marketing-demand-acquisition

---
name: marketing-demand-acquisition
description: Use when planning demand-gen strategy, paid acquisition (LinkedIn/Google/Meta), technical SEO, MQL/SQL pipeline, attribution modeling, or partnership programs for scaling B2B SaaS.
category: Marketing
version: 1.0.0
tools: []
---

# Marketing Demand & Acquisition

Acquisition playbook for Series A+ startups scaling internationally (EU/US/Canada) with a hybrid PLG/Sales-Led motion. Adapt the benchmarks below for other stages and motions rather than skipping the framework.

## Core KPIs
- Demand gen: MQL/SQL volume, cost per opportunity, marketing-sourced pipeline $, MQL→SQL rate
- Paid media: CAC, ROAS, CPL, CPA, channel efficiency ratio
- SEO: organic sessions, non-brand traffic %, keyword rankings, technical health score
- Partnerships: partner-sourced pipeline $, partner CAC, co-marketing ROI

## Demand Generation Framework

### Funnel stages
| Stage | Tactics | Target |
|---|---|---|
| TOFU | Paid social, display, content syndication, SEO | Brand awareness, traffic |
| MOFU | Paid search, retargeting, gated content, email nurture | MQLs, demo requests |
| BOFU | Brand search, direct outreach, case studies, trials | SQLs, pipeline $ |

### Campaign planning
1. Define objective, budget, duration, audience.
2. Select channels by funnel stage.
3. Set up campaign tracking (e.g. in HubSpot or the client's CRM) with a consistent UTM structure: `utm_source` (linkedin/google/meta), `utm_medium` (cpc/display/email), `utm_campaign` (e.g. `2026q3-linkedin-enterprise`), `utm_content` (variant), `utm_term` (paid-search keyword only).
4. Configure lead scoring and assignment rules.
5. Launch on a test budget and confirm tracking is working before scaling spend.

## Paid Media Channels

### Selection matrix
| Channel | Best for | CAC range | Series A priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn Ads | B2B, Enterprise, ABM | $150–400 | High |
| Google Search | High-intent, BOFU | $80–250 | High |
| Google Display | Retargeting | $50–150 | Medium |
| Meta Ads | SMB, visual products | $60–200 | Medium |

**LinkedIn Ads:** structure as Awareness → Consideration → Conversion campaigns; target Director+ at companies of 50–5,000 employees; start at $50/day per campaign and scale 20% weekly as long as CAC stays under target.

**Google Ads:** prioritize Brand → Competitor → Solution → Category keyword tiers; keep ad groups to 5–10 tightly themed keywords; write 3 responsive search ads per ad group (15 headlines, 4 descriptions); maintain a negative-keyword list of 100+ terms; start on Manual CPC and switch to Target CPA once the account has 50+ conversions.

**Example $40k/month Series A allocation:** LinkedIn $15k (~10 SQLs), Google Search $12k (~20 SQLs), Google Display $5k (~5 SQLs), Meta $5k (~8 SQLs), Partnerships $3k (~5 SQLs).

## SEO Strategy

**Technical foundation to confirm:** XML sitemap submitted to Search Console, robots.txt correct, HTTPS enabled, mobile page speed >90, Core Web Vitals passing, structured data implemented, canonical tags on every page, hreflang tags for international variants.

### Keyword tiers
| Tier | Type | Volume | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | High-intent BOFU | 100–1k | First |
| 2 | Solution-aware MOFU | 500–5k | Second |
| 3 | Problem-aware TOFU | 1k–10k | Third |

**On-page checklist:** URL carries the primary keyword in 3–5 words; title tag is keyword + brand at ≤60 chars; meta description is CTA + value prop at ≤155 chars; one H1 matching search intent; comprehensive topics run 2,000–3,000 words; 3–5 internal links per page.

**Link-building priority order:** (1) digital PR via original research/industry reports, (2) guest posting on DA 40+ sites only, (3) partner co-marketing with complementary SaaS, (4) community engagement on Reddit/Quora.

## Partnerships

### Tiers
| Tier | Type | Effort | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Strategic integrations | High | Very high |
| 2 | Affiliate partners | Medium | Medium-high |
| 3 | Customer referrals | Low | Medium |
| 4 | Marketplace listings | Medium | Low-medium |

**Workflow:** identify partners with overlapping ICP and no competitive overlap; pitch a specific integration or co-marketing proposal; define success metrics, revenue model, and term; build co-branded assets with partner-tracking UTMs; enable their sales team with demo training.

**Affiliate programs** (e.g. via PartnerStack, Impact, or Rewardful) typically pay 20–30% recurring commission; recruit through outbound, inbound, and events; verify a test affiliate link tracks through to conversion before launch.

## Attribution

| Model | Use case |
|---|---|
| First-Touch | Awareness campaigns |
| Last-Touch | Direct response |
| W-Shaped (40-20-40) | Hybrid PLG/Sales — recommended |

For a hybrid motion, use W-Shaped attribution, define the conversion event as "deal created," and apply a 90-day lookback window.

**Weekly health targets:** MQL→SQL rate >15%, blended CAC <$300, pipeline velocity <60 days.

## Channel Benchmarks (B2B SaaS, Series A)

| Metric | LinkedIn | Google Search | SEO | Email |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTR | 0.4–0.9% | 2–5% | 1–3% | 15–25% |
| CVR | 1–3% | 3–7% | 2–5% | 2–5% |
| CAC | $150–400 | $80–250 | $50–150 | $20–80 |
| MQL→SQL | 10–20% | 15–25% | 12–22% | 8–15% |

## MQL→SQL Handoff

**SQL criteria (all required):** Director+ title or budget authority; company size 50–5,000 employees; budget $10k+ annual; buying within 90 days; demo requested or other high-intent action taken.

**SLA:** SDR responds to a new MQL within 4 hours; AE books a demo with an SQL within 24 hours; first demo is scheduled within 3 business days.

## Proactive Triggers
- Over-relying on one channel → single-channel dependency is a business risk; recommend diversifying.
- No lead scoring in place → not all leads are equal; flag it to whoever owns revenue operations.
- CAC exceeding LTV → demand gen is unprofitable as structured; optimize or cut the channel.
- No nurture track for non-ready leads → roughly 80% of leads aren't ready to buy yet; a nurture sequence converts them later instead of losing them.

## Coordinate With
@mention a paid-ads specialist for execution detail on any channel above, a content strategist for content-driven demand gen, an email specialist for nurture sequences, and a campaign-analytics specialist to measure what's actually working.