Is the Marketing Funnel Really Dead?
Michael Saad
Innovative Performance Marketing Leader, Experienced in B2C, B2B, E-Commerce.
Someone once proclaimed, "The Funnel is Dead. Long Live the Flywheel!" That someone was Brian Halligan , CEO of HubSpot and the event was an #INBOUND marketing conference way back in 2018.? The statement is no less provocative today than it was 6 years ago and it has served Hubspot quite well. The keynote session at INBOUND discussed the state of the traditional marketing funnel and the ‘flywheel’ as originally explained in Jim Collins’ #GoodtoGreat.?
Nearly 40 years earlier, The Buggles’ singular hit, "Video killed the radio star" became famous in 1981 and caused many to wonder if video (MTV) might actually render radio irrelevant. Even Freddy Mercury and Queen, with their 1984 smash, "Radio Gaga", worried if TV might cause radio to become background noise for the girls and boys.?
Fret not, fellow marketers. Video did not kill the radio star. We still have radio gaga; unfortunately, Freddy Mercury is still dead. But you'll be glad to know, however, the Flywheel did not actually kill the Funnel.
The funnel serves its purpose well. For all the right reasons. In contrast, the Marketing Flywheel is very well suited to do some very heavy lifting.
In modern marketing, there's not only room for both models but one might argue there's an ongoing need for both models.
Read the full article where I provide a detailed exploration of the flywheel and answer the question, "Did the flywheel kill the funnel?"
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Mike Saad