{"id":10413,"date":"2023-06-08T05:04:31","date_gmt":"2023-06-08T12:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maccelerator.la\/?p=10413"},"modified":"2025-06-16T19:40:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T02:40:21","slug":"spaghetti-funnel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maccelerator.la\/en\/blog\/startups\/spaghetti-funnel\/","title":{"rendered":"Spaghetti Funnel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you attract and retain loyal customers? That question has been a main focus of companies\u2019 marketing managers and decision-makers for as long as purchasing has existed. Today\u2019s complex environment in which people have more information at their disposal has made it apparent that the dated strategies of influencing consumers are too simple. The spaghetti funnel theory can provide a better guideline for those looking to grow their businesses in the increasingly competitive market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the spaghetti funnel?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Everyone involved in marketing has heard of the \u201cfunnel\u201d at some point; in this metaphor, consumers begin with various potential brands in mind at the top of the funnel. Through the marketing directed at them, they then gradually reduce their number of possible options as they move through the funnel. Ultimately, this leaves them with their favorite purchasing choice at the small end of the funnel. (McKinsey<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, the goal of marketing has always been to take advantage of any touchpoints and opportunities along the way in which potential customers can be influenced to buy their brand. However, Google recently published a whitepaper called \u201cDecoding Decisions- the messy middle of purchase behavior,\u201d which enlightens us to the difference in today\u2019s world as opposed to 100 years of theory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Google\u2019s research, the spaghetti funnel diagram is a winding, random squiggle that looks like spaghetti mixed together on a plate. It represents a new way of buying than the old funnel model. Nowadays, from a consumer\u2019s trigger (the initiative that they first take) to what they ultimately buy, there is no set journey. No single pathway exists. Rather, Google<\/a>\u2019s research provides a wild web of touchpoints that maps out the actions that people who shopped took. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, common points of contact included: review, video sharing, retail, blogging, comparison, voucher\/coupon, and branded sites. Also extremely important were search engines, portals, social media, forums, interest groups\/clubs, aggregators, publishers, and notice boards. Most consumers have probably used more than a few of these researching tools. Marketing teams must take all of these factors into consideration if they hope to reach and have an impact on a consumer\u2019s buying process in today\u2019s world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the rise of the Internet, its accessibility, and the plethora of information available, it has transformed into a tool that allows people to compare just about anything. \u201cThat\u2019s clear in how we\u2019ve seen purchase behavior change over the years on Google Search. Take the terms \u201ccheap\u201d and \u201cbest.\u201d Worldwide, search interest for \u201cbest\u201d has far outpaced search interest for \u201ccheap.\u201d Those same dynamics hold true in countries around the world, like Germany, India, and Italy, for instance, when \u201ccheap\u201d and \u201cbest\u201d are translated into local languages,\u201d Google\u2019s whitepage<\/a> reports. Of course, consumers\u2019 ability and initiative to do their own research with all the tools available is an impactful factor that every marketing team must take into account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are former traditional models of the consumer decision?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The classic method of modeling the average consumer journey from start to purchase is the funnel, as we mentioned before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An article from McKinsey<\/a> summarizes: \u201cThe funnel analogy suggests that consumers systematically narrow the initial-consideration set as they weigh options, make decisions, and buy products. Then, the postsale phase becomes a trial period determining consumer loyalty to brands and the likelihood of buying their products again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketers have been taught to \u201cpush\u201d marketing toward consumers at each stage of the funnel process to influence their behavior.\u201d The funnel model worked well to market to broad chunks of the population for many years, but in this day and age, it\u2019s becoming more obsolete as customer awareness increases. Additionally, there are more options on the market, so word of mouth and other consumers\u2019 opinions are increasingly factorable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each day, people are increasingly coming into contact with more touch points and buying factors that are a direct result of the myriad of digital channels and product choices available. Combined with the fact that consumers of today are better-informed and more discerning, there has been an explosion in the routes through which marketing can influence each individual\u2019s consumer decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The traditional funnel analogy purports that customers systematically narrow down their initial consideration set as they go through the process of weighing options, making decisions, and eventually buying a product. It does help companies understand their product\u2019s strength at a certain stage, to highlight snags or faults that slow adoption, and to make it possible to analyze the business model<\/a>, create more effective products and marketing, and overall improve the customer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there are many more factors at play now than when the original funnel model was created. Accumulated impressions from family and friends\u2019 experiences and opinions, ads and news reports from countless channels in all directions, and consumers\u2019 own experiences shape their initial-consideration set. That is, the small number of brands that consumers take into account at the top of the \u201cfunnel\u201d has greatly narrowed in comparison to before, plus they perform much more research than they once did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision-making process is a much less linear journey than before, \u201c…with four primary phases representing potential battlegrounds where marketers can win or lose: initial consideration; active evaluation, or the process of researching potential purchases; closure, when consumers buy brands; and postpurchase, when consumers experience them,\u201d as McKinsey<\/a> says. In the postsale phase, the trial begins. After testing their new purchases, customers consequently decide if they would purchase the same thing next time, determining the likelihood of repeat buyers and brand loyalty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the changing consumer buying habits, decision journey, and the subsequent different marketing methods are something that companies must focus on. Marketers have been taught to push marketing at each stage of the buying journey to influence peoples\u2019 behavior. However, research has found that consumer-driven marketing is very important. Customers are taking control of the process and actively searching for information they find useful to compare products and make decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After researching current business trends<\/a>, an article by McKinsey<\/a> reconfirmed the importance of customer-driven marketing: \u201cIn today\u2019s decision journey, consumer-driven marketing is increasingly important as customers seize control of the process and actively \u201cpull\u201d information helpful to them. Our research found that two-thirds of the touch points during the active-evaluation phase involve consumer-driven marketing activities, such as Internet reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family, as well as in-store interactions and recollections of past experiences.\u201d Overall, only one third of the touch points on customers\u2019 maps involve what we consider company-driven marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, marketing teams must move quickly beyond push-style communication, and determinedly adapt their strategies to influence consumer-driven touch points; Internet sites, social media, and word of mouth, to name a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What drove the changes to the new model of a spaghetti funnel?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, buyer enablement calms the confusion that \u201cspaghetti bowl\u201d journey maps create. One of the best forms of customer service is to help your clients decipher the difficult parts of trying to make purchases in today\u2019s chaos. Customers are struggling to buy complex B2B solutions. Research has shown that purchase regret increases with the more difficulty the consumer experienced during their journey; purchase regret is the user\u2019s feeling about what they bought, specifically if they are having trouble with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one real-world example of purchase regret outlined by Modus<\/a>, a buyer had purchased a CRM software. Their team had taken two years to reach a consensus and finalize a buying decision. The supplier\u2019s side was done correctly; they were realistic and fully delivered, met deadlines, etc. However, the buyer ended up hating the system, simply because every time they log in, all the frustration they endured for two years while trying to buy it comes flooding back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another way to think about the spaghetti funnel\u2019s multiple random touchpoints is to understand the current buying process as plate spinning. Modus<\/a> asks: \u201cHave you ever been to a fair or circus and watched the guy who tries to get six plates spinning on sticks all at the same time? By the time he gets three going, the first is wobbling and needs to be stabilized and then you add more, and repeat the process trying to get them all spinning together.\u201d Heads of marketing can\u2019t assume that people\u2019s process is linear, and they must adjust accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The highest impact action that you can take in order to drive business growth<\/a> is to calm down the chaos of customer buying by completing the jobs necessary in order to help them make a buying decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, you can visualize the spaghetti bowl or funnel as four buckets of buying that influence consumer decisions. They include problem identification, solution exploration, requirements building, and supplier selection. Of course, it\u2019s also not linear. When asked if they ever revisited any of the four buckets during their journey, over 75% of buyers said that they revisited all four buckets. Information surfaces, through many avenues at any phase of the process, causing them to rethink their opinions and loyalty. These \u201cwhat ifs\u201d make such a huge difference and prevent buying from being linear. (Modus<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Struggles like validation<\/a> and consensus happen in each of peoples\u2019 four buckets. Each step of the consumer journey includes these factors, complicating the buying process even more. This is where marketing strategies come into play. Information and content play important roles in buyer enablement and ultimately customer loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting the correct information and tools to your potential buyers is the perfect way to simplify their lives. What content helps people finish each bucket? Benchmarks, product tours, ROI calculators, and other useful content can help those in charge of buying solve their specific problems. Simplifying their process is a huge difference between the past and nowadays. Since there are so many options and so much information out there, your job as a marketer is to streamline people\u2019s lives and make it apparent how your product is the best fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to an article by Modus<\/a>, \u201cContent trumps channels.\u201d Another factor discovered by research is that channels themselves don\u2019t matter as much as you might think, but content does. Many buyers want to use your website and your sales reps to obtain the necessary information. However, the opportunity to improve and expand this information is huge. Only \u2153 of buyers said that the information they accessed on vendor websites or sales reps impacted their buying process. Whether interacting digitally or in person, the most important factor is the information that enables customers to make decisions in each of the four buckets: problem identification, solution exploration, requirements building, and supplier selection. Help people along these routes with awesome content and you\u2019re already a step ahead of the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is it relevant to startups and businesses?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s very competitive, complex business world, not all loyalty is equal. Essentially, long-term brand loyalty is the goal because with so many options and influences along a consumer\u2019s purchase journey, keeping the customers that you already have is the most effective method. Nowadays, when consumers profess loyalty to a brand, they embody different types of loyalty. For example, some are active loyalists, who not only stay with the brand, but they also recommend it to their friends and acquaintances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other type are the passive loyalists; those people who stay with a brand without being committed to it, whether due to laziness, indifference, or the confusion caused by a never ending bombardment of information and endless choices. Businesses and startups especially should be prioritizing the expansion of their base of active loyalists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is achievable by investing the most in new touch points. Of course, this requires entirely novel, creative marketing efforts, not only efforts to boost word of mouth advertising, customer satisfaction, or getting onto the Internet. It\u2019s much more effective to combine as many of the touch points as possible, to get the strongest outcome and the most active loyalists possible. (McKinsey<\/a>) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essentially, if you want your startup<\/a> to thrive at any phase, or you want your business to stay strong in these increasingly competitive times, your marketing content and plan must be adjusted according to the times. Focus on consumer-centered solutions and you\u2019ll reduce the confusion that comes along with buying amidst all the noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How can founders change their marketing models to be more competitive in this new landscape?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So how can you as a founder or head of marketing make a significant difference in a potential customer\u2019s journey? McKinsey<\/a> outlines a few important actions to take. First of all, some companies require new messaging to win at whatever stage of the journey offers the greatest revenue opportunity. It may be better to replace a broad message that shows up in all the buckets or touch points with a message that addresses weaknesses at touch points such as initial consideration or active evaluation. Tailor messaging to the point in time, as well as the individual experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, invest in consumer-driven marketing. The widespread connectivity experienced today allows marketers to provide rich tools to help consumers decide which products are best for them and learn about their options; this is essential in the online world. Online targeting engines and content-management systems let marketers create endless variations of advertisement, based on the context, viewers\u2019 behavioral patterns, and a real-time idea of what the organization should be promoting. Consumer-driven marketing is actually very helpful to companies and consumers alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, integrating all customer-facing activities is a top priority. Teams in charge of the company\u2019s informational websites, loyalty programs, and PR should be coordinated and communicated between levels and properly led. An organization-wide customer voice is necessary to unify activities such as product development, market research, public relations, and data<\/a> management<\/a>; the CMO is a great candidate to take responsibility for this. Integrate the face your customers see and experience to be organized and gain loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google\u2019s team also has a few recommendations for companies looking to influence purchase decisions:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n