Full-Funnel Marketing: How To Stop Chasing Short-Term Gains and Win Again
by Craig Wakefield • June 23, 2025
Let’s get real: the game’s changed. Attribution data? That’s out the window. But here’s the kicker—marketers are still stuck in the mindset of “I need a return on every single dollar I spend.” And it’s messing everything up.
Back in the day, we used to break our budgets into neat little categories—awareness, consideration, and purchase. It wasn’t fancy, but it worked. Then, data came along. We got obsessed with tracking every click and chasing that immediate return.
But guess what? That doesn’t work anymore. When iOS 14 hit, and everyone opted out of tracking, it left us scrambling. Attribution? Gone. That clean data? Gone.
Now? We’re stuck in a loop of just optimizing for conversions, making ad platforms nothing more than glorified retargeting machines. All we’re doing is pushing leads to the bottom of the funnel and praying for results.
It’s time to change the playbook.
How Do We Win?
It’s simple: get back to the basics. We need to refocus on the full-funnel marketing strategy —not just purchase. Yes, I said it. We need to stop treating marketing like a one-time purchase and start seeing it as a process. You need to:
- Separate your budgets: Dedicate specific budgets for awareness, consideration, and purchase.
- Upper Funnel First: For top-of-funnel, stop optimizing for just purchases. Focus on traffic, email sign-ups, and add-to-cart.
- Middle Funnel Matters: Create campaigns to nurture your leads and guide them toward conversion.
- Lower Funnel Focus: Yes, lower funnel still matters, but not at the expense of everything else.
This works. And it works because it’s not about instant gratification—it’s about sustainable growth.
Why Does it Work?
This is time-tested . It’s rooted in old-school marketing principles that have always worked. When we implemented this strategy with clients, guess what happened? They saw growth that impacts every stage of the buyer’s journey . Real, sustainable, impactful growth.
We’ve been burned by over-attribution, and we’ve seen firsthand how much money gets wasted. The answer isn’t just doubling down on the bottom of the funnel. You need the full-funnel to work in harmony. That’s how you win. Period.
The Bottom Line: Digital Marketing Fundamentals for Long-Term Success
The loss of attribution data isn’t the death of marketing. It’s the opportunity to get back to real marketing fundamentals . Rebuild your funnel, focus on awareness, consider those middle stages, and finally, let the lower funnel naturally work with more qualified leads.
That’s how we drive results. Whether you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and make the shift yourself, could use a little guidance along the way, or want a partner to help put it all into action, the key is starting with a strategy built for long-term growth. The tools are here, and so are the opportunities—how you move forward is up to you.
