🌪️ Beyond the Funnel: Rethinking Marketing Effectiveness in a Connected Commerce Era

This journey started with a provocative question on stage at ShopTalk. During a panel discussion, the moderator asked, “Is the marketing funnel dead?”

In the moment, I gave a practical response about its declining relevance—but the question stuck with me. What followed was a fascinating exploration of perspectives: some clinging tightly to AIDA models and ROAS, others embracing a more fluid, customer-centric view of the modern journey.

Reimagining the Marketing Funnel as a Web of Interaction

The truth is, the funnel didn’t die. It evolved.

A customer might discover your brand on a podcast, fall in love with it on TikTok or YouTube, convert on your app, and evangelize it on Discord. The funnel didn’t break—it became a web of relationships and interactions.

Yet most brands still chase impressions, optimize for ROAS, and cling to a linear model that no longer reflects reality.

Marketing today isn’t a straight line—it’s a conversation, a connection, and often, a community. If your metrics haven’t evolved, you’re not just behind—you’re blind.

The Funnel Didn’t Break—It Evolved

For decades, marketing effectiveness was defined by neat formulas—reach, frequency, impressions, GRPs, and return on ad spend (ROAS). These metrics made sense in a world where media was predictable and customer journeys were linear. But that world no longer exists.

Today, customers zigzag across platforms, touchpoints, and experiences. They’re not moving down a funnel—they’re weaving through a web. Discovery happens in the scroll, the swipe, the story. Conversion is no longer the final step—it’s just one part of a larger relationship. And loyalty? That’s built in communities, DMs, and duets.

When we rely on outdated metrics to understand this new reality, we risk optimizing for noise instead of meaning. We chase volume over value. We see the clicks but miss the connection. The truth is, our marketing didn’t become less effective—it became misaligned with how people actually live, engage, and buy.

From Metrics of Motion to Metrics of Meaning

We’re not just witnessing a digital shift—we’re experiencing a relational one.

Terms like “omnichannel,” “e-commerce,” and “digital-first” are starting to feel dated, because customers don’t live in channels—they live in moments. They don’t differentiate between marketing and service, digital and physical, commerce and content. They experience brands as life.

This is the era of Connected Commerce—where relationships, not reach, define success. Where campaigns give way to conversations. And where effectiveness can’t be measured solely by what moved—but by what mattered.

That’s why we need a new framework—one that doesn’t reject data, but repositions it. A model that blends performance with purpose, analytics with empathy. One that asks not just how many people saw your brand—but how deeply it resonated with the ones who matter most.

The 4 Pillars of Modern Marketing Effectiveness

🟡 Relevance — Did it matter to the customer?

In an age of algorithmic overload and endless content, being seen isn’t the challenge. Being noticed—in a way that actually matters—is.

Relevance is about timing, context, and cultural connection. It’s not just what you say, but when, where, and why it hits. LEGO understood this when it expanded beyond toys, becoming a culture-shaping brand through collabs with NASA, BTS, and adult fandoms. Warby Parker did it too—disrupting a stale category not with louder ads, but with a story of purpose, accessibility, and social impact.

Relevance asks: Are we showing up where our customers are—or where they were?

🟠 Resonance — Did it connect emotionally?

Relevance gets you in the door. Resonance is what makes people stay.

Gymshark didn’t win hearts by showcasing perfect bodies—it won by showcasing real ones. Transformation stories. Behind-the-scenes struggles. Community over perfection. YETI, too, transcended its product through lifestyle storytelling—its brand isn’t about coolers, it’s about identity. Adventure. Resilience.

Resonance turns a transaction into a relationship. It’s how brands go from “seen” to felt.

🔵 Reach — Did it find the right audience?

The old game was mass media. Today’s game is smart media.

Brands like Sephora don’t just blast—they tailor. Their loyalty program and personalization engine allow them to reach customers not just by demographic, but by intent and behavior. Glossier went even deeper, building a tribe before a product. By co-creating with their community, leveraging user-generated content, and activating influencers as insiders, they didn’t find an audience—they built one.

Reach isn’t about more eyeballs. It’s about the right ones.

🟢 Return — Did it drive sustainable value?

ROAS is just one slice of the story. True return is multidimensional: financial, emotional, and relational.

Abercrombie & Fitch’s resurgence wasn’t about price—it was about positioning.

Elevated product. A bold new narrative. A cultural reinvention. Trader Joe’s, meanwhile, proves that value comes in many forms—curated discovery, operational simplicity, and a fiercely loyal community. The ROI isn’t just dollars—it’s devotion.

Return is no longer about the short-term spike. It’s about building a brand people come back to again—and again—and again.

The Real Transformation Isn’t Digital—It’s Human

We often talk about the “digital transformation” like it’s the destination. But digital is just the vehicle. The real journey—the one that matters—is human.

A century ago, we didn’t call it omnichannel. We just called it showing up. Trunk shows, door-to-door demos, handwritten thank-yous. It wasn’t about tech—it was about trust. Today’s brands have infinitely more tools, but the same timeless truth still applies: connection drives commerce.

We’ve come full circle. Customers aren’t loyal to channels—they’re loyal to experiences. They don’t remember impressions—they remember how you made them feel.

Connected Commerce isn’t about chasing the next platform. It’s about deepening the relationship at every touchpoint. The brands that thrive are the ones who realize: the transformation isn’t about becoming more digital—it’s about becoming more human, with digital as the enabler.

Would Your Brand Be Missed?

Marketing effectiveness used to be about efficiency. Now, it’s about emotion.

The true question isn’t “What did the campaign cost?” or “How many impressions did we get?” The question is:

“If your brand disappeared tomorrow, would your customers notice? Would they care?”

That’s the real bar. Not just awareness, but affinity. Not just return on ad spend—but return on relationship.

The 4 Pillars—Relevance, Resonance, Reach, and Return—offer a new lens. One that shifts our perspective from campaigns to connections, from channels to customers, from motion to meaning.

This isn’t a framework to enforce—it’s a conversation to start. A provocation. A possibility.

Because in an era of Connected Commerce, the brands that endure will be the ones that matter—not just in the moment, but in memory.