Why the modern buyer journey no longer aligns with the traditional funnel

For decades, marketing leaders guided buyers through a neat sequence from awareness to purchase. Today, that linear funnel model is breaking down. Buyers now chart their own course — jumping between channels, self-educating via digital content and often engaging sales late, if at all.

As buyers became harder to corral into a predictable path, marketers tried to compensate. In response, companies are frantically multiplying touchpoints. Marketing teams executed an average of 209 campaigns in the past year (a 30% jump over the prior year), while B2C marketers ran an average of 541 campaigns. 

This explosion of activity reflects an omnichannel reality: the customer’s path to purchase is no longer a straight line but a complex web of on-demand interactions across digital and physical channels. But the surge in activity hasn’t solved the problem. In many cases, it highlights how poorly the funnel aligns with today’s buyer behavior.

Why the funnel is buckling under pressure 

This fragmented, self-directed buyer journey has made traditional funnel-based campaigns increasingly ineffective. Even as marketing budgets have tightened — down 15% in 2024 — CEO growth expectations continue to rise. The result is a do-more-with-less mandate that the old playbook cannot deliver. 

The data reveals the strain: 87% of marketing leaders experienced campaign performance issues last year, with over half reporting problems across every stage of the customer journey. Nearly 45% had to cut campaigns short due to poor results. When buyers don’t move neatly from one stage to the next, linear campaigns miss the mark, failing to generate expected engagement or conversions. 

These breakdowns are a clear sign that marketing must rethink funnel-era assumptions. Simply put, buyers don’t live in funnels anymore — and one might say they never did. Clinging to that model means pouring resources into initiatives that senior leadership increasingly perceives as under-delivering. 

Dig deeper: The new era of customer journeys is co-created, adaptive and AI-powered

Rising expectations from the C-suite 

CEOs and CFOs have noticed the funnel’s shortcomings and are growing impatient. A recent Gartner survey reveals that only 34% of CEOs and CFOs are aligned with their CMO on how marketing actually supports growth. 

The disconnect is deep. Just 22% of executives feel they have clarity on what marketing is accountable for and only 38% believe their CMO collaborates effectively across the leadership team. When marketing isn’t tightly aligned to growth initiatives, CEOs question the relevance of the spend. It is no surprise that over half of marketing organizations fell short of at least one key revenue target in the past year. 

Even hitting the numbers may not be enough. Gartner found that among CMOs who met or exceeded all their objectives, fewer than half (45%) were still rated as exceeding the expectations of the CEO and CFO. The message from the C-suite is blunt: merely running campaigns and achieving incremental gains won’t regain their confidence. They expect marketing to step up with a strategic, business-driving approach. 

The case for becoming a market-shaper CMO 

How can CMOs bridge this gap? Gartner’s research draws a sharp contrast between enterprise operator CMOs — who efficiently run marketing as a function — and market-shaper CMOs who use insights to drive business strategy. 

The difference in impact is striking. The average CMO has only an 11% chance of exceeding executive performance expectations. However, focusing on market-shaping behaviors significantly boosts those odds. CMOs who excel as market shapers have an 88% chance of exceeding executive expectations — making them eight times more likely to impress the C-suite. 

Dig deeper: Think like a product manager, grow like a CMO

Companies led by market-shapers significantly outperform their peers, as they are 2.6 times more likely to meet or exceed annual revenue and profit targets. These leaders distinguish themselves by identifying unmet needs and new opportunities rather than just executing the standard playbook. 

They bridge the gap between customer desires and business offerings, driving innovation and anticipating disruptive forces. By moving beyond managing the funnel to shaping market demand, they earn the confidence of CEOs hungry for growth. 

Embedded AI: The next frontier 

A critical enabler for market-shapers is the wave of embedded artificial intelligence. We are entering an AI-everywhere era where intelligence is woven into every tool. Gartner predicts that by 2026, over 80% of enterprise software vendors will have integrated generative AI capabilities into their products, up from the current 5%.

Many platforms connecting marketers with customers — from CRM systems to mobile apps — will soon have AI baked in. Gartner estimates that by 2025, nearly 43% of organizational AI will be embedded AI. These tools will enhance routine interactions with responsiveness and personalization by default. 

Consider the impact: AI-enabled bots can assist buyers in making decisions instantly, boosting conversion rates. From emails that dynamically personalize content to sales presentations auto-generated for prospects, embedded AI elevates every stage of the buyer journey. For CMOs, this offers a strategic advantage. By using these tools, leaders can deliver the seamless, hyper-relevant experiences self-directed buyers expect, at a scale human teams cannot match. 

Dig deeper: How a customer-centric B2B journey breaks the funnel model

From funnel manager to growth driver 

The evidence is clear: buyers have moved on from the old funnel and marketing leaders must do the same. To thrive, CMOs must pivot from managing a pipeline of leads to orchestrating a dynamic ecosystem of engagements. This requires rethinking metrics beyond conversion rates and aligning tightly with business outcomes. 

Practically, marketing leaders should take four key steps: 

• Clarify marketing’s role: Proactively communicate what marketing will deliver (and what it won’t) in terms that matter to the C-suite. Clarity prevents mismatched expectations and builds trust. 
• Drive cross-functional alignment: Break silos. Ensure initiatives directly support top corporate growth strategies — like digital product innovation — to earn internal buy-in. 
• Embrace market-shaper behaviors: Cultivate an outside-in perspective. Invest in deep customer insight and trendspotting to anticipate shifts. Act as the organization’s eyes and ears to shape strategy, not just execute it. 
• Make the most of embedded AI: Utilize the AI features already entering your stack. Let AI handle data analysis and personalization so your team can focus on creative strategy. Early pilots with generative AI will prepare your organization to wow customers with responsive interactions. 

The funnel remains a helpful lens, but only as part of a larger system. Today’s CMO needs a broader view — one that accounts for nonlinear journeys, rapid shifts in customer intent and the accelerating impact of embedded AI. Adopting a more flexible, customer-centric model isn’t just about keeping pace with change. It’s about ensuring marketing reflects how buyers actually move. And buyers, plainly, don’t live in funnels anymore.

The post Why today’s buyer journey no longer fits the funnel appeared first on MarTech.

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