Framework · Funnel
The funnel isn’t a diagram. It’s a diagnosis.
A way to find which stage is actually leaking — because ‘improve the funnel’ usually means fixing the one stage that isn’t the problem.
Everyone draws the same funnel. Few use it to diagnose. The point isn’t the shape — it’s finding the single stage where the drop-off is disproportionate, because that’s where a fix pays.
Demand creation
Are enough of the right people entering at all? A conversion fix can’t rescue a top that’s too narrow or too broad. Most ‘funnel’ work wrongly starts below this.
Consideration & trust
This is where most B2B and considered-purchase funnels actually break — people arrive, and hesitate. Usually a brand and proof problem masquerading as a conversion problem.
Conversion
The stage everyone optimises first and should optimise last. Friction removal beats persuasion here — but only once the top and middle are sound.
Retention & expansion
The stage that decides whether acquisition maths works at all. A leaky bottom makes every acquisition rupee more expensive than it looks.
Find the stage with the disproportionate drop, and fix only that. Then re-measure before touching anything else — funnels lie when you change three things at once.
Common questions
What are the stages of a marketing funnel?
Demand creation, consideration and trust, conversion, and retention. The useful question isn’t the labels — it’s which stage is leaking disproportionately.
How do you fix a broken funnel?
Diagnose the single stage with the worst drop-off relative to benchmark, fix only that, and re-measure before changing anything else.
The practice: growth strategy · you don’t have an awareness problem · the CRO framework.