Why today’s buyer’s journey no longer fits the funnel | MarTech

For decades, marketing leaders have guided buyers through a neat sequence, from awareness to purchase. Today, that linear funnel model is crumbling. Buyers are now charting their own course: they jump between channels, educate themselves through digital content and often start selling late or not at all.

As it became harder to get buyers on a predictable path, marketers tried to compensate. In response, companies are frantically multiplying touchpoints. Marketing teams carried out an average of 209 campaigns in the past year (a 30% increase from the previous 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 increase in activity has not solved the problem. In many cases, this shows how poorly the funnel matches current buyer behavior.

Why the funnel collapses under pressure

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

The data reveals the tension: 87% of marketing leaders experienced campaign performance issues last year, with more than half reporting issues at every stage of the customer journey. Nearly 45% had to stop campaigns due to poor results. When buyers don’t move gracefully from one stage to the next, linear campaigns miss their mark because they fail to generate the expected engagement or conversions.

These breakdowns are a clear sign that marketing needs to rethink funnel-era assumptions. Simply put, buyers don’t live in funnels anymore – and you could say they never did. Sticking to that model means pouring resources into initiatives that senior leadership increasingly views as substandard.

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

Rising expectations from the C-suite

CEOs and CFOs have noticed the funnel’s shortcomings and are growing impatient. This is evident from a recent study by Gartner only 34% of CEOs and CFOs are aligned with their CMO about how marketing actually supports growth.

The disconnect runs deep. Only 22% of executives feel they have clarity about what marketing is responsible for, and only 38% believe their CMO is working effectively with the entire leadership team. When marketing is not properly aligned with growth initiatives, CEOs question the relevance of spend. It’s no surprise that more than half of marketing organizations failed to meet at least one key revenue goal in the past year.

Even hitting the numbers may not be enough. Gartner found that among CMOs who met or exceeded all their goals, less than half (45%) were still rated as exceeding CEO and CFO expectations. The message from the C-suite is blunt: simply running campaigns and achieving incremental gains will not regain their trust. They expect marketing to go one step further with a strategic, business-driven approach.

The case for becoming a market-shaping CMO

How can CMOs bridge this gap? Gartner’s research shows a stark contrast between enterprise operator CMOs (who efficiently execute marketing as a function) and market-shaping CMOs who use insights to drive business strategy.

The difference in impact is striking. The average CMO has only an 11% chance of exceeding managers’ performance expectations. However, focusing on market-shaping behavior significantly increases these opportunities. CMOs who excel as market shapers have a 88% chance of exceeding managers’ 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 differentiate themselves by identifying unmet needs and new opportunities, rather than just executing the standard playbook.

They bridge the gap between customer needs and business offerings, drive innovation and anticipate disruptive forces. By going beyond managing the funnel and shaping market demand, they earn the trust of CEOs hungry for growth.

Embedded AI: the next frontier

A crucial factor 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 in 2026 more than 80% of business software suppliers will have integrated generative AI capabilities into their products, up from the current 5%.

Many platforms that connect marketers with customers – from CRM systems to mobile apps – will soon have AI baked into them. Gartner estimates that by 2025, nearly 43% of AI in organizations will be embedded AI. These tools improve routine interactions with standard responsiveness and personalization.

Consider the impact: AI-enabled bots can help buyers make instant decisions, increasing conversion rates. From emails that dynamically personalize content to sales presentations that are automatically generated for potential customers, built-in AI takes every stage of the buyer’s journey to the next level. This offers a strategic advantage for CMOs. By using these tools, leaders can deliver the seamless, hyper-relevant experiences that self-driven buyers expect, at a scale that human teams can’t match.

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

From funnel manager to growth engine

The evidence is clear: buyers have left the old funnel behind, and marketing leaders must do the same. To thrive, CMOs must move from managing a pipeline of leads to orchestrating a dynamic ecosystem of engagements. This requires a rethink of metrics that go beyond conversion rates and closely align with business results.

Practically speaking, marketing leaders should take four key steps:

• Clarify the role of marketing: 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.
• Encourage cross-functional coordination: Break silos. Ensure initiatives directly support companies’ key growth strategies – such as digital product innovation – to earn internal buy-in.
• Embrace market shaping behavior: Cultivate an outside-in perspective. Invest in deep customer insight and trend spotting to anticipate shifts. Act as the eyes and ears of the organization to shape strategy, not just execute it.
• Get the best from embedded AI: Take advantage of the AI ​​features already coming into your stack. Let AI handle the 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 useful lens, but only as part of a larger system. Today’s CMO needs a broader vision – one that takes into account non-linear 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 up with change. It’s about making sure marketing reflects how buyers actually move. And buyers clearly don’t live in funnels anymore.