Someone once asked me, “Is the marketing funnel bullshit?”
It stuck with me.

I understood where they were coming from. Nobody today follows a neat, predictable buying path.

Person A?
They click a top-of-funnel (TOFU) ad, skim a few case studies, think about it for two weeks, and eventually book a call.

Person B?
They spot a LinkedIn comment, watch a video, disappear, and—nine months later—attend a webinar before finally reaching out.

Now multiply that by a thousand people, shuffle the order, mix the content types, and add months or even years between steps. That’s today’s buyer journey.

So… is the funnel dead? Not quite. But the way we think about it definitely is.

In this article

• The Funnel Was Never Linear
• Why the Funnel Still Matters
• The Buyer Journey Is Wildly Non-Linear
• You Can’t Shortcut the Funnel
• Most of Your Audience Isn’t Ready Yet
• The Funnel Only Works if the Brand Works

The Funnel Was Never Linear

Over a decade ago, I stumbled across a brand at a conference. I wasn’t buying at the time, but the impression stuck.

Years later, a referral brought the company back to my attention. I searched, evaluated, and finally engaged.

That’s a funnel.
But most of those touchpoints would never show up on a report.

We’ve built castles of logic around an old idea of what the funnel should be. But real buying journeys have always looked more like a Jackson Pollock painting than a flowchart.

The Funnel Isn’t Bullshit—Our Expectations Are

The funnel still has value.
It’s a map, not a GPS. It reminds us how buyers move from awareness to consideration to purchase. But trying to force every buyer into a single path? That’s where we go wrong.

What to do:

• Hone your message
• Be everywhere your audience spends time
• Accept that the path forward will look different for everyone

Strong, consistent brand creative is your only shot at staying memorable as buyers jump between touchpoints.

The Buyer Journey Is Wildly Non-Linear

Buyers don’t follow your “ideal flow.”

They jump ahead. They jump back. They loop around. They take breaks.
Some will read your longform content today and not engage again until next year.

That’s reality. And fighting it just wastes time.

What to do:

• Create great content with clear next steps
• Accept that people will move at their own pace
• Focus on keeping your brand visible and compelling

Creative-as-a-Service (CaaS) is how we maintain both quality and speed at DolFinContent. It’s allowed us—and the brands we partner with—to keep up with fast, unpredictable buyer journeys.

You Can’t Shortcut the Funnel

Everyone dreams of going viral.
But viral moments are unicorns. You can’t plan for luck.

And even when content does go viral? It rarely drives direct sales without a foundation of brand trust and supporting content.

What to do:

• Stop chasing one-hit wonders
• Prioritize consistent, strategic creative
• Measure what works and double down

Reliability beats luck. Every time.

Most of Your Audience Isn’t Ready Yet

At any given moment, most people seeing your content aren’t ready to buy.

Some are window shopping.
Some don’t even know they have a problem yet.

That’s why you need variety and volume in your creative. Different content will resonate with different people at different stages.

What to do:

• Maximize distribution
• Customize content for different platforms and buying stages
• Never stop testing creative formats

The Funnel Only Works if the Brand Works

Here’s the hardest truth:

You don’t control how people find you.
All you control is:

• The quality of your creative
• The clarity of your message
• The consistency of your visibility

If your brand isn’t strong, the funnel won’t save you.

Strong Creative. Clear Message. Consistent Visibility.

That’s the formula.

At DolFinContent, we help brands produce scroll-stopping creative fast and at scale—keeping them in front of prospects no matter where they are in the buyer journey.

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