Marketing funnel
Also called top of funnel, TOFU, sales funnel, conversion funnel
What is a marketing funnel?
A marketing funnel is a model of the stages people pass through on the way from first hearing about a business to becoming a customer. It is drawn as a funnel because many people enter at the top and fewer remain at each stage. Common stages are awareness, interest, consideration, intent and purchase, often grouped as top, middle and bottom.
Top of funnel (TOFU) content reaches new people: entertaining reels, helpful tips, broad educational posts. Middle of funnel (MOFU) content helps people compare and trust: guides, case studies, demos. Bottom of funnel (BOFU) content asks for the sale: offers, pricing, testimonials and a clear call to action.
The funnel is a simplification. Real buyers loop back, skip stages and come in through referrals at the bottom. Still, it is a useful way to check that your content serves people at every stage rather than only shouting offers at strangers.
Why a marketing funnel matters
A funnel helps you match content to readiness. Showing a hard sell to someone who has never heard of you wastes money; giving a ready buyer another tip instead of a link wastes a sale. Planning by stage fixes both.
It also makes problems measurable. If many people see your posts but few visit your site, the leak is between awareness and interest. If visitors come but do not buy, look at your landing page and conversion rate.
How to build a marketing funnel
- Define the action at the bottom: a purchase, booking, signup or call.
- Plan top of funnel content that reaches new people in your audience.
- Plan middle of funnel content that builds trust: proof, comparisons, demos, a lead magnet.
- Plan bottom of funnel content and pages that make the action easy.
- Track how many people move between stages and fix the biggest drop first.
- Use retargeting and email to bring back people who stalled.
Marketing funnel example
A yoga studio: TOFU, short reels of desk stretches. MOFU, a free "7-day back care" email series and student stories. BOFU, an offer reel for a free first class, linking to a simple booking page. Each stage hands people to the next.
Marketing funnel FAQ
What does top of funnel (TOFU) mean?
The first stage of the funnel, where people become aware of a problem or a brand. TOFU content is broad and helpful or entertaining, aimed at reaching new people rather than selling.
What is the difference between a marketing funnel and a sales funnel?
They are often used as synonyms. When separated, the marketing funnel covers attracting and warming up prospects, and the sales funnel covers the steps from a qualified lead to a closed sale.
Related terms
The customer journey is the full path a person takes with a brand, from first hearing about it to buying and coming back.
Conversion rate is the percentage of people who take a desired action, like buying or signing up, out of everyone who could have.
A lead magnet is something free and useful, like a guide, checklist or discount, offered in exchange for a person’s email address.
A landing page is a web page built for one goal, like a signup or booking, that visitors reach from an ad, post or email.
The AIDA model is a copywriting framework: grab Attention, build Interest, create Desire, then ask for Action.
Retargeting shows ads to people who already interacted with your business, such as site visitors or video viewers, to bring them back to buy.