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Marketing Glossary· FUNNEL

What is a Marketing Funnel?

By Nikhil Sharma · Updated 1 November 2026 · Marketing Glossary
Definition

Marketing Funnel is a model of the stages a prospect moves through on the way to becoming a customer — from first awareness to action — used to plan marketing for each stage.

The funnel stages

  • Top (TOFU) — Awareness: people discover they have a problem; fed by brand awareness and demand generation.
  • Middle (MOFU) — Consideration: they evaluate options; content, email and nurturing keep you in the set.
  • Bottom (BOFU) — Conversion: they decide; landing pages, proof and offers win it.
  • Post-purchase: retention and advocacy.

Marketing funnel vs sales funnel

They describe the same journey from different sides. The marketing funnel focuses on attracting and nurturing demand (awareness to consideration); the sales funnel focuses on converting it (opportunity to close). Many teams merge them into one revenue funnel.

Why it matters

Mapping the funnel tells you what content and channels each stage needs and where prospects drop off — so you invest in fixing the actual leak rather than spending blindly.

Related terms
Sales FunnelDemand GenBrand AwarenessLead NurturingCRO
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Written & reviewed by Nikhil Sharma
Founder, Fabulous Media
Nikhil has led growth for 850+ brands across 35 nations since 2008. Fabulous Media is an invitation-only growth agency that reports on pipeline and revenue, not vanity metrics. Meet the team · Request an invite.

Questions, answered

Top of funnel (awareness), middle (consideration) and bottom (conversion), often called TOFU, MOFU and BOFU, usually followed by a post-purchase retention stage. Each needs different content and channels.

They cover the same journey from different angles: the marketing funnel focuses on attracting and nurturing demand, the sales funnel on converting it. Many teams combine them into one revenue funnel.

Top, middle and bottom of funnel — the awareness, consideration and decision stages. Content is tailored to each: educational at the top, comparative in the middle, and conversion-focused at the bottom.

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