Marketing Funnel Stages For a model that has been around for Panama mobile number list centuries, the precise definition of a marketing funnel is surprisingly difficult to pin down. Its earliest origins date back to when Elias St Elmo Lewis outlined the customer journey in a four-stage theory: Awareness: Individuals become aware that a product or service offered by a seller might be able to meet their needs. Interest: The person subsequently becomes interested in the product. They start asking for more information and start comparing it to similar products from competing sellers. Desire: The person wants the product and - with their doubts and questions answered - is ready to.
Action The person becomes a customer by purchasing the product or service. But while AIDA laid the groundwork for the marketing funnel, no single model is universally accepted by businesses today. Some marketing funnel models have only three steps; others have as many as seven. Other models don’t end with conversions — progressing to stages like “loyalty,” “retention,” and “advocacy” — while another redefines the funnel as an hourglass, splitting the journey into pre-purchase and post-purchase process. Our favorite model, though, is very close to the funnel's AIDA predecessor. It divides the archetypal customer journey into four pre-purchase stages top, middle, and bottom of the funnel and a post-purchase stage retention.