The traditional sales funnel is dead. Not dying. Dead.
We’ve spent the past year analysing how our clients’ buyers actually make purchasing decisions, and here’s what we’ve learned: they’re not moving neatly from awareness to consideration to decision. They’re looping back, jumping stages, researching independently for months before ever speaking with sales, and involving stakeholders nobody knew existed.
When we audit marketing strategies for startups and scale-ups, we consistently see the same disconnect. The linear path mapped in CRMs bears little resemblance to how actual humans make B2B purchasing decisions. This isn’t a trend to monitor, it’s the new reality of B2B buyer journeys, and organisations clinging to funnel-based thinking are losing opportunities to competitors who’ve adapted.
The funnel is broken and the data proves it
When we review client analytics, the evidence is unmistakable. Research shows that 77% of B2B buyers describe their latest purchase as very complex or difficult, yet most organisations still plan their strategies around simplified linear models. The disconnect has become untenable.
Recent data from Forrester reveals that an average of 13 people in an organisation are now involved in buying decisions, with 89% of purchases involving two or more departments. Each decision maker arrives at different times with different information needs, creating a web of influences that defy linear tracking.
The empowered buyer has fundamentally altered the power dynamic. Buyers complete 57% to 70% of their research before ever contacting sales, rendering large portions of traditional sales processes irrelevant. They’ve already formed opinions, identified preferred solutions, and even decided on pricing expectations before your sales team knows they exist.
We’ve watched this play out in our own client work. Marketing campaigns designed for linear funnels miss the mark because buyers don’t behave that way. MarTech’s 2024 research found that 87% of marketing leaders experienced campaign performance issues, with marketing teams now executing an average of 209 campaigns annually, a 30% jump over the prior year. More touchpoints don’t solve the problem when the underlying model is broken.
Understanding non-linear buyer journeys
The looping effect
Non-linear marketing acknowledges what the data has been telling us: people don’t buy in straight lines. They loop. They backtrack. They pause.
We see this constantly in our clients’ pipelines. Buyers regularly revisit earlier stages as new information emerges or stakeholders enter the conversation. A buyer champion gets pushback from their CFO and suddenly they’re back comparing alternatives, even after they’ve requested a demo. A budget decision forces reevaluation of requirements. A new executive joins the buying committee and demands to start from basics.
That’s why we build content that works at any entry point, not just linear progression.
Multiple stakeholders, parallel journeys
Here’s where it gets messy. Your technical contact might be deep in evaluation whilst their CFO just became aware of the problem. Marketing reaches the CMO whilst sales talks to operations. Each person moves through their own journey at their own pace, influenced by different priorities and information sources.
In our experience working with B2B clients, this creates a specific challenge: you can’t optimise for a single journey because there isn’t one. There are six to ten simultaneous journeys, each requiring different content and messaging.
| Traditional Funnel Assumption | Non-Linear Reality | Impact on Strategy |
| 3-5 touchpoints to purchase | 13+ pieces of content consumed | Must create diverse content library |
| Single decision maker | 6-10 stakeholders average | Need multi-persona messaging |
| Linear progression | Looping between stages | Content must work at any entry point |
| Sales controls timing | 70% complete before contact | Marketing drives the entire journey |
The dark funnel
Conversations happen in Slack channels you can’t see. Research occurs in private browsing modes that don’t trigger your analytics. Recommendations flow through text messages and hallway conversations that leave no digital trace.
Research indicates buyers consume an average of 13 pieces of content during their purchasing journey, but traditional analytics might only capture a fraction of those touchpoints. When we set up attribution for clients, we’re always clear: you’re seeing 30-40% of the actual journey at best.
The messy middle where decisions happen
Google’s research revealed what we’ve long suspected: the middle of the buyer journey isn’t a stage but a loop. Buyers toggle between exploration (learning about options) and evaluation (comparing specific solutions) repeatedly until something triggers a decision.
In our content strategies, we account for this by creating resources for both modes:
Exploration mode: Educational content that expands understanding of possibilities, think frameworks, industry insights, trend analysis.
Evaluation mode: Specific comparisons, detailed specifications, proof points that answer “will this actually work for us?”
Toggle triggers: New information or stakeholder questions that send buyers back to exploration. We’ve learned to anticipate these moments and provide content that addresses common objections before they derail deals.
The role of peer reviews, case studies, and social proof has intensified as trust in vendor messaging continues to erode. Buyers don’t want to hear why you’re great. They want to hear from people like them who’ve solved similar problems. That’s why every content piece we create includes real proof points, not just product features.
Content strategy for non-linear journeys
Creating for intent, not stages
When we build content strategies for clients, we’ve stopped asking “what stage is this prospect in?” Instead, we ask “what question are they trying to answer right now?”
Intent-based content meets buyers where they actually are rather than where your funnel says they should be. Someone searching for “API integration challenges” might be in early exploration or deep evaluation, the content needs to serve both.
Ungated and accessible
We’ve tested this extensively: gating everything creates friction that sends prospects to competitors offering the same information freely. Buyers researching independently don’t want to fill out forms to access basic information.
Our approach: gate one high-value resource for every five ungated pieces. Save the forms for genuinely premium content like detailed implementation guides or custom assessments.
Supporting varied entry points
Someone discovering you through a bottom-funnel search needs context about your broader approach. Someone arriving through thought leadership content needs a clear path to understanding your solution. Someone referred by a customer needs to quickly find relevant proof points and specifications.
We design content architectures that accommodate all three scenarios simultaneously, with clear navigation paths based on what the buyer actually needs in that moment.
Attribution in a non-linear world
Perfect attribution has become a myth we must stop chasing. When we set up measurement frameworks for clients, we focus on directional insight and business outcomes rather than precise credit allocation.
Traditional models fail because they oversimplify reality. Last-click attribution gives all credit to whatever touchpoint happened right before purchase, ignoring the months of evaluation that actually drove the decision. First-click does the opposite, crediting only the initial awareness moment whilst dismissing everything that followed.
What actually matters: revenue influence across touchpoints, pipeline velocity, and deal quality, not which specific asset got the download. We help clients track patterns rather than individual conversions: which content clusters or engagement paths most often lead to high-intent actions?
Your roadmap forward: Our framework for non-linear marketing
After working with dozens of B2B clients navigating this shift, we’ve developed a practical framework that actually works. Here’s how we approach non-linear buyer journeys:
1. Map actual behaviour, not ideal journeys
Interview recent customers about their real path to purchase. Track multiple deals through your systems noting entry points, looping patterns, and stakeholder involvement. Build journey maps that reflect messy reality rather than clean theory.
We do this quarterly with clients because buying patterns evolve. What worked six months ago might not reflect current behaviour, especially as AI tools and new platforms change how people research.
2. Focus your channels strategically
As our marketing specialist Paula Ferrai observes: “I see so many brands spreading themselves thin trying to be everywhere at once. TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Threads… They’re posting daily, chasing algorithms, burning out their teams. And for what? Mediocre content on seven platforms instead of brilliant content on two.”
Your audience isn’t everywhere. They’re somewhere. And that’s where you should be, properly, with resources to actually do it well. We help clients identify their two or three highest-impact channels and dominate there rather than maintaining mediocre presence across eight platforms.
Quality over quantity isn’t just good advice for content, it’s good advice for channel strategy too.
3. Create content that works at any entry point
Build a content library where each piece serves multiple purposes. A guide on “evaluating automation platforms” should work for someone in early exploration and someone in late-stage evaluation. Include both conceptual frameworks and specific comparison criteria.
We structure content with layered depth: high-level insights in the first few paragraphs for explorers, detailed specifications and proof points further down for evaluators.
4. Measure what actually drives revenue
Set new KPIs reflecting reality. We track:
- Pipeline influence across touchpoints (not single-asset credit)
- Deal velocity and win rates (not lead volume)
- Content engagement patterns that correlate with closed-won deals
- Time from first touch to sales-qualified (velocity matters more than volume)
Stop optimising for vanity metrics like downloads and form fills. Start measuring business outcomes.
Key takeaways
The death of the linear funnel represents liberation rather than loss. We’re finally acknowledging what buyers have been showing us through their behaviour for years: purchasing decisions don’t follow neat paths.
Here’s what matters:
- Buyers consume 13+ pieces of content across multiple touchpoints you can’t track, build for the dark funnel.
- Six to ten stakeholders are involved in most B2B decisions, create content for parallel journeys, not single paths.
- 70% of research happens before sales contact, marketing now drives the entire journey, not just top-of-funnel.
- Perfect attribution is a myth, focus on patterns and revenue outcomes, not precise credit allocation.
- Quality beats omnipresence, dominate two platforms rather than maintaining mediocre presence across seven.
The organisations that thrive are those willing to meet buyers in this messy reality rather than forcing them into tidy funnels that never reflected how humans actually make decisions.If you’re ready to align your marketing and sales strategy with the reality of modern buyer behaviour, we’re here to help you navigate this evolution.
