The Truth About Customer Journeys, Funnels & Pipelines: Why Your Marketing Needs Both Structure AND Flexibility
- Erin Ratliff
- Jun 20
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 22
Real buyer journeys are rarely linear, neat and tidy. They’re unpredictable, messy. Just like humans.
For years, marketers have been taught to think of funnels as neat, linear pathways:
But the reality is that buyers are not robots and rarely go straight from awareness to purchase. The journey takes the right mix of timing, strategy and psychology.
Today’s consumer may skim your About page, see a social post six weeks later, disappear for months, and then suddenly message you, ready to buy. This doesn’t mean funnels are irrelevant in modern marketing - it just means we need to evolve how we think about them.
There is no way around it: as attention spans fragment and the buyer journey becomes more self-directed, the number of touchpoints required is increasing. That's why QUALITy is more important than quantity. Delivering consistency, value, and relevance across multiple channels is what will ultimately seal the deal for your customer.
Research suggests modern consumers need anywhere from 20–500 or more touchpoints before converting, depending on the industry and complexity of the purchase. Every channel mix, price point, and audience is different.
The Core Phases of Every Funnel
At its core, all funnels still revolve around three key stages. Every good marketing strategy should intentionally guide people through these stages — even if their actual journey zigzags back and forth.
Top of Funnel: Awareness Stage (Know)
The customer discovers you, initial interest is piqued.
Content Goal: Create warm entry points. Make people aware you exist. Build visibility
Tactics:
Advertising focused on problem
Consistent content marketing
On-site SEO: Landing Pages, Blogs
Off-site SEO: Review sites, Directories, etc
Valuable Social media posts
Educational videos or how-tos
Online Reviews
Infographics
Strategic Partnerships/Collaborations - influencers
Podcasts
Lead magnets (checklists, quick guides, free trainings etc)
Middle of Funnel: Consideration Stage (Like, Trust)
The customer begins to engage with you.
Content Goal: Build trust and likeability, nurture relationships, position expertise.
Tactics:
Email newsletters
Email sequences
Webinars
Freebie downloads - in-depth guides, ebooks etc
Case studies
Detailed testimonials or customer/client interviews
Product demos
Trial experiences
Comparison content
Client interviews/testimonials
Retargeting ads
The Funnel In Action: TOFU gets them in the door. MOFU feeds and nourishes them. BOFU removes friction and seals the deal.
Bottom of Funnel: Conversion Stage (Buy)
The customer buys from you or another valuable conversion is made.
Content goal: Prompt purchase. Overcome final objections. Close sale.
Tactics:
Simple, direct offers
Personalized customer service
Sales teams
Free consultations or demos
Pricing pages
Product/service landing pages
Personalized email offers
Trial offers
Live chats / Q&A
Detailed testimonials/success stories
Guarantee
CTAs on Copy
Outside Bottom of Funnel: Retention (Advocacy)
Depending on your business model, you may also add a final phase to your funnel that delivers ongoing value and support
Loyalty programs
Referrals
Personal follow-ups
Ambassador programs
Reminder: Your job isn’t to force people down a straight and narrow path. Your job is to create enough valuable, resonant touchpoints that meet your audience wherever they happen to be.
Building Sustainable & Strategic System
It's possible you don’t have a growth problem in your funnel — you simply have a systems problem. Systems are simple,reliable and repeatable opportunities for connection that compound over time.
Step 1: Build Your Systems
What are the actual vehicles that move people down the pipeline? Create ongoing processes — not one-time campaigns.
Content Systems
Content fuels SEO, organic discovery, and nurtures early-stage leads. Long-form content like blogs, podcasts, YouTube, or webinars builds deep authority, while short-form content is the way to spark initial curiosity, a way for potential customers to sample you. The key is to post consistently and strategically on the platforms where your audience already spends time.
Community Systems
Use lead magnets to convert readers into email subscribers or private community groups so that you can follow up and stay top of mind. Let them experience you and your brand personality to build trust and likeability.
Ad Systems
Paid ads amplify what’s already working. They perform best when backed by strong organic content, referrals, and social presence. Track cost per acquisition, lead quality, show rates, close rates.
Referrals System
Satisfied clients become your strongest advocates. Use systematic referral asks, client calls, goal reviews, and in-person networking to consistently invite new leads.
Step 2: Monitor & Measure What Matters
What KPIs are truly indicating your growth and success? After you have data at every stage you can scientifically test different copy, creative, and targeting approaches to find what resonates most and refine and optimize for the best results.
The Key to Funnel Success: Clarity, Consistency, Value + Measurement.
The 80/20 Rule
A good rule of thumb is to ensure your content is 80% TOFU, and 20% BOFU.
Top/Middle of Funnel:
Awareness
Attraction
Connection
Curiosity
Inspiration
Education
Entertainment
Middle/Bottom of Funnel:
Consider
Convince
Convert
Promote
Funnels are to help YOU stay clear and organized — not to control or manipulate the customer's behavior.
The Reality
Here’s the truth most marketers won’t admit: There Is No Perfect Funnel. Every path to purchase is different and unique.
People jump around.
They may binge your podcast one month, then ghost you the next.
They may scan a LinkedIn post, come back after a webinar, and finally buy after a DM conversation.
Think of your funnel less like a rigid diagram and more like a functional diagnostic system to identify areas for improvement:
Is awareness converting into action?
Are you losing people at a certain stage?
Where is trust breaking down?
Your content has one job: to build trust. If it doesn't do that, you not only have wasted your time building it but you've also lost your lead. Building consistent messaging across multiple touchpoints will have the most influence on purchasing decision.
Wrapping It Up
Structure and systems matter, but so does flexibility. Build funnels that guide your audience, but leave room for real human behavior, indecision and deep consideration. When you do that consistently, your marketing, and your customer's decisions will eventually go from chaotic to clear.
Instead of building a funnel, build a playground. It's about creating dynamic spaces for exploration, validation, autonomy, and movement.
Erin Ratliff is a holistic business coach and consultant specializing in organic growth + visibility for heart-led soul-preneurs and energy-sensitive self-starters in pursuit of personal and planetary healing.
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