This funnel usually includes the following phases

[hoxesi8100@]

In the context of marketing and business strategy, the “Messy Middle” has become an important concept because it recognizes that consumers do not always follow a linear, well-defined path from awareness to purchase . Instead, they can be influenced by a variety of factors, including the opinions of their friends, online reviews, advertisements, and past experiences, which can lead them to hesitate, reevaluate their options, or explore further before making a final decision.

The marketing funnel, or “marketing cone”, represents a schematic visualization of the path that a potential customer can follow in interacting with a company or brand, from the initial awareness phase to conversion employment lead into an actual customer. :

Awareness
Interest
Consideration
Purchase
Loyalty
The main difference between the “Messy Middle” and the marketing funnel is that the former highlights the complexity and uncertainty that consumers may experience during their decision-making journey, while the latter provides a linear and schematic structure of the marketing process. The Messy Middle recognizes that consumers may move back and forth between different stages of the funnel, may be influenced by multiple factors, and may require ongoing interaction with the company or brand before making a decision.

In essence, the Messy Middle reminds us that the consumer journey is not always as clean and linear as it may appear in traditional marketing models, and it is important for companies to understand and manage this complexity to be successful in engaging consumers and influencing their purchasing decisions.

Simplifying it further, the marketing funnel is made up of four phases plus a fifth that can be decisive in the growth of a company: