It’s quite a lot of ground to cover, so without further ado, let’s get right into it!<\/p>\n
Summary of a product funnel<\/h2>\n\n- The product funnel is a framework outlining the stages of the customer journey<\/a>, starting from its discovery and ideally leading to customer loyalty <\/a>and advocacy.<\/li>\n
- Product funnel is a wider concept, focusing on the whole customer journey, while marketing <\/a>and sales funnels concentrate on its early stages. In practice, all 3 often overlap.<\/li>\n
- A well-designed product funnel enables teams <\/a>to evaluate and optimize their marketing strategy<\/a> for more targeted and personalized <\/a>customer engagement.<\/li>\n
- It also helps organizations improve conversion rates <\/a>and create a positive customer experience<\/a> leading to higher satisfaction <\/a>and loyalty.<\/li>\n
- The typical stages in a product funnel are Awareness, Interest, Consideration, Purchase, Retention<\/a>, and Loyalty.<\/li>\n
- There are multiple product and marketing metrics<\/a> to track at each stage of the funnel. For example, at the Retention stage, you could track the churn rate<\/a> and CSAT.<\/li>\n
- Building a funnel starts with customer research<\/a> to identify their needs and pain points<\/a>, using tools like product analytics, surveys, and interviews. This helps create user personas<\/a>.<\/li>\n
- Next, use the research insights to map out the customer journey<\/a> for each persona, focusing on their actions at different touchpoints<\/a>, challenges, and conversion events.<\/li>\n
- For best results, use multiple acquisition channels<\/a>, like SEO, PPC adverts, or WOM<\/a>.<\/li>\n
- When creating marketing content<\/a>, focus on the middle and bottom-of-the-funnel topics as they drive the most conversions.<\/li>\n
- To let users experience the product value<\/a>, consider a freemium plan or free trial<\/a>, and create onboarding flows<\/a> to guide them to activation.<\/li>\n
- When users adopt the core features, trigger secondary onboarding <\/a>experiences to introduce more complex functionality.<\/li>\n
- To find and remove friction points <\/a>from the customer journey, conduct funnel analysis.<\/li>\n
- Regularly gather customer feedback, for example, via in-app surveys<\/a>, to enhance their experience <\/a>and retain them.<\/li>\n
- To turn users into loyal customers and product advocates<\/a>, consider loyalty programs and referral schemes.<\/li>\n
- Want to see how Userspilot can help you optimize your product funnel? Book the demo!<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What is a product funnel?<\/h2>\n
A product funnel outlines the journey <\/a>that a customer goes through, from the moment they find out about the product to becoming a paying customer and a loyal <\/a>product advocate.<\/p>\nIts purpose is to help teams understand user behavior<\/a> at different stages of the journey and improve the process of converting prospects into customers and maximizing their lifetime value<\/a>.<\/p>\nWhy the term funnel?<\/p>\n
Because fewer and fewer users reach the next stages of the journey <\/a>and if you visualize that in a chart, it gets narrowed towards the bottom, just like a funnel.<\/p>\nProduct funnel vs. marketing funnel vs. sales funnel<\/h2>\n
Product funnels, marketing funnels<\/a>, and sales funnels are very closely linked. What distinguishes them is their focus.<\/p>\nThe marketing funnel stages focus on customer acquisition<\/a>. That’s when the user learns about the product, explores its features, compares it to competing products, and experiences its value<\/a>.<\/p>\nUsers who get through the marketing funnel are called Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), and in product-led companies – Product-Qualified Leads (PQLs).<\/p>\n
MQLs and PQLs are then passed to the sales team, and that’s technically when the sales <\/a>funnel (aka purchase funnel) starts. Its purpose is to further score leads and nurture the Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs), for example, through phone calls, in-person meetings, or product demos<\/a>, to close the deals.<\/p>\nThe product funnel encompasses the marketing and sales funnel and goes beyond it. It focuses on customer retention<\/a>, loyalty, and account expansion.<\/p>\nThat’s the theory.<\/p>\n
In practice, the funnels overlap a lot. For example, account expansion could be the domain of both marketing and sales, with the two teams <\/a>collaborating closely to achieve the product and business goals.<\/p>\nWhy are product funnels important?<\/h2>\n
There are a few good reasons why SaaS organizations love product funnels.<\/p>\n
Let’s have a look at a few of them!<\/p>\n
Optimize marketing campaigns and efforts to acquire customers<\/h3>\n
Product funnel allows you to optimize marketing efforts and improve customer acquisition.<\/p>\n
For starters, it helps you identify the most successful customer acquisition channels <\/a>and strategies for different prospect segments. For instance, some users may respond better to paid ads while others – to social media or content marketing<\/a>.<\/p>\nThanks to that, you can allocate your resources adequately and reduce customer acquisition costs<\/a>.<\/p>\nMore importantly, the insights enable better targeting and personalization <\/a>of the marketing tactics based on the customer journey stage.<\/p>\nA good example is driving customer expansion with upsells <\/a>and cross-sells only when the user has adopted the product and is ready to upgrade.<\/p>\nImprove conversion rates across key customer journey stages<\/h3>\n
One of the main benefits of the product funnel is that it enables teams to boost conversion rates<\/a> at different stages of the customer journey.<\/p>\nBy knowing where users experience roadblocks, you can optimize the user flows and enable them to smoothly progress to the next stage.<\/p>\n
In practice, this means more customers signing up for free trials, booking demos<\/a>, experiencing the Aha! moment<\/a>, adopting the product, converting to paid accounts, and promoting the product via WOM <\/a>or referrals.<\/p>\nIncrease customer satisfaction and customer loyalty<\/h3>\n
There’s another benefit of knowing where users experience friction<\/a>:<\/p>\nBy helping users achieve their goals <\/a>more easily in less time, you increase their satisfaction<\/a> and this often leads to higher customer loyalty and retention<\/a>.<\/p>\nThink about it:<\/p>\n
If the product satisfies their needs and offers a delightful <\/a>user experience, they have no reason to leave, especially as switching to a different product is expensive and labor-intensive.<\/p>\nWhat are the different stages of the product funnel?<\/h2>\n
What exactly your product funnel looks like depends on your unique product characteristics. However, we can generally distinguish 6 main stages in the process: Awareness, Interest, Consideration, Purchase, Retention, and Loyalty.<\/p>\n![\"product-funnel\"](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/product-funnel_033a77b1e6919295a32e548d99af20f3_800.png\")
<\/picture>Product funnel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAwareness stage<\/h3>\n
During this marketing funnel <\/a>stage, the potential customer finds out about the product.<\/p>\nThis could be from blog articles, social media posts, paid ads, or a recommendation from a colleague.<\/p>\n
At this stage, the goal is to capture the interest of the target audience and encourage them to learn more about the product.<\/p>\n
Interest stage<\/h3>\n
Once aware, the customer may show more interest in the product.<\/p>\n
This could be by subscribing to the company’s newsletter (like our Product Rantz<\/a>), following the brand on social media, or attending its webinars<\/a>.<\/p>\nFor the company, this is an opportunity to provide valuable information, showcase product benefits<\/a>, and differentiate <\/a>it from competitors.<\/p>\nConsideration stage<\/h3>\n
At this stage of the product funnel, prospects start considering the product as a solution to their problem.<\/p>\n
That’s when they sign up for the free trial, request the demo, read case studies, look for reviews and testimonials, or look for detailed comparisons with similar products.<\/p>\n
This is the key stage in the conversion funnel<\/a>, where you can win or lose users, so make sure to provide them with adequate support and top-notch customer service to ensure a positive customer experience<\/a>.<\/p>\nPurchase stage<\/h3>\n
The customer finally decides to buy the product! Congratulations!<\/p>\n
It’s your job to make the transaction as smooth as possible and address any last-minute concerns. You want your customers to feel excited and convinced they’ve made the right choice, not give them an emotional hangover.<\/p>\n
Retention stage<\/h3>\n
For SaaS organizations, selling the product is just the start.<\/p>\n
Once they swipe the credit card<\/a>, the focus shifts to keeping the customer satisfied and engaged <\/a>so that they remain a subscriber.<\/p>\nThis involves providing quality customer support<\/a>, collecting and acting on user feedback<\/a>, updating the product, and releasing new features to add value <\/a>and meet the evolving needs of the customer.<\/p>\nIt is also the time to start driving the account expansion through upsells and cross-sells.<\/p>\n
Loyalty stage<\/h3>\n
At the loyalty stage of the product funnel, the relationship <\/a>between the customers and the company deepens.<\/p>\nAs you’re consistently delivering value and satisfying their needs<\/a>, customer satisfaction grows to the point where they have no reservations about recommending the product to their friends and colleagues.<\/p>\nSo while it may be the last stage of the funnel, it marks the beginning of a new cycle as the referrals and WOM <\/a>help you acquire new customers.<\/p>\nImportant metrics to track at key product funnel stages<\/h2>\n
As each of the stages in the product funnel has different objectives, there are different metrics to track at each of them. Let\u2019s have a look at a few examples, starting with marketing funnel metrics.<\/p>\n
\n- Awareness stage
\n– <\/strong>Website traffic – the total number of visitors to your site from different sources (organic, referral, paid ads, social media).
\n– Social media engagement – user interactions<\/a> (likes, shares, comments) on your social media platforms.<\/li>\n- Interest stage
\n– <\/strong>Content engagement – how prospects engage with your content, including page views, time on page, and bounce rate.
\n– Newsletter open rates – an indication of how effective your email marketing<\/a> campaigns are in capturing and retaining interest.<\/li>\n- Consideration stage
\n–<\/strong> Free trial sign-ups or demo bookings<\/a> – the demand for more in-depth information and the desire to try out the product are direct indicators of serious interest in your product.
\n– Product Qualified Leads (PQLs) – the number of users who have experienced the product value enough to consider purchasing the product.<\/li>\n- Purchase stage
\n– <\/strong>Conversion rate<\/a> – the percentage of leads that turn into paying customers, critical for understanding the effectiveness of your sales process.
\n– Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) <\/a>– the total cost of acquiring a new customer, essential for evaluating the efficiency of your marketing-sales funnel.<\/li>\n- Retention stage
\n– <\/strong>Churn rate<\/a> – the rate at which customers cancel their subscriptions, vital for understanding customer satisfaction and long-term value.
\n– CSAT – a customer satisfaction score<\/a>, indicating how good the product is at addressing customer needs and delivering a positive customer experience.<\/li>\n- Loyalty stage
\n– <\/strong>Referrals – the total number of times when customers refer new users.
\n– Net Promoter Score (NPS)<\/a> – a metric indicating how likely users are to recommend the product to others, a valid indication of user trust<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nHow to create a product funnel?<\/h2>\n
Funnel definitions? Tick. Benefits? Tick. Funnel stages? Tick. Metrics? Tick.<\/p>\n
Looks like you’re ready to build the product funnel for your SaaS!<\/p>\n
1. Research and create different user personas<\/h3>\n
The process starts with customer research<\/a>. After all, you need to know who you’re building the funnel for!<\/p>\nFirst, reach out to your existing customers and gather the necessary data through in-app surveys<\/a>, interviews, focus groups, usability testing<\/a> sessions, and product analytics<\/a>.<\/p>\nIf you need more data, tools like Hotjar <\/a>give you access to pools of potential research subjects.<\/p>\nWhat information should you look for?<\/p>\n
Focus on customer JTBDs<\/a>, needs, wants, pain points<\/a>, and how the product benefits them. Also, gather info about their role in the company, the organizational background, and the teams they collaborate with.<\/p>\nThe output of this step should be user personas<\/a> representing typical users of your product.<\/p>\n![\"Product](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/user-persona-example-product-funnel_a0ab5e6763794255f657ec86238a7000_800.webp\")
<\/picture>User persona example.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n2. Map out the stages of the customer journey<\/h3>\n
Each user persona may engage with the product differently to achieve their goals, so map out customer journeys<\/a> for all of them.<\/p>\nIn the map, include information about:<\/p>\n
\n- The key stages of the funnel.<\/li>\n
- Main touchpoints<\/a>.<\/li>\n
- User actions at each touchpoint and associated emotions.<\/li>\n
- Conversions events<\/a>, indicating progressions from one stage to another.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Need help with the visualization of the journey?<\/p>\n
Check out Miro or Canva templates.<\/p>\n![\"Product](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/user-journey-map-user-persona-example-product-funnel_1a329320059a2a95b0b43c2db136cc81_800.webp\")
<\/picture>User journey map<\/a>. Source: Miro.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n3. Acquire potential customers through multiple channels<\/h3>\n
As mentioned, various customer acquisitions may be successful for different prospect segments.<\/p>\n
That’s why make sure your acquisition strategy leverages multiple channels.<\/p>\n
These include:<\/p>\n
\n- Content marketing and SEO.<\/li>\n
- Webinars.<\/li>\n
- PPC and social media ads.<\/li>\n
- Social media marketing.<\/li>\n
- Referrals.<\/li>\n
- Email marketing.<\/a><\/li>\n
- Affiliate marketing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Product](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/webinars-product-funnel_94afcd12185a32629a05f442084c13b2_800.png\")
<\/picture>Userpilot webinars<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n4. Develop different types of content to generate leads<\/h3>\n
Ever heard of product-led content marketing<\/a>?<\/p>\nThe idea is to deliver value to the customer by showing them how to solve their problems using your product.<\/p>\n
In this way, you kill two birds with one stone: deliver value<\/a> to prospective and existing customers, and sell your product.<\/p>\nIf you want to give it a bash, you will need quality middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU) and bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) content, as that’s what drives most conversions.<\/p>\n
MOFU content focuses more on the problem and a solution and only plugs the product in as a side. An example blog MOFU post title could be Maximizing Your Social Media ROI: Strategies That Work.<\/em><\/p>\nBOFU content is all about the product. Examples of such posts could be Hootsuite vs. Buffer<\/em> or 10 Buffer Alternatives<\/em>.<\/p>\n![\"Product](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/case-studies-product-funnel_c638879712c40dfd43aafc243b3e8fc6_800.png\")
<\/picture>Userpilot case studies<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n5. Offer a free trial or a freemium plan to showcase product value<\/h3>\n
Product-led growth<\/a> relies on customers experiencing the product value<\/a> to acquire paid customers.<\/p>\nThere are two main ways to achieve this: freemium or free trials<\/a>.<\/p>\nIn freemium, you give users access to limited product functionality or usage caps. If they want to use all the features without the limits, they have to upgrade.<\/p>\n
In free trials, the users have access to all the features but for a limited time only. This gives them a good idea of what the product is worth but can’t use it forever unless they upgrade.<\/p>\n![\"Product](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/sign-uppage-product-funnel_0a4555c88acd09cf085a3de3f741f44c_800.png\")
<\/picture>Userpilot <\/a>sign-up page.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n6. Onboard customers to guide them toward activation<\/h3>\n
The problem with freemium and free trials is that users may not necessarily be able to discover all the features<\/a> and experience the product value on their own.<\/p>\nThe solution?<\/p>\n
User onboarding<\/a>.<\/p>\nThis could be in the form of a welcome screen<\/a> or welcome survey<\/a>, followed by a checklist <\/a>or interactive walkthrough<\/a>, and backed up with contextual in-app messages<\/a> guiding users to engage with relevant features.<\/p>\n![\"Welcome](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/welcome-screen-product-funnel_70415ad4148585bc6b29d7ccaffd7760_800.png\")
<\/picture>Welcome screen in Userpilot<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n7. Announce additional features to existing customers<\/h3>\n
Once you help users adopt the main functionality, they’re ready for the more advanced features that allow them to realize the full potential<\/a> of the product.<\/p>\nThis is called secondary onboarding<\/a>, and it leverages the same tools and techniques as primary onboarding.<\/p>\nFor instance, you could trigger a modal to bring the feature to the users’ attention and follow up with a walkthrough<\/a>, teaching them how to use it.<\/p>\nHow do you know they’re ready for the more complete features?<\/p>\n
By tracking their in-app behavior<\/a> with product analytics.<\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/new-feature-announcement-product-funnel_cce3ba7593999f74669618985baf626c_800.png\")
<\/picture>New feature announcement in<\/a> Userpilot<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n8. Analyze the conversion funnel to remove friction points<\/h3>\n
Product analytics also help you optimize the funnel<\/a>.<\/p>\nFunnel analysis is particularly useful for identifying friction points<\/a> in the customer journey that lead to customer churn<\/a>.<\/p>\nHow so?<\/p>\n
In a nutshell, it’s a visualization of how many users progress from one stage to another.<\/p>\n
Funnel reports also offer information about retention and drop-off rates<\/a> and time to convert. The latter is important because friction <\/a>manifests itself not only in churn but also in delays.<\/p>\nWhat do you do with the insights?<\/p>\n
Sometimes the solutions are obvious. If the landing page<\/a> has no CTA button, users can’t book their demos. Most of the time, however, finding the friction cause requires further analysis, using techniques like session recording analysis.<\/p>\n![\"Funnel](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/funnel-analysis-product-funnel_26e326b42436251035831b6a6e4c2632_800.png\")
<\/picture>Funnel analysis in Userpilot<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n9. Retain customers by collecting and implementing their feedback<\/h3>\n
Another way to find out what causes friction, or customer dissatisfaction<\/a> in general, is by collecting customer feedback<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe easiest way to do it is via in-app surveys<\/a>.<\/p>\nIn Userpilot<\/a>, you just pick a template <\/a>from the library, customize it in the visual editor, tweak the questions, and set which user segments to target and how to trigger the survey – either at a specific day\/time or contextually, when a user completes an event<\/a>.<\/p>\nWhat about inactive or churned users<\/a>?<\/p>\nTry to reach them with an email survey or invite them to an interview.<\/p>\n![\"In-app](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/survey-settings-product-funnel_8bc9f35dd0a3f11583dba050498167dd_800.png\")
<\/picture>In-app survey settings in Userpilot<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n10. Reward customers to turn them into brand advocates<\/h3>\n
If your product delivers value, satisfies user needs, and offers an outstanding experience, it will drive loyalty <\/a>and word-of-mouth recommendations organically.<\/p>\nHowever, there’s no harm in accelerating the process by offering users a bit of an incentive. A discount, extra credits, or a free upgrade can go a long way in promoting customer loyalty and advocacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n
What is a product funnel?<\/h2>\n
A product funnel outlines the journey <\/a>that a customer goes through, from the moment they find out about the product to becoming a paying customer and a loyal <\/a>product advocate.<\/p>\n Its purpose is to help teams understand user behavior<\/a> at different stages of the journey and improve the process of converting prospects into customers and maximizing their lifetime value<\/a>.<\/p>\n Why the term funnel?<\/p>\n Because fewer and fewer users reach the next stages of the journey <\/a>and if you visualize that in a chart, it gets narrowed towards the bottom, just like a funnel.<\/p>\n Product funnels, marketing funnels<\/a>, and sales funnels are very closely linked. What distinguishes them is their focus.<\/p>\n The marketing funnel stages focus on customer acquisition<\/a>. That’s when the user learns about the product, explores its features, compares it to competing products, and experiences its value<\/a>.<\/p>\n Users who get through the marketing funnel are called Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), and in product-led companies – Product-Qualified Leads (PQLs).<\/p>\n MQLs and PQLs are then passed to the sales team, and that’s technically when the sales <\/a>funnel (aka purchase funnel) starts. Its purpose is to further score leads and nurture the Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs), for example, through phone calls, in-person meetings, or product demos<\/a>, to close the deals.<\/p>\n The product funnel encompasses the marketing and sales funnel and goes beyond it. It focuses on customer retention<\/a>, loyalty, and account expansion.<\/p>\n That’s the theory.<\/p>\n In practice, the funnels overlap a lot. For example, account expansion could be the domain of both marketing and sales, with the two teams <\/a>collaborating closely to achieve the product and business goals.<\/p>\n There are a few good reasons why SaaS organizations love product funnels.<\/p>\n Let’s have a look at a few of them!<\/p>\n Product funnel allows you to optimize marketing efforts and improve customer acquisition.<\/p>\n For starters, it helps you identify the most successful customer acquisition channels <\/a>and strategies for different prospect segments. For instance, some users may respond better to paid ads while others – to social media or content marketing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thanks to that, you can allocate your resources adequately and reduce customer acquisition costs<\/a>.<\/p>\n More importantly, the insights enable better targeting and personalization <\/a>of the marketing tactics based on the customer journey stage.<\/p>\n A good example is driving customer expansion with upsells <\/a>and cross-sells only when the user has adopted the product and is ready to upgrade.<\/p>\n One of the main benefits of the product funnel is that it enables teams to boost conversion rates<\/a> at different stages of the customer journey.<\/p>\n By knowing where users experience roadblocks, you can optimize the user flows and enable them to smoothly progress to the next stage.<\/p>\n In practice, this means more customers signing up for free trials, booking demos<\/a>, experiencing the Aha! moment<\/a>, adopting the product, converting to paid accounts, and promoting the product via WOM <\/a>or referrals.<\/p>\n There’s another benefit of knowing where users experience friction<\/a>:<\/p>\n By helping users achieve their goals <\/a>more easily in less time, you increase their satisfaction<\/a> and this often leads to higher customer loyalty and retention<\/a>.<\/p>\n Think about it:<\/p>\n If the product satisfies their needs and offers a delightful <\/a>user experience, they have no reason to leave, especially as switching to a different product is expensive and labor-intensive.<\/p>\n What exactly your product funnel looks like depends on your unique product characteristics. However, we can generally distinguish 6 main stages in the process: Awareness, Interest, Consideration, Purchase, Retention, and Loyalty.<\/p>\n During this marketing funnel <\/a>stage, the potential customer finds out about the product.<\/p>\n This could be from blog articles, social media posts, paid ads, or a recommendation from a colleague.<\/p>\n At this stage, the goal is to capture the interest of the target audience and encourage them to learn more about the product.<\/p>\n Once aware, the customer may show more interest in the product.<\/p>\n This could be by subscribing to the company’s newsletter (like our Product Rantz<\/a>), following the brand on social media, or attending its webinars<\/a>.<\/p>\n For the company, this is an opportunity to provide valuable information, showcase product benefits<\/a>, and differentiate <\/a>it from competitors.<\/p>\n At this stage of the product funnel, prospects start considering the product as a solution to their problem.<\/p>\n That’s when they sign up for the free trial, request the demo, read case studies, look for reviews and testimonials, or look for detailed comparisons with similar products.<\/p>\n This is the key stage in the conversion funnel<\/a>, where you can win or lose users, so make sure to provide them with adequate support and top-notch customer service to ensure a positive customer experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n The customer finally decides to buy the product! Congratulations!<\/p>\n It’s your job to make the transaction as smooth as possible and address any last-minute concerns. You want your customers to feel excited and convinced they’ve made the right choice, not give them an emotional hangover.<\/p>\n For SaaS organizations, selling the product is just the start.<\/p>\n Once they swipe the credit card<\/a>, the focus shifts to keeping the customer satisfied and engaged <\/a>so that they remain a subscriber.<\/p>\n This involves providing quality customer support<\/a>, collecting and acting on user feedback<\/a>, updating the product, and releasing new features to add value <\/a>and meet the evolving needs of the customer.<\/p>\n It is also the time to start driving the account expansion through upsells and cross-sells.<\/p>\n At the loyalty stage of the product funnel, the relationship <\/a>between the customers and the company deepens.<\/p>\n As you’re consistently delivering value and satisfying their needs<\/a>, customer satisfaction grows to the point where they have no reservations about recommending the product to their friends and colleagues.<\/p>\n So while it may be the last stage of the funnel, it marks the beginning of a new cycle as the referrals and WOM <\/a>help you acquire new customers.<\/p>\n As each of the stages in the product funnel has different objectives, there are different metrics to track at each of them. Let\u2019s have a look at a few examples, starting with marketing funnel metrics.<\/p>\n Funnel definitions? Tick. Benefits? Tick. Funnel stages? Tick. Metrics? Tick.<\/p>\n Looks like you’re ready to build the product funnel for your SaaS!<\/p>\n The process starts with customer research<\/a>. After all, you need to know who you’re building the funnel for!<\/p>\n First, reach out to your existing customers and gather the necessary data through in-app surveys<\/a>, interviews, focus groups, usability testing<\/a> sessions, and product analytics<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you need more data, tools like Hotjar <\/a>give you access to pools of potential research subjects.<\/p>\n What information should you look for?<\/p>\n Focus on customer JTBDs<\/a>, needs, wants, pain points<\/a>, and how the product benefits them. Also, gather info about their role in the company, the organizational background, and the teams they collaborate with.<\/p>\n The output of this step should be user personas<\/a> representing typical users of your product.<\/p>\n Each user persona may engage with the product differently to achieve their goals, so map out customer journeys<\/a> for all of them.<\/p>\n In the map, include information about:<\/p>\n Need help with the visualization of the journey?<\/p>\n Check out Miro or Canva templates.<\/p>\n As mentioned, various customer acquisitions may be successful for different prospect segments.<\/p>\n That’s why make sure your acquisition strategy leverages multiple channels.<\/p>\n These include:<\/p>\n Ever heard of product-led content marketing<\/a>?<\/p>\n The idea is to deliver value to the customer by showing them how to solve their problems using your product.<\/p>\n In this way, you kill two birds with one stone: deliver value<\/a> to prospective and existing customers, and sell your product.<\/p>\n If you want to give it a bash, you will need quality middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU) and bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) content, as that’s what drives most conversions.<\/p>\n MOFU content focuses more on the problem and a solution and only plugs the product in as a side. An example blog MOFU post title could be Maximizing Your Social Media ROI: Strategies That Work.<\/em><\/p>\n BOFU content is all about the product. Examples of such posts could be Hootsuite vs. Buffer<\/em> or 10 Buffer Alternatives<\/em>.<\/p>\n Product-led growth<\/a> relies on customers experiencing the product value<\/a> to acquire paid customers.<\/p>\n There are two main ways to achieve this: freemium or free trials<\/a>.<\/p>\n In freemium, you give users access to limited product functionality or usage caps. If they want to use all the features without the limits, they have to upgrade.<\/p>\n In free trials, the users have access to all the features but for a limited time only. This gives them a good idea of what the product is worth but can’t use it forever unless they upgrade.<\/p>\n The problem with freemium and free trials is that users may not necessarily be able to discover all the features<\/a> and experience the product value on their own.<\/p>\n The solution?<\/p>\n User onboarding<\/a>.<\/p>\n This could be in the form of a welcome screen<\/a> or welcome survey<\/a>, followed by a checklist <\/a>or interactive walkthrough<\/a>, and backed up with contextual in-app messages<\/a> guiding users to engage with relevant features.<\/p>\n Once you help users adopt the main functionality, they’re ready for the more advanced features that allow them to realize the full potential<\/a> of the product.<\/p>\n This is called secondary onboarding<\/a>, and it leverages the same tools and techniques as primary onboarding.<\/p>\n For instance, you could trigger a modal to bring the feature to the users’ attention and follow up with a walkthrough<\/a>, teaching them how to use it.<\/p>\n How do you know they’re ready for the more complete features?<\/p>\n By tracking their in-app behavior<\/a> with product analytics.<\/p>\n Product analytics also help you optimize the funnel<\/a>.<\/p>\n Funnel analysis is particularly useful for identifying friction points<\/a> in the customer journey that lead to customer churn<\/a>.<\/p>\n How so?<\/p>\n In a nutshell, it’s a visualization of how many users progress from one stage to another.<\/p>\n Funnel reports also offer information about retention and drop-off rates<\/a> and time to convert. The latter is important because friction <\/a>manifests itself not only in churn but also in delays.<\/p>\n What do you do with the insights?<\/p>\n Sometimes the solutions are obvious. If the landing page<\/a> has no CTA button, users can’t book their demos. Most of the time, however, finding the friction cause requires further analysis, using techniques like session recording analysis.<\/p>\n Another way to find out what causes friction, or customer dissatisfaction<\/a> in general, is by collecting customer feedback<\/a>.<\/p>\n The easiest way to do it is via in-app surveys<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Userpilot<\/a>, you just pick a template <\/a>from the library, customize it in the visual editor, tweak the questions, and set which user segments to target and how to trigger the survey – either at a specific day\/time or contextually, when a user completes an event<\/a>.<\/p>\n What about inactive or churned users<\/a>?<\/p>\n Try to reach them with an email survey or invite them to an interview.<\/p>\n If your product delivers value, satisfies user needs, and offers an outstanding experience, it will drive loyalty <\/a>and word-of-mouth recommendations organically.<\/p>\n However, there’s no harm in accelerating the process by offering users a bit of an incentive. A discount, extra credits, or a free upgrade can go a long way in promoting customer loyalty and advocacy<\/a>.<\/p>\nProduct funnel vs. marketing funnel vs. sales funnel<\/h2>\n
Why are product funnels important?<\/h2>\n
Optimize marketing campaigns and efforts to acquire customers<\/h3>\n
Improve conversion rates across key customer journey stages<\/h3>\n
Increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty<\/h3>\n
What are the different stages of the product funnel?<\/h2>\n
![\"product-funnel\"](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/product-funnel_033a77b1e6919295a32e548d99af20f3_800.png)
<\/picture>Awareness stage<\/h3>\n
Interest stage<\/h3>\n
Consideration stage<\/h3>\n
Purchase stage<\/h3>\n
Retention stage<\/h3>\n
Loyalty stage<\/h3>\n
Important metrics to track at key product funnel stages<\/h2>\n
\n
\n– <\/strong>Website traffic – the total number of visitors to your site from different sources (organic, referral, paid ads, social media).
\n– Social media engagement – user interactions<\/a> (likes, shares, comments) on your social media platforms.<\/li>\n
\n– <\/strong>Content engagement – how prospects engage with your content, including page views, time on page, and bounce rate.
\n– Newsletter open rates – an indication of how effective your email marketing<\/a> campaigns are in capturing and retaining interest.<\/li>\n
\n–<\/strong> Free trial sign-ups or demo bookings<\/a> – the demand for more in-depth information and the desire to try out the product are direct indicators of serious interest in your product.
\n– Product Qualified Leads (PQLs) – the number of users who have experienced the product value enough to consider purchasing the product.<\/li>\n
\n– <\/strong>Conversion rate<\/a> – the percentage of leads that turn into paying customers, critical for understanding the effectiveness of your sales process.
\n– Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) <\/a>– the total cost of acquiring a new customer, essential for evaluating the efficiency of your marketing-sales funnel.<\/li>\n
\n– <\/strong>Churn rate<\/a> – the rate at which customers cancel their subscriptions, vital for understanding customer satisfaction and long-term value.
\n– CSAT – a customer satisfaction score<\/a>, indicating how good the product is at addressing customer needs and delivering a positive customer experience.<\/li>\n
\n– <\/strong>Referrals – the total number of times when customers refer new users.
\n– Net Promoter Score (NPS)<\/a> – a metric indicating how likely users are to recommend the product to others, a valid indication of user trust<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nHow to create a product funnel?<\/h2>\n
1. Research and create different user personas<\/h3>\n
![\"Product](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/user-persona-example-product-funnel_a0ab5e6763794255f657ec86238a7000_800.webp)
<\/picture>2. Map out the stages of the customer journey<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"Product](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/user-journey-map-user-persona-example-product-funnel_1a329320059a2a95b0b43c2db136cc81_800.webp)
<\/picture>3. Acquire potential customers through multiple channels<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"Product](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/webinars-product-funnel_94afcd12185a32629a05f442084c13b2_800.png)
<\/picture>4. Develop different types of content to generate leads<\/h3>\n
![\"Product](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/case-studies-product-funnel_c638879712c40dfd43aafc243b3e8fc6_800.png)
<\/picture>5. Offer a free trial or a freemium plan to showcase product value<\/h3>\n
![\"Product](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/sign-uppage-product-funnel_0a4555c88acd09cf085a3de3f741f44c_800.png)
<\/picture>6. Onboard customers to guide them toward activation<\/h3>\n
![\"Welcome](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/welcome-screen-product-funnel_70415ad4148585bc6b29d7ccaffd7760_800.png)
<\/picture>7. Announce additional features to existing customers<\/h3>\n
![\"New](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/new-feature-announcement-product-funnel_cce3ba7593999f74669618985baf626c_800.png)
<\/picture>8. Analyze the conversion funnel to remove friction points<\/h3>\n
![\"Funnel](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/funnel-analysis-product-funnel_26e326b42436251035831b6a6e4c2632_800.png)
<\/picture>9. Retain customers by collecting and implementing their feedback<\/h3>\n
![\"In-app](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/survey-settings-product-funnel_8bc9f35dd0a3f11583dba050498167dd_800.png)
<\/picture>10. Reward customers to turn them into brand advocates<\/h3>\n
![\"\u2018Loyalty\u2019](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/modal-product-funnel_d26f281d8001e684e7538020c176bc3d_800.png)
<\/picture>