Feb 12, 2025
6 mins read
Marketing funnels help businesses guide potential buyers from initial awareness to a confirmed purchase. They organize the steps that prospects follow and clarify how each part of the marketing process connects to business goals. Funnels also highlight key points where leads may drop off, which lets teams fix problems more quickly.
Have you ever noticed a progression when you discover a new product online, learn a bit more about it, and then feel compelled to buy?
That path doesn’t happen by chance.
This article explores several types of marketing funnel. You will also see references to Usermaven, a clear analytics tool that tracks funnel effectiveness. Whether you work for a growing B2B SaaS company, run a digital marketing agency, or manage a small business, there’s a funnel approach suited to your plans.
Read on to explore the top funnel structures, how they work, and why they matter.
A marketing funnel is a structured illustration of how people move from the first time they hear about your product or service to the moment they make a purchase. Think of it as a path. Many potential buyers enter from the top, but only a portion finish at the bottom as paying customers. Marketers use this design to manage expectations and guide prospects toward a final sale. It also helps them track what stage people are in so they can offer relevant content or deals.
Why use a funnel at all?
Because it shows how someone goes from being unfamiliar with your brand to becoming a customer. Once you know where that person is on the path, you can speak directly to their concerns. For instance, a new lead might not benefit from an in-depth product demo, but they might appreciate an overview blog post. Meanwhile, a warm lead who has researched your brand could be ready for a free trial or a discount. By recognizing these differences, you can use your resources more effectively, run targeted campaigns, and see higher conversion rates.
Several building blocks make this system run smoothly. First, each part of the funnel should match a stage of the buyer’s path, such as awareness or decision. Second, it’s important to speak directly to the wants of your audience with interesting content. Third, calls-to-action need to be straightforward. Think of small prompts like “Watch a demo” or direct nudges like “Start your free trial.” Fourth, keeping an eye on metrics is essential. You might see that 60 percent of leads never move past the first step. That indicates a need to revise your messaging. Finally, testing ideas and adjusting regularly keeps your funnel from getting stale.
Related: Marketing campaign attribution
A marketing funnel supports a practical way of nurturing leads, answering questions, and pinpointing what motivates someone to buy. As the funnel narrows, people are self-selecting based on how useful they find your brand. Each stage should give them reasons to keep going. Tools like Usermaven offer a simple way to watch these patterns and uncover what parts of the funnel need fine-tuning.
These traditional types of marketing funnels offer clear, step-by-step processes for guiding prospects toward a purchase. The AIDA model is one of the most widely known frameworks, laying out the stages of Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action. On the other hand, the TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU model breaks the funnel into three levels, each addressing different stages of the buyer’s journey. Let’s dive deeper into how each of these frameworks works and how they can shape your marketing strategy.
The AIDA model is one of the most established types of marketing funnel frameworks. Its letters stand for Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action. Each segment reflects a mental step a customer may take on the path to purchase.
Each part of the AIDA model depends on the previous one. If no one is aware of what you do, you won’t have many folks showing interest. If there’s no interest, you won’t spark the desire that leads to a purchase. The combination of all four letters in AIDA lays out a straightforward blueprint for attracting more buyers.
Related: What is SaaS sales funnel
Another simple take on the types of marketing funnel is the TOFU (Top of Funnel), MOFU (Middle of Funnel), and BOFU (Bottom of Funnel) framework. It has three levels, each targeting different needs.
TOFU focuses on winning attention, MOFU on deeper engagement, and BOFU on purchase decisions. By dividing your approach into these segments, you can avoid overwhelming new leads while still satisfying those who want advanced details.
Related: Content marketing funnel
Modern types of marketing funnels focus on ongoing engagement. The Flywheel model turns the funnel into a cycle with Attract, Engage, and Delight. The Bowtie model extends beyond the purchase, focusing on post-sale retention. The See, Think, Do, Care model tailors marketing to buyer intent, ensuring long-term relationships. Let’s dive into how these models work.
Instead of a funnel that stops at the bottom, the Flywheel model, made popular by HubSpot, works more like a cycle. It has three main parts: Attract, Engage, and Delight.
Related: Customer journey analysis
This model emphasizes an ongoing cycle of engagement even after a purchase. People who feel valued spread the word, which keeps your marketing cycle in top shape. Rather than an endpoint, the purchase becomes another step in an ongoing process.
The Bowtie approach looks like two funnels connected in the middle. The first funnel is what you’d normally see: awareness, consideration, and decision steps. The second funnel focuses on post-purchase efforts: onboarding, retention, and advocacy.
Many businesses focus heavily on acquisition and leave a buyer alone after the sale. The Bowtie model stresses that keeping current customers’ content can spark referrals and reduce churn.
Introduced by Avinash Kaushik, this model matches marketing acts to the mindset of potential buyers:
By linking marketing tactics to user intent, you avoid pushing for a sale too soon or neglecting important details that lead to long-term engagement.
Digital marketing funnels like the Email marketing funnel and Content marketing funnel guide leads through targeted stages, from initial attraction to final purchase. Email funnels use lead magnets, nurture sequences, and conversion emails, while content funnels deliver valuable content at each stage. Both require tracking and optimization, and Usermaven helps measure effectiveness to refine your strategy. Let’s dive in.
Many marketers rely on email to guide leads from the earliest steps to a final purchase. The process often includes several important phases:
How do you know if this works well? It depends on several metrics: open rates, click-through rates, and actual purchases. Usermaven offers an intuitive way to watch how emails perform with the help of UTM, allowing you to identify areas that might need improvement and to test new ideas without guesswork.
Content marketing funnels attract and convert leads through various forms of media. Each funnel step has distinct content designed to match the user’s level of awareness.
How the content is circulated varies as well. Search engine optimization and social media sharing can expand reach. A small paid promotion also can bring in more potential leads. Tracking engagement is vital to spot which posts or videos work best. If a certain blog leads to more qualified leads, for instance, you might write more articles on that subject. Usermaven simplifies the analysis by showing you each piece’s impact on conversions and retention.
Marketing funnels highlight the steps between discovering a brand and deciding to become a buyer. Traditional models like AIDA break this process into logical phases, while modern variations like the Flywheel and Bowtie models give more attention to ongoing support. Whichever you pick, keep an eye on performance data to refine your approach.
Usermaven is a dependable resource for analyzing how people engage with each stage and spotting what might need adjustments. Pick a funnel type that fits your goals, be consistent in your efforts, and watch each stage for ways to convert more people into loyal customers.
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