Marketing funnels help us visualize any customer segment’s journey to conversion. The wide mouth at the top represents the relatively large group of people with basic awareness of your brand. Each level below is a smaller subset of this large group, but they have more & more of the knowledge and/or feelings about your brand that they need to make a purchase. The smallest group, purchasers, is at the bottom.

E.g., 100 people at your climbing gym know Black Diamond makes outdoor gear, 10 of those know they make great ice tools, and one(1!) of those bought BD Reactors to climb ice. No one here knows BD has discontinued the tool in favor of the new Hydra.

Speaking of, it’s also helpful to visualize post-purchase funnels leading though further knowledge & positive feelings to more purchases, brand-store visits, TikTok evangelizing, logo tattoos and so on.

GROWTH & THE FUNNEL

Both increasing the size of the funnel (getting more people at each level) and increasing its efficiency (moving more people, faster through the awareness->engagement->purchase process) can grow businesses. Which you prioritize, and how you tackle it should usually be determined by what will have the biggest business impact fastest.

That in turn depends on so many things from the strategic (business model, core customer selection, brand story, product roadmap) to the tactical, à la is your checkout page working?

More to come; meanwhile here’s me with my now-ancient BD Reactors:

Last modified: June 8, 2025