Acquisition channel advisor

--- name: acquisition-channel-advisor description: Evaluate acquisition channels using unit economics, customer quality, and scalability. Use this when deciding whether to scale, test, or discontinue a growth channel. intent: >- Guide product managers in evaluating whether to scale, test, or discontinue an acquisition channel based on unit economics (CAC, LTV, payback), customer quality (retention, NRR), and scalability (magic number, volume potential). Use this to make data-driven go-to-market decisions and optimize the channel mix for sustainable growth. type: interactive best_fors: - "Deciding whether a paid or outbound channel deserves more budget" - "Comparing channel quality, payback, and scalability side by side" - "Making scale, test, or kill decisions with finance-backed reasoning" scenarios: - "Should we keep investing in paid LinkedIn ads for enterprise leads?" - "Compare content marketing, outbound email, and partner referrals as acquisition channels" - "Help me decide whether to scale or discontinue our webinar acquisition channel" --- ## Purpose Guide product managers in evaluating whether to scale, test, or discontinue an acquisition channel based on unit economics (CAC, LTV, payback), customer quality (retention, NRR), and scalability (magic number, volume potential). Use this to make data-driven go-to-market decisions and optimize your channel mix for sustainable growth. This is not a channel strategy framework:it’s a financial framework for channel evaluation that helps you avoid scaling unprofitable channels or discontinuing channels with fixable problems. Use it when deciding how to allocate your marketing budget across channels. ## Key Concepts ### The Channel Evaluation Framework A systematic approach to evaluating acquisition channels: 1. Unit Economics : What does it cost to acquire a customer, and what is the return? - CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) - LTV (Lifetime Value) - LTV:CAC ratio - Payback period 2. Customer Quality : Do customers from this channel stick around and grow? - Cohort retention rate (by channel) - Churn rate (by channel) - NRR (Net Revenue Retention by channel) - Expansion rate 3. Scalability : Can this channel sustain growth at the volume you need? - Magic Number (S&M efficiency) - Addressable volume (TAM of channel) - Saturation risk (diminishing returns) - CAC trend (increasing, stable, decreasing) 4. Strategic Fit : Does this channel align with your go-to-market strategy? - Customer segment match (SMB vs. enterprise) - Sales motion compatibility (PLG vs. sales-led) - Brand positioning alignment ### Decision Matrix | LTV:CAC | Payback | Customer Quality | Scalability | Decision | |---------|---------|------------------|-------------|----------| | >3:1 | <12mo | Good retention | High volume | Scale aggressively | | 2:3:1 | 12:18mo | Average retention | Medium volume | Test & optimize | | <2:1 | >18mo | Poor retention | Low volume | Kill or fix | ### Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT) - Not vanity metrics: "We got 10,000 signups!" means nothing if they churn in 30 days - Not CAC-only thinking: Low CAC with terrible retention is worse than high CAC with great retention - Not ignoring payback: A 5:1 LTV:CAC ratio with a 36-month payback period is a cash trap - Not scaling broken channels: Pouring money into inefficient channels accelerates failure ### When to Use This Framework Use this when: - Evaluating whether to scale a new channel (content, paid, events, etc.) - Deciding how to allocate the marketing budget across channels - Assessing whether to discontinue an underperforming channel - Comparing channels to optimize ROI - Planning the annual marketing budget allocation Don’t use this when: - The channel is brand-new (<3 months, <100 customers) : not enough data - You’re testing channel fit (this is for evaluation, not experimentation) - Strategic channels (e.g., enterprises require field sales regardless of CAC) - You don’t have channel-level data (you need to track CAC and retention by source) --- ### Facilitation Source of Truth Use [workshop-facilitation](../workshop-facilitation/SKILL.md) as the default interaction protocol for this skill. It d