At certain times, the B2B buying journey becomes well-defined and receptive. Selling gets easier, and systematization becomes simpler to achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At other times, companies prefer to outsource less, spend less, and develop their own solutions to tackle their challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re not in either of those phases right now. We are entering what\u2019s known as the \u201cmessy middle\u201d phase of B2B marketing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n But what exactly is this? What are the impacts on marketing strategies? And how can we succeed (or at least stop the decline) during such a strategic moment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s what we\u2019ll discover in this article. Shall we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exploring the possibilities of the Marketing Funnel<\/a> has always been part of our job as marketers. And this Funnel has always been perceived as a well-structured model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, so structured that it was often viewed as a completely linear process, consisting of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve long argued that this process is not linear \u2014 people can enter and interact with your brand at any stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that\u2019s not the non-linearity we\u2019re talking about in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The truth is that today\u2019s consumer \u2014 especially in B2B \u2014 is breaking linearity in very different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These disruptions take several forms, but we\u2019ve highlighted the most common here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s explore each of these in more detail below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udd0e Quick summary (TL;DR):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This happens when consumers no longer follow the expected timeline between funnel stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if someone enters directly at the bottom of the funnel, we expect them to either convert soon or move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We also expect a progressive timeline: the top of the funnel is naturally the slowest to generate leads. The middle follows the scoring process. The bottom is the fastest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But these assumptions are losing ground. A lead might spend 1 day at the top, 60 in the middle, and 3 at the bottom.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This unpredictability makes it nearly impossible to set conversion time goals, especially in B2B contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udd0e Quick summary (TL;DR):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We already know that consumers don\u2019t always start at the top of the funnel and move down. They can appear right in the middle or at the bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s new \u2014 and increasingly common in B2B \u2014 is the completely unpredictable transition between stages.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Someone in the bottom of the funnel is expected to consume content relevant to that stage. Yet, we often see them reading top- or middle-of-funnel content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And top-of-funnel leads are watching product videos or testing platforms just to understand what they are and how they work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take someone unfamiliar with marketing CRMs. They might be considered a TOFU lead for HubSpot, which produces basic educational content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But instead of consuming that content, the person goes straight to a free trial \u2014 even without the slightest buying intention. Ten minutes earlier, they didn\u2019t even know what a platform was or who HubSpot is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who created this situation? We did \u2014 marketers. If all funnel stage resources are freely accessible, people will engage with them however they want \u2014 not how we planned.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udd0e Quick summary (TL;DR):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This disruption means leads no longer behave as traditional models predicted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lead qualification is no longer a reliable indicator of how close someone is to converting \u2014 it\u2019s simply an identifier of promising opportunities.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This drastically changes how we track funnel performance, especially due to the nature of lead scoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think about it: you need a lead to reach a certain score to be considered ready for the bottom of the funnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, leads with lower scores supposedly need more nurturing. The high-scoring ones are already on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the funnel\u2019s unpredictability turns this logic upside down. Lower-scoring leads have interacted less and are less qualified. Those with higher scores are actually the most critical, as they represent your best opportunities \u2014 and could drop out at any moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs the internet grew, it stopped being just a price comparison tool and became a tool for comparing, well, everything.\u201d \u2014 Alistair Rennie, Jonny Protheroe.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nFunnel Disruptions That Highlight the Messy Middle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
<\/li>\n\n\n\n
<\/li>\n\n\n\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n
Temporal Disruption<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
Stage Disruption Within the Funnel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/getleadster.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/arte-blog-1-1024x341.webp\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nDisruption in Expected Behavior<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
What Is the Messy Middle?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/getleadster.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/1-5-1024x546-1.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/getleadster.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/unnamed-1024x576.gif\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/getleadster.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/unnamed.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/getleadster.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/en-lt-3.webp\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"