Bowtie Funnel: Why Revenue Relies on Post-Sales
Juliana Rosso Frediano breaks down how the bowtie model aligns marketing, sales, and CS to reduce churn and boost retention.
In an interview with Bruno Gimenes, Juliana Rosso Frediano analyzes the limitations of the traditional sales funnel and explains the bowtie framework. The conversation explores multichannel customer journeys and the need to align marketing and CS.
Juliana Rosso Frediano, CMO at First Answer, discussed with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast how a linear acquisition model is no longer enough to sustain business growth. The clip is part of an episode that also breaks down corporate revenue architecture.
In the video above, Frediano details the mechanics of the hourglass funnel (also known as the bowtie funnel) and explains why revenue generation does not end when a contract is signed, requiring clear metrics for retention, onboarding, and ongoing engagement.
Multichannel search and false market diagnoses
Addressing shifts in consumer behavior and the rise of artificial intelligence tools, Frediano pushes back against claims that established channels have lost their value. Quoting an expression attributed to Thiago La Torre regarding the "gravediggers of marketing," she points out that announcements declaring the demise of proven strategies often overlook the complexity of the modern buyer journey.
"Email marketing remains alive and kicking as a channel, and SEO continues to be very strong as both a content and acquisition strategy," Frediano states. In her view, search has not entirely migrated to AI assistants, but rather fragmented across multiple touchpoints: "I don't believe SEO is dead. Why? Because search has multiple touchpoints. Nobody has completely swapped Google search for AI search. This behavior is still very much in transition."
The leaky bucket problem in the traditional funnel
According to Frediano, the limitation of the classic marketing model lies in the fact that the process historically ended at the close of the sale. Operations poured resources into attraction and conversion, abandoning ongoing customer follow-up.
"The old funnel ended at the sale. You do all the marketing, education, persuasion, and decision-making work; the buyer purchases, signs the contract, kisses, goodbye," Frediano notes. Without focusing on retention, cross-selling, up-selling, and brand advocacy, companies create an endless dependence on new acquisitions: "You end up with a massive leaky bucket, because those customers leave later and you constantly have to spend to bring in more. It's not that the traditional funnel is dead, but it only tells half the story—it's simply not enough."
The bowtie funnel framework and value activation
To correct this distortion, the bowtie funnel expands visibility across the entire customer lifecycle. By turning the traditional funnel on its side and opening a second stage dedicated to post-sales, operations can monitor Customer Success (CS) efforts, onboarding, and the customer's true realization of value (the aha moment).
Frediano illustrates the issue using subscription platforms and apps. In the case of Duolingo, a subscription of R$ 29.90 per month stops generating recurring revenue if the user fails to build an active routine. The executive also reflects on her past experience: "I worked at an investment app, and for a long time our key metric was: 100,000 people downloaded the app. Great. How many are actually investing? 10%. Well, then we have stagnant water here; it doesn't make sense. The bowtie funnel tells the full story because it looks at what happens after the sale."
Integrating marketing, sales, and post-sales
The primary advantage of the bowtie model is creating a continuous data feedback loop across the organization. When the CS team identifies which customer profiles retain best and generate long-term value, marketing and sales can fine-tune acquisition for future deals.
"That's the true beauty of aligning marketing, sales, and CS," Frediano emphasizes. "If you see that the customers coming in are sticking around, succeeding, remaining loyal, and advocating for the brand, I can go back to marketing and say: find me 100 more people just like that." The same logic applies to cutting inefficient acquisition channels: once a cohort with a 90% churn rate is identified, the company can stop allocating budget to traffic sources that attract poor-fit profiles.