The 3-Step Meta Ads Funnel That Generated 90% New Customers Weekly (Case Study)
If you’ve been struggling to turn cold audiences into paying customers with your Meta ads, this case study breaks down a simple 3-step funnel that consistently generates 90% new customers every week and delivers 3–4X ROAS for one of my e-commerce clients in the beauty space. In this post, you’ll see how combining short video ads, strategic traffic ads, and high-intent retargeting ads creates a predictable and profitable acquisition system, without relying on discounts or complex tech setups. In fact, this specific funnel for this client did not have any offer in their retargeting ad!
Here’s a quick look at this funnel’s results in the last 30 days, as of Dec. 1, 2025:
Make it stand out
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If you’re looking for a proven Meta ads funnel that actually scales, you’ll want to read this!
This brand needed a reliable way to grow new customer acquisition without relying on discounts or having to create dozens of ads/creative every month.
Before this funnel:
Their warm audience was tapped out
They were relying heavily on traffic campaigns to convert
CAC was rising
ROAS was unpredictable
They needed a system that could:
Warm up cold audiences
Build trust before selling (and educate potential customers on the problem the product solved)
Convert efficiently
Scale without creative burnout
So we built a simple, repeatable 3-step funnel focused on awareness → intent → conversion.
THE 3-STEP META FUNNEL
This funnel works because it guides a buyer through the full journey:
STEP 1: Capture attention
STEP 2: Build intent
STEP 3: Convert efficiently
Below is the high-level approach. Let’s dive into it!
STEP 1: VIDEO ADS (Cold Audience Awareness Builder)
Video ads are the engine of the entire funnel.
Instead of immediately trying to sell to cold audiences (whether that’s with traffic or conversion ads), Step 1 uses short, high-impact videos to:
Introduce the brand
Demonstrate product benefits (really focus on the problem your product solves)
Build familiarity (so the next time they see the brand they think “oh yeah I remember them.”)
Create emotional connection (what emotion is your product bringing forth, whether it’s with the product itself or the solution it provides?)
Generate cheap, high-quality engagement
This step fills your warm audience bucket with:
Video viewers
Engagers
Profile viewers
Clickers
All of which you can retarget (and convert) later on.
What these videos look like:
10–25 seconds (with hook within the first 2 seconds)
Conversational
Product-forward
One core message per video
UGC or natural-style content
Goal: Build the warm traffic ecosystem your retargeting depends on.
Check out how many video viewers these 4 ongoing video ads have gotten!
STEP 2: TRAFFIC ADS (Cold + Warm Intent Builder)
This step drives qualified traffic to the product page and identifies people with real buying intent.
Unlike some funnels, this layer targets BOTH cold and warm audiences, including:
Broad cold audiences
Interest-based audiences
Lookalikes
Video viewers
IG + FB engagers
Website visitors
By sending all of these groups to the site, we create a steady stream of:
Landing page views
Add to carts
High-intent visitors
People who re-engage with the brand
This becomes the fuel for Step 3.
What we run in this layer:
Simple UGC or benefit-focused image/video
Short punchy copy (also a great place to use reviews/testimonials)
Clear CTA inviting the click
The goal isn’t to get purchases here (though sometimes you will get purchases!), it’s to identify who’s interested so retargeting can convert them profitably.
This traffic ad runs to a lookalike audience, and also regularly gets purchases. Check out those engagement stats too!
STEP 3 — RETARGETING ADS (Hot Audience Conversion Layer)
With trust + intent already built, retargeting becomes your highest-ROI layer.
This step targets:
Product page viewers
Adds to cart
50–75% video viewers
Link clickers
Social media engagers
IG story viewers
Website traffic
Email list subscribers
Retargeting ads are simple and persuasive:
Social proof
Reviews
“Why it works” angles
Product demo
Clear, direct CTA
Discounts are optional. I’ve ran this funnel with a discount conversion campaign, and without. If you market the product properly, you will find you can still get a purchases and a good ROAS.
Because the first two steps have already done the heavy lifting, this layer consistently drives profitable conversions, whether you use a discount or not.
Below is an example. This is a video conversion ad, but can easily be replicated with a static image as well. In the past, I’ve used product hero images that has worked really well. You want to focus on showcasing your product.
Look at that engagement too!
RESULTS
After implementing this 3-step acquisition system:
🔥 90% of Weekly Buyers Were New Customers
This proves the funnel isn’t just recycling the existing audience, in fact, it’s growing it.
🔥 Steady 3–4X ROAS
Allows us to plan monthly spend, and know exactly how much we can expect to bring in new sales.
🔥 Lowered Cost Per Purchase Over Time
As warm audiences grew, retargeting became more efficient. Sometimes, cost per purchase can fluctuate, especially during peak times of the year (hello holiday season). However, I always found the cost per purchase would go back down and level off.
🔥 Bigger Warm Audiences Weekly
The brand now has consistent video viewers, engagers, and product page visitors entering the ecosystem every single day.
WHY THIS FUNNEL WORKS
Because it respects the buyer journey.
Instead of trying to sell immediately, it moves people through a sequence:
Attention → They learn who you are
Interest → They explore your product
Intent → They show buying signals
Action → Retargeting closes the sale
Most brands only run a single layer — usually direct conversion — and struggle. Keep in mind, people usually need to see your brand 6-7 times before they finally decide to purchase. How many times have you immediately purchased from a brand you didn’t know?
This funnel stacks trust, intent, and familiarity first…which is why it consistently delivers new customers and profitable ROAS.
The other cool part? I’ve been able to replicate this funnel for their other product lines, and have the same type of success. Once you map this out once, you can replicate it again and again. This could be for other products or product lines, or specific promos you’re running during certain times of the year. The possibilities are endless!
WANT TO BUILD THIS FUNNEL FOR YOUR BRAND?
This case study shares the overview, but the full strategy, including:
Exact audience breakdown
Targeting + exclusions
Campaign structure
Creative scripts
Scaling system
Optimization checklist
Templates + recordings
…is inside my program:
✨ The E-com Ads Accelerator ✨
If you want to build this system for your own brand (or clients), comment or message me “ACCELERATOR” and I’ll send over details!
Thanks so much for reading! I hope this was helpful. Any questions, drop them below!