---
title: "Marketing Funnel: Definition and Examples"
description: "A marketing funnel is a model of the stages a buyer moves through from first hearing about a product to becoming a customer, usually awareness..."
path: /glossary/marketing-funnel
family: glossary
updated: 2026-10-17
html: /glossary/marketing-funnel
sources:
  - "https://www.hubspot.com/glossary/marketing-funnel"
  - "https://www.salesforce.com/eu/blog/marketing-funnel-meaning/"
  - "https://www.salesforce.com/ap/blog/marketing-funnels-customer-journey-maps/"
facts:
  term: "Marketing funnel"
  also_called: "Purchase funnel, Conversion funnel, TOFU MOFU BOFU, AIDA funnel"
  category: "Marketing"
---

# Marketing funnel

A marketing funnel is a model of the stages a buyer moves through from first hearing about a product to becoming a customer, usually awareness, consideration and decision. Each stage loses people, so the funnel narrows toward purchase.

## What Is Marketing Funnel?

**In short:** The most common version has three levels: top of funnel (TOFU) for awareness, middle (MOFU) for interest and evaluation, and bottom (BOFU) for the purchase decision.

Some teams use the four AIDA stages instead: awareness, interest, desire and action. B2B teams map content and channels to each level: articles and ads at the top, case studies and webinars in the middle, demos and pricing pages at the bottom.

The model turns a vague goal, more customers, into conversion rates you can measure between stages. If 10,000 visitors become 200 leads but only 4 customers, the problem sits late in the funnel, not in traffic.

## Marketing Funnel Example

Example: in one quarter a B2B software site gets 40,000 visitors (awareness). 800 download a guide or register for a webinar (consideration, 2%). 120 request a demo (decision, 15% of those). 30 become customers (25% of demos). The weakest step is visitor to lead, so the team tests new offers before buying more traffic.

## Marketing Funnel in Practice

In B2B the marketing funnel feeds the sales funnel: marketing qualifies leads and hands them to sales. Outbound skips the top of the funnel. A cold email reaches someone who fits the ICP but hasn't looked for a solution yet, which is why outbound messages lead with a problem rather than a product.

## FAQ

### What are the stages of the marketing funnel?

Most models use three: top of funnel (awareness), middle of funnel (interest and evaluation) and bottom of funnel (decision and purchase). Others use the four AIDA stages: awareness, interest, desire and action.

### What is the difference between a marketing funnel and a sales funnel?

HubSpot treats leads as the output of the marketing funnel; the sales funnel then takes qualified leads through meetings, proposal and close. Some sources, including Salesforce, use the two terms for one end-to-end funnel.

### What do TOFU, MOFU and BOFU mean?

Top, middle and bottom of funnel. At TOFU the prospect becomes aware of you, at MOFU they show interest and evaluate, and at BOFU they decide to buy.

### What is the difference between a marketing funnel and a customer journey?

The funnel is a linear model of your marketing and sales process from your company's point of view. Salesforce notes that a real customer journey is often meandering, with buyers looping back between stages.

## Do this in Ken

### Do This in Ken

Campaigns reaches people who fit your ICP before they start searching, with email and LinkedIn sequences that start the conversation for you.

- Link: [Do This in Ken](/features)

## Related

- [GTM Glossary](/glossary): Every GTM term, grouped by topic.
- [Sales funnel](/glossary/sales-funnel)
- [Inbound marketing](/glossary/inbound-marketing)
- [Demand generation](/glossary/demand-generation)
- [Lead generation](/glossary/lead-generation)
- [Buyer persona](/glossary/buyer-persona)
- [Ken features](/features)

## Sources

| Source | URL | Checked |
| --- | --- | --- |
| HubSpot: Marketing Funnel | https://www.hubspot.com/glossary/marketing-funnel | 2026-10-17 |
| Salesforce: What Is the Marketing Funnel? | https://www.salesforce.com/eu/blog/marketing-funnel-meaning/ | 2026-10-17 |
| Salesforce: Marketing Funnels and Customer Journey Maps | https://www.salesforce.com/ap/blog/marketing-funnels-customer-journey-maps/ | 2026-10-17 |

## Changelog

- 2026-10-17: Page published.