marketing-strategy

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• SKILL.md
• framework-notes.md · references/
• check-output.py · scripts/
• output-template.md · templates/

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Marketing Strategy

## Overview

Marketing strategy is the allocation of scarce resources across channels to
maximize pipeline and revenue. Not "what should we post?" — "given our ICP,
budget, and stage, where does every dollar and hour go?"

This skill builds a complete marketing operating plan: channel mix, budget
allocation by funnel stage, content strategy, demand generation, brand building,
and measurement. The output is a strategy document, not a list of tactics.

## Authoritative Foundations
- **Eugene Schwartz — Breakthrough Advertising** — Match the message to the market's awareness level, from unaware to most aware.
- **Les Binet and Peter Field — The Long and the Short of It** — Balance long-term brand building with short-term activation instead of spending only on conversion.
- **Byron Sharp — How Brands Grow** — Grow by increasing mental and physical availability with the whole category, not only loyal buyers.
- **Joe Pulizzi — Content Inc. (content tilt)** — Find a content niche where you can be the leading voice before expanding.

## When to Use

- "Build our marketing strategy"
- "Plan our marketing for Q1"
- "Allocate marketing budget"
- "Which channels should we invest in?"
- "Design a demand generation engine"
- "Create a marketing operating plan"
- "What should marketing own vs sales?"

## Step-by-Step Process

### Phase 1: Channel Mix by Stage

| Stage | <$1M ARR | $1-10M ARR | $10M+ ARR |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Primary** | Founder-led content + outbound | Content + paid + events | Brand + multi-channel |
| **Content** | LinkedIn (founder), blog | Blog, newsletter, webinars | Editorial, video, podcast |
| **Paid** | None (too early) | LinkedIn + Google (test) | LinkedIn + Google + Meta + programmatic |
| **Events** | None | 1-2 conferences/year | Owned events + major conferences |
| **PR/Media** | Podcast guesting | Trade publications | Tier 1 media + analyst relations |
| **Partners** | None | Integration partners | Full partner ecosystem |

### Phase 2: Budget Allocation

Marketing budget as % of ARR:
- **<$1M ARR:** 20-40% (investment mode, founder-led)
- **$1-5M ARR:** 15-25%
- **$5-20M ARR:** 10-20%
- **$20M+ ARR:** 8-15%

Allocate across channels:
| Channel | Seed/<$1M | Growth/$1-10M | Scale/$10M+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content & SEO | 40% | 30% | 25% |
| Paid acquisition | 0% | 25% | 30% |
| Events & field | 10% | 15% | 20% |
| Brand & PR | 5% | 10% | 15% |
| Product marketing | 15% | 10% | 5% |
| Tools & ops | 30% | 10% | 5% |

### Phase 3: Demand Generation Architecture

**Top of funnel (awareness):** Content marketing, paid social, PR, events.
Goal: reach ICP, generate traffic and brand searches. Metric: traffic, brand
search volume, social following.

**Middle of funnel (consideration):** Webinars, case studies, comparison pages,
gated content. Goal: capture contact information, educate buyer. Metric:
MQLs, email subscribers, content downloads.

**Bottom of funnel (conversion):** Demo requests, free trials, sales outreach.
Goal: create sales-qualified opportunities. Metric: pipeline generated,
opportunities created.

**Post-funnel (expansion):** Customer marketing, advocacy, referrals. Goal:
expansion revenue and word-of-mouth. Metric: NRR, referral revenue.

### Phase 4: Brand Building

Brand compounds. It's the reason someone chooses you over a cheaper competitor.

**Brand assets to build:**
- Distinctive point of view (not "we're the best" — "here's what we believe
  that others don't")
- Original research and data (your unique data is your best content)
- Customer stories (named, specific, quantified)
- Executive thought leadership (founder brand = company brand at <$10M ARR)
- Visual identity and design system (consistent across every touchpoint)

**Measurement:** Brand search volume, direct traffic growth, win rate on
competitive deals, inbound demo request growth.

### Phase 5: Marketing-Sales Handoff

Marketing generates demand. Sales converts it. The handoff is where most
companies break.

**MQL definition (marketing side):** ICP fit confirmed + meaningful engagement
(content download, webinar attendance, pricing page visit). Clear criteria,
not "they seem interested."

**SQL definition (sales side):** MQL + explicit buying signal (demo request,
trial sign-up, contact form with budget information).

**SLA:** MQL → first sales touch within 15 minutes (speed-to-lead is the
single biggest conversion lever). Track: MQL→SQL conversion rate, SQL→
opportunity rate, marketing-sourced pipeline.

## Output Format

Marketing strategy document with: channel mix by stage, budget allocation,
demand generation architecture, brand building plan, content calendar (quarterly),
marketing-sales SLA, and KPI dashboard.

## Quality Check

- [ ] Channel mix appropriate for ARR stage
- [ ] Budget allocation by channel with rationale
- [ ] MQL and SQL definitions documented and agreed upon
- [ ] Marketing-sales SLA defined and measured

From LeadMagic/gtm-skills, MIT.

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