful for growth as new customer acquisition.
The brands that thrive in this environment are the ones willing to break from the script and follow where the customer leads.
H2: A Simple Framework to Rethink Your Funnel
Here are a few simple steps you can apply to make your funnel more adaptable:
- Map touchpoints instead of steps - Identify where customers actually interact with your brand, even if it doesn’t fit neatly into “awareness” or “consideration.”
- Design for flexibility - Create content and ads that work at multiple stages - whether someone is brand-new or purchase-ready.
- Let data guide you - Use performance insights to shift channels, creative, and spend, rather than sticking to a strict schedule.
- Think beyond the sale - Use first purchases as an opportunity to build long-term relationships through retention strategies.
Conclusion:
The traditional marketing funnel may no longer capture the way people actually buy, but it still offers a starting point. What matters now is how marketers adapt to it to reflect today’s reality: journeys that are non linear, fragmented, and highly individual.
A modern funnel is about touchpoints, flexibility, and responsiveness. The brands that perform are the ones that recognize patterns in behavior and adjust in real time, creating pathways that reflect how people actually choose to buy.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is a marketing funnel?
A marketing funnel is a model that describes the stages a customer typically goes through before making a purchase. Traditionally, it’s broken into three main stages: Awareness (discovering the brand), Consideration (evaluating options), and Purchase (making a decision).
Why are consumers straying from the linear funnel?
The rise of new media platforms, online reviews, influencer marketing, and social sharing has made buying decisions more complex. Consumers now have endless resources that are easily accessible, so they research, compare, and engage across multiple platforms before purchasing.
What is a non-linear consumer journey?
A non-linear consumer journey is when a customer doesn’t move step-by-step through the funnel. For example, someone might see a brand on social media, immediately visit the website, and buy, skipping the consideration phase. Others may spend weeks researching and revisiting multiple stages before making a decision.
How has new media changed the marketing funnel?
Platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, Youtube Shorts, and Google Shopping have introduced new entry points into the funnel. A buyer might discover a brand through user-generated content, skip to reading reviews, and only later land on a website. These fragmented touchpoints encourage marketers to build flexible, cross-channel strategies instead of relying on a single funnel path.
What does full-funnel marketing” mean today?
Full-funnel marketing now means being present across all stages of the journey, but without assuming customers will experience them in order. It’s about creating content, campaigns, and touchpoints that allow someone to convert no matter where they’re entering the funnel.
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