What is a sales funnel and why it is still so important
Rocio Romero · 20 jun 2025
The sales funnel remains a vital digital marketing tool to turn strangers into leads, leads into customers, and customers into brand ambassadors by guiding them through key stages.
In today's digital marketing, everything changes very, very quickly:
- What is trending today is obsolete tomorrow.
- The super mega pro tool you were using yesterday has been outdated by one that was released or updated today.
- What went viral last week has been completely forgotten this week.
But there are things that do not change and that remain a fundamental part of any strategy. Today, we are talking about what a sales funnel is and why it remains so important for converting strangers into leads, leads into customers, and customers into ambassadors.
What is a sales funnel?
Imagine a funnel, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. That is how the sales funnel works. At the mouth, all the contacts who show some interest in what you offer enter. As they move through the funnel, they are "filtered" and qualified, until, in the end, only those who are ready to buy remain. And if you are what they expected and you know how to retain them, you can gain brand ambassadors.
How to act at each stage of the sales funnel?
A brand's strategy must be truly unique, and the actions taken at each stage of the funnel will depend on it. For example, you could have a sales funnel where you only use email marketing in the TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU stages.
However, experience shows us that certain actions work better in specific phases.
TOFU – Top of the funnel
Here, you are dealing with absolute strangers. You need to grab their attention so they enter the funnel. Some actions to grab the attention of your potential customers are:
- Blog content strategy (SEO)
- Organic social content strategy (SMO)
- Branding campaigns on social media.
- Influencer campaigns on social media.
- Participation in events and trade fairs.
Tip: a lead magnet always facilitates the transition from TOFU to MOFU and provides you with data for downloading or viewing the resource, such as an email address.
MOFU – Middle of the funnel
In this stage, we are going to generate opportunities. What actions can we carry out?
- Email marketing
- Newsletter (via email, LinkedIn, or otherwise)
- Webinars or masterclasses
- Podcast
How you use the data collected in the TOFU stage during this phase will be fundamental to whether you make a sale or not. Tip: do not be excessively invasive or pushy.
BOFU – Bottom of the funnel
And here comes the moment of the purchasing decision, where we are going to get potential customers to buy from us. Some actions that can lead to a sale are:
- Personalized demos
- Free trials
- Offers and promotions
- Direct marketing
And it doesn't end here: loyalty
After all the effort it took to convert strangers into customers, does it all end here? Clearly, no. We have already explained why retaining customers costs 5 times less than acquiring them and some ways to turn your customers into brand ambassadors. Don't hesitate to go read it.
Why is the sales funnel still so important?
Put yourself in this situation: you arrive at a first date and are asked for marriage. No, right? Well, the same thing happens with the sales funnel: each phase is necessary to convert in the end.
It is true that the purchasing decision, especially for low-cost products, is more immediate since the arrival of online shopping. But it is not always like that, nor is it the case for all niches.
Therefore, remember the importance of establishing a plan with actions in each phase of the funnel. To give you an idea, a good conversion rate is between 2% and 5%.
If you want to learn more about how we design tailored strategies for the brands we work with, don't hesitate to get in touch with our sales team.