Your Marketing Funnel is Broken. Here's Why.

For as long as most of us can remember, the marketing funnel has been the go-to model. You know the one. It's that neat, tidy triangle that starts wide at the top with "Awareness" and narrows down to a single point at the bottom: a sale. We pour leads into the top, and a few customers fall out the bottom. Job done.

But here's the problem with that. What happens to the customer after they fall out the bottom? The funnel doesn't care. It treats customers like an afterthought, an output. Once the transaction is over, the relationship is too. In 2025, that way of thinking is not just outdated; it's a liability.

We need a better model. A model that puts the customer at the very center of everything we do. A model that doesn't just stop when someone buys something, but uses their energy to create even more growth. It's time to stop thinking about funnels and start thinking about flywheels.

So, What is This Flywheel Thing Anyway?

Imagine a heavy, spinning wheel in a workshop. It takes a lot of effort to get it moving. You have to push and push. But once it's spinning, it builds its own momentum. A little push now and then is all it takes to keep it going, and it stores and releases a tremendous amount of energy.

That's the flywheel model. Instead of a linear funnel, it's a circular loop with three stages: Attract, Engage, and Delight. And right in the middle of it all, the axle that everything spins around, is the customer.

The goal isn't to get customers through a process. The goal is to get the wheel spinning faster and faster, with happy customers providing the energy that fuels its momentum.

Why the Flywheel is the Only Model That Makes Sense in 2025

Let's face it, we live in a world of low trust. People are tired of being sold to. They skip ads, ignore marketing emails, and are generally skeptical of anything a company says about itself. Who do they trust? They trust other people. Friends, family, and online reviews.

The old funnel model completely ignores this reality. It's built on the idea that your marketing message is what matters most. The flywheel, on the other hand, is built entirely around the power of word-of-mouth.

When you delight your customers, you turn them into your best marketers. They become fans. They tell their friends. They leave glowing reviews. They become the force that spins your flywheel, attracting new customers with an authenticity you could never buy. It's the ultimate growth loop, and it's how you go about turning one-time buyers into loyal fans.

How to Get Your Flywheel Spinning: A Quick Guide

Getting your flywheel moving is about focusing your energy in the right places. It comes down to those three stages.

First, you Attract. This isn't about interrupting people with ads. It's about drawing them in with valuable, helpful content. This is where a smart content marketing and SEO strategy comes in. You create blog posts, videos, and social media content that solves your audience's problems, and they find you when they need you.

Next, you Engage. Once you have their attention, you need to build a relationship. Make it easy for them to connect with you. This means having great customer service, personalized communication, and a website that's easy to use. It's about being helpful and human at every touchpoint.

Finally, and most importantly, you Delight. This is where you create your fans. You go above and beyond what's expected. Maybe it's through exceptional support, a handwritten thank you note, or a product that just works perfectly. This is the stage that so many businesses miss, and it's a huge mistake. It's the overlooked customer onboarding that makes all the difference.

The Two Big Ideas: Force and Friction

To keep your flywheel spinning, you need to think about two things: force and friction.

Force is anything you do that adds energy and speeds up the wheel. A great new content campaign? That's force. A new feature that your customers love? That's force. A referral program that encourages word-of-mouth? You guessed it, more force.

Friction is anything that slows the wheel down. A confusing pricing page, a slow website, a customer service agent who doesn't have the right answer. These are the little things that create a bad experience and kill your momentum. A big part of your job is to constantly ask, "is my marketing working?" and hunt down and eliminate friction wherever you find it.

The goal is simple. Add as much force as you can, and remove as much friction as possible.

This Isn't Just for Marketers

Here's the most important part. The flywheel isn't just a marketing idea. It's a business philosophy. It only works when your entire company is on board.

Your sales team can't use aggressive tactics that create unhappy customers. Your customer service team can't be seen as a cost center; they are a growth driver. Your product team has to build things that people actually love to use.

When sales, marketing, and service all work together to keep the customer at the center, the flywheel spins effortlessly. When they work in silos, it grinds to a halt.

Conclusion: Stop Filling a Funnel. Start Spinning a Flywheel.

The traditional funnel is about what you can get from your customers. It's a one-way street that ends with a transaction. The flywheel is about what you can give to them. It's a virtuous cycle that creates momentum and sustainable growth.

It's a different way of thinking, but it's the only way that makes sense in a world where trust is everything.

So, here's a challenge for you. This week, find one point of friction in your customer journey. Just one. Is it a confusing form on your website? A slow response time to customer emails? Find it, and fix it. That's your first push on the flywheel. And once you start, you'll be amazed at how quickly it starts to spin on its own.