TL;DR
- TOFU is measured on reach, CPM and branded search; MOFU on leads and cost per lead; BOFU on conversion rate, CPA and ROAS.
- Last-click attribution gives most credit to BOFU channels, so TOFU campaigns look weak unless you check conversion paths or run on/off tests.
- The marketing funnel ends at a qualified lead (MQL); the sales funnel runs from the sales-accepted lead (SQL) to the close.
- In Thailand, chat on LINE Official Accounts often covers MOFU and BOFU in one place, and marketplace sales can hide the effect of social TOFU campaigns.
A marketing funnel is a model of how a large group of people who first discover a brand shrinks at each stage until a small share becomes customers. It is usually split into three stages: TOFU (awareness), MOFU (consideration) and BOFU (decision). Its main use is matching channels, messages and metrics to each stage, instead of judging every campaign on sales alone.
This guide covers what each funnel stage needs, which channels fit where, which metrics to track, how the marketing funnel differs from the sales funnel and the flywheel, and whether the model still holds now that people research through AI search.
What a funnel means in marketing
A funnel is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. In marketing, it describes a group of people that shrinks at every step because some drop out: they see an ad but do not click, visit the site but do not sign up, sign up but do not buy. The idea goes back to the AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action). It was later compressed into the three stages digital teams use today.
The funnel is a descriptive model, not a path every customer actually walks. Some people see an ad and buy on the spot. Others loop back to research several times. At the aggregate level, though, the model still answers useful questions: where do most people drop out, and what does the money spent at each stage bring back?
How many stages a marketing funnel has: TOFU, MOFU, BOFU
TOFU (top of funnel): awareness
People here do not know the brand yet, or do not even know they have a problem the brand can solve. The goal is for the right people to see you and remember you to some degree. Suitable content answers broad questions: "what is" articles, short videos, shareable social posts and reach-focused ads.
MOFU (middle of funnel): consideration
People here know they have a problem and are comparing options. The goal is to give them information that helps them decide, and to capture a way to stay in touch, such as an email address, a LINE add or a form fill. In-depth guides, comparison tables, examples, webinars and downloadable documents work well. This is the stage where content marketing does most of its work.
BOFU (bottom of funnel): decision
People here are ready to buy or down to a shortlist. The goal is to remove friction: show prices clearly, offer a trial, answer concerns about warranty or returns, and make buying or getting in touch easy. Common channels are ads on search terms with clear purchase intent and retargeting people who have already visited the site.
After the purchase
Many teams add one or two stages after BOFU: retention and advocacy. Selling again to an existing customer usually costs less than winning a new one, and satisfied customers send new people back into the top of the funnel.
Which metrics to use at each stage
The most common mistake is judging a TOFU campaign on sales and concluding it did not pay, when it was never designed to sell immediately. Each stage needs its own metrics.
| Funnel stage | Main goal | Common metrics |
|---|---|---|
| TOFU | Get the right people to know the brand | Reach, impressions, CPM, new website users, branded search volume |
| MOFU | Inform and capture contact details | CTR, time on page, number of leads, cost per lead, email open rate |
| BOFU | Turn interest into sales | Conversion rate, CPA, ROAS, lead-to-close rate |
| Post-purchase | Drive repeat purchases and referrals | Repeat purchase rate, customer lifetime value, number of reviews |
Reading the funnel through stage-to-stage conversion
The numbers that reveal problems most clearly are the rates at which people move from one stage to the next. A hypothetical example (illustrative figures only): a campaign gets 100,000 impressions, 2,000 people click (2%), 100 fill in a form (5% of clickers) and 10 become customers (10% of leads). If the click-to-form step is lower than expected, the problem may be the landing page or the offer, not a lack of TOFU budget. Pouring more people into the top while the funnel leaks in the middle usually just raises costs.
One caution: last-click attribution gives almost all the credit to BOFU channels, which makes TOFU campaigns look poor every time. Check conversion path reports, or run on/off tests over set periods to see whether total results change.
Choosing ad channels by funnel stage
The same channel can serve several stages depending on how it is set up, but in general each channel is strongest at particular stages:
- TOFU: short social video, YouTube video ads, reach-focused display ads and SEO articles that answer broad questions.
- MOFU: in-depth content, email, retargeting people who watched a video or read an article, and offers exchanged for contact details. Lead generation lives mostly at this stage.
- BOFU: ads on high-intent searches, such as a product name plus "price" or "which shop is best", which you can run through Google Ads, and remarketing that follows people who viewed a product page or added to cart without buying.
- Post-purchase: LINE Official Accounts, email and membership programmes for new-product news and repeat-purchase offers.
The rule of thumb is that the message has to match how ready the person is. Showing "buy now" ads to people who have never heard of the brand usually performs poorly, and showing general educational content to someone with items already in their cart wastes a chance to close the sale.
Sales funnel vs marketing funnel
The marketing funnel runs from people who have never heard of the brand to the point where they become qualified leads. The sales funnel starts where the sales team takes over a lead: first contact, presentation, quotation, negotiation and close. In B2B these are often run by separate teams, and the handover is usually described with MQL (a lead qualified by marketing) and SQL (a lead sales has confirmed is ready to talk).
A frequent problem is that the two teams define a good lead differently. Marketing sends many leads and sales says the quality is poor. The fix is to agree the MQL criteria in writing and track how many leads from each campaign turn into actual sales, rather than counting leads alone.
For online stores that sell directly on their website, the two funnels usually merge into one, because there is no sales team in between.
Funnel vs flywheel and the customer journey
The flywheel is a model that treats customers not as the end of a funnel but as the force that spins the wheel faster. Satisfied customers review, refer and buy again, which pulls new people in at a lower cost. It was popularised by inbound-marketing software companies and has three phases: attract, engage and delight.
The two models do not conflict. The funnel is good for measuring results and allocating budget by stage, while the flywheel is a reminder to invest in the post-sale experience that the classic funnel tends to ignore. Many teams use the funnel to measure campaigns and the flywheel as a frame for planning retention.
The customer journey sits at yet another level: a detailed map of touchpoints and feelings for each type of customer, from before they know you to after they use the product. The funnel looks from the business side at where people drop out, while the customer journey looks from the customer side at what they experience. That topic has enough depth for an article of its own.
Does the funnel still work in the age of AI search?
Yes, but the TOFU stage has changed. When people ask a broad question and get an AI summary on the results page or in a chatbot, some of them get what they need without clicking through to any website. The consequences:
- Traffic to "what is" articles may fall even when the brand is still cited in the answer. TOFU metrics should therefore include mentions and branded search volume, not only clicks.
- Content has to be easy for AI systems to cite: answer the question directly in the first paragraph, include data tables and use clear question headings.
- People who do click through are often already in MOFU or BOFU, because the AI answer covered the basics. Landing pages should be ready for comparison and pricing questions.
In short, the funnel structure still helps organise thinking, but real paths are less linear than before and some metrics need adjusting.
The marketing funnel in the Thai market
A few patterns in Thailand change how the funnel works compared with Western textbooks.
Chat is MOFU and BOFU in one place. Many Thai buyers message a brand to ask about price, stock or shipping before buying, on LINE Official Accounts and Facebook Messenger. Chat is where the lead appears and where the sale closes. Measurement needs to count conversations as conversions and track how many turn into sales, or campaigns that send people to chat will show no sales at all in ad reports.
Marketplaces absorb BOFU. Many Thai shoppers discover a product on social media, then search for it and buy it on a marketplace. Sales driven by a social TOFU campaign then never show up in the brand's website data. Look at total sales across all channels during the campaign period, not only tracked conversions.
PDPA and MOFU. Collecting email addresses or phone numbers for follow-up marketing needs clear consent under Thailand's Personal Data Protection Act. Lead forms should carry a plain-language consent request and keep marketing consent separate from other terms.
Common funnel mistakes
- Putting the whole budget into BOFU because last-click reports look best, so nobody new enters the top. Sales slowly decline once the pool of people who know the brand runs dry.
- Using one message for every stage, so ads do not match the readiness of the people seeing them.
- Not setting up remarketing between stages, so visitors from TOFU campaigns disappear without any follow-up.
- Counting leads without checking how many become sales.
- Not measuring the post-purchase stage, even though repeat purchases are often the most profitable part.
Frequently asked questions about the marketing funnel
How many stages does a marketing funnel have?
It usually has three stages: TOFU (awareness), MOFU (consideration) and BOFU (decision). Some models add post-purchase stages such as retention and advocacy, for four or five in total.
How should budget be split across TOFU, MOFU and BOFU?
There is no split that is right for every business; it depends on how well known the brand already is and how long the purchase decision takes. New brands usually need more TOFU spend, while brands people already search for by name can put more into BOFU. Start with a hypothesis and adjust based on the stage-to-stage conversion rates you actually measure.
Are the sales funnel and marketing funnel the same thing?
They can be treated as one for businesses that sell directly online with no sales team, but B2B businesses should keep them separate. The marketing funnel ends at a qualified lead, and the sales funnel runs from there to the close.
Where should a small business start with its funnel?
Start at BOFU: make it easy for people who are already ready to buy to find you and complete the purchase, with clear product pages, a fast-responding contact channel and ads on high-intent searches. Move up to MOFU and TOFU once the bottom of the funnel stops leaking.
Plan a funnel that covers every stage
A working funnel needs content, channels and metrics that connect from one stage to the next. If you want to plan everything from building awareness to generating leads that close, the Relevant Audience team can help design and measure it. See our lead generation service page for details.
