What Is a Marketing Funnel? A Simple Guide for Business Owners

What Is a Marketing Funnel, Really?

If you’ve ever wondered why some businesses seem to turn clicks into customers on autopilot while others struggle to get a single enquiry, the answer is usually this:

They’re using a marketing funnel and they actually know what it looks like.

A marketing funnel is simply a map of the customer journey from the first moment someone discovers you, through to becoming a lead, a customer, and eventually a loyal repeat buyer. Instead of doing random marketing “stuff” a bit of Facebook here, some Google Ads there a funnel shows you:

• Who you’re trying to reach
• What to show them at each stage
• How to move them from “never heard of you” to “happy paying customer”

This guide is written for busy small business owners in Australia who want more leads, more sales, and better results from their digital marketing without drowning in jargon. You don’t need to be a marketing guru. You just need to understand the basics of the funnel and how to apply it to your business.

Why Marketing Funnels Matter for Small Businesses

Most small businesses don’t have a marketing problem. They have a marketing funnel problem. Typical stories we hear from Aussie business owners:

• “We’re getting decent traffic to the website, but hardly any inquiries.”
• “People ask for quotes and then disappear.”
• “We get one sale and never hear from them again.”

A clear marketing funnel helps you fix that by:

• Turning website visitors into leads (enquiries, bookings, phone calls)
• Turning leads into paying customers
• Turning customers into repeat buyers and referrers

In other words, it makes your online marketing strategy intentional instead of accidental.

With the right funnel structure, you can:

• Generate qualified leads for your small business
• Improve your return on ad spend (ROAS) from Google Ads and social ads
• Stop wasting money sending people to pages that don’t convert
• Understand which part of your marketing is working and which part is leaking money

If you care about lead generation for small businesses, a marketing funnel isn’t “nice to have”. It’s the backbone that holds your digital marketing together.

The Key Stages of a Marketing Funnel (Awareness to Loyalty)

Once you understand the basic stages of a funnel, everything else starts to make sense.

Most funnels follow this simple flow:

Let’s break that down in a way that’s actually useful.

Top of Funnel (TOFU): Awareness & Discovery

This is where people first discover your brand. They might:

• Search on Google for “plumber near me” or “dentist in Sydney”
• See one of your blog posts or guides
• Watch a short video on social media
• Hear about you from a friend or colleague

At this stage, they often don’t know you and may not even fully understand their problem yet.

Your goal at the top of the marketing funnel is to:

• Get their attention
• Show that you understand their problem
• Build a bit of trust, without pushing for the sale straight away

This is where content like blogs, SEO, social posts, short videos and helpful guides do a lot of heavy lifting.

Middle of Funnel (MOFU): Consideration & Evaluation

Now they know who you are. They’re starting to think:

“Okay, this business might be able to help me.”

At this stage, people:

• Compare you with competitors
• Read reviews and testimonials
• Check your pricing or packages
• Download a guide or join your email list
• Visit your website multiple times

Here, your job is to educate and reassure.

Middle-of-funnel content includes:

• Case studies
• FAQs and comparison guides
• Service pages that explain your process
• Lead magnets (checklists, templates, calculators)
• Email sequences that answer common questions

This is where you move from “just another option” to “clearly the best choice”.

Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): Conversion & Purchase

At the bottom of the funnel, they’re almost ready to buy.
They just need a clear, low-friction way to say “yes”.

Here’s what matters most:

• Strong, clear calls-to-action (CTA)
• Easy-to-use booking or enquiry forms
• Transparent pricing or next steps
• Social proof: reviews, case studies, guarantees

Bottom-of-funnel assets often include:

• Your main service pages
• Product pages (for e-commerce)
• Booking and quote forms
• Free consultation offers
• Retargeting ads to “warm” visitors

This is where conversion happens: an enquiry, a booking, a purchase, or a phone call.

After the Funnel: Retention & Loyalty

Most businesses stop at the sale.
The smart ones know this is where the real profit starts.

After someone buys, you want to:

• Stay in touch through email marketing or SMS
• Offer related services or upsells
• Ask for reviews and referrals
• Invite them into loyalty or maintenance programs

This customer retention and loyalty stage turns one-time customers into:

• Repeat buyers
• Long-term clients
• Brand advocates who refer their friends

That’s how you grow more profitably without constantly chasing new people at the top of the funnel.

Marketing Funnel vs Sales Funnel (What’s the Difference?)

You’ll often hear both terms thrown around: Marketing funnel, Sales funnel They’re related, but not the same.

You can think of it this way:

• The marketing funnel fills your pipeline
• The sales funnel converts that pipeline into revenue

For a small business in Australia, you don’t need a big complex setup.
You just need both sides to work together:

• Marketing brings in the right people
• Sales handles them properly and converts them
• The whole “funnel” feels smooth from the customer’s point of view

Types of Marketing Funnels (With Simple Examples)

There are dozens of funnel “models” out there, but most small businesses only need a few simple types. Here are three you’ll actually use.

Digital Marketing Funnel for Service Businesses

Perfect for: tradies, consultants, agencies, medical practices, local services.

A simple flow might look like this:

1. Google search Someone searches “electrician in Brisbane”
2. Service page or blog They land on a helpful, optimised page
3. Trust builders Reviews, case studies, before/after photos
4. CTA “Request a quote” or “Book online”
5. Follow-up Email/SMS confirmation and reminder

This kind of digital marketing funnel is the bread and butter for local service businesses.

Lead Generation Funnel (Lead Magnet Funnel)

Perfect for: B2B services, agencies, accountants, coaches, consultants.

Here’s how it works:

1. Visitor sees an offer like:
   • “Free marketing checklist for local businesses”
   • “Tax deductions cheat sheet for Australian tradies”
2. They enter their email to download it
3. They receive a helpful resource, not a hard sell
4. Over the next few days/weeks, you send emails that:
   • Answer common questions
   • Share case studies
   • Invite them to book a call or strategy session

This is a classic lead generation funnel that builds your email list and warms people up before you speak to them.

Email Marketing Funnel

Email is still one of the most powerful parts of a small business marketing funnel.

A simple email funnel could look like:

1. Welcome email Thanks them for downloading / subscribing
2. Value email Tips, guides, how-tos related to their problem
3. Proof email Case study or testimonial
4. Offer email Clear invite to book, buy, or request a quote

An email marketing funnel works quietly in the background, nurturing leads while you focus on running the business.

How to Create a Simple Marketing Funnel for Your Business

You don’t need fancy software or a massive budget. Start with something simple and build from there. Here’s a straightforward process:

Step 1: Define Your Ideal Customer and Main Offer

Ask yourself:

• Who do we really want to work with?
• What problem do we solve for them?
• What’s the main offer we want them to take? (e.g. free consult, quote, booking, package)

Without this, your funnel will feel messy and unfocused.

Step 2: Map Your Current Customer Journey

Before you build anything new, look at what’s already happening:

• How do people find you now? (Google, social, referrals, ads)
• What pages do they visit?
• Where do they drop off?
• Where do they enquire or buy?

Even a simple sketch on paper is enough to reveal obvious gaps.

Step 3: Plan Content for Each Stage of the Funnel

Think in terms of TOFU / MOFU / BOFU:

This is your marketing funnel strategy in action.

Step 4: Choose Your Main Channels

You don’t need to be everywhere. Pick the channels that make sense for your business:

• SEO & Google Search Great for local intent (“near me” searches)
• Google Ads Fast way to appear for high-intent keywords
• Social media Good for awareness and retargeting
• Email marketing Essential for nurturing and retention

Focus on doing a few channels well, rather than doing everything badly.

Step 5: Set Up Basic Tracking

You can’t improve what you’re not measuring. At a minimum, set up:

• Google Analytics To see where your traffic comes from and what they do
• Google Search Console To see what people search for and how you show up
• Simple tracking for:
  • Enquiry form submissions
  • Online bookings
  • Phone calls (if possible)

Even a basic customer journey map with a few key numbers will help you see where to optimise.

Marketing Funnel Examples

Let’s put this into a practical example.

Example: Duplex Builders Sydney

Goal: Increase new duplex design-and-build enquiries from Google.

Funnel could look like this:

1. Awareness
   • Someone searches “duplex builders Sydney”, “modern duplex builder in Sydney” or “duplex construction Sydney”
   • They see your business in Google’s local results, map pack and organic search
2. Consideration
   • They click through to an SEO-optimised “Duplex Builders Sydney” service page
   • They see:
     • Clear overview of services
     • Pricing ranges or payment options
     • Genuine Google reviews
     • Photos of the practice and team
3. Conversion
   • There’s a big, clear “Request a Duplex Quote” or “Book a Free Duplex Consultation” button
   • The enquiry form is simple and mobile-friendly (block size, suburb, rough budget, time frame)
   • They receive a confirmation email or SMS explaining next steps (e.g. site visit, feasibility, design briefing)
4. Loyalty
   • A week after their appointment, they get a follow-up email
   • You invite them to:
     • Leave a Google review mentioning their duplex build
     • Refer friends or family considering a duplex in Sydney
     • Join your mailing list for renovation/maintenance tips and future investment projects

This is a small business marketing funnel example that could also apply to:

• passive home builder
• steel fabrication
• traffic management melbourne
• Or a digital marketing agency like One Click Digital serving clients across Australia

Even a basic funnel like this can significantly increase leads, bookings, and revenue.

Tracking, Measuring, and Improving Your Funnel

Once your funnel is live, the real work begins: improvement.

Here are the key metrics to keep an eye on:

• Website traffic How many people are visiting? From where?
• Click-through rate (CTR) Are people clicking from search results or ads?
• Lead conversion rate What percentage of visitors become leads?
• Sales conversion rate What percentage of leads become customers?
• Cost per lead (CPL) / Cost per acquisition (CPA) What does each lead or sale cost you?
• Customer lifetime value (LTV) How much is a customer worth over time?

Then look for leaks in the funnel:

• Lots of traffic but few enquiries?
  • Top or middle of the funnel problem (messaging, trust, value).
• Lots of enquiries but few sales?
  • Bottom-of-funnel or sales process problem.
• Good first sales but no repeat business?
  • Retention and loyalty problem.

Use tools like:

• Google Analytics
• Google Search Console
• Simple CRM or even a spreadsheet

The goal is not to be perfect, it’s to get a little better each month, based on data.

Common Marketing Funnel Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Here are some of the biggest mistakes we see small businesses make.

Avoiding these marketing funnel mistakes alone can dramatically improve your results without increasing your ad spend.

FAQs to Popular “Marketing Funnel” Questions

Need Help Building Your Marketing Funnel?

You don’t need a complicated, high-tech setup to see real results.
You just need a clear, simple marketing funnel that matches how your ideal customers actually buy.

One Click Digital can help

We work with businesses across Australia to:

• Map out their customer journey
• Build or fix their marketing funnel
• Optimise key pages for conversions
• Drive targeted traffic through SEO and paid ads

No jargon. No pressure. Just clear steps to help you turn clicks into customers.