🔹Sales Funnel vs. Sales Lake – Advantages and Disadvantages

 

• The Sales Funnel – The traditional model with clearly demarcated stages (awareness, interest, decision, purchase). At the top of the funnel is a large mass of potential buyers, and as they progress through the stages, their number decreases. The advantage of the funnel is that it simplifies tracking conversions and losses at each stage, and allows managers to measure pass-through rates and plan campaigns. However, the model often ignores the complexity of real paths – customers can skip phases or go through the same stages multiple times. Bloom points out that the funnel always made sense when paths were simpler, but today customers can skip between phases and connect through many touchpoints. The funnel is therefore limited when customers get various information online and switch from one channel to another.

 

• The Sales Lake – Instead of narrowing through stages, all potential buyers form a common “lake” of data. Marketing and sales quietly fill this lake with new leads from various channels (e.g., SEO, PPC ads, social media posts, referrals) and continuously comb it. Using analytical and automated systems, they “catch” the contacts that the algorithm determines are most likely to convert. This allows for a continuous multi-channel flow – for example, the same buyer can equally receive an email, read a post on Instagram, and visit a physical store before buying. The Sales Lake facilitates the reuse of existing data and emphasizes long-term commitment, similar to the flywheel principle where satisfied customers drive new business.

  Advantages of the Sales Lake:

   

  • Multi-Channel Approach: The concept inherently supports omnichannel marketing. For example, research shows that 80% of consumers use multiple different channels when buying (online search, social media, mobile apps, etc.). Omnichannel buyers spend about 30% more and have a 30% higher Lifetime Value (LTV) than those who buy through only one channel. This means that a model that integrates all channels (like the Sales Lake) can achieve significantly better results.

   

  • Personalization and Engagement: The Sales Lake implies the use of a large database – data on users, interaction history, and behavior. According to Google, 71% of consumers expect brands to understand their preferences. Since the lake is rich with data from all sides, companies can create targeted, personalized offers across multiple channels and thus increase message relevance. Research confirms that personalization through omnichannel increases customer satisfaction and loyalty.

   

  • Continuous Growth and Recycling: Instead of ending with a single sale, the Sales Lake tends to “recycle” customers. As HubSpot points out, satisfied customers themselves bring in new users through referrals and repeat purchases, creating a self-sustaining growth cycle. This way, marketing resources are directed towards retaining customers as well, not just acquiring new ones.

   

  • Higher ROI and Growth: Empirical studies support the effectiveness of this approach. Campaigns that combine three or more channels record as much as 287% more purchases compared to single-channel campaigns. Companies with strong omnichannel strategies see ~9.5% annual revenue growth, while those with a weaker strategy have only 3.4% growth. In the B2B industry, firms that implement an omnichannel approach achieve about 11% annual revenue growth. Also, 70% of marketers confirm that omnichannel significantly improves their ROI. This data shows that a complex, integrated model (like the Sales Lake) leads to a greater return on investment.

  Disadvantages and Challenges:

   

  • Complexity of Implementation: The Sales Lake requires powerful technologies (CRM, Customer Data Platform, AI) and a shared infrastructure for data collection. Smaller teams may have difficulty integrating data from different channels in real-time.

   

  • Difficulty Measuring Stages: Unlike the funnel where the transition through stages is clearly tracked, the lake model does not have clear demarcation lines. This can make it difficult to define standard KPIs such as the conversion rate at each stage.

   

  • Risk of Diffused Attention: Without narrowing the number of leads through phases, there is a risk of resources being wasted on less relevant contacts. Introducing a lead scoring system is usually necessary to “fish out” the most valuable buyers from the large lake at a given moment.

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🔹Practical Application (Digital Marketing, B2B, and B2C)

Omnichannel E-commerce and Retail: The Sales Lake is best highlighted when online and offline channels are synchronized.

For example, the “Buy Online – Pick Up In Store” (BOPIS) policy shows the power of omnichannel: about 50% of consumers prefer the BOPIS model, and among them, 67% make an additional purchase upon pickup.

This illustrates that brands must have a unique digital customer profile – exactly what the lake model offers.

A multi-channel strategy increases the average order value and loyalty: customers who combine online and offline shopping spend significantly more.

Netflix, Amazon, Nike, and other global brands use integrated CRM and marketing automation to constantly collect and analyze user data, allowing them to target consumers precisely based on behavior within the “lake” of data.

B2B Environment: In B2B marketing and sales, product cycles are longer and involve multiple decision-makers, making the feedback process uncomfortable for a linear funnel. Gartner predicts that by 2025, as many as 80% of B2B buyer interactions will be through digital channels.

This means that video presentations, webinars, LinkedIn campaigns, email, and online search are crucial steps.

In practice, companies put all potential business contacts into a CRM and dynamically select those with the highest lead score for further interaction.

For example, manufacturers of industrial equipment or software often create a “lake” from contacts from the website, trade shows, and referrals, and then segment them automatically to send targeted solutions.

One survey shows that most B2B buyers research extensively before contacting a salesperson, which requires a multi-channel strategy for tracking every touchpoint. The Sales Lake in a B2B context means that the lead base is always up-to-date and ready for processing, rather than the focus being too quickly redirected to new campaigns.

B2C Environment: For B2C consumers, purchases are often more impulsive but at the same time highly dependent on personal experience and recommendations.

Fast-moving consumer goods brands, fashion chains, and retail chains use the Sales Lake through loyalty programs and applications that track customer habits.

Shopping communities, newsletters, and push notifications form a campaign loop – for instance, a customer who returns to the site or store can immediately receive a tailored offer thanks to information from the lake.

Consumers expect a seamless experience: 87% of companies with strong omnichannel strategies outperform the competition, while customers often demand personalization and cooperation between channels.

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🔹Conclusion

The Sales Lake is a new approach that meets the demands of the modern market: large volumes of data, multi-channel communication, and continuous customer engagement.

Unlike the traditional funnel, the focus is on constantly maintaining a “reservoir” of potential and existing customers, allowing for a more flexible response to their needs.

Statistics from 2024 and 2025 show that integrated omnichannel systems bring significantly better results – higher purchase rates, greater loyalty, and revenue growth.

In practice, the Sales Lake model works best when used in conjunction with appropriate technologies (CRM, analytics, AI) and within the context of omnichannel marketing.

While the traditional funnel can still be useful for simplified reporting, modern business is increasingly shifting focus to integrated, data-driven models (such as the flywheel or Sales Lake) that reflect the non-linear path of the modern buyer.

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🔥 Nebojša @ Skenderovic Consultants
Business design digital agency

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