Awareness Pyramid vs Messy Middle
Most marketers still rely on the same old funnel: awareness - consideration - conversion. But in today’s digital world, buyers don’t move neatly from one step to the next. They scroll, compare, abandon carts, and come back weeks later.
This unpredictable behavior is what Google calls the Messy Middle the space where customers explore and evaluate options before making a purchase.
To win in this chaos, brands must combine two key ideas:
- The Awareness Pyramid (understanding buyer readiness)
- The Messy Middle (understanding buyer behavior)
Together, they form a framework
