Mastering the Five Stages of a SaaS Marketing Funnel (2025 Edition)

A successful SaaS marketing funnel isn’t built overnight. It’s a carefully planned sequence of steps that introduces your product to strangers, educates them, prompts them to try your software, turns them into paying customers, and then keeps them loyal for years. In this deep dive, you’ll learn why a SaaS funnel is different from traditional funnels, why it matters so much for recurring revenue businesses, how to build one from scratch, and which metrics to track at each stage.

Why SaaS Companies Need a Dedicated Funnel

SaaS businesses don’t operate like retailers or one‑time software vendors. Their entire business model revolves around subscription revenue and long‑term customer relationships. A SaaS funnel must therefore guide prospects not just to a purchase but into ongoing usage and renewal. Our 2025 SaaS guide notes that a SaaS funnel is a multi‑step process that guides potential customers from first interaction to becoming loyal, paying users. The B2B variant differs from a traditional funnel because the goal is to acquire customers who pay regularly via subscription billing, so the focus extends beyond the initial sale

Unlike one‑time purchases, SaaS revenue grows through renewals, expansions and upgrades, making customer lifetime value (LTV) a core goal.

A well‑designed funnel matters because it serves as the engine of sustainable growth. we highlights several reasons:

• Attract and convert qualified leads – an organised funnel helps you capture the attention of ideal customers through compelling content, optimised websites and targeted ads.
  
• Nurture and educate prospects – by delivering valuable content and personalised experiences, you can build rapport and trust.
  
• Drive conversions and accelerate sales – a streamlined funnel removes friction from the purchase process, making it easy for prospects to commit.
  
• Boost customer lifetime value – nurturing relationships through onboarding and continued support encourages renewals, upgrades and advocacy.
  

Beyond these benefits, a SaaS funnel helps manage customer acquisition cost (CAC) and churn. Wordstream’s analysis warns that acquisitions are expensive and retention must become the main focus. A structured funnel ensures resources are invested at the right stages and reduces wasted spend on unqualified leads.

How a SaaS Funnel Differs From Traditional Marketing Funnels

The subscription model profoundly changes funnel dynamics. We note that a SaaS funnel emphasises relationships rather than one‑off transactions and relies heavily on data‑driven analytics. The bottom of the funnel isn’t a single purchase; instead, retention, expansion and referrals continue the journey.
Key differences include:

• Emphasis on LTV and recurring revenue – Because customers pay monthly or annually, retention and expansion drive profitability. we notes that B2B SaaS funnels are designed for a subscription‑based model and focus on building long‑term customer relationships.
  
• Continuous customer engagement – SaaS businesses must continually engage customers with helpful content, support and product education to reduce churn. Traditional funnels often end after purchase.
  
• Importance of onboarding – a smooth onboarding process is vital to help users experience value quickly and reduce churn.
  
• Multiple decision-makers and longer cycles in B2B: We explain that B2B cycles involve multiple stakeholders and longer decision-making processes, requiring personalised demos and deeper proofs of value.
  
• Data‑driven personalisation – SaaS funnels leverage behavioural data to trigger targeted outreach. Salespanel notes that Dropbox gave free storage and nudged users to invite friends, while Slack allowed teams to instantly chat; these product‑led experiences compressed awareness, interest and activation into a single step
  

Understanding Funnel Stages and Metrics

A classic SaaS marketing funnel has five core stages: awareness, engagement, exploration (evaluation), conversion and retention. Each stage uses specific tactics and metrics to move prospects forward. Let’s examine them in detail.

Stage 1: Awareness

Awareness is the top of the funnel, where potential customers first encounter your brand. We liken this stage to planting a seed – you’re introducing your brand to people who might be a good fit. In B2B SaaS, establishing credibility goes beyond simply showing your product; buyers conduct research and seek evidence of your expertise.

Strategies for Awareness

• Content marketing and SEO – Create valuable blog posts, guides, e-books, videos and webinars that address your audience’s pain points; this valuable content attracts organic traffic and builds brand awareness. Conduct keyword research and optimise it for search engines; build quality backlinks to improve organic rankings.
  
• Social media and paid outreach – Leverage social platforms to engage potential customers, share thought leadership and drive traffic. Paid ads (Google, LinkedIn, Facebook) allow precise targeting based on industry, job role and intent.
  
• Targeted industry content and podcasts – Publish guest posts, appear on industry podcasts; and contribute to community forums to reach niche audiences.
  

Metrics to Track

• Website traffic – we list traffic as a fundamental metric; steady increases show your campaigns are working, but you must analyse quality to ensure visitors are genuinely interested.
  
• Organic vs. paid traffic —track which channels drive the most qualified visitors.
  
• Click‑through rate (CTR) – wordstream benchmarks suggest CTRs for SaaS awareness campaigns range from 1% to 5%. Higher CTR indicates effective messaging and targeting.
  
• Lead‑to‑MQL conversion – Digital Bloom’s benchmarks show visitor‑to‑lead conversion around 1.4% for SMB/mid‑market companies. Tracking this reveals whether your content and calls‑to‑action are compelling.
  

Stage 2: Engagement

Once prospects are aware of your brand, the engagement stage nurtures their interest and builds trust. We compare this stage to cultivating a budding relationship by answering questions, providing educational content, and demonstrating an understanding of users’ needs. In B2B, engagement often means catering to multiple stakeholders with different priorities.

Strategies for Engagement

• Lead nurturing— Delivering personalised emails, newsletters, and drip campaigns based on user behaviour. Userpilot advocates segmenting users and tailoring messaging to guide them toward an “Aha!” moment.
  
• Webinars and demos – Host webinars and interactive demos that solve specific problems for different roles. Provide case studies and real‑world examples to build credibility.
  
• Interactive content – Quizzes, calculators and assessments encourage deeper involvement and gather data for personalisation.
  

Metrics to Track

• Time on page and bounce rate – long dwell time signals that content resonates; high bounce rates indicate misaligned targeting.
  
• Email open and click rates – track how recipients interact with nurturing emails. We highlight email open and click-through rates as key engagement metrics.
  
• Micro conversions – signups for webinars, downloads, newsletter subscriptions or trial requests – are signs of growing interest.
  
• MQL → SQL conversion rate – Digital Bloom’s 2025 benchmarks show the steepest funnel loss occurs when marketing‑qualified leads (MQLs) convert to sales‑qualified leads (SQLs), with average conversion rates of 39% for mid‑market companies. A 5‑point improvement at this stage can boost revenue by up to 18%.
  

Stage 3: Exploration

At the exploration stage, prospects actively evaluate your product against competitors and decide whether it fits their needs. This stage can be seen as a “test drive” where potential customers scrutinise the product’s features and pricing before making an informed decision. In B2B contexts where security, compliance, and scalability are crucial, accessing personalised demos or sandbox environments holds significant value.

Strategies for Exploration

• Free trials and freemium plans – offering a hands‑on trial is fundamental. Userpilot notes that opt‑in trials (no credit card required) have an average free‑trial‑to‑paid conversion rate around 18.2%, while opt‑out trials (credit card required) convert at about 48.8%. B2C trials can achieve conversion rates as high as 57%; Netflix famously converted 93% of trial users, while Amazon Prime converted 73%. In B2B SaaS, the industry average for trial‑to‑paid conversion is 14–25%.
  
• Product‑qualified leads (PQLs) – monitor in‑app behaviour to identify users who experience real value. Salespanel explains that PLG companies like Dropbox and Slack compress awareness and activation by allowing immediate product use. Slack tracks when workspaces send a certain number of messages or invite colleagues; when thresholds are reached, the company scores these workspaces as highly qualified and proactively engages them. PQLs often convert 2–3x better than MQLs.
  
• Personalized demos and proof of value – for B2B, customised demos addressing specific departments help each stakeholder grasp the benefits. Sandbox environments that integrate with customers’ systems allow real‑world testing.
  

Metrics to Track

• Trial sign‑ups and demos booked – the number of sign‑ups indicates how well your product and messaging resonate. High sign-up rates suggest relevance and an appealing value proposition.
  
• Product‑qualified leads (PQLs) – track meaningful product engagement events, such as messages sent in Slack, files uploaded in Dropbox or key features used in your software. Slack tracks when free workspaces hit specific message or user thresholds.
  
• Activation rate – the percentage of trial users reaching the activation point. Userpilot reports that top PLG companies maintain activation rates between 20 and 40% for freemium and free trials.
  
• Free‑to‑paid conversion rate – track trial users converting to paid. First Page Sage’s report shows typical freemium-to-paid conversion rates around 3–4% across industries, whereas opt‑out free trials average ~50% conversion, as per wordstream.com.
  
• Time to Value (TTV) – Salespanel notes that PLG companies focus on the time it takes for a user to experience value; the faster users reach the “Aha!” moment, the greater the likelihood of activation and retention

The data below illustrates how premium offerings have experienced growth across all industries. 

Stage 4: Conversion

The conversion stage is the culmination of your efforts – turning engaged prospects into paying customers. We emphasise minimising friction: clear pricing, flexible payment options, and user-friendly checkout experiences are crucial. In B2B, conversion often involves negotiating contracts and service level agreements (SLAs), particularly for enterprise customers.

Strategies for Conversion

• Transparent pricing and flexible packages – provide clear, tiered pricing to avoid confusion. Offer annual and monthly plans, volume discounts and custom quotes for enterprise clients.
  
• Automated in‑app upgrades – contextual in‑app modals can prompt users to upgrade when they hit usage limits. Userpilot cites Slack’s upgrade modal that appears when free users reach the 10k message limit.
  
• Sales enablement – equip sales teams with usage data (PQL signals) to tailor conversations. Martal’s Slack case study highlights how Slack’s sales team reached out when usage thresholds signalled readiness to upgrade.
  
• Free trials vs. freemium – consider using opt‑out trials for complex products requiring more commitment; they typically yield higher conversion rates, but ensure transparency and frictionless cancellation.
  

Metrics to Track

• Conversion rate (lead→customer) – track the percentage of leads who become paying customers. Digital Bloom’s B2B benchmark shows an overall lead‑to‑customer conversion rate of 2–5%. The steepest drop is MQL→SQL (15–21%). For visitor→lead conversions, SMB/mid‑market companies average 1.4%, while enterprise rates are 0.7%.
  
• Cost per acquisition (CPA) – total marketing and sales spend divided by new customers. We suggests evaluating the CPA alongside the conversion rate to optimise spending.
  
• Trial‑to‑paid conversion rate – measure the ratio of trial users who become paid. Userpilot notes that B2B SaaS companies should aim for 15–30% trial‑to‑paid conversion; 30% is excellent.
  
• Sales cycle length and velocity – track the time from initial interest to purchase. Digital Bloom’s report lists the median sales cycle at 84 days.
  

Stage 5: Retention & Expansion

Retention is the most critical stage for subscription businesses. The work doesn’t end when a customer signs up. We recommend that churn erodes revenue and only retention ensures long‑term profitability. Worknet’s retention guide points out that customer retention metrics are the vital signs of a SaaS business: they offer a real‑time health check on customer relationships and profitability

A 5% increase in retention can boost profits by 25–95%worknet.ai, highlighting why retention often delivers the highest ROI. Continuous engagement, customer support, and valuable content are essential for keeping subscribers happy. SaaS businesses must provide frictionless onboarding, clear instructions and ongoing resources.

Strategies for Retention & Expansion

• Onboarding excellence – deliver interactive walkthroughs, checklists and tailored welcome screens to help users reach value quickly. Userpilot provides examples of personalised onboarding flows and interactive walkthroughs that doubled Rocketbots’ activation rate from 15% to 30%.
  
• Customer success and support – invest in proactive support programmes, account management and success initiatives. we suggest regular communication, check‑ins and gathering feedback to spot potential issues early.
  
• Usage‑based pricing and expansions – adopt usage‑based or tiered pricing that scales with customer needs. Encourage upgrades and cross‑sells by highlighting additional features and benefits.
  
• Community and advocacy programmes – build communities around your product; encourage customers to share feedback and ideas, which fosters loyalty. Introduce referral programs to turn satisfied customers into advocates.
  

Metrics to Track

• Customer Retention Rate (CRR) – Worknet explains that CRR measures the percentage of customers who remain over a set period and reflects whether you deliver on your promises The formula is (E − N) / S × 100, where E is customers at end of the period, N is new customers and S customers at rt. A 90% retention rate means you retained most customers; good SaaS benchmarks range from 90% to 97% for 90% to 97% annual retention
  
• Churn Rate – the percentage of customers lost in a period. High churn indicates product or support issues. Worknet’s formula is (C / S) × 100 Negative churn occurs when expansion revenue exceeds lost revenue Industry‑wide, healthy annual churn is typically 5–7%, or 90% to 97%, although 99Firms notes that two‑thirds of SaaS companies experience churn rates of 5% or more.
  
• Net Revenue Retention (NRR) – measures how revenue from existing customers grows or shrinks after accounting for churn and expansion. Top SaaS companies aim for 100%+ NRR.
  
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) – projects the total revenue expected from a customer over their lifetime CLV guides decisions on how much you can invest in customer success and marketing. Cobloom emphasises 5–7% MRR and ARR as core revenue metrics to monitor.
  
• Net Promoter Score (NPS) and CSAT – measure customer loyalty and satisfaction. Userpilot recommends using NPS surveys to gather qualitative and quantitative feedback and proactively engage detractors.
  

Beyond Retention: Referral & Revenue

Many SaaS frameworks add referral and revenue as separate stages (in the AARRR or Pirate Metrics model). The referral stage encourages customers to promote your product. Key metrics include NPS, customer satisfaction scores and referral conversion rates. RevvGrowth highlights referral metrics like conversion rates and referral source tracking. A formal referral programme can incentivise users to advocate for your software, driving low‑cost acquisitions.

The revenue stage focuses on extracting additional value from existing customers through upsells, cross‑sells, add‑ons and price optimisation. Userpilot suggests tracking average revenue per user (ARPU) and expansion MRR. Expansion MRR tracks extra revenue from existing customers month‑over‑month. Monitor these metrics to understand how upgrades and usage growth impact total revenue.

Building a SaaS Marketing Funnel: Step‑by‑Step Guide

With an understanding of each stage, you can now build and optimise your SaaS funnel. RevvGrowth outlines a systematic approach that aligns with best practices and practical strategies and tools.

1. Understand your target audience and ideal customer profile (ICP). Define personas, industries, pain points and jobs‑to‑be‑done. The importance of defining your ideal customer and tailoring content to their needs. Utilise firmographic and behavioural data to refine your ICP over time.
   
2. Develop a content strategy. Plan awareness and engagement content: blogs, whitepapers, webinars, podcasts, product tours and case studies. Focus on solving problems rather than pitching features. We encourage the inclusion of e-books, case studies, and videos that provide insights and demonstrate your expertise.
   
3. Optimise your website and landing pages. Ensure they load quickly, communicate value clearly and include compelling calls to action (CTAs). A/B tests headlines, offers, and signup flows to boost conversion. Digital Bloom advises revisiting the load time of landing pages and form friction if visitor→lead conversion is under 1%.
   
4. Generate and qualify leads. Use targeted advertising, SEO and social campaigns to drive traffic. Implement pop‑ups and lead capture tools (e.g., OptinMonster, Leadfeeder) to collect contact information. Score leads based on fit and behaviour; incorporate product usage signals to identify PQLs.
   
5. Implement email marketing and lead nurturing. Notes that email marketing remains highly effective for guiding leads through the funnel. Segment audiences by behaviour and persona to send personalised, timely communications.
   
6. Offer free trials, demos and onboarding experiences. Provide opt‑in or opt‑out trials depending on your strategy. Monitor activation rate and time to value. Provide interactive walkthroughs and checklists to help users reach the “Aha!” moment quickly.
   
7. Optimise conversion processes. Simplify checkout, offer multiple payment options and display security badges to build trust. we recommends clear pricing and a frictionless experience to avoid abandoned carts. Provide transparent upgrade prompts when users hit limits.
   
8. Invest in onboarding and customer success. Deliver self‑service knowledge bases, video tutorials, in‑app messaging and proactive support. Encourage early feature adoption and gather feedback to remove friction. Worknet emphasizes that retention metrics diagnose problems early and guide investments
   
9. Implement referral and advocacy programmes. Offer incentives for customers to invite peers, share on social media or write reviews. Use NPS surveys to identify promoters and encourage them to refer friends.
   
10. Use data and analytics tools. Mixpanel, Amplitude and other analytics dashboards provide real‑time insights into traffic, conversions and churn. CRM systems, like Salesforce or HubSpot, manage customer interactions, track leads, and provide reporting. Marketing automation tools (Marketo, Pardot) streamline campaigns, while lead capture tools collect data.
    
11. Continuously optimise. Conduct A/B tests on landing pages and CTAs, personalise messaging and offers, adjust pricing and packaging, simplify onboarding, and invest in retention. we lists best practices such as adjusting pricing, simplifying onboarding and investing in customer retention.
    
12. Align sales, marketing and product teams. Use cross-functional feedback loops, so everyone understands customer behaviour and shares responsibility for funnel performance. Salespanel notes that PLG requires collaboration across teams and a cultural transformation
    

Benchmarking and Setting Goals

Benchmark data helps you measure your funnel against industry standards and set realistic targets:

• Awareness – CTR for top‑of‑funnel campaigns typically ranges from 1% to 5%. Visitor‑to‑lead conversion averages 1.4% for SMB/mid‑market SaaS and 0.7% for enterprise.
  
• Engagement – MQL→SQL conversion rates average 39% for SMB/mid‑market and 31% for enterprise.
  
• Evaluation – benchmark trial sign‑ups at 5–10% of website visitors and trial‑to‑paid conversions at 20–30%; opt‑in free trials convert ~18% to paid, while opt‑out convert ~49% by wordstream.
  
• Conversion – overall lead‑to‑customer conversion rates average 2–5%. The median sales cycle is 84 days, with an optimal range of 46–75 days.
  
• Retention: A “good” annual retention rate is 90–97% for most SaaS businesses. Healthy annual churn rates range from 5–7% Negative churn (NRR >100%) occurs when expansion revenue outweighs churn
  
• Revenue – aim for an LTV:CAC ratio above 3:1; monitor MRR, ARR, ARPU and expansion MRR.
  

Use these benchmarks as guidelines, not absolute rules. Worknet cautions that retention benchmarks differ by industry; enterprise SaaS should aim for >95% retention, mid‑market 90–95% and SMB 80–90% Your niche, pricing model and product complexity will influence what “good” looks like.

Case Study: Slack’s Freemium Funnel & Product‑Qualified Leads

Slack is one of the most famous product‑led SaaS success stories. Users can sign up and start chatting with their team instantly – no salesperson required. The product itself handles interest capture, value demonstration and viral growth. Behind the scenes, Slack tracked usage metrics to identify when a free workspace was ready to convert. Martal’s case study reveals that Slack watched for workspaces that sent thousands of messages, hit limits on free plan history or had multiple departments start separate workspaces. When those thresholds were met, Slack scored these teams as highly qualified, and its sales team proactively reached out. This usage‑driven approach meant that by the time sales engaged, the product had effectively sold itself. Slack’s meteoric growth (reaching a $1 billion run rate in a few years) and $27.7 billion acquisition by Salesforce can be attributed in part to how effectively it leveraged product usage data.

Slack’s North Star metric was simple: messages sent within a team. Salespanel notes that PLG companies often define a single metric that reflects long‑term value – for Slack it was message volume, for Zoom it was weekly hosted meetings and for Calendly it was meetings scheduled These North Star metrics guide teams to focus on the actions that correlate with retention and revenue. Slack also tracked leading indicators such as active teammates invited, depth of feature adoption and integration counts

By embedding instrumentation into the product, Slack automatically generated PQLs and seamlessly passed them to sales. According to Martal, PQLs convert to sales opportunities at 20–30% – about two to three times the rate of traditional MQLs. Slack’s success demonstrates how a well‑designed SaaS funnel, driven by real product usage, can accelerate growth without heavy marketing spend.

Other Product‑Led Examples: Dropbox, Netflix and Beyond

• Dropbox – Salespanel explains that Dropbox offered free storage and nudged users to invite friends This value of virality meant that sharing files brought more users onboard and made the product more indispensable. The frictionless sign‑up and viral loop compressed awareness, activation and referral into a single experience. Dropbox’s use of invites exemplifies the land‑and‑expand strategy, where individuals adopt the product first, and it later spreads across the organisation.
  
• Netflix & B2C Trials – B2C companies often achieve higher trial conversion rates because trials provide immediate entertainment or utility. Userpilot notes that Netflix converts 93% of free‑trial users to paid, while Amazon Prime’s video converts 73%. The high conversion is partly due to opt‑out trial structures where payment details are captured upfront. While such rates are uncommon in B2B, they illustrate how trial length, consumer demand and friction influence conversion.
  
• Zoom, Calendly, and Notion – these PLG companies rely on viral loops and frictionless onboarding. Salespanel emphasises that inviting a colleague (Zoom meeting, Calendly event, Notion page share) is often the key action leading to activation and expansion Notion and Trello use reverse trials: users start on a free plan with full features for a limited period and then downgrade to a restricted tier, encouraging upgrades to regain functionality.
  

These examples underscore that product usage signals and user experience drive conversions more effectively than superficial marketing metrics. They also show that virality mechanisms – network effect, value virality, exposure virality and referrals – can amplify a SaaS funnel.

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Conclusion 

A well‑orchestrated SaaS marketing funnel doesn’t just hand prospects off from marketing to sales – it creates a seamless, user‑centric journey that begins long before a sales call and continues long after the first transaction. The subscription nature of SaaS demands an obsessive focus on retention and long‑term value.

Key lessons to remember:

1. Focus on value and trust at every stage. Educate before you sell. Content marketing, webinars and demos build credibility and nurture relationships.
   
2. Use data to guide decisions. Track stage‑specific metrics like traffic, conversion rates, activation rates, churn and expansion revenue. Benchmarks provide context but shouldn’t replace your own data.
   
3. Embrace product‑led growth. Let your product do the selling by offering trials or freemium plans. Monitor usage and create product‑qualified leads to focus sales efforts on high‑intent users.
   
4. Invest in onboarding and retention. A frictionless onboarding experience and proactive customer success programs deliver faster time to value and reduce churn
   
5. Align cross‑functional teams. Marketing, sales and product teams must collaborate and share data. Product‑led growth is not a tactic but a cultural shift
   

In the fast‑evolving 2025 landscape, SaaS growth depends on delivering meaningful experiences that convince users to stay, pay and advocate for your software. By understanding the unique dynamics of a SaaS funnel and implementing the strategies outlined here, you’ll be well‑equipped to build a marketing machine that fuels sustainable, recurring revenue.

At Voxturr, we believe the most successful SaaS companies treat their funnel as an evolving system rather than a static diagram. They continuously test, learn, and adapt while keeping customers at the centre of every decision. By applying the strategies and benchmarks in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to building a funnel that not only acquires customers but also retains them, expands their usage and turns them into passionate advocates.

Are you ready to design or refine your SaaS marketing funnel? Reach out to us —we’d love to help you build a growth engine tailored to your unique product and audience.

What are the five stages of a SaaS marketing funnel in 2025?

The five stages are awareness, engagement, exploration (evaluation), conversion, and retention plus expansion. The big shift for SaaS is that the funnel does not end at purchase. The real growth comes from activation, renewals, upgrades, and referrals, so retention is not a bonus stage; it is the core stage.

How is a SaaS funnel different from a traditional marketing funnel?

A traditional funnel often ends when someone buys once. A SaaS funnel is built around recurring revenue, which means you have to design for ongoing product usage, onboarding, and customer success. It also relies more on behavioural data because what users do inside the product is often the strongest signal of whether they will convert and stay.

What metrics should you track at each stage of the SaaS funnel?

At awareness, track qualified traffic, channel mix, and CTR. At engagement, focus on time on page, email engagement, and micro-conversions like webinar signups. At exploration, track trial or demo starts, activation rate, time to value, and PQLs. At conversion, track trial to paid conversion, CAC or CPA, and sales cycle length. At retention, track churn, customer retention rate, net revenue retention, and expansion MRR because those show whether growth is compounding.

What is a PQL, and why does it matter more than an MQL for PLG SaaS?

A product-qualified lead is a user or account that has shown high intent through in-product behaviour, like hitting key usage thresholds, adopting core features, or inviting teammates. It matters because it is based on real value experience, not just content engagement. For product-led SaaS, PQLs usually convert better than MQLs because the product has already done part of the selling.

How do you improve activation and retention without spending more on acquisition?

Start by reducing time to value with sharper onboarding, guided tours, templates, and checklists that push users to the first meaningful outcome fast. Then use lifecycle messaging triggered by behaviour, not generic email blasts. Finally, invest in customer success motions that match your segment: self-serve for SMB, more proactive help for mid-market, and structured QBRs for enterprise. When activation improves, retention and expansion typically follow, and CAC pressure drops automatically.