Who This Helps
Growth marketers who are tired of presenting channel ideas that get shot down. You have the data. But stakeholders want a clear story before they say yes. This is for you if you need to turn analysis into approved execution without the back-and-forth.
Mini Case
Meet Priya. She runs growth at a mid-size SaaS company. She saw a 12% drop in trial-to-paid conversions from paid search. Her instinct was to shift budget to content. But her VP wanted proof. Priya built a positioning grid comparing paid search, content, and email on three criteria: cost per acquisition, time to impact, and alignment with the new ICP wedge. The grid showed content had a 7-day faster payback. The VP approved the shift in one meeting. No guesswork.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- List your top three channels. Write down the ones you're considering for a budget shift.
- Pick three comparison criteria. Use things like cost per lead, conversion rate, or alignment with your positioning strategy.
- Score each channel. Give a 1-5 rating for each criterion. Be honest, not hopeful.
- Build a simple grid. Draw a table with channels as rows and criteria as columns. Fill in scores.
- Write a one-liner takeaway. For example: "Content wins because it aligns with our new ICP wedge and has the fastest payback."
Avoid These Traps
- Using too many criteria. Stick to three. More than five and the grid becomes noise.
- Ignoring competitor claims. If a competitor is winning on a channel, note it. Don't pretend it doesn't exist.
- Making the grid for yourself. You're building it to communicate. Keep it simple for stakeholders.
- Forgetting the ICP wedge. Your grid must tie back to the customer segment you're targeting. Otherwise, it's just numbers.
- Skipping the win-loss evidence. If you have data from past wins or losses, use it to back your scores.
Your Win by Friday
By end of week, you'll have a one-page positioning grid that shows exactly which channel move to make and why. No more guesswork. No more rejected proposals. Just a clear artifact that gets a yes from your VP. And maybe a little extra time to grab coffee.