In B2B marketing, the dark funnel is the part of the buyer’s journey that happens before a prospect ever contacts a vendor, accounting for nearly 73% of the entire process.
During this hidden phase, buying teams research anonymously, form opinions, shortlist vendors, and often decide who they’ll buy from before you even know they exist.
Here’s what happens in the dark funnel:
- Independent research on problems and solutions
- Vendor shortlisting
- Requirements building
- Peer and analyst consultation
- Preference formation
By the time a buyer reaches out, 82% already have a preferred vendor.
So, how do you intervene?
- Track intent signals (via tools like 6sense or Bombora).
- De-anonymize traffic with IP lookup and ABM platforms.
- Create strategic content (buyer guides, ROI tools, pricing calculators).
- Enable self-service research (resource hubs, technical docs, transparent pricing).
- Measure dark funnel activity with dashboards tracking pre-contact behaviors.
Head to ColumnFive to get the full scoop on dark funnels.
