Hello @vsamaga,

Thank you for contacting us! Your query is very insightful and has multiple considerations.

I believe we should not make any definitive conclusions regarding lower-funnel channels reaching saturation more or less quickly than the upper-funnel channels. The saturation point of each channel and whether or not it is lower funnel are independent of each other and they depend on the nature of the channel. While it is tempting to expect lower-funnel channels to saturate more quickly as these channels often target smaller and more defined audiences with high purchase intent. For example, people actively searching for a product are more likely to buy the product (lower-funnel) than people who are exposed to the product in an awareness campaign (upper-funnel), the audience in the first category is expected to be smaller because a finite number of people are probably actively searching for a product while the awareness campaign can target a broader demographic of potential audience thus expected to lead to a longer path to saturation.

However, the marketing dynamics can be more nuanced and given below are some considerations that can extend the saturation of lower-funnel channels:

1. Paid search platforms offer targeting capabilities that allow marketers to continuously refine their campaigns which can allow for a progressive and efficient scaling of spend. So as a marketer exhausts one segment of audience to target, they may pivot to another which will effectively extend the point of diminishing returns. The upper-funnel channels may reach broader audiences, but they lack this level of granular control.
2. The lower-funnel audience is not static; success in upper-funnel channels such as awareness campaigns can increase the target pool in the lower-funnel channels. Dynamic audience allows for sustained investment before reaching saturation.
3. High conversion efficiency could also indicate high cost-per-acquisition, so the spending requirements of lower-funnel channels can by their nature be higher than that of upper-funnel channels, hence the saturation may also occur at higher spends for these channels.

The inverse can also be true, i.e., lower-funnel channels may also be able to reach saturation quickly. This can occur in the following circumstances:

1. When the product or service is itself for a limited target audience, then reaching a high percentage of this audience is relatively easier and can lead to rapid saturation in lower-funnel channels.
2. If your product or service has low initial awareness and has a vast potential audience to reach with upper-funnel campaigns, this may make the upper-funnel channels reach saturation slowly. Though as discussed in point 2 in the previous section, this will complicate the audience for lower-funnel channels and can also make them reach saturation slowly. Thus the actual comparison of which channels reach saturation more quickly will depend on their relative rates.
3. Conversely, if your product or service already has high organic search ranking and brand recognition, then the incremental lift from paid search may be limited and the response curve may flatten more quickly.

In conclusion, which channels should reach saturation quickly is not set in stone, it depends on the specific market, brand position, and campaign strategies. You may choose to explore the underlying drivers of your response curves as they can give you more insights that can help maximize your overall marketing objectives.

Do reach out if you have any further questions regarding this.

Google Meridian Support Team