• by Danyelle Horrillo , Yesterday

Marketers have traditionally relied on the funnel to understand customer behavior. Awareness leads to consideration, consideration leads to conversion, reengage and repeat -- it’s simple, logical, and easy to build strategies around.

To be clear, I don’t think the funnel is dead. However, the challenge is that consumers no longer move through the funnel the way they once did.

Today’s buying journeys are faster, far less predictable, and far more interconnected. Consumers can discover a brand, research it, validate it through reviews, compare alternatives, and make a purchase decision in minutes. They can also re-enter the process at any point, often influenced by existing customers.

The middle funnel isn't disappearing -- it's shrinking.

Historically, the consideration stage took time. Consumers gathered information, weighed options, and gradually moved toward a decision. Marketers often had weeks or months to influence that process, depending on the purchase.

Today, much of that research happens before brands even know a consumer exists. Search engines, social platforms, reviews, comparison sites, online communities and AI tools have made information more accessible than ever. Consumers are arriving with a level of education and confidence that once required multiple touchpoints over a longer timeframe.

Consideration hasn’t disappeared. It just happens faster, in a different order, and often out of view. In many cases, consumers enter the journey already halfway through it.

Not everyone starts at the top anymore.

Traditional funnel models assume customers begin with awareness and move sequentially. Behavior is rarely that linear. Consumers might gather information from sources we may not control -- discovering a brand through a friend’s recommendation, a review, creator content, search, or even a retargeting ad. By the time they engage, they may already understand the product and whether it fits their needs. This creates a challenge since we often build campaigns around where we think customers should be instead of where they actually are.

The purchase is no longer the finish line.

The strongest argument for viewing the journey as a cycle is what happens after conversion, and that’s driven by today’s social-first environment. I

n traditional funnel thinking, the purchase is the end of the story. But today's customers don't disappear after making a purchase. They leave reviews, create social content, recommend products, answer questions, and shape opinions in both online and offline spaces.

In many ways, today’s customers power tomorrow’s awareness. A positive experience can generate advocacy that introduces new consumers to a brand. Those new consumers begin their own journeys, influenced by the people who came before them.

What this means for marketers

As customer behavior evolves, strategies need to evolve in tandem. This doesn't mean abandoning the funnel. It’s still a valuable framework for organizing messaging, measurement, and planning. But it’s time to treat it as a guide rather than a rigid map.  Marketers should consider how channels, content, and customer experiences work together across a fluid, dynamic & interconnected journey, rather than a prescribed path.

Customers are discovering brands in new places, researching on their own terms, moving through consideration faster. And they’re influencing future buyers after they become customers themselves.