The End of the Funnel: Why Linear Customer Journeys No Longer Exist

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Welcome to the 107th edition of The Growth Elements Newsletter. Every Monday and sometimes on Thursday, I write an essay on growth metrics & experiments and business case studies.

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For the last two decades, go-to-market teams have operated under a single, unchallenged assumption:

That assumption is now outdated.

In 2025, customer journeys are no longer linear. They're fragmented, recursive, AI-assisted, community-led, and distributed across dark social, peer networks, and embedded discovery. 

If you’re still optimising for pipeline stages in isolation, you’re optimising for a buyer that no longer exists.

What Killed the Funnel?

[1] Dark Social → The Invisible Top of Funnel

Dark social refers to channels where attribution is nearly impossible, such as such as WhatsApp groups, DMs, Slack communities, and private Telegram chats.

• B2B buyers now share screenshots, Notion links, LinkedIn posts, and voice notes about your product without ever hitting your UTM-tagged landing page.

• A recommendation in a founder’s WhatsApp group can outperform 10k clicks from paid.

[2] AI Is Reshaping Discovery Paths

The rise of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and embedded AI agents means buyers no longer browse as they used to.

• Instead of Google > blog > site > demo, it’s now:
  “What’s the best API monitoring tool with Terraform integration?”

• And the buyer lands directly inside your docs, pricing page, or community, not the homepage.

This flattens the funnel, removing TOFU and MOFU content altogether.

[3] Multi-Threaded, Multi-Channel Entry Points

There is no “first touch” anymore. Buyers might encounter you through:

• A viral LinkedIn comment

• A Product Hunt launch

• A community shoutout

• A Calendly invite from a peer

• An AI-generated comparison table

They don't follow a funnel. They build their own sequence on their terms.

What Does the New Customer Journey Look Like?

Think of it as a loop, not a funnel.

New Journey:

1. Trigger: A need arises = “I need a better data enrichment tool.”

2. Peer Signal: A friend drops a Loom + LinkedIn DM.

3. Light Engagement: They skim your pricing, docs, or G2 review.

4. Internal Share: They send it to a team Slack channel.

5. AI Search: They ask ChatGPT for “best options under $50/user.”

6. Trial or Wait: They test, lurk, or bookmark you.

7. Activation or Abandon: And maybe… loop back 3 months later.

You may be in the game without ever knowing it.

Why This Kills Traditional Attribution Models

Traditional Funnel Attribution:

• TOFU → MQL → SQL → Demo → Close

• Tracked by UTM, lead source, form fills

Today’s Journey:

• Discord > Loom > DMs > Free Trial

• None of it gets tracked in HubSpot or Salesforce.

This means that growth is happening off the grid.

How to Win in a Non-Linear Journey

[1] Think Loops, Not Lanes

• Your product, content, onboarding, and community must all feed into each other.

• Invest in assets that work passively: docs, PLG onboarding, community threads, Notion templates.

[2] Measure Based on Signals, Not Stages

• Track shareable moments: bookmarks, embeds, free plan reactivations, trial to lurk to trial again.

• Look at assisted touch volume instead of last-touch attribution.

[3] Build for Influence, Not Just Acquisition

• Who is talking about you in Slack groups?

• Is your content circulating in Notion workspaces, WhatsApp groups, or AI search responses?

• Optimise for being discoverable and re-surfaceable.

Final Words

1. Funnels weren’t wrong; they’re just incomplete.

2. In 2025, customers discover, evaluate, and decide through a web of peer, product, and AI signals.

3. If you’re not part of the conversation in those places, your funnel metrics won’t tell you what you’re missing.

4. Winning growth teams today are building modular, shareable experiences that loop back and compound, not drip through a funnel.

The linear journey is dead. The loop is alive.

That's it for today's article! I hope you found this essay insightful.

Wishing you a productive week ahead!

I always appreciate you reading.

Thanks,
Chintankumar Maisuria