Funnel Building: Step-By-Step Guide for Marketers

Advertising

If you’re a marketer looking to grow your pool of committed customers and increase both the number and rate of conversions in 2026, you’re likely already well-versed in the sales funnel model.

But if you’re wondering how to build a sales funnel that actually delivers measurable results (or simply need a refresher), here’s a practical, up-to-date guide. In today’s fragmented media landscape, a clearly defined sales funnel is essential to an effective omnichannel strategy.

What Is a Sales Funnel?

A sales funnel is a strategic marketing model that maps the customer journey from initial brand awareness all the way to purchase and long-term loyalty. It narrows from a broad audience at the top to highly qualified buyers at the bottom, enabling marketers to deliver targeted tactics across their omnichannel strategy.

The sales funnel stages are:

1. Awareness: In this stage, also known as the top of the funnel, your strategy is to increase consumers’ knowledge of your brand and generate goodwill around the idea of what you offer – let’s use a scented candle company as an example. The first step would be to reach candle enthusiasts and other target audiences to make them aware of your products.
2. Interest and evaluation: Once your potential customer is aware of your candle products, they’ll be wondering why they should be buying your product over other offerings. This stage and the next one (desire) comprise “consideration,” also known as the mid-funnel. 
3. Desire: Here, you’re creating a more pointed want in the consumer to purchase your product over your competitors’.
4. Action: Encouraging customers to actually purchase your product at the bottom of the funnel. 
5. Loyalty and re-engagement: Once they’ve purchased from you, you want to develop an ongoing relationship with your customer. How can you keep them loyal for the next time they need to buy a scented candle?

The chief benefit of a sales funnel with clearly delineated steps is that you can better define your audience and work out more refined strategies for engaging with them along the way. A sales funnel can also streamline your customers’ journey and make for a better use of your resources, rather than the “spray and pray” approach to sales techniques.

But to get to an efficient sales funnel model, there’s work you have to do first. Full-funnel marketing is only as effective as the information you feed into it.

Sales Funnel vs. Marketing Funnel

While similar, there is a slight difference between sales and marketing funnels. The sales funnel targets prospects whom your sales team has decided are credible. It describes customers’ buyer journeys. 

Before the sales funnel, though, there is the marketing funnel. (We like to imagine two funnels stacked on top of each other in a trenchcoat.) The marketing funnel describes the marketing team’s efforts to move potential leads into the sales funnel, casting a wide net and gradually narrowing it until the marketing team decides leads are credible enough to pass on to the sales team.

Now that we’re up to speed on the terminology, let’s dive into the ‘how to’ portion of this guide.

Step 1: Define Your Target Audience

The best way to start funnel building is by having an accurate sense of your ideal buyer. Creating a profile of your customer can be helpful, even giving them a name and likes/dislikes in addition to their basic demographic information, including age, gender, whether they are city or suburban dwellers, and so on.

Defining your audience clearly will determine the flow of the rest of your approach, so be sure to do it methodically and carefully. In 2026, this step has evolved beyond basic demographics to incorporate first-party data, behavioral signals, and AI-powered insights, especially important amid tightening privacy regulations.

Strategies for Audience Targeting

Successful audience definition relies on blending data, technology, and empathy to create precise, actionable buyer personas.

• Leverage first-party data and CRM insights: Pull historical purchase and engagement data from your own systems to identify patterns in who converts best, creating a foundation that respects privacy while sharpening targeting accuracy.
• Use AI-driven persona development: Employ generative AI tools to synthesize survey responses, website behavior, and social signals into dynamic buyer profiles that evolve in real time.
• Conduct ongoing customer interviews and polls: Regularly gather qualitative feedback from current buyers to uncover emotional drivers and pain points that quantitative data alone might miss.
• Analyze competitor audience strategies: Review public ad placements and audience insights to spot gaps where your brand can differentiate.
• Map emotional and aspirational needs: Identify the feelings (wellness, luxury, calm) your product fulfills, then layer these insights onto demographic data for more resonant messaging across every funnel stage.

Step 2: Create Awareness

Now that you’ve defined who your audience is, you need to start reaching it at scale with channels that command attention and deliver measurable lift. Awareness isn’t just about visibility. It’s about planting your brand in premium environments where prospects are already engaged.

This stage builds the foundation for every downstream conversion by introducing your offering to new audiences and generating initial goodwill.

Strategies for Creating Awareness

To drive effective top-of-funnel awareness, focus on channels and creative that cut through fragmentation while aligning with how modern audiences consume media.

• Deploy Connected TV campaigns for premium reach: Use performance-focused CTV platforms to place short, brand-aligned video ads alongside high-quality streaming content, reaching engaged households at scale.
• Create educational, value-first content: Publish blog posts, short videos, or guides that address broad industry challenges, positioning your brand as a helpful expert rather than a hard seller.
• Leverage social and display remarketing: Run visually striking ads on social feeds and display networks that introduce your brand story in a way that feels native and non-intrusive.
• Partner with influencers and thought leaders: Collaborate with creators in your niche for authentic endorsements that introduce your product to new audiences in trusted contexts.
• Utilize broad keywords and interest-based targeting: Apply paid search and audience segmentation tactics to appear in moments when prospects are actively exploring related topics or emotions.

Step 3: Generate Interest

As the funnel begins to narrow, now’s your chance to really bring your brand to the forefront. This mid-funnel stage shifts from broad introduction to deeper exploration, where prospects actively evaluate whether your offering fits their needs.

With attention spans shorter and options more abundant, interest-generation tactics must deliver clear differentiation through compelling storytelling, social proof, and interactive experiences that keep prospects moving forward.

Strategies for Generating Interest

In a crowded marketplace, generating genuine interest requires content and creative that educates, entertains, and differentiates your brand from competitors.

• Produce behind-the-scenes and origin stories: Share videos or articles highlighting your unique processes, sustainability efforts, or company culture to humanize your brand and build emotional connections.
• Highlight product differentiators with visuals: Use high-quality video demonstrations or comparison charts to showcase superior ingredients, features, or impact (e.g., “buy one, give one” programs).
• Incorporate customer testimonials and UGC: Feature real-user stories in short video formats that feel authentic and relatable, showing tangible benefits in everyday life.
• Create entertaining educational content: Develop subject-matter-expert videos or series that are informative yet engaging, avoiding dry pitches in favor of storytelling that holds attention.
• Run interactive webinars or quizzes: Offer live or on-demand sessions that let prospects explore solutions interactively, deepening their investment in your brand.

Step 4: Capture Leads

Capturing leads involves getting email addresses and building your customer base. Of course, you want genuinely engaged customers, not just a slew of people who let your emails go to their spam folders.

Lead capture has become more sophisticated; thus, your strategies need to become more sophisticated as well.

Strategies for Capturing Leads

Effective lead capture balances value exchange with seamless user experience to build a high-quality database that fuels the rest of the funnel.

• Offer gated, high-value content: Provide white papers, e-books, or how-to guides (e.g., “How to Eliminate Lingering Pet Odors”) in exchange for contact information that solves immediate pain points.
• Run targeted special offers and discounts: Use pop-ups or dedicated landing pages offering 10-20% off first purchases or free trials to incentivize quick sign-ups.
• Create interactive lead magnets: Deploy quizzes, calculators, or personalized assessments that deliver instant value while collecting qualified contact details.
• Leverage retargeting across channels: Follow up awareness-stage viewers on Connected TV or social with specific offers that encourage email capture.
• Focus on non-transactional content experiences: Build trust with helpful resources that feel genuinely useful rather than purely promotional, increasing opt-in quality and long-term engagement.

Step 5: Nurture Leads

With all the offers consumers get, it’s easy for them to burn out or move on quickly. How do you maintain this relationship? This stage keeps leads warm by delivering timely, relevant value that builds trust and moves them closer to purchase. Nurture sequences leverage automation, personalization at scale, and multi-channel touchpoints to keep your brand top-of-mind without overwhelming inboxes.

Strategies for Nurturing Leads

Nurturing leads demands timely, personalized communication that feels helpful rather than salesy across every channel.

• Send personalized email sequences: Use behavioral triggers and segmentation to deliver content tailored to each lead’s stage and interests.
• Deploy multi-channel drip campaigns: Combine email, SMS, and Connected TV retargeting so leads encounter consistent messaging in their preferred formats.
• Share progressive educational content: Gradually introduce deeper product insights, case studies, and comparisons that address evolving objections.
• Use automated behavioral triggers: Set up workflows that respond to actions like website visits or video views with the next logical piece of content.
• Incorporate interactive elements: Include polls, surveys, or quick video updates that encourage two-way dialogue and keep leads actively engaged.

Step 6: Convert Sales

Customers get cold feet easily. They can put items in their cart, then forget about them; they may also take a deliberate pause before actually paying for them. This bottom-funnel stage removes friction and provides the final reassurance needed to turn intent into revenue.

Conversion funnel optimization combines frictionless checkout flows, real-time incentives, and cross-channel retargeting to close the deal efficiently.

Strategies for Converting Sales

Conversion hinges on removing every last barrier while reinforcing value at the exact moment of decision.

• Send abandoned-cart recovery sequences: Use timely emails or SMS with gentle reminders and added incentives like limited-time discounts.
• Simplify the checkout experience: Streamline forms, offer guest checkout, and provide multiple payment options to reduce friction.
• Deploy urgency and scarcity tactics: Highlight limited stock, time-sensitive offers, or exclusive bonuses that encourage immediate action.
• Use retargeting with personalized offers: Re-engage warm leads on Connected TV or social with creative tailored to their specific interests or past behavior.
• Provide risk-reversal guarantees: Emphasize clear return policies, free shipping, or satisfaction guarantees that lower perceived purchase risk.

Learn more about sales funnel optimization.

Step 7: Retain Customers

It’s better to retain existing customers than to have to constantly keep generating new leads. However, is that easier said than done? Post-purchase engagement turns one-time buyers into lifelong advocates. In 2026, retention strategies leverage data, personalization, and ongoing value to boost lifetime value.

Strategies for Customer Retention

Retention focuses on delivering ongoing value and delight that keeps customers coming back while encouraging advocacy.

• Deliver exceptional post-purchase support: Provide proactive onboarding, helpful resources, and responsive customer service that reinforces their smart choice.
• Offer loyalty rewards and exclusives: Create tiered programs with early access to new scents, discounts, or bonus products for repeat buyers.
• Send personalized re-engagement content: Use purchase history to recommend complementary items or seasonal updates via email and video.
• Build community around your brand: Host virtual events, user groups, or social communities where customers connect and share experiences.
• Gather and act on feedback loops: Regularly survey customers and quickly implement suggestions to show they’re truly valued.

How CTV Advertising Can Keep Your Funnel Full

A well-built sales funnel doesn’t just attract customers—it guides them seamlessly from awareness to action. MNTN Performance TV helps you strengthen every stage of your funnel with high-impact CTV advertising that drives measurable results. Here’s how:

• MNTN Matched: AI-driven targeting finds your ideal audience and fills the top of your funnel with high-quality prospects.
• Creative-as-a-Subscription™: Scalable ad production keeps your messaging sharp and relevant as prospects move through the funnel.
• Automated Optimization: Machine learning fine-tunes your OTT advertising campaigns to improve performance and maximize conversions.
• Verified Visits™ Attribution: Know exactly how your ads influence customer actions at every stage.
• Real-Time Reporting: In-depth insights help you refine your funnel strategy and turn prospects into buyers more efficiently.

Build a smarter, more effective sales funnel with MNTN’s self-serve software. Sign up today.

Funnel Building: Final Thoughts

Everyone wants to know how to create a sales funnel that maximizes conversions. It can feel like an overwhelming amount of work, but the right partners and strategies can help streamline solutions to make testing and updating your sales strategy across the funnel seamless. With disciplined execution and data-backed refinements, your funnel becomes a predictable growth engine that delivers results year after year.