Rethinking the Customer Journey Funnel

 8 Ways to make it 'More Real'

For many years, marketing and sales have relied on the idea of the 'customer journey funnel' —a linear progression from awareness, through consideration, and finally to purchase. It’s neat and orderly, and assumes that customers dutifully research, consider options, and make rational decisions as they move further down the funnel. It provides a nice visual, and is great for producing stats from things like CRMs. Indeed it is still useful for providing insight into overall performance; but its simplicity hides a rather complex, and shifting reality in the way customers behave and make buying decisions. 

Today’s customers don’t follow a predictable path through the funnel. Instead, they hop backwards and forwards between stages as they are influenced by a variety of factors such as overwhelming choice, emotional stress, and time and money constraints. And so, the actual customer journey is something far more variable, with repeatable and optional elements that respond to an individual's real-life decision-making behaviour. Understanding and accommodating this flexible customer journey is crucial for businesses that want to support their customers in making better buying decisions— better not just for themselves, but for the company too. 

The Problem with the Traditional Funnel

The traditional funnel assumes customers move smoothly from awareness to purchase, following a rational progression of activity and decision; and of course, some drop out of the funnel along the way. While this may have been a reasonable model in the past, it fails to capture the messiness of modern decision-making. Not surprisingly, Google has done a lot of research on this and has identified a process they’ve termed the “messy middle.”  

Today’s customers are bombarded with choices, information, and distractions. The increasing prevalence of online shopping, digital marketing, and social media adds even more complexity. People dip in and out of the funnel, reconsider their decisions at multiple points, and may even make impulsive choices they later regret.  This reality doesn’t fit the neat funnel model. Herbert Simon developed the concept of Bounded Rationality; according to this, customers don’t strive for the perfect decision, because they don’t have the necessary time, energy, or information. Instead, they settle for something “good enough” in the moment. Their decision making isn't entirely rational.  Understanding that decisions are made under constraints is critical to rethinking how we guide our customers through their buying journey.   

Here are 2 of the key constraints under which people try to make decisions:  

[1]   Scarcity.   When people are stressed—financially, emotionally, or because of tight deadlines—they tend to make worse decisions. For instance, someone who feels time-pressured may skip research and make an impulse purchase, while a customer struggling financially might opt for a cheaper product that ends up costing more over time.  This scarcity mindset narrows focus, as customers become fixated on immediate problems rather than long-term solutions. Vision becomes 'tunneled' as people ignore critical information that would help them make a better decision. For businesses, this often means lost sales or customer dissatisfaction.  Recognising that many customers are probably making decisions under some form of 'scarcity effect' is essential. Instead of assuming they will follow a rational linear process, sellers must create conditions that make it easier for customers to make better decisions along the way, even when they are short on time, money, or mental bandwidth. 

[2]   Decision Fatigue.   This happens when people are overwhelmed by too many decisions, often leading to poorer outcomes later on. The more choices people have to navigate and so the more decisions they have to make, the more their cognitive energy is depleted, causing them to either make impulsive choices or avoid decisions altogether.  Anybody that has spent the day making countless decisions (perhaps at work) may make a poorer decisions at the end of the day (perhaps while on-line shopping).  Understanding decision fatigue is crucial. Instead of overwhelming customers with choices, businesses should simplify the decision-making process wherever possible. Clear comparisons, curated options, and user-friendly interfaces can reduce the cognitive load on customers, helping them make better decisions.  

The Solution - A Flexible Funnel

Given these normal human tendencies, it seems we need to think of the customer journey as more of a flexible, repeatable process, where customers move back and forth between stages, skip steps, and occasionally get stuck. They might bounce backwards and forwards between consideration and evaluation, jump directly from awareness to purchase, or explore multiple brands before making a final decision.

Rather than seeing the customer journey as a 'pipeline', think of it as a network of touchpoints and interactions that customers can revisit multiple times.  

Helping Customers Make Better Decisions in a Flexible Funnel

So how can you help customers through this flexible funnel, avoiding the natural human tendencies that lead to bad decisions? Here are some ideas:

• Simplify Decision Complexity - Too many choices can overwhelm customers, leading to decision paralysis. Simplify the decision-making process by offering curated options or breaking down complex products into understandable categories like 'Best for Budget' or 'Best for Quality'.
• Anchor Carefully - Customers often rely on the first piece of information they receive (price, brand perception, etc) about a product or service.  This is known as anchoring and can heavily influence their ultimate decision.  Ensure that 'first impressions' are going to support a good decision.
• Nudges and Defaults - Use nudging techniques to guide customers toward better decisions. Setting default options — such as 'most popular product or service' — can reduce the cognitive load on customers and help them make decisions more quickly.
• Pre-commitment Strategies - Encourage customers to pre-commit to decisions. For example, offering discounts or incentives for early sign-ups can help customers avoid the stress of making a last-minute decision. Habitual decisions, like subscription models, can also remove the need to make repeated choices.
• Build Trust Through Social Proof - Trust is critical in decision-making, especially for customers with limited time to do research. Providing testimonials, reviews, and social proof can help guide customers toward a decision they feel confident about.
• Emotional Certainty -  Customers often make poor decisions when they’re stressed or emotional. Offer clear, reassuring messaging and minimise stress points such as unexpected costs or confusing terms.
• Support Micro-Moments - Decisions often happen in 'micro-moments' — where customers quickly search for information or make a purchase. Make sure that information is available (smartphone / web) to support this 'micro research and decision making'.   
• Offer Educational Content - Educational content helps customers feel more informed and in control of their decisions. Whether it’s a blog post, comparison tool, or explainer video, give customers the resources they need to help them make more thoughtful decisions.

You may recognise some of those from your own buying journey - that's because some companies are applying some or all of these ideas - but many are not. 

How flexible and accommodating is your funnel?? 

Graham