interface:
  display_name: "Suede Marketing Plan"
  short_description: "Produce a full marketing plan sized to budget and stage"
  default_prompt: "Use $suede-marketing-plan on [target]. The user needs a comprehensive marketing or go-to-market plan for a company, client, or their own product. Work through Produce a full marketing plan structured by acquisition, activation, retention, referral, and revenue, sized to the current budget, team, and stage, ground every recommendation in evidence the user can check, and return the decisions, the reasoning, and what to measure next."
policy:
  allow_implicit_invocation: true

{
  "skill_name": "suede-marketing-plan",
  "evals": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "prompt": "I'm starting a fractional CMO engagement with a Series A B2B SaaS doing $2M ARR, 12-person team with 1 marketer, $20K/month marketing budget. They want a marketing plan we can share with the team and the board. Build it.",
      "expected_output": "Should check for the canonical product-marketing context first. Should ask for client name or use a slug. Should walk through three-phase workflow (INIT → REVIEW → FINALIZE), starting with intake covering financial constraints, team/owner capacity, budget/authority, channel evidence, what's done, in-flight, and available tooling. Should produce a 13-section AARRR-structured plan: executive summary, strategic frame, current state (scored against the embedded 17-section rubric), Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue, 90-day roadmap with owner-assigned moves, 12-month outlook with conditional capabilities tied to verified evidence/resources/approval/review/stop rules, marketing operations stack mapping available public Suede skills and authorized tools to AARRR owners and fallbacks, tactical idea bank cross-referencing all current suede-marketing-ideas entries to AARRR + client-specific status, measurement framework with source-backed metrics + RACI + open decisions. Should be comprehensive and Notion-paste-ready. Should be specific to the client's dated evidence and authority, not generic.",
      "assertions": [
        "Checks for product-marketing.md",
        "Asks for client name or uses a slug",
        "Walks through INIT phase with structured intake",
        "Produces 13-section plan structured by AARRR",
        "Section 3 scores against the embedded 17-section rubric",
        "Section 9 (90-day roadmap) has owner-assigned moves, not just actions",
        "Section 10 names evidence/resource/owner/approval/review/stop conditions for every conditional capability",
        "Section 11 maps relevant Suede skills plus currently callable authorized tools or manual fallbacks to each AARRR stage",
        "Section 12 cross-references all 139 suede-marketing-ideas entries with client-specific status",
        "Output is Notion-paste-ready markdown",
        "Plan is specific to the client (their budget, team, current channels), not generic"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "prompt": "We're pre-seed bootstrapped, $0 paid marketing budget, 4-person team building a D2C consumer app. Founder wants a 90-day plan + 12-month roadmap they can show investors during the upcoming raise. The product is in beta.",
      "expected_output": "Should recognize that the stated current paid budget is zero and avoid paid acquisition until a specific test is funded and approved. Should prioritize capacity-feasible organic, lifecycle, and referral hypotheses only when they fit current evidence. Should map conditional unlocks from verified cash, owners, tracking, and decision rules rather than funding-stage defaults. Should respect that the product is in beta and account for activation/throttling gates. Should diagnose the binding AARRR constraint from evidence rather than assume one. Plan must be investor-friendly: exec summary can be lifted into an update.",
      "assertions": [
        "Uses the verified zero-paid-budget constraint rather than a stage profile",
        "Skips paid acquisition execution until an exact test is evidenced, funded, and approved",
        "Does not hardcode organic, lifecycle, referral, or any channel from zero paid budget or archetype",
        "Names evidence, owner, approval, and stop conditions for future unlocks",
        "Accounts for product being in beta",
        "Identifies the binding AARRR stage from available evidence",
        "Executive summary can be lifted into an investor update",
        "Plan is operationally honest — doesn't pretend paid budget exists"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 3,
      "prompt": "we have an audit already done — can you take that and turn it into a real plan",
      "expected_output": "Should ask for the audit output (file path or paste). Should recognize that current-state scoring already exists and ingest it directly into Section 3 — don't re-score. Should note scoring date in case material has shifted since. Should proceed with full 13-section plan generation using audit findings to inform 90-day roadmap and AARRR sections (gaps from audit become moves in the plan).",
      "assertions": [
        "Asks for the audit output",
        "Ingests prior audit scoring directly into Section 3",
        "Does not re-score what's already been scored",
        "Notes the scoring date and flags any shifted material",
        "Uses audit gaps to inform 90-day roadmap and AARRR section moves",
        "Still produces a full 13-section plan, not just Section 3"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 4,
      "prompt": "/suede-marketing-plan acme-saas — pick up where we left off",
      "expected_output": "Should read .agents/suede-marketing-plans/acme-saas/progress.md to determine state machine phase. Should resume from the exact next unfinished section in REVIEW phase, or transition to FINALIZE only if all 13 checkboxes and approved section artifacts reconcile. Should NOT silently restart. If progress.md is missing, should initialize the complete legacy/interrupted INIT schema and preserve partial research. Only a finalized state should ask: revise as v{N+1}, start fresh, or re-open a section.",
      "assertions": [
        "Reads .agents/suede-marketing-plans/acme-saas/progress.md",
        "Resumes from next unfinished section based on state machine",
        "Does not silently restart from scratch",
        "Distinguishes missing progress legacy INIT from finalized revise/fresh/re-open choices",
        "Atomically persists each confirmed sections/NN.md artifact plus checkbox, approved path, exact next current_section, and timestamp"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 5,
      "prompt": "I need a plan for a hybrid hardware+software wellness company. They sell a physical product and a subscription app. Series A, $100K/month marketing budget, 8-person team including a marketing lead.",
      "expected_output": "Should recognize the hybrid hardware+software business model and consult references/client-types.md for candidate questions, not defaults. Should diagnose each AARRR constraint from dated client evidence. Hardware/software cohort joins, inventory, fulfillment, margin, unboxing/setup, subscription retention, and blended unit economics should be investigated where relevant. The Series A label and stated budget must not choose channels or spend; any paid test needs audience/economics/tracking/creative-capacity evidence plus owner, maximum exposure, approval, review date, and stop conditions. Idea bank should skip ideas that conflict with verified brand, rights, or hardware constraints.",
      "assertions": [
        "Recognizes hybrid hardware+software archetype",
        "Does not prescribe acquisition channels from the hybrid archetype",
        "Tests whether unboxing, setup, first session, or paywall is the measured activation constraint",
        "Tests lifecycle and community hypotheses against current evidence and capacity",
        "Tests gifting and review hypotheses against rights, economics, and customer evidence",
        "Uses a finance-approved blended economics definition with source dates and ranges",
        "Does not use the Series A label to recommend spend",
        "Idea bank skips ideas that conflict with brand fit, with explicit rationale"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 6,
      "prompt": "Just give me a quick marketing plan. Don't make it long.",
      "expected_output": "Should resist defaulting to a short plan. Should explain that suede-marketing-plan is the comprehensive fCMO-deliverable artifact (~10K words) and that for a single-channel quick plan, the channel-specific public Suede skill is the right tool (suede-emails, suede-ads, suede-seo-audit, etc.). Should offer alternatives: (a) full suede-marketing-plan as designed, or (b) point to a specific public Suede skill for the user's actual need. Should NOT silently produce a stripped-down 3K-word plan that misses the ops stack or the idea bank.",
      "assertions": [
        "Resists short-plan request and explains why",
        "Names suede-marketing-plan as the comprehensive fCMO artifact",
        "Recommends channel-specific skills for single-channel quick plans",
        "Offers alternatives clearly",
        "Does not silently produce a stripped-down plan"
      ],
      "files": []
    }
  ]
}

# AARRR Framework — Primer for Plan Sequencing

AARRR (Dave McClure's "pirate metrics") is the spine of every plan produced by this skill. This doc is the primer + the decision rules for when each stage gets prioritized.

## The five stages

| Stage | Question | Common metrics |
|---|---|---|
| **A**cquisition | How do strangers become aware of us? | Visits, MQLs, signup-page sessions, app-store visits, CAC by channel |
| **A**ctivation | Once they try us, do they have an experience that converts? | Signup completion rate, time-to-value, % completing first key action, trial → paid rate |
| **R**etention | Do they stay and deepen? | DAU/WAU/MAU, week-1/4/12 retention, churn |
| **R**eferral | Do retained users bring more users? | Viral coefficient, NPS, ambassador attribution |
| **R**evenue | What do they pay, who pays, how does it compound? | ARPU, LTV, expansion revenue, ARR / MRR |

> **Signup boundary rule.** Signup *intent* (a stranger landing on the signup page) is Acquisition. Signup *completion* and everything after (first key action, trial-to-paid) is Activation. Apply this rule consistently across all docs and the plan template.

## Why AARRR for plan sequencing

Three reasons.

**1. Funnel-stage tagging forces prioritization.** Without AARRR, marketing plans become channel-organized ("here's the SEO plan, here's the social plan, here's the paid plan"). Channels can address multiple stages; tagging by stage instead asks the more useful question: *what stage of the funnel is the binding constraint right now?*

**2. Compare constraints before adding volume.** Reconcile qualified exposure,
activation, retention, economics, and capacity before deciding whether the next
test should repair a downstream loss or add acquisition.

**3. The Revenue / Referral conversation is honest.** Most marketing plans bury monetization under "growth" and treat referral as wishful thinking. AARRR forces explicit treatment of both.

## Brand and content — not a stage, cross-cutting

A common mistake: making "Brand" or "Content" the sixth bucket. They're not — they serve every stage.

- **Brand voice** governs every piece of copy across every stage
- **Content** feeds Acquisition (SEO, social), Activation (onboarding copy), Retention (email lifecycle), Referral (ambassador talking points), Revenue (pricing pages, sales material)

In the plan, brand/content shows up as the strategic frame (Section 2) and cross-cutting in Section 11's ops stack — never as its own AARRR section.

## Diagnosing the binding constraint — which AARRR stage is highest leverage?

Treat every proposed binding constraint as a hypothesis. Never select a stage
from company age, business model, traffic volume, or a single benchmark.

For each stage, record:

1. The dated source, cohort, metric definition, and comparison window.
2. The observed loss or opportunity and its plausible alternative explanations.
3. Unit economics, delivery capacity, dependencies, and data-quality limits.
4. The smallest test that can distinguish the leading explanations.
5. The owner, approval state, maximum exposure, review date, and stop condition.

Use these diagnostic questions:

- **Acquisition:** Is qualified exposure the constraint after downstream
  conversion, retention, attribution, and capacity are reconciled?
- **Activation:** Does a defined cohort fail to reach a verified value event,
  and does behavioral or research evidence identify the friction?
- **Retention:** Do comparable activated cohorts leave earlier or deepen less
  than the approved target, with product and measurement changes reconciled?
- **Referral:** Is there observed advocacy or sharing intent that a bounded,
  rights-compliant mechanism could capture?
- **Revenue:** Do realized price, margin, retention, packaging research, and
  willingness-to-pay evidence support a specific pricing hypothesis?

When evidence is insufficient, preserve competing hypotheses and prioritize
instrumentation or research rather than declaring a stage broken.

## Stage-by-stage strategic patterns

### Acquisition

**The diagnostic question:** Where is the gap between TAM-level awareness and current funnel volume? What channels are saturated by competitors vs. open?

**Common Acquisition moves:**
- SEO content strategy (organic compounding)
- Founder-led channels (LinkedIn, X, Substack for B2B; Instagram/TikTok for D2C)
- Paid acquisition only after audience, economics, tracking, creative capacity,
  maximum exposure, approval, review, and stop gates pass
- App Store / Play Store / marketplace listing optimization
- PR and credibility-anchor amplification
- Events (live, webinar, conference speaking)
- Partnerships (newsletter swaps, integration co-marketing, reseller / agency partners)
- Hardware / commerce surface (Shopify SEO + Amazon for hybrid businesses)
- B2B sales support (case studies, partner pages, vertical content)

**Sequencing principle:** Compare organic, paid, partner, product-led, and sales
candidates against current audience evidence, economics, tracking, creative and
owner capacity, time-to-learning, approval, maximum exposure, and stop
conditions. Organic work is not a prerequisite for paid work, and paid work is
not evidence of readiness. Choose the smallest approved test that resolves the
most important uncertainty.

### Activation

**The diagnostic question:** Which current event and research evidence define
first value for this cohort, where is the measured loss, and what competing
explanations remain?

**Common Activation moves:**
- Bedrock fixes (broken gates, broken signup steps, broken paywall)
- Onboarding test or rebuild when behavioral and research evidence isolate it
- App Store listing rewrite (the threshold to the trial)
- Lifecycle Flow ship order (when to ship onboarding emails)
- Paywall structure + trial length
- Free → paid bridge (in-app upsells, soft paywalls)

**Sequencing principle:** Reduce verified friction between entry and the
cohort's defined value event. Preserve steps required for consent, safety,
eligibility, comprehension, trust, or legal compliance.

### Retention

**The diagnostic question:** Why do users churn? What would have made them stay? What's the "second moment of value" after the first one?

**Common Retention moves:**
- Lifecycle email flows: onboarding, lapsed user re-engagement, post-purchase, win-back
- Subscription / preference centers
- Churn reconciliation (often metric definitions don't match across surfaces)
- Hardware → software activation paths (for hybrid businesses)
- Term-length or pricing-structure hypotheses (cross-cuts Revenue)
- Support as marketing (high-touch moments that drive stories)
- Community + practitioner networks

**Sequencing principle:** Rank lifecycle work from dated cohort loss, event
coverage, consent, content dependencies, owner capacity, and expected learning
value. A post-purchase, onboarding, lapsed-user, or win-back flow may come first;
its cadence follows observed behavior and an approved review rule, not a
universal ship order or quarterly calendar.

### Referral

**The diagnostic question:** Is there inbound referral interest that isn't being captured? What's the share-after-value moment that's natural to the product?

**Common Referral moves:**
- Ambassador / affiliate program (start with inbound interest, not cold recruitment)
- Share-after-value moments built into the product (reflection prompts, milestone celebrations)
- Founder amplification (founder as referrer-zero)
- Long-game expert / Guides / certified-host networks (for category-creating businesses)
- Gifting flows (consumer / hardware)
- Two-sided referrals (reward both referrer and referred)

**Sequencing question:** Inbound interest is evidence to investigate, not
authorization to launch. Verify participant fit, rights/disclosures, economics,
owner capacity, tracking, maximum exposure, approval, and stop conditions before
running a bounded pilot.

### Revenue

**The diagnostic question:** Is the company underpricing? Underpackaging? Missing an upsell? What's the "right" price discipline given LTV and brand voice?

**Common Revenue moves:**
- Pricing audit (what's actually charged today vs. listed?)
- Term-length and renewal-presentation tests
- Hardware → software bundling formalization
- Storefront / commerce page optimization
- B2B case studies + sales material
- Long-term value pool flags (data, expansion, enterprise) — flagged not executed

**Sequencing principle:** Reconcile listed and realized pricing, discounts,
trials, plan mix, margin, retention, and cohort definitions before approving a
pricing test. If those sources already reconcile, use the current evidence
rather than repeating an audit by default.

## How to assign a move to a stage

Some moves clearly belong to one stage. Others span. The rule:

**Assign to the stage where the move's primary measurable impact lands.**

Examples:
- "Rewrite App Store listing in voice" — spans Acquisition (organic discovery) and Activation (threshold to trial). Primary impact = Activation (trial conversion rate). Assign to Activation, mention crossover.
- "Eye mask Shopify page rewrite" — spans Acquisition (organic search for sleep mask) and Revenue (sale conversion). Primary impact = Revenue (transaction). Assign to Revenue, mention crossover.
- "Alex's LinkedIn cadence" — Acquisition (top of funnel for D2C subscribers).
- "Customer.io Flow 6 (eye mask post-purchase)" — Retention (deepens hardware buyer engagement) with crossover to Activation (hardware → app premium activation path).

When in doubt: where would removing this move hurt the most? Assign there.

## When the AARRR breakdown isn't equal

Section volume is not proof of product-market fit, company stage, or a binding
constraint. Treat it as a drafting signal to verify:

- **Acquisition-heavy:** check qualified demand, source mix, downstream
  conversion, and capacity before calling top-of-funnel the constraint.
- **Activation-heavy:** check event definitions, cohorts, traffic quality, and
  user research before calling conversion broken.
- **Retention-heavy:** reconcile churn/retention definitions, cohort windows,
  product changes, and support evidence.
- **Referral-heavy:** verify loyalty, share behavior, attribution, economics,
  rights, and program capacity.
- **Revenue-heavy:** reconcile listed/effective pricing, margin, retention,
  packaging research, and buyer evidence before diagnosing underpricing.

An even or uneven plan can both be valid. Name the binding constraint only when
dated evidence supports it; otherwise list competing hypotheses and the
smallest approved test that distinguishes them.

## A note on the order of presentation

Choose the presentation order that makes the approved decision easiest to
review. Funnel order (Acquisition → Activation → Retention → Referral → Revenue)
is useful when explaining the system end to end. Priority order is useful when
the audience must decide the next commitment. State the ordering rule, keep
stage labels explicit, and distinguish presentation order from execution order.

# Budget Planning — Traceable Scenario Methods

Marketing budgets need dated inputs, explicit assumptions, accountable approval,
and downside stops. This reference helps build scenarios; it does not provide
financial advice, predict revenue, or prescribe spend from company stage.

Before calculating anything, record the source and as-of date for:

- cash, runway, and approved burn;
- gross margin, ARPC, and retention;
- blended CAC by comparable cohort;
- sales, onboarding, support, and channel capacity;
- committed contracts, payment timing, and cancellation terms.

If an input is missing, show a range and label it `unverified assumption`.
Have the accountable finance owner approve the assumptions, maximum spend,
review date, and stop conditions before any allocation becomes operational.

## Method 1 — Capacity-Based Scenario

**Direction:** approved capacity → outcome range.

Start from the amount the accountable owner has approved within runway and burn
constraints. Model what that capacity could test using measured CAC and funnel
ranges. Do not infer a budget from ARR percentage, funding stage, or a generic
industry benchmark.

### Required inputs

- maximum approved spend and payment schedule;
- downside limit and runway floor;
- measured blended CAC range, cohort, and date;
- funnel and delivery capacity;
- gross-margin and retention ranges;
- review cadence and pause conditions.

Produce low, base, and high cases. For every case, show which assumption creates
the difference. A model that exceeds operational capacity is infeasible even if
the arithmetic works.

## Method 2 — Goal-Based Sensitivity Model

**Direction:** target → implied capacity and spend.

Use this when an accountable owner has already set a target and wants to inspect
what it would require. With sourced inputs:

```text
Scenario spend =
  (New ARR / (ARPC × 12) / annual retention rate) × blended CAC
```

This is a sensitivity model, not a revenue forecast. Run it over sourced ranges,
then test whether sales, onboarding, support, gross margin, and channel capacity
can absorb the implied customer volume. If historical CAC or retention is
missing, the output is not execution-ready.

### Experiment capacity

Do not append a universal buffer percentage. Ask the owner to approve a bounded
test amount the company can lose without breaching runway. Name:

- the hypothesis and decision it informs;
- maximum cash exposure and any vendor commitment;
- success, pause, and stop conditions;
- owner and next review date.

## Calculating Blended CAC

Use a dated cohort and include all acquisition costs attributable to it:

- marketing salaries and loaded employment cost;
- advertising and sponsorship spend;
- content, creative, agency, and contractor cost;
- CRM, automation, analytics, and data tools;
- outbound labor when it serves acquisition.

Divide the included cost by acquired customers in the matching period and
cohort. Document exclusions. Do not substitute plan price for CAC or mix a
short cost window with a longer acquisition window.

## Scenario Evidence Table

| Input | Low | Base | High | Source | As of | Confidence |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---|---|---|
| Approved spend | | | | | | |
| Blended CAC | | | | | | |
| ARPC | | | | | | |
| Annual retention | | | | | | |
| Gross margin | | | | | | |
| Capacity ceiling | | | | | | |

Every number in the plan must trace to this table or be explicitly labeled as
an illustrative assumption.

## Reality Check

- Annual targets are decision scenarios, not promises.
- Month-by-month projections are illustrative unless backed by a mature,
  validated forecasting process.
- Update the model when actual CAC, retention, capacity, or cash changes.
- Never initiate spend, sign a contract, change billing, or publish a target
  without the accountable owner's explicit approval.

## How This Flows Into the Plan

| Section | What to include |
|---|---|
| **3 (Current state)** | Dated current spend, cash/runway boundary, owners, and known data gaps. |
| **8 (Revenue)** | The source-backed scenario evidence table and sensitivity range. |
| **10 (12-month outlook)** | Low/base/high scenarios, capacity checks, downside stops, and approval state. |
| **11 (Ops stack)** | Approved allocation by workflow and owner; no stage-derived defaults. |
| **13 (Open decisions)** | Missing or contested inputs and the smallest test that resolves each one. |

Choose the method from evidence availability and the decision being made, not
from company stage.

# Client Types — Evidence Questions by Business Model

The 13-section plan structure stays consistent across client types. Use the
closest archetype to generate questions and risks, never to assume channels,
spend, cadence, staffing, conversion behavior, or performance.

Before adopting any candidate, record:

- the dated client source, cohort/window, and metric definition;
- the observed constraint and plausible alternative explanations;
- unit economics, delivery capacity, dependencies, and data-quality limits;
- the owner, authorization state, maximum exposure, review date, and stop rule;
- applicable privacy, consent, claims, rights, platform, and legal gates.

If these inputs are missing, keep the candidate `Conditional` or `Deferred`.

## Archetype 1 — B2B SaaS

### Model questions

- Which offers and cohorts are subscription, usage-based, transactional, or
  services-assisted?
- What current contract-value distribution, margin, retention, and sales-cycle
  evidence exists by offer and segment?
- When are buyer, champion, administrator, and user different people?
- Which tiers are self-serve, sales-assisted, partner-assisted, or mixed?

### AARRR candidates to test

- **Acquisition:** Does search, content, professional social, outbound, events,
  partners, or paid media have verified buyer intent and a measurable path to a
  qualified opportunity?
- **Activation:** What current event represents value for each offer: signup,
  trial action, demo, proof of concept, implementation, or another milestone?
- **Retention:** Which cohort evidence supports product-adoption, customer
  success, education, or lifecycle hypotheses?
- **Referral:** Is advocacy, review, integration, partner, or champion behavior
  already observed and attributable?
- **Revenue:** Do expansion, seats, usage, packaging, or service changes fit
  current willingness-to-pay, margin, retention, and delivery evidence?

### Suede routes to consider

`suede-customer-research`, `suede-product-marketing`,
`suede-sales-enablement`, `suede-cold-email`, `suede-content-strategy`,
`suede-programmatic-seo`, `suede-emails`, `suede-pricing`,
`suede-referrals`, and `suede-ads`.

Route only after the candidate's evidence and authority gates pass.

## Archetype 2 — Consumer App

### Model questions

- What are realized price, margin, platform fees, refund rate, retention, and
  lifetime value by current cohort?
- Which store, web, referral, partner, creator, or paid sources contribute
  qualified installs or purchases under the agreed attribution window?
- Which consented events define discovery, install, first value, purchase,
  renewal, cancellation, and return?
- Which user research defines an acceptable time-to-value range?

### AARRR candidates to test

- **Acquisition:** Does store-search, organic social, creator, PR, partner,
  referral, or paid evidence justify a bounded test?
- **Activation:** Which measured friction supports an onboarding, store-page,
  trial, paywall, or first-session hypothesis?
- **Retention:** Which behavior and consent evidence supports email, push,
  in-app, preference-center, or win-back work?
- **Referral:** Is there a natural, observed share-after-value moment with
  workable rights, incentives, and attribution?
- **Revenue:** Does cohort evidence support testing term length, tiers,
  packaging, or an upsell without assuming an annual-plan default?

### Suede routes to consider

`suede-aso`, `suede-onboarding`, `suede-signup`, `suede-paywalls`,
`suede-emails`, `suede-referrals`, `suede-pricing`, `suede-ad-creative`, and
`suede-ads`.

## Archetype 3 — Hybrid Hardware and Software

### Model questions

- What are current contribution margin, return rate, attach rate, software
  retention, support load, and blended acquisition cost by cohort?
- Is hardware functioning as discovery, initial revenue, activation, retention,
  or none of those for the measured cohort?
- Can the team trace commerce purchase, setup, account creation, software value,
  renewal, and support events without unsafe identity joins?
- Which retail, marketplace, direct, partner, or owned surfaces are authorized
  and measurable?

### AARRR candidates to test

- **Acquisition:** Which commerce or audience surface has a sourced discovery
  or conversion constraint?
- **Activation:** Is the measured loss in unboxing, setup, account linking,
  software onboarding, or first value?
- **Retention:** Which post-purchase, support, companion-product, or community
  hypothesis follows from cohort and research evidence?
- **Referral:** Are gifting, reviews, or sharing already observed, and are
  consent, rights, incentives, and attribution workable?
- **Revenue:** Does sourced margin and retention evidence support a bundle,
  accessory, service, or subscription test?

### Suede routes to consider

`suede-customer-research`, `suede-onboarding`, `suede-emails`,
`suede-referrals`, `suede-pricing`, `suede-seo-audit`, `suede-ads`, and
`suede-ad-creative`.

## Archetype 4 — Marketplace

### Model questions

- Which distinct supply and demand cohorts exist, and what defines a qualified
  participant on each side?
- What current evidence describes liquidity, time-to-match, fulfillment,
  repeat behavior, take rate, margin, and concentration by market?
- Which side, segment, geography, or category is the measured constraint?
- What trust, safety, legal, identity, support, and fraud controls constrain a
  test?

### AARRR candidates to test

- **Acquisition:** For each side, which search, content, outreach, partner,
  referral, or paid hypothesis has audience evidence and follow-up capacity?
- **Activation:** What first listing, response, match, booking, purchase, or
  completion event predicts value for each side?
- **Retention:** Which cohort evidence supports frequency, utilization,
  reactivation, or quality hypotheses?
- **Referral:** Is same-side or cross-side referral behavior observed and
  economically safe to encourage?
- **Revenue:** Do take-rate, fee, subscription, lead, or premium-service
  hypotheses fit current margin, elasticity, and liquidity evidence?

### Suede routes to consider

`suede-customer-research`, `suede-cold-email`, `suede-programmatic-seo`,
`suede-onboarding`, `suede-emails`, `suede-referrals`, and `suede-pricing`.

## Archetype 5 — Developer Tool or Open Source

### Model questions

- Who is the current user, technical evaluator, economic buyer, security
  reviewer, administrator, and procurement owner?
- Which repository, package, documentation, community, support, product, and
  billing events can be measured with appropriate permissions?
- What current research and telemetry define first technical value rather than
  assuming a universal time-to-value threshold?
- Which project, team, organization, and account grains can be reconciled
  without double counting?

### AARRR candidates to test

- **Acquisition:** Does documentation search, package discovery, community,
  technical content, events, partners, or outbound evidence reveal qualified
  demand?
- **Activation:** Which build, integration, deployment, collaboration, or
  production event predicts value for a defined cohort?
- **Retention:** Does depth, frequency, project continuity, team adoption, or
  support evidence identify the constraint?
- **Referral:** Are repository, forum, community, team-invite, or talk
  behaviors meaningful and attributable for the target cohort?
- **Revenue:** Do usage, team, enterprise, support, or service hypotheses fit
  current willingness-to-pay, delivery, security, and procurement evidence?

### Suede routes to consider

`suede-customer-research`, `suede-product-marketing`,
`suede-content-strategy`, `suede-programmatic-seo`,
`suede-sales-enablement`, `suede-cold-email`, `suede-onboarding`, and
`suede-pricing`.

## Archetype 6 — Scientific, Clinical, or Regulated

### Model questions

- Which claims, evidence grades, qualified reviewers, regulatory regimes,
  ethics rules, and approval paths govern each audience and geography?
- Who is the user, beneficiary, buyer, approver, practitioner, and institutional
  stakeholder?
- What current procurement, pilot, implementation, outcome, renewal, and
  publication evidence exists by cohort?
- Which data, consent, privacy, safety, adverse-event, and records controls
  constrain research and marketing?

### AARRR candidates to test

- **Acquisition:** Does peer-reviewed publication, education, conference,
  referral, partner, PR, or direct outreach fit the evidence and claims gate?
- **Activation:** Is an approved pilot, proof of concept, training, or
  implementation step the current value event?
- **Retention:** Which outcome, workflow, support, education, or community
  evidence supports continued adoption?
- **Referral:** Are references, panels, case studies, or publications
  consented, representative, and approved?
- **Revenue:** Do pilot expansion, institutional terms, services, support, or
  certification hypotheses fit procurement, margin, and delivery evidence?

### Suede routes to consider

`suede-customer-research`, `suede-product-marketing`,
`suede-sales-enablement`, `suede-public-relations`, `suede-cold-email`,
`suede-pricing`, and `suede-emails`.

## Archetype 7 — Transactional Commerce

### Model questions

- What are realized order value, contribution margin, repeat rate, return rate,
  fulfillment capacity, inventory risk, and lifetime value by cohort?
- Which storefront, marketplace, retail, search, social, creator, referral, or
  paid sources produce incremental qualified purchases?
- Which consented events cover view, cart, checkout, purchase, fulfillment,
  return, repeat purchase, and support?
- What rights, disclosure, claims, inventory, shipping, and support constraints
  bound each test?

### AARRR candidates to test

- **Acquisition:** Which channel has current audience, intent, margin,
  incrementality, creative, tracking, and capacity evidence?
- **Activation:** Does a defined cohort show friction in product evaluation,
  cart, checkout, trust, shipping, or payment?
- **Retention:** Which post-purchase, replenishment, loyalty, email, SMS, or
  support hypothesis follows from observed repeat behavior and consent?
- **Referral:** Are reviews, user content, gifting, or refer-a-friend behaviors
  observed and rights-compliant?
- **Revenue:** Do bundles, upsells, pricing, or subscription candidates fit
  current margin, return, repeat, inventory, and fulfillment evidence?

### Suede routes to consider

`suede-customer-research`, `suede-emails`, `suede-sms`, `suede-referrals`,
`suede-pricing`, `suede-seo-audit`, `suede-ad-creative`, and `suede-ads`.

## How to use this reference

1. Select one or more candidate archetypes from the verified revenue and
   operating model.
2. Copy only the questions that help diagnose the current client.
3. Cite current client or cohort evidence for every conclusion.
4. Convert a candidate into `Approved test` only when its owner, authority,
   maximum exposure, review date, and stop condition are explicit.
5. Record deviations for hybrids; evaluate each revenue path and constraint
   separately.

For a business not represented here, start with the model, actors, value event,
economics, funnel evidence, constraints, and authority. Do not force-fit an
archetype or borrow its channel assumptions.

# Current State Rubric — 17-Section Scoring Lens

This 17-section rubric is the source of truth for Section 3 ("Current State") of every marketing plan. Score each section 0–5 from available materials, then write a 2–4 sentence "shape interpretation" that names where strengths and gaps cluster.

## How to score

**From rich materials.** When the team has shared decks, prior content audits,
a brand voice doc, kickoff transcript, app store and analytics snapshots, score
only what those artifacts currently support. Mark the source, capture date,
client or cohort scope, and metric definition beside every score.

**From a separately scored audit.** Treat a prior assessment as an evidence
input, not automatic ground truth. Record its date and scope, verify that its
underlying sources and definitions still match the current client state, and
rescore or mark unknown where they do not.

**Evidence gate for every score.** A score of 0, 2, 4, 5, or any intermediate
value requires a current, client-specific source or a clearly identified cohort
source that matches the client context. Record:

- source and capture date;
- client, surface, segment, and cohort/window;
- metric or judgment definition;
- observed evidence and counterevidence;
- confidence and unresolved data-quality limits.

Use `Unknown — evidence required` rather than converting missing access,
intentional inactivity, company stage, or an external benchmark into a numeric
score. Do not include unknown sections in the denominator. The score-guide
language below describes evidence states; it never substitutes for cited
client or cohort evidence.

The output is a 17-row table with evidence citations, a denominator that
reflects scored sections, and a shape paragraph that distinguishes facts from
hypotheses.

## The 17 sections (scored 0–5 each)

### 1. Positioning
**What's scored:** Clarity of category claim, differentiation, alignment across surfaces (homepage, app store, pitch deck, founder messaging).

**Score guide:**
- 0 = No positioning anywhere
- 2 = Inconsistent across surfaces; team can't articulate it on demand
- 4 = Clear, original, mostly consistent; minor surface gaps
- 5 = Distinctive, category-defining, every surface aligned

**Maps to AARRR:** Cross-cutting — feeds every stage.

### 2. Customer research
**What's scored:** Depth and recency of customer research, ICP clarity, voice-of-customer capture.

**Score guide:**
- 0 = No formal research, only founder intuition
- 2 = Some research but stale or one-off
- 4 = Active research practice, customer language captured
- 5 = Continuous research, customer language flows into copy / product / messaging

**Maps to AARRR:** Cross-cutting — feeds especially Acquisition (channel choice) and Activation (onboarding voice).

### 3. Homepage
**What's scored:** Headline clarity, voice alignment, conversion architecture, mobile experience.

**Score guide:**
- 0 = Generic / broken / off-brand
- 2 = Functional but underperforming; voice mostly absent
- 4 = Clear, voice-aligned, converting; minor optimization opportunities
- 5 = Distinctive, converts strongly, fully voice-aligned

**Maps to AARRR:** Acquisition + Activation.

### 4. Sales / product pages
**What's scored:** Existence and quality of dedicated product / pricing / feature pages. Are SKUs documented? Is pricing scannable? Are upsells visible?

**Score guide:**
- 0 = No dedicated pages
- 2 = Pages exist but are stale or off-voice
- 4 = Quality pages for primary products; gaps on secondary
- 5 = Every product, tier, and upsell has a high-converting page

**Maps to AARRR:** Acquisition + Revenue.

### 5. Conversion pages
**What's scored:** Landing pages for specific campaigns, channels, or use cases. `/partner`, `/science`, `/ambassadors`, `/eye-mask` types of pages.

**Score guide:**
- 0 = No conversion pages
- 2 = One or two exist; rest of needed pages missing
- 4 = Most needed conversion pages exist; quality is good
- 5 = Full conversion page library, each high-converting

**Maps to AARRR:** Acquisition + Activation.

### 6. Competitor comparison
**What's scored:** Existence of "vs. {competitor}" pages, comparison content. Does the brand acknowledge alternatives, or pretend they don't exist?

**Score guide:**
- 0 = Nothing — actively avoiding competitor mentions
- 2 = Some content exists but is weak or hidden
- 4 = Solid comparison pages for top 2–3 competitors
- 5 = Comprehensive comparison library; SEO-targeted; high-converting

**Maps to AARRR:** Acquisition (consideration-stage SEO + sales enablement).

### 7. Resources / content
**What's scored:** Blog, knowledge base, science page, whitepapers, research, founder essays, podcast.

**Score guide:**
- 0 = No content surface
- 2 = Blog exists but is stale or thin
- 4 = Active content production; multiple formats
- 5 = Content is a moat — proprietary research, named pillars, daily volume

**Maps to AARRR:** Acquisition.

### 8. Onboarding
**What's scored:** New user onboarding (in-app + email). Time-to-value, completion rate, brand-voice alignment.

**Score guide:**
- 0 = No onboarding flow
- 2 = Onboarding exists but is broken, off-voice, or underperforming
- 4 = Solid onboarding; clear bottlenecks identified
- 5 = Instrumented and tested against a dated client baseline; the
  pre-registered decision rule is met; brand review is recorded

**Maps to AARRR:** Activation.

### 9. Email lifecycle
**What's scored:** Existence and quality of lifecycle email programs. Welcome / onboarding / post-purchase / lapsed / win-back.

**Score guide:**
- 0 = No lifecycle email
- 2 = Some flows exist but drafted not live, or live but stale
- 4 = Core flows live and performing; gaps on secondary flows
- 5 = Required lifecycle coverage is live and segmented; performance is traced
  to dated cohort baselines or a cited, cohort-matched external comparator

**Maps to AARRR:** Retention (+ Activation for onboarding emails).

### 10. Sales material
**What's scored:** Sales decks, one-pagers, demos, case studies, pricing sheets. (For B2B / hybrid companies — for pure D2C, this can be marked N/A or scored low without implication.)

**Score guide:**
- 0 = No sales material
- 2 = Founder uses a deck but other material is thin
- 4 = Solid sales kit; reps can self-serve content
- 5 = Required material is complete, versioned to the current offer, accessible
  to its owners, and includes evidence-backed objection handling

**Maps to AARRR:** Acquisition + Revenue (B2B).

### 11. Messaging
**What's scored:** Voice, tone, vocabulary, message hierarchy across surfaces. Is the brand voice documented, consistent, distinctive?

**Score guide:**
- 0 = No voice documented; surfaces inconsistent
- 2 = Voice exists in founder's head but isn't operationalized
- 4 = Documented voice; mostly consistent across surfaces
- 5 = Distinctive voice; documented; every surface respects it; voice is a moat

**Maps to AARRR:** Cross-cutting.

### 12. Pricing
**What's scored:** Pricing structure clarity, packaging logic, recent pressure-testing, listed vs. effective price reconciliation.

**Score guide:**
- 0 = Current client sources show no reconciled pricing or packaging decision
  record and no usable realized-price evidence
- 2 = Dated listed and realized prices exist, but plan mix, discounting,
  margin, retention, or cohort definitions remain unreconciled
- 4 = Current client and cohort evidence supports the pricing logic, unit
  economics, and latest approved test or review decision
- 5 = Pricing/packaging decisions have current evidence, an approved testing or
  review cadence, reconciled effective prices, and documented expansion options

**Maps to AARRR:** Revenue.

### 13. CRO (conversion rate optimization)
**What's scored:** Test cadence, instrumentation, A/B history, statistical rigor.

**Score guide:**
- 0 = No tests run; no instrumentation
- 2 = Some ad-hoc tests; no statistical rigor
- 4 = Regular test cadence; some wins
- 5 = Continuous testing program; experimentation culture; documented wins

**Maps to AARRR:** Cross-cutting (most impactful at Activation + Revenue).

### 14. GTM launches
**What's scored:** Quality of past launch executions. Product launches, feature launches, campaign launches.

**Score guide:**
- 0 = No structured launches; "soft launches" only
- 2 = Some launches but uneven execution
- 4 = Solid recent launches; playbook exists
- 5 = Repeatable launch workflow with owners, evidence, readbacks, and
  post-launch decisions documented across multiple launches

**Maps to AARRR:** Acquisition + Activation.

### 15. Ads (paid)
**What's scored:** Paid acquisition state. Active campaigns, channels, CAC tracking, creative quality.

**Score guide:**
- 0 = No paid acquisition
- 2 = Some paid but unstructured / wasteful
- 4 = At least one measured paid workflow meets the company's approved
  economics and guardrails; remaining constraints are documented
- 5 = Paid decisions reconcile CAC, margin, retention, attribution, creative,
  owner capacity, and stop conditions from dated sources

**Maps to AARRR:** Acquisition.

**Note:** When paid acquisition is intentionally out of scope, mark this `N/A`
or `0 — intentionally inactive` and explain the verified budget, evidence,
capacity, or strategy constraint. Do not infer the interpretation from funding
stage.

### 16. SEO
**What's scored:** Organic search performance. Domain rating, ranking keywords, organic traffic, content cluster strategy.

**Score guide:**
- 0 = No SEO; new domain or zero-authority
- 2 = Some content but no strategy; ranks for brand only
- 4 = Tracked content clusters show source-backed organic progress against the
  client's dated baseline; known gaps have owners
- 5 = Search contributes durable, measured value across priority queries and
  conversion paths, with current technical/content operations and review rules

**Maps to AARRR:** Acquisition.

### 17. Internationalization
**What's scored:** Geographic expansion, language localization, region-specific pricing.

**Score guide:**
- 0 = US/EN only; no international consideration
- 2 = International users exist but aren't served (one language, one currency)
- 4 = Multi-language, region-specific pricing, GTM playbook for new markets
- 5 = International is a strength; multi-region revenue; localized GTM

**Maps to AARRR:** Acquisition.

**Note:** If internationalization is outside the verified market strategy, mark
it `N/A` or score the current evidence without penalty. Company age, ARR, or
funding stage does not determine the score.

## How to compute the scored result + read the shape

**Scored result = sum of known scores / (5 × number of known sections).**
Report unknown sections separately; use `/85` only when all 17 evidence gates
pass.

The total matters less than the *shape*. After the scoring table, write a 2–4 sentence "shape interpretation":

> *"High in {strong sections}, low in {weak sections}. That shape is the gap the rest of the plan closes — Sections X (AARRR stage) is the longest because that's where the gap is widest."*

## Candidate shapes to investigate

### "Strong voice / messaging, weak distribution"
- High: Positioning (#1), Customer research (#2), Messaging (#11)
- Low: SEO (#16), Ads (#15), GTM launches (#14)
- Hypothesis to test: messaging evidence is stronger than measured qualified
  distribution. Reconcile source quality, demand, downstream conversion,
  economics, capacity, and intentionally inactive channels before prioritizing
  an acquisition test. Low paid activity is not evidence that paid should start.

### "Strong acquisition, weak conversion"
- High: SEO (#16), Resources (#7), Ads (#15)
- Low: Homepage (#3), Onboarding (#8), Conversion pages (#5), Pricing (#12)
- Hypothesis to test: qualified traffic reaches the funnel but a defined cohort
  loses value before activation or purchase. Reconcile traffic quality, event
  definitions, cohort windows, research, and pricing before selecting a test.

### "Strong conversion, weak retention"
- High: Onboarding (#8), Homepage (#3), Pricing (#12)
- Low: Email lifecycle (#9), CRO (#13)
- Hypothesis to test: a comparable activated or paying cohort does not retain.
  Reconcile cohort definitions, product changes, expected behavior, support
  evidence, and margin before prioritizing retention work.

### "Strong product, weak everything-else"
- High: only Positioning (#1) and Customer research (#2) — the founder knows the customer
- Low: everything operational
- Hypothesis to test: current sources support customer understanding but not the
  operating surfaces needed for an approved test. Identify the smallest
  evidence or infrastructure gap; do not infer a quarter, channel, or spend.

### "Strong recent revenue, weak compounding"
- High: Ads (#15), Sales material (#10), Pricing (#12)
- Low: SEO (#16), Resources (#7), Referral mechanics
- Hypothesis to test: current revenue is concentrated in a measured paid or
  sales workflow while compounding candidates remain unproven. Verify
  incrementality, margin, retention, attribution, owner capacity, and approved
  exposure before expanding, holding, or reallocating.

## When scores are subjective

Some sections are easier to score from outside than others. Subjectivity tier:

- **Objective (data-driven):** SEO (#16), Ads (#15), Email lifecycle (#9), Onboarding (#8) — backed by analytics
- **Semi-objective:** Pricing (#12), CRO (#13), Conversion pages (#5), Sales material (#10) — visible artifacts to evaluate
- **Subjective (judgment call):** Positioning (#1), Messaging (#11), Customer research (#2), Resources (#7) — interpretive

For subjective sections, write the rationale into the "Note" column so the team can push back if they disagree.

## When a prior scored audit exists

If the team already has scored output from a current-state assessment, preserve
it as dated evidence. Reuse a score only when its source, scope, cohort/window,
and definition still match the current client state. Otherwise mark the row
unknown or rescore from current evidence, and document what changed.

# Example — Quietude Marketing Plan v1

**This is an illustrative structure example for the `/suede-marketing-plan`
skill.** Names, domains, identifying details, numbers, budgets, and outcomes are
teaching assumptions. They are not verified current client facts, benchmarks,
forecasts, or reusable recommendations.

Use it to inspect document structure and evidence-label placement only. A real
plan must replace every client fact, threshold, channel, tool, owner, amount,
date, and decision rule with current sourced evidence and explicit authority.

**Quietude's archetype:** Hybrid hardware + software with deep-tech / clinical credibility layer. See `references/client-types.md` for archetype patterns.

**Resource context in this illustrative scenario:** no paid budget is approved;
organic, lifecycle, and ambassador work is limited to the named owners'
capacity. All amounts and outcomes below are teaching assumptions, not
benchmarks or recommendations. A real plan must replace them with dated client
evidence and approval.

**What was strong about this plan:**
- Strategic frame (Section 2) leaned on the founder's own meditation-vs-regulation framing as the content pillar
- Current state (Section 3) included the 17-section audit rubric scored against existing materials (no formal audit run)
- 90-day roadmap (Section 9) had owner-assigned moves, not just actions
- Ops stack (Section 11) included a concrete operational example recorded in the client materials (a Customer.io workflow drafted during kickoff and held for human review)
- Tactical idea bank (Section 12) illustrates client-specific status notes. It
  is a dated subset, not the canonical inventory or count; use
  `idea-cross-reference.md` for current mapping.

---

# Quietude — Marketing Plan v1

**Prepared by:** Casey Reed (fCMO)
**For:** Alex, Sam, and the Quietude team
**Date:** 2026-05-27
**Status:** Draft v1 — for team review

## 1. Executive summary

This scenario hypothesizes that Quietude can convert existing organic demand
into a measurable funnel. Paid acquisition remains a conditional option: a
financing event alone does not unlock it. Current audience, economics, tracking,
creative capacity, accountable approval, maximum exposure, review date, and
stop conditions must all be verified.

**Three big bets, ranked by leverage:**

1. **Fix the leak before pouring water in.** The Day 1 → Day 35 funnel shape (1.34% → 5.46%) tells us the product converts given time and contact. What it's missing is a working first-session moment (the headphone gate is killing conversion) and a lifecycle layer to deliver the contact. These two pieces — onboarding rebuild and Customer.io flows shipped — are the unlock for everything else.
2. **Compound the moats Quietude already has.** Peer-reviewed clinical study, longevity-influencer PR, 15K live event participants, Alex's founder voice — these are link generators, content pillars, and credibility anchors that most wellness brands would kill for. They're under-leveraged. SEO, content, and App Store optimization translate them into search and discovery surface area.
3. **Build the founder-and-fCMO operating system that gives a 4-person team repeatable execution.** The public Suede skill pack coordinates verified workflows across Customer.io, Shopify, App Store, Stripe, and GitHub when those integrations are available, while named human owners retain approval for publishing, spend, and production changes.

**What twelve months looks like, plausibly:**

- App goes from beta to GA. Onboarding converts at meaningful lift over today's baseline.
- 4 SEO content pillars staked, with Pillar 1 (Nervous System Regulation) and Pillar 2 (Sleep + Eye Mask) ranking on Tier-1 keywords.
- Full lifecycle live in Customer.io: onboarding, lapsed re-engagement, hardware post-purchase, subscription-center opt-ins.
- Ambassador program live with 15–25 active hosts. First Quietude Guides cert pilot run.
- Eye mask wedge selling at scale via Shopify with a clean hardware → app activation path. Blended CAC measured and tracked.
- A paid test appears only if the accountable owner approves a source-backed
  channel, maximum exposure, tracking gate, review date, and stop rule.
- Series A narrative writes itself: clinical evidence + activation lift + lifecycle compounding + first B2B install reference cases.

**The 90-day priorities** (which the rest of this doc operationalizes):

1. Kill the headphones gate. Ship the bedrock fix this week.
2. Run the three-variant onboarding test. Find the activation winner.
3. Ship Customer.io Flows 6 (eye mask post-purchase) and 4 (lapsed user) — hold Flow 2 (onboarding) until app UI stabilizes.
4. Rewrite the App Store listing in Quietude's brand voice. Highest-leverage non-site asset right now.
5. Stake the SEO foundation: consolidate to `quietude.app`, publish Pillar 1 hub + 3 spokes, publish the peer-reviewed psychophysiology study landing page.
6. Launch the ambassador program with the ~5 inbound waiting.

Everything else compounds on top of those six.

---

## 2. Strategic frame

This section distills positioning, ICP, and brand voice into what the team needs to keep in mind while executing. Full detail lives in `marketing-os.md`, `icp.md`, and `sound-philosophy.md`.

### What Quietude is, in one sentence

A nervous system intelligence platform — clinically validated spatial audio + AI reflection companion (Mira) + hardware + venue installations + practitioner network. *"We start with sound. We expand to every sense. We end with cities."*

### The category we're claiming (and defending)

Quietude doesn't fit the meditation app category, the focus audio category, or the sleep tech category. The brand makes a stronger claim: **bottom-up nervous system regulation through spatial audio**, with clinical evidence as proof and somatic credibility as defense.

The category-defining frame, per Alex (2026-05-19): **Meditation is top-down. Quietude is bottom-up.** Meditation uses the mind to command the body — mental kung fu that fails the very people most likely to need help, because the prefrontal cortex is offline when stressed. Quietude enters through the brainstem, before the thinking mind. The body responds before it has to try. (Full content-pillar treatment in `meditation-vs-regulation.md`.)

This is the single most important strategic message. It belongs in App Store copy, onboarding, lifecycle email, SEO content, ambassador talking points, and the seed deck.

### Who we're for (D2C ICP, distilled)

Overstimulated high-achieving professionals, 25–45, urban (Bay Area, NYC, London, Berlin, Austin). Tech workers, founders, creators, academics, designers, consultants. Often neurodivergent (ADHD, HSP, gifted). Sophisticated wellness buyers — already invested heavily in their inner life.

**Their stated problem:** *"I can't shut my brain off. I've tried meditation apps. They don't work."*

**Their real problem:** Overstimulation, not under-motivation. Their gift (quick thinking) became a curse. They need permission to stop optimizing — including their rest.

**What they're actually buying:** the *feeling* of stability, sensory indulgence, beautiful rituals, effortless effectiveness, a luxurious shortcut to the genius they can't access in chaos.

### The business model logic (per seed deck)

**B2B seeds the market. D2C harvests.** A venue install puts Quietude in front of ~20K people/year at ~$17K cost → 5% convert to subs → ~$430K/year per venue. Six compound channels (referral, Guides, content, home hosting, PR, community) make CAC approach zero by Year 3. Year 5: 75% of new subs come from near-zero-cost channels.

**fCMO scope per kickoff: D2C-led.** Alex owns B2B sales through events/network/founder credibility. The fCMO leverage is on the app/hardware D2C side. This plan reflects that split — B2B is acknowledged as the harvest engine but not treated as primary work surface.

### Brand voice (the non-negotiable)

Per Marketing OS:
- **Tone.** Authoritative yet accessible. Intimate yet professional. Revolutionary yet grounded. Authority comes from lived experience, not explanation.
- **Speak from the body, not the mind.** Every sentence restores somatic safety and orientation. Language opens space rather than closing meaning.
- **YES vocabulary:** Aliveness, inner life, nervous system, spatial sound, resonance, somatic safety, embodied clarity, natural rhythm, orientation, initiation, truth-telling.
- **NO vocabulary:** Zen, chill, vibes, "high-vibe," spiritual bypass, meditation clichés, didactic/explainer language, "let me explain why this works."
- **Core method: Initiatory Reflection.** Writing's purpose isn't to explain or convince — it's to shift the reader's internal state. The result should be *"something in me moved,"* not *"I understand this concept."*
- **CTA rule:** Never pressure. "We do not remind. We invite."

This rule constrains every piece of copy across every AARRR stage. When in doubt: rewrite from the body.

---

## 3. Current state

This is what we're starting from — team, budget, what's already in motion, what's stuck, scored against the CF Marketing Audit 17-section rubric.

### Team composition (marketing surface area)

| Person | Role | Marketing surface area |
|---|---|---|
| **Alex** | Co-founder, CEO | Owns: personal LinkedIn, live events, B2B sales, founder narrative, investor relations, brand voice authorship |
| **Sam** | Co-founder, CXO | Owns: clinical/somatic credibility, brand-voice stewardship, somatic angle on copy review, practitioner network |
| **Devon** | Lead Dev | Owns: product/UI build, instrumentation, Customer.io event wiring, App Store deployment |
| **Ed Dorsey** | Design Advisor | Advisory cadence (ex-Apple/Airbnb/Strava) |
| **Emily Babich** | Creative Strategy | Advisory cadence |
| **Matt Mikkelsen** | Field Recording | Audio library, not marketing |
| **Casey Reed** | fCMO | Strategy, lifecycle, SEO, onboarding tests, content, ambassador program, ops stack |

**No dedicated marketing hire in this scenario.** Treat lifecycle, content,
and ambassador ownership as capability gaps to evidence. Compare reassignment,
deferral, automation, contractor, agency, and employee options by workload,
capacity, access, risk, total cost, duration, and handoff. A financing event
does not choose a hire or title.

### Marketing budget (current)

- **Paid acquisition:** $0. Confirmed by Alex, 2026-05-20: *"D2C UA so far: My personal LinkedIn posts, live Quietude events, organic word of mouth, and organic app store discovery."* No paid layer.
- **Tooling stack:** Customer.io subscription, Shopify (eye mask storefront), App Store Connect, GA4 (or pending), Stripe, Notion, Dub.co (ambassador attribution). Estimate ~$500–1,500/mo combined.
- **fCMO retainer:** Casey Reed engagement.
- **PR:** No paid PR. Organic longevity-influencer tailwind, consumer-tech angels + foundation-model lab network.

**Implication:** The 90-day plan may include only work with a verified owner,
capacity, dependencies, and approval. The zero approved paid budget excludes
paid execution; it does not automatically prioritize organic, lifecycle, or
product work without separate evidence.

### What's already done (acknowledge, then build on)

| Asset | Status | Marketing leverage |
|---|---|---|
| Peer-reviewed peer-reviewed psychophysiology study (2025) | Published | Anchor of clinical authority. Most undermarketed asset Quietude owns. |
| longevity-influencer eye-mask endorsement | Live, generating Shopify sales | Press hook. Underused for landing-page social proof. |
| consumer-tech angels + foundation-model lab investment | Closed | Investor PR opportunity. "Why I invested" Substack/Medium pieces. |
| 15K+ live event participants over a decade | Real | Email list potential, ambassador pool, testimonial bank, B2B reference. |
| Quietude eye mask (5K in stock) | Selling | The wedge product. Hardware → app activation path. |
| 38% 12-month retention (vs. category avg 20%) | Real | Headline metric. Belongs everywhere. |
| Customer.io + Shopify integration | Wired | The lifecycle infrastructure exists. Flows just need to ship. |
| 4 GitHub repos for context + product | Historical note; re-verify | `quietude-context`, `quietude-promo`, `quietude-app`, `quietude-api`; no tool availability implied |
| Alex's Sound Philosophy doc | Working doc | Linkable position paper once polished and published. |
| ~5 inbound ambassadors waiting | Inbound | Referral program ready to launch — no demand-gen needed for v1. |
| Aurora B2B install (~€250K, July deadline) | In-flight | First flagship venue. Reference case once installed. |
| Notion Knowledge Directory | Live | Internal context. |
| Customer.io MCP (Claude integration) | Validated on kickoff | Non-technical team can ship flows independently. |

### What's in-flight (drafted but not shipped)

| Item | Status | Blocker |
|---|---|---|
| Flow 2 — App Onboarding (8 emails / 14 days) | Draft | App UI in flux; copy references screens that may change |
| Flow 4 — Lapsed User Re-engagement (5 emails / 38 days) | Draft | None — ship-ready |
| Flow 6 — Eye Mask Post-Purchase | Draft | None — ship-ready |
| Onboarding rebuild (3-variant test plan) | Strategy doc done | Eng scoping + headphone-gate removal |
| SEO 90-day plan + keyword research | Done | Awaiting domain consolidation decision + content production start |

### What's stuck (and needs to unstick this quarter)

| Issue | Cost of inaction | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Headphones hard-gate in onboarding | Confirmed conversion drop post-launch | Kill this week (bedrock fix) |
| 4 domains unconsolidated (quietude.app, quietude.space, quietude.audio, quietude.center) | SEO authority fragmenting, transactional email confusion | Consolidate to `quietude.app` per SEO data |
| App Store listing copy not in brand voice | Highest-traffic Quietude surface; off-brand experience for arriving users | Rewrite in voice (Pillar 1) |
| Domain consolidation requires 301 plan + email sender migration | Risk of traffic loss if mishandled | Plan in weeks 1–2, execute weeks 3–4 |
| `quietude-promo` repo hasn't shipped since March 2026 | Marketing site is stale | Confirm whether it's live; rewrite or replace |
| 29% monthly App Store churn vs. 38% 12-month retention claim | Metric definition mismatch confusing the team | Reconcile with Devon + Customer.io data |
| Mira post-session reflection scope unknown | Blocks Variant B and Variant C onboarding tests | Resolve with Devon |

### Audit rubric snapshot (17-section)

Scored 0–5 from materials, using the embedded rubric in `references/current-state-rubric.md`. Marked "scored from materials" rather than "formal audit" — Alex can push back on any score where they have better data.

| # | Section | Score | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Positioning | **4** | Clear, original category claim. The bottom-up frame is the strongest piece. Needs broader external articulation. |
| 2 | Customer research | **4** | Deep founder-led research, decade of live participants. Could be more systematically captured. |
| 3 | Homepage | **2** | `quietude-promo` hasn't shipped since March. Off-brand voice in places. |
| 4 | Sales / product pages | **2** | Eye mask page exists on Shopify but isn't optimized for SEO or sales narrative. No app-product landing page in brand voice. |
| 5 | Conversion pages | **2** | `/partner` exists on `quietude.app`. No `/science`, `/eye-mask`, `/ambassadors`, `/guides` pages live. |
| 6 | Competitor comparison | **1** | Nothing exists. Big SEO + sales opportunity (own "Quietude vs. Calm/Headspace/Brain.fm/Endel" SERPs). |
| 7 | Resources / content | **1** | Sound Philosophy not yet public. peer-reviewed psychophysiology study not yet on a dedicated page. No blog. |
| 8 | Onboarding | **2** | Headphones gate killing conversion. Hold-and-fix project this quarter. |
| 9 | Email lifecycle | **1** | All three flows drafted, none live. Ship-order set. |
| 10 | Sales material | **3** | Seed deck is strong (investor-facing). B2B sales material more founder-led than asset-led. |
| 11 | Messaging | **5** | Alex + Sam have authored the most distinctive brand voice in the wellness category. This is a moat. |
| 12 | Pricing | **3** | $30/mo app, $45 eye mask, $7,500 speakers, $50–200K B2B. Hasn't been pressure-tested for D2C conversion lift. |
| 13 | CRO | **2** | App Store conversion rate trackable but no A/B history. Headphones gate is the obvious first test removal. |
| 14 | GTM / launches | **2** | App in throttled beta. Major launches (eye mask, Mira public) haven't had structured GTM. |
| 15 | Ads | **0** | No approved paid test in this scenario; future status depends on evidence, capacity, and authority. |
| 16 | SEO | **1** | Current state: 7 organic visits/mo. Plan exists; execution not yet started. |
| 17 | Internationalization | **1** | Finland HQ + global ICP, but EN-only and US-centric copy. Defer until Q4+. |

**Total: 36 / 85 (42%).** The shape matters more than the score: high in Positioning + Messaging + Customer research, low in Conversion pages + Email lifecycle + SEO + Resources + Ads. That's the gap this plan closes.

---

## 4. Acquisition

> *"How do strangers become aware of Quietude?"*

### Current state

100% organic. Four real channels: Alex's personal LinkedIn, live Quietude events, organic word of mouth, organic App Store discovery. Plus passive PR drag from longevity-influencer endorsement + clinical study.

This is good news, not bad. Every dollar of revenue earned to date has been earned without paid acquisition. The bar to exceed it isn't high; the upside on top of an organic base is significant.

### The plan

**Channel 1 — SEO (primary 90-day investment).**
The full 90-day plan lives in `seo/plan.md`. Summary: consolidate to `quietude.app`, target three asymmetric clusters (nervous-system regulation KD 14–32, weighted/blackout sleep mask KD 6–30, WELL + social-wellness-club B2B KD 5–34), publish 4 content pillars. 90-day target: 500–1,500 organic visits/mo, 80+ ranking keywords. 12-month target: 10,000/mo, 1,000+ keywords.

**Channel 2 — App Store optimization (highest-leverage non-site asset).**
The App Store listing is currently the most-visited Quietude URL by Apple's algorithm. Fixing the copy is higher-leverage this quarter than fixing the marketing site. Rewrite in brand voice. Add the meditation-vs-regulation framing. Lead with the clinical anchor. Test screenshot variations.

**Channel 3 — Alex's LinkedIn (productize the channel).**
Today it's ad-hoc founder posting. The next move is structured: a 2–3x/week cadence, post categories that map to the content pillars (nervous system, sound science, founder journey, clinical evidence, behind-the-scenes), trackable links via Dub, follower → email subscriber → app install funnel measured. This is Alex's voice — the channel only works if he's the one writing. fCMO + Typefully scheduling makes the cadence sustainable.

**Channel 4 — PR amplification.**
longevity-influencer tailwind is real but underused on owned surfaces. Add a `/notable-users` or `/in-the-press` page. Pitch the peer-reviewed psychophysiology study to 5 outlets (wellness press: Well+Good, MindBodyGreen; tech-adjacent: Wired with the longevity-influencer hook; mainstream: Outside, Forbes Wellness). HARO/Help-A-B2B-Writer responses citing Quietude's data. Investor PR moments ("Why I invested in Quietude" Substack pieces from consumer-tech angels — push for these with backlinks).

**Channel 5 — Event-to-app instrumentation.**
Live events are the highest-converting ICP exposure Quietude has (15K+ participants, decade of trust). They're un-instrumented. Add: per-event QR code → app install + email capture, post-event lifecycle (Customer.io Flow 7?), event ROI tracking. Goal: turn an event from a one-night conversion moment into a 30-day funnel.

**Channel 6 — Eye mask wedge (consumer entry product).**
5K masks in stock. Shopify storefront exists but isn't optimized. Improvements: SEO-optimize the product page (target "weighted sleep mask," "blackout sleep mask," "silk sleep mask"), add reviews via Judge.me (per kickoff decision), 30-day return policy (US-market expectation, per kickoff), build the listicle ("Quietude vs. Manta vs. Nodpod vs. Lumon"). Consider Amazon listing as a v2 distribution play.

**Channel 7 — B2B venue installs (kept lean per kickoff).**
Alex owns this. Marketing supports with: case studies after each install, `/partner` page rewrite in voice (already exists on quietude.app), Pillar 4 content ("The Missing Sound Feature in WELL"), reciprocal links from partner venues baked into contracts.

**Channel 8 — Conditional paid test.**
Do not select a channel or amount from the round label. This scenario requires
dated audience and funnel evidence, reconciled CAC/margin/retention ranges,
tracking readback, creative and follow-up capacity, explicit approval of the
channel and maximum exposure, a review date, and pause/stop conditions. Until
all gates pass, paid remains deferred.

### 90-day acquisition moves

- Weeks 1–2: Domain consolidation decision + 301 plan. App Store listing rewrite first pass.
- Weeks 3–4: Domain 301s executed. GSC migration. SEO Pillar 1 hub drafted.
- Weeks 5–8: Pillar 1 hub + 3 spokes published. Pillar 2 (Eye Mask) hub + listicle published. Alex's LinkedIn cadence operationalized via Typefully. peer-reviewed psychophysiology study lands on dedicated `/science` page.
- Weeks 9–12: Pillar 4 (WELL/B2B) cornerstone published. Sound Philosophy goes public at `/research/sound-philosophy`. First PR push: pitch study + longevity-influencer hook to 5 outlets.

### 12-month acquisition outlook

- Q1 (Months 1–3): Foundation. SEO pillars staked. App Store rewrite shipped. LinkedIn cadence stable. PR push launched.
- Q2 (Months 4–6): Re-read the paid-test evidence and approval gates; run only
  if all pass. Review sourced SEO and reference-case observations.
- Q3 (Months 7–9): Re-evaluate exposure from measured results and operational
  capacity; no automatic scale. Review content and GA evidence.
- Q4 (Months 10–12): Compound channels live. 50+ pieces of pillar content. First Quietude Guides program pilot creating local SEO + earned media.

### Skills + tools

- **Skills:** `suede-seo-audit`, `suede-programmatic-seo`, `suede-content-strategy`, `suede-competitors`, `suede-launch-packaging`, `suede-ads`, `suede-ad-creative`, `suede-social`, `suede-analytics`, `suede-copy`, `suede-site-alchemy`, `suede-free-tools`
- **Optional capabilities to verify:** SEO data, social drafting/scheduling, analytics, exact-repo access, knowledge access, billing readback, browser review, and page extraction. Publishing, installation, spend, and repo mutation require separate explicit approval.

---

## 5. Activation

> *"Once someone tries Quietude, do they have an experience that converts?"*

### Current state

Day 1 → paid: **1.34%**. Day 7 → paid: **3.73%**. Day 35 → paid: **5.46%**. *The funnel shape is the signal.* The ~4× lift over 35 days means the product converts given time and contact — both of which the current onboarding undermines and the lifecycle layer doesn't yet provide.

Caveats: app is in throttled beta. Metrics are noisy. Don't optimize against absolutes; optimize against funnel *shape* and *cohort comparison*.

### The plan

**Move 1 — Kill the headphones hard-gate (bedrock fix, this week).**
Confirmed conversion drop after the gate shipped. The fix isn't better copy on the gate — it's removing the gate. Replace with passive headphone detection + soft single-line nudge. No regret change. Full reasoning in `onboarding-recommendation.md`.

**Move 2 — Run the three-variant onboarding test.**
Three variants, each a pure expression of one belief about what drives activation in this ICP:
- **Variant 1 — Trust First.** Bold promise + clinical anchor + testimonial wall + 1-line mechanism. Tests whether the saturated ICP needs framing before they'll invest.
- **Variant 2 — Seen First.** Multi-step diagnostic → AI-generated "we see you" summary → personalized session. Tests whether being accurately named is the conversion event.
- **Variant 3 — Felt First.** Audio starts on app open. ~15 words on screen. The session IS the onboarding. Tests whether the product can carry it cold.

Test sequence (sequential, ~7 weeks to a winner): bedrock baseline → V3 vs. baseline → winner vs. V1 → winner vs. V2. Full system in `onboarding-recommendation.md`.

**Move 3 — App Store listing rewrite.**
Highest-leverage non-site asset. Rewrite in brand voice. Lead with meditation-vs-regulation. Screenshot variations to test. This is also an Acquisition move (organic discovery) but it lives here because it's the threshold to the trial.

**Move 4 — Customer.io Flow 2 (held until UI stable).**
The 8-email / 14-day onboarding sequence is drafted and on-brand. Holding the ship because the emails reference in-app screens that will change during the onboarding rebuild. Once a winning onboarding variant ships, Flow 2 gets a copy refresh against the final UI and goes live.

**Move 5 — Paywall + pricing review (cross-cuts to Revenue).**
What's the current trial structure? Length, paywall trigger, intro pricing? When the funnel shape is "lift over 35 days," extending trial may convert better than aggressively gating earlier. To be audited in Q1.

### 90-day activation moves

- Week 1: Headphones gate removed. Baseline established.
- Weeks 2–3: Variant 3 (Felt First) prototyped, instrumented, shipped to a test cohort.
- Weeks 4–5: Read Variant 3 vs. baseline. Decide ship/iterate. Begin Variant 1 build.
- Weeks 6–7: Variant 1 (Trust First) live.
- Weeks 8–9: Read V1 vs. winner. Begin Variant 2 build.
- Weeks 10–11: Variant 2 (Seen First) live.
- Week 12: Final read. Winning variant scheduled for permanent ship. Flow 2 unblocked.

### 12-month activation outlook

- Q1: Winning variant identified and shipped.
- Q2: Flow 2 ships. Paywall A/B tests start.
- Q3: GA launch — onboarding re-validated at higher traffic. Cohort segmentation by acquisition source (Shopify/eye-mask vs. direct vs. ambassador vs. paid) starts to drive variant forks.
- Q4: Onboarding is no longer the bottleneck. Focus moves to Activation → Retention transition (sessions 2–7).

### Skills + tools

- **Skills:** `suede-onboarding`, `suede-signup`, `suede-paywalls`, `suede-site-alchemy`, `suede-copy`, `suede-ab-testing`, `suede-marketing-psychology`
- **Optional capabilities to verify:** App Store readback, exact app-repo scope,
  approved design surface, lifecycle read access, and activation analytics. Do
  not assume any browser, design, connector, or mutation capability.

---

## 6. Retention

> *"Once someone converts, do they stay — and deepen?"*

### Current state

**Headline metric (per seed deck): 38% 12-month retention** — nearly double the category average (~20%). This is the strongest single retention signal in the deck and one of the most undermarketed claims Quietude owns.

**App Store snapshot, 2026-05-16:** 145 paid, 42 churned (~29% monthly churn). Definition mismatch with the 38% claim — to reconcile. Possibly: 38% is annual cohort retention (people who paid month 1 and still pay month 12), 29% is gross monthly churn (people who paid this month who didn't pay next month). Both can be true. Need to clarify which metric is reported externally and which is the actual product health signal.

### The plan

**Move 1 — Ship Flow 6 first (Eye Mask Post-Purchase).**
Per kickoff decision and the onboarding-recommendation doc: this is the ship-ready flow. Hardware-anchored, doesn't reference in-app screens, can ship today. Wires the hardware → app activation path (eye mask buyers should get a free 6-month Premium trial — formalize this as part of the flow).

**Move 2 — Ship Flow 4 second (Lapsed User Re-engagement).**
Five emails over 38 days. Language is universal — doesn't depend on app UI state. Ship after Flow 6 is live.

**Move 3 — Hold Flow 2 (Onboarding).**
Eight emails over 14 days. Holds until app UI stabilizes post-onboarding-rebuild. Don't ship copy that will need rewriting in 8 weeks.

**Move 4 — Customer.io subscription center with opt-in topics.**
Per kickoff decision. Topics: events, app updates, somatics & nervous system, eye mask promotions. Users self-segment. Improves deliverability (lower complaint rates) and gives lifecycle a richer segmentation surface.

**Move 5 — Mira post-session reflection (when scoped).**
Most powerful retention move medium-term. After a session, Mira asks *"What did you notice?"* Optional preset chips + free text. Two payoffs: (a) gives Mira priors for personalization on session 2+, (b) reflection responses become a content + segmentation goldmine for the team. Scope question for Devon — does Mira currently support this, or is it new build?

**Move 6 — Hardware → app activation flow.**
The eye mask buyer to Premium subscriber path is hinted in the seed deck (blended CAC via hardware) but isn't visible in the App Store dashboard. Audit the existing flow: does an eye mask Shopify purchase actually deliver a free Premium code? How is it redeemed? What's the conversion rate? This is foundational to the "B2C wedge" thesis.

**Move 7 — Reconcile the retention metric.**
What's the actual definition of "38% 12-month retention"? Cohort? Plan type (monthly vs. annual)? Survives this even if the answer is uncomfortable — the team and investors need to be talking about the same metric.

**Move 8 — Annual-plan default hypothesis (cross-cuts to Revenue).**
Test only if current pricing research, cohort economics, customer impact, legal
review, owner capacity, and explicit approval support it. Pre-register
conversion, retention, refund, complaint, and revenue-recognition guardrails;
the quarter does not supply readiness.

### 90-day retention moves

- Weeks 1–2: Flow 6 (eye mask post-purchase) ships. Address fixes from kickoff review (study link line break, CAN-SPAM footer, founder face-bubble signature, Judge.me reviews).
- Weeks 3–4: Flow 4 (lapsed user re-engagement) ships.
- Weeks 5–6: Customer.io subscription center built and live.
- Weeks 7–8: Hardware → app activation flow audited and documented. Fix any leaks.
- Weeks 9–10: Retention metric reconciliation (with Devon).
- Weeks 11–12: Win-back campaign for churned cohort — test re-activation copy.

### 12-month retention outlook

- Q1: Flows 6 + 4 firing. Subscription center live.
- Q2: Flow 2 ships (post-onboarding-rebuild). Mira post-session reflection in production. Annual plan default tested.
- Q3: GA launch — retention metrics re-baselined at higher volume. Cohort-based lifecycle flows (eye mask vs. direct app install).
- Q4: Full lifecycle compound. Retention is no longer a top-three concern — focus moves to Referral and Revenue.

### Skills + tools

- **Skills:** `suede-emails`, `suede-churn-prevention`, `suede-copy`, `suede-paywalls`, `suede-ab-testing`
- **MCPs / APIs:** **Customer.io MCP** (validated on kickoff — non-technical team can ship flows), Shopify (eye mask buyers as event source), Stripe MCP (subscription state, churn cohort pulls), GA4 MCP (session events, retention curves)

---

## 7. Referral

> *"Do retained users bring more users — and at what cost?"*

### Current state

~5 inbound ambassadors waiting (per kickoff). Dub.co set up. No formal program yet. WOM happens naturally per Alex's UA breakdown.

This is one of the strongest leading indicators in the business: 5 unaffiliated people have raised their hand asking to bring Quietude to their network *before any program exists*. That signal doesn't show up in apps with weaker product-market fit.

### The plan

**Move 1 — Launch the ambassador program with the 5 inbound.**
Tier 1 of the program. Per-ambassador landing pages (e.g., `quietude.app/with/sarah`). Dub.co tracks attribution. Commission structure to determine (per kickoff, $/sub or rev-share TBD). Soft-launch with the 5 — treat as pilot cohort, gather feedback, refine before opening applications.

**Move 2 — Build the share-after-shift moment.**
The Mira post-session reflection (see Retention) is the natural moment to surface a share prompt. After a user reports a felt shift, offer: *"Want to share Quietude with someone who needs this?"* Single-line, never pushy. Most powerful WOM mechanism: gift-a-month flow where the recipient gets a discounted or free intro.

**Move 3 — Founder amplification (Alex + Sam as ambassador-zero).**
Alex mentioning the fCMO engagement in fundraise pitches (permission granted). Reciprocal mentions in fCMO-side content. Sam's clinical network → practitioner ambassador pool.

**Move 4 — Conditional Quietude Guides pilot.**
Treat the deck's scale figures as unverified assumptions. A bounded pilot
requires participant fit, program ownership, training/support capacity, rights,
claims, rev-share economics, maximum exposure, approval, measurement, review
date, and stop conditions. Paid or lifecycle status alone does not unlock it.

**Move 5 — Eye mask gifting flow.**
Hardware referral is rare and powerful. *"Send a friend an Quietude eye mask. They get the mask + a free 3-month Premium. You get a credit toward your next thing."* Holiday/gifting peak windows are the test.

### 90-day referral moves

- Weeks 1–4: Ambassador program scoped, commission structure decided, per-ambassador landing page template built, 5 inbound onboarded.
- Weeks 5–8: First ambassador-driven sales tracked via Dub. Attribution and payout flow validated.
- Weeks 9–12: Open applications for next 10–15 ambassadors. Begin Quietude Guides scoping.

### 12-month referral outlook

- Q1: Ambassador program live with 5–10 active.
- Q2: 15–25 active ambassadors. Share-after-shift moment in production (post-Mira reflection).
- Q3: Guides cert pilot launched (3–5 hosts). Eye mask gifting flow live for holiday peak.
- Q4: 50+ ambassadors + 5–10 Guides. Referral driving 15–25% of new D2C subs.

### Skills + tools

- **Skills:** `suede-referrals`, `suede-social`, `suede-copy`, `suede-site-alchemy` (per-ambassador landing pages)
- **MCPs / APIs:** Dub.co (attribution — already in stack), Stripe MCP (commission accounting + payouts), GitHub MCP (landing page deployment in `quietude-promo` or new `quietude-ambassadors` repo), Customer.io MCP (ambassador lifecycle: onboarding, monthly performance digest, payout notification)

---

## 8. Revenue

> *"What do we charge, who pays, and how does that compound?"*

### Current state

| Product | Price | Volume signal |
|---|---|---|
| Quietude App + Mira | ~$30/mo | 145 paid subs (App Store snapshot 2026-05-16) |
| Quietude Eye Mask | ~$45 | 5K in stock, longevity-influencer PR-driven sales |
| Quietude Audio (speakers) | ~$7,500 | Niche, founder-led |
| Quietude Spaces (B2B install) | $50–200K | Aurora flagship in-flight (~€250K), pipeline of 4 venues |
| Quietude Experiences (events) | Varies | 15K+ historical participants |
| Quietude Guides | Rev share | Not yet operational |

**Revenue to date: ~$500K on ~$250K raised.** Capital-efficient. Hardware + B2B + app subs all contributing.

**MRR (App Store snapshot): $592.** Beta-throttled, not steady-state. The implied ~$4/sub/mo against $30/mo list suggests heavy annual plan adoption (which compresses monthly revenue but improves LTV) or significant promotional pricing — to reconcile with Alex.

### The plan

**Move 1 — Pricing audit.**
What's actually being charged today? List price, common plan mix, intro pricing, churn-recovery offers? The $4/sub/mo implied math doesn't tell a clean story — need ground truth before recommending changes.

**Move 2 — Annual plan as default (test).**
Industry pattern, cross-references to Retention. Test in Q2.

**Move 3 — Hardware → app bundling formalized.**
Per partner-event-business framing in the seed deck: blended CAC via hardware → app subscription is the play. Today an eye mask buyer gets... what, exactly? Free Premium? Trial code? Audit + formalize. The eye mask is the wedge; the app is the LTV.

**Move 4 — Eye mask Shopify storefront optimization.**
The current page underperforms what it could. Add: SEO targeting ("weighted sleep mask," "blackout sleep mask"), Judge.me reviews (kickoff decision), 30-day return policy (kickoff decision), upsell flow into Premium app.

**Move 5 — Consider Amazon listing for eye mask.**
Amazon takes margin but is its own discovery engine. Test as v2 distribution if Shopify volume validates.

**Move 6 — B2B install case studies + sales material.**
Alex owns B2B sales but marketing supports with: post-install case studies (Aurora as the flagship), `/partner` page rewrite in voice, Pillar 4 SEO content. Each B2B install is a ~$430K/year recurring + reference-case multiplier.

**Move 7 — Data licensing (long-term, flag for ops stack).**
Per seed deck Y10–15 value pool: $100–160M/yr. Not immediate revenue. Belongs in the 24-month strategic agenda. Flag here so we don't lose sight.

### 90-day revenue moves

- Weeks 1–2: Pricing audit. Reconcile implied vs. listed MRR.
- Weeks 3–4: Hardware → app activation flow audited (also Retention move 6).
- Weeks 5–8: Eye mask Shopify page rewrite + SEO optimization + Judge.me + return policy. Aurora case study scaffolded for post-install.
- Weeks 9–12: Annual plan default test scoped.

### 12-month revenue outlook

- Q1: Pricing audit closes. Hardware → app activation formalized.
- Q2: Annual plan default test live. Eye mask Shopify producing measurable lift.
- Q3: B2B install case studies (1–2) published. GA launch + new pricing tier consideration (e.g., a higher-tier Mira-heavy plan?).
- Q4: Pricing optimized via test results. Hardware → app blended CAC tracked and reported. First numbers on the data-licensing thesis (still very early).

### Skills + tools

- **Skills:** `suede-pricing`, `suede-paywalls`, `suede-sales-enablement`, `suede-revops`, `suede-ab-testing`, `suede-copy`
- **MCPs / APIs:** Stripe MCP (pricing tests, subscription analytics, churn cohort, blended CAC math), Customer.io MCP (paywall-related lifecycle), Shopify (eye mask transactions), GA4 MCP (revenue events), Notion (commercial knowledge directory)

---

## 9. 90-day roadmap

Tactical execution layer. Each item is AARRR-tagged so priority is visible.

### Weeks 1–2 — Unblock

| Move | Stage | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Kill the headphones hard-gate | Activation | Casey + Devon |
| Domain consolidation decision documented | Acquisition | Casey + Alex |
| 301 plan drafted (page-by-page) | Acquisition | Casey |
| App Store listing rewrite — first pass | Activation + Acquisition | Casey + Alex + Sam (voice review) |
| Flow 6 (eye mask post-purchase) ships | Retention | Casey + Customer.io MCP |
| Ambassador program scoping doc | Referral | Casey |
| Pricing audit kicked off | Revenue | Casey + Alex |

### Weeks 3–4 — Foundation

| Move | Stage | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Domain consolidation 301s executed | Acquisition | Devon + Casey |
| GSC + GA4 stood up on `quietude.app` | Acquisition | Casey |
| SEO Pillar 1 hub drafted (Nervous System Regulation) | Acquisition | Casey |
| `/science` hub built with peer-reviewed psychophysiology study | Acquisition + brand | Casey + Sam |
| Variant 3 (Felt First) onboarding prototyped + tested | Activation | Casey + Devon |
| Flow 4 (lapsed user) ships | Retention | Casey |
| Ambassador program: 5 inbound onboarded | Referral | Casey |
| Hardware → app activation flow audited | Retention + Revenue | Casey + Devon |
| App Store listing rewrite — final + ship | Activation + Acquisition | Alex + Sam + Casey |

### Weeks 5–8 — Velocity

| Move | Stage | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Pillar 1 hub + 3 spokes published | Acquisition | Casey |
| Pillar 2 hub (Eye Mask) + listicle published | Acquisition | Casey |
| Alex's LinkedIn cadence operationalized (Typefully) | Acquisition | Alex + Casey |
| First PR push: study + longevity-influencer hook to 5 outlets | Acquisition | Casey + Alex |
| Variant 3 read; ship or iterate | Activation | Casey |
| Variant 1 (Trust First) prototyped + tested | Activation | Casey + Devon |
| Customer.io subscription center built | Retention | Casey |
| Eye mask Shopify storefront rewrite (SEO + reviews + return) | Acquisition + Revenue | Casey + Alex |
| First ambassador attribution verified via Dub | Referral | Casey |

### Weeks 9–12 — Compound

| Move | Stage | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Pillar 4 (WELL/B2B) cornerstone published | Acquisition | Casey |
| 3 more Pillar 1 spokes published | Acquisition | Casey |
| Sound Philosophy published at `/research/sound-philosophy` | Acquisition + brand | Alex + Casey |
| Variant 1 read; begin Variant 2 (Seen First) build (Mira-dependent) | Activation | Casey + Devon |
| Win-back campaign for churned cohort | Retention | Casey |
| Annual plan default test scoped | Revenue | Casey + Alex |
| Open ambassador applications for next 10–15 | Referral | Casey |
| 90-day review + Q2 plan recalibration | Cross-cutting | Casey + Alex |

---

## 10. 12-month outlook

Quarterly checkpoints with source-backed scenarios and conditional capability
gates. Financing labels remain context only.

### Q1 — Months 1–3 (Jun–Aug 2026)

**Verified resource state (illustrative):** paid budget recorded as $0 on the
scenario date. Every other workflow still requires evidence, owner capacity,
access, and approval.

**Focus:** Foundation. Plug the leaks. Stake the SEO ground. Get lifecycle firing.

**Outcomes by end of Q1:**
- Headphones gate gone; onboarding winner identified
- All four SEO pillars seeded (hub + first spokes)
- Lifecycle Flows 4 + 6 live
- App Store listing in brand voice
- 5 ambassadors active
- Pricing audit closed
- Domain consolidated

**KPI decision rules:** Replace with dated baselines and approved low/base/high
ranges. This example does not supply reusable lift or traffic targets.

### Q2 — Months 4–6 (Sep–Nov 2026)

**Conditional resource checkpoint:** A possible financing event does not set a
paid budget. Re-verify cash/runway, economics, capacity, tracking, approval,
maximum exposure, review date, and stop conditions.

**Focus:** Validate paid. Scale winning onboarding. Add Flow 2.

**Outcomes by end of Q2:**
- A bounded paid test only if current evidence selects a channel and every gate passes
- Onboarding winner permanently shipped
- Flow 2 (onboarding emails) shipped
- Mira post-session reflection in production
- 15–25 ambassadors active
- First B2B install reference case (Aurora) published
- Annual plan default tested

**KPI decision rules:** Use sourced CAC, traffic, and retention baselines with
matched cohorts and pre-approved hit/miss actions; no values here are defaults.

### Q3 — Months 7–9 (Dec 2026–Feb 2027)

**Conditional resource checkpoint:** Re-evaluate measured test results, cash,
capacity, and current constraints. Neither spend growth nor a hire/title follows
from financing. Run the ownership decision process separately.

**Focus:** Scale + diversify. App GA. B2B reference cases compound.

**Outcomes by end of Q3:**
- App GA launched with new GTM moment (PR + ad creative refresh + Pillar 3 spatial-audio-science content cycle)
- First Quietude Guides cert pilot (3–5 hosts)
- All four pillars producing weekly content
- Eye mask gifting flow live for holiday peak
- Ownership gap resolved through an approved option, if evidence required a change

**KPI decision rules:** Compare reconciled channel cohorts, GA conversion, and
pilot evidence with their dated baselines and pre-registered rules.

### Q4 — Months 10–12 (Mar–May 2027)

**Conditional resource checkpoint:** Financing work is context. Exposure,
channels, staffing, and tooling remain separate evidence-and-approval decisions.

**Focus:** Compound. Position for Series A.

**Outcomes by end of Q4:**
- Channel contribution measured without an unsourced share target
- Program size bounded by verified demand, capacity, economics, and approval
- Content scope set by sourced demand and owner capacity
- Paid exposure remains within the latest explicitly approved ceiling
- Series A narrative: clinical evidence + activation lift + lifecycle compounding + B2B reference case pipeline

**KPI decision rules:** Use the finance-approved LTV/CAC definition and hurdle,
sourced D2C scenarios, and verified reference-case readiness. No universal ratio
or financing-readiness threshold applies.

---

## 11. Marketing operations stack

This stack makes the plan executable at Quietude's team size. The public Suede skill pack supplies repeatable operating methods, while connected MCPs and APIs are used only when discovered, authorized, and verified in the current environment.

### The thesis

Every move in the AARRR breakdown above maps to one or more public Suede skills and, where available, named MCP/API integrations with explicit owners and approval points.

The fCMO's job is to:
1. Define the strategy and sequencing (this doc)
2. Route each approved move through the right public Suede skill and current context
3. Maintain the shared context (`quietude-context`) and tooling so Alex + Sam + future hires can plug in
4. Assign work from evidence about duration, capacity, access, risk, review,
   total cost, and fallback; tooling never substitutes for accountable ownership

### Skills mapped to AARRR stages

| Stage | Primary skills | Supporting skills |
|---|---|---|
| **Acquisition** | `suede-seo-audit`, `suede-programmatic-seo`, `suede-content-strategy`, `suede-competitors`, `suede-ads`, `suede-ad-creative`, `suede-social` | `suede-launch-packaging`, `suede-free-tools`, `suede-analytics`, `suede-cold-email`, `suede-copy`, `suede-site-alchemy` |
| **Activation** | `suede-onboarding`, `suede-signup`, `suede-paywalls`, `suede-site-alchemy`, `suede-copy` | `suede-ab-testing`, `suede-marketing-psychology` |
| **Retention** | `suede-emails`, `suede-churn-prevention` | `suede-copy`, `suede-ab-testing`, `suede-paywalls` |
| **Referral** | `suede-referrals`, `suede-social` | `suede-copy`, `suede-site-alchemy`, `suede-emails` |
| **Revenue** | `suede-pricing`, `suede-paywalls`, `suede-sales-enablement`, `suede-revops` | `suede-ab-testing`, `suede-copy` |
| **Cross-cutting** (brand, intelligence) | `suede-product-marketing`, `suede-customer-research`, `suede-marketing-psychology` | `suede-marketing-ideas`; optional tools only after availability and authority checks |

### MCPs / APIs mapped to stages

| Stage | Scenario evidence to verify | Optional capability and authority check |
|---|---|---|
| **Acquisition** | Re-verify each dated account/source | Discover callable read scopes; scheduling, publishing, installs, and spend changes require separate explicit approval |
| **Activation** | Re-verify product, commerce, and lifecycle sources | Confirm exact property/repo/account, access, mutation boundary, reviewer, and fallback |
| **Retention** | Treat kickoff notes as historical until current readback | Confirm data definitions and read-only scope before analysis; sending or flow changes require explicit approval |
| **Referral** | Re-verify attribution and payment systems | Confirm rights, payout authority, repo/account scope, and reviewer |
| **Revenue** | Re-verify billing and commerce identities | Keep billing read-only unless the user explicitly approves the exact change and maximum cost |
| **Cross-cutting** | Re-verify knowledge and repo access | Use manual workflows when no authorized connection exists; do not install tools by default |

### The Customer.io MCP unlock (concrete example)

Per kickoff record: *"A non-technical founder drafted an abandoned-cart flow through the available Customer.io connector and reviewed it before activation."*

This recorded event shows that the workflow was drafted with the available connector and a human review gate; it is not evidence of a performance outcome or headcount replacement. The same Suede lifecycle method can be considered for lapsed-user re-engagement, subscription-center work, win-back, eye-mask gifting, and ambassador lifecycle when each integration and permission is verified. The fCMO's role is sequencing, approval, and brand-voice QA.

### Capability unlocks by verified resource state

| Capability | Current evidence/owner | Constraint | Unlock condition | Approval / maximum exposure | Review / stop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition test | | | | | |
| Lifecycle | | | | | |
| Content / creative | | | | | |
| Analytics | | | | | |
| Community / PR | | | | | |

The public Suede skill pack makes approved workflows repeatable across stages. Capacity still depends on data quality, available integrations, human review, and named owners; adding a channel is not a claim that headcount becomes unnecessary.

---

## 12. Tactical idea bank — curated illustrative set

The `suede-marketing-ideas` skill provides a broader tactical inventory.
Sections 4–8 describe the example plan; this section shows how selected ideas
could be annotated for one illustrative scenario.

This is a dated illustrative set, not the canonical inventory, an exhaustive
mapping, or a stage-allocation policy. Use `idea-cross-reference.md` for current
coverage. Every stage, status, timing label, and figure below is a teaching
assumption. Reclassify each idea from current evidence, capacity, dependencies,
authority, review criteria, and stop conditions before use.

Timing shorthand such as **Now**, **Q2**, **Q3+**, and **Q4+** is retained only
to demonstrate annotation format. It does not establish readiness, sequence, or
approval.

### 12.1 Acquisition examples

**Now (Q1):**

| # | Idea | Quietude note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Easy Keyword Ranking | SEO plan Tier-1 cluster (nervous system, sleep mask, B2B) targets this directly |
| 2 | SEO Audit | Run `/suede-seo-audit quietude.app` quarterly; publish findings as content |
| 5 | Content Repurposing | Sound Philosophy → essays → LinkedIn posts → newsletter → podcast loop |
| 6 | Proprietary Data Content | peer-reviewed psychophysiology study now; anonymized Quietude HRV / sleep dataset later |
| 7 | Internal Linking | Built into the pillar/spoke structure of the SEO plan |
| 10 | Parasite SEO | Alex's LinkedIn already does this; consider mirror to Substack |
| 12 | Marketing Jiu-Jitsu | Meditation-vs-Regulation IS this — turn "meditation works" assumption against itself |
| 36 | Quora Marketing | Answer "why meditation doesn't work for me" + HRV + somatic questions |
| 37 | Reddit Keyword Research | Mine r/somatic, r/CPTSD, r/HSP, r/ADHD for ICP language (feeds Customer Language #139) |
| 39 | LinkedIn Audience | Alex's channel productized — primary D2C top-of-funnel today |
| 59 | Article Quotes | HARO / Help-A-B2B-Writer for Alex + Sam — easy press wins |
| 70 | Conference Speaking | Alex: WELL Conference, biophilic design events, Mindful Leadership Summit |
| 74 | Press Coverage | Pitch peer-reviewed study + longevity-influencer hook to 5 outlets in Q1 |
| 109 | Public Demos | Live Quietude events ARE this; instrument the in-person → app conversion |
| 133 | Investor Marketing | Alex's raise — leverage angel backchannel for PR + intros |

**Q2:**

| # | Idea | Quietude note |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Glossary Marketing | Sound + nervous system glossary — "what is polyvagal," "what is HRV," "what is somatic listening" |
| 8 | Content Refreshing | Revisit Pillar 1 quarterly with new data and search-intent updates |
| 11 | Competitor Comparison Pages | Quietude vs. Calm / Headspace / Brain.fm / Endel / Wavepaths — high-intent SERPs |
| 13 | Competitive Ad Research | SpyFu + Facebook Ad Library before launching paid |
| 17 | Quiz Marketing | "What's your nervous system profile?" — generates personalization seed + lead capture |
| 25 | Facebook Ads | Eye mask creative + somatic content + retargeting from event attendees |
| 26 | Instagram Ads | Visual product + Reels-native ads (eye mask especially) |
| 28 | LinkedIn Ads | B2B venue buyers + investor-adjacent ICP |
| 31 | Google Ads | Apple Search Ads first (App Store intent); Google for eye mask + B2B |
| 38 | Reddit Marketing | Authentic participation in r/somatic, r/HSP, r/ADHD after content base exists |
| 40 | Instagram Audience | Eye mask + somatic creators; Reels-native |
| 44 | Comment Marketing | Thoughtful comments on Huberman / the partner-event-business / Tim Ferriss / wellness creators |
| 49 | Monthly Newsletters | Either Quietude-branded or sync with Sam's Sam's Substack newsletter |
| 54 | Affiliate Discovery via Backlinks | Find who links to Calm/Headspace/Brain.fm — pitch them on Quietude affiliate program |
| 58 | Newsletter Swaps | the partner-event-business, founder wellness Substacks, Alex's investor network |
| 64 | Community Sponsorship | Somatic newsletters, wellness Substacks, founder communities |
| 65 | Live Webinars | Alex + Sam hosting "Sound + the Nervous System" |
| 101 | Industry Interviews | Alex + Sam interview category experts (becomes seed of Quietude podcast) |
| 102 | Social Screenshots | Mira reflection responses (anonymized, consented) — social proof gold |
| 108 | Changelogs | Public changelog at `quietude.app/changes` — product momentum signal |
| 115 | Curation as Marketing | Curated "field recordings of the year" feature; Quietude Spaces directory |
| 138 | Podcast Tours | Alex on Huberman, the partner-event-business, Tim Ferriss, Rich Roll, Rangan Chatterjee |

**Q3+:**

| # | Idea | Quietude note |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Programmatic SEO | Quietude Guides city pages once Guides program scales |
| 9 | Knowledge Base SEO | When help docs scale enough to have problem-solution coverage |
| 14 | Side Projects | Eventually a free Quietude-adjacent tool that lives outside the app |
| 15 | Engineering as Marketing | HRV interpretation guide; nervous system self-assessment; sound bath finder directory |
| 18 | Calculator Marketing | Sleep latency calculator; overstimulation index |
| 20 | Microsites | For specific GTM moments (e.g., Mira GA launch) |
| 23 | Podcast Advertising | Huberman, Tim Ferriss, Rich Roll, the partner-event-business — host-read most relevant |
| 24 | Pre-targeting Ads | Warm audiences via content before direct-response |
| 29 | Reddit Ads | r/HSP, r/ADHD, r/somatic — high ICP density, low advertiser saturation |
| 30 | Quora Ads | Intent-rich for "why meditation doesn't work" queries |
| 32 | YouTube Ads | Pre-roll on Huberman / Lex Fridman / wellness creator videos |
| 33 | Cross-Platform Retargeting | Standard layer once paid is firing |
| 35 | Community Marketing | Quietude Spaces community (Discord/Circle); host monthly drop-ins |
| 42 | Short Form Video | TikTok / Reels — somatic education + eye mask UGC |
| 55 | Influencer Whitelisting | Run ads through ambassador / Guide accounts for authenticity |
| 57 | Expert Networks | Quietude Guides program IS this — certified hosts who can market |
| 60 | Pixel Sharing | Standard once paid is firing |
| 61 | Shared Slack Channels | Partner venue Slacks (Aurora, Lumen, Stillwater) |
| 63 | Integration Marketing | Apple Health (HRV data), Oura, Whoop — co-marketing |
| 66 | Virtual Summits | Quietude participates or hosts |
| 68 | Local Meetups | Cities with high ICP density (SF, NYC, LA, Austin) |
| 69 | Meetup Sponsorship | Sponsor wellness / biohacking meetups |
| 72 | Conference Sponsorship | Conditional on audience fit, total cost, approval, attribution, and follow-up capacity |
| 75 | Fundraising PR | "Quietude raises $3M" moment when seed closes |
| 78 | Product Hunt Launch | Mira public launch moment |
| 81 | Early Access Pricing | App GA — early-access tier locked in for first cohort |
| 82 | Product Hunt Alternatives | BetaList, Launching Next, AlternativeTo at GA |
| 97 | Playlists as Marketing | Quietude curates Spotify playlists for somatic listening |
| 98 | Template Marketing | Free "nervous system reset" protocol PDFs |
| 100 | Promo Videos | High-quality brand films — Ed Dorsey advises, Matt Mikkelsen field audio |
| 103 | Online Courses | Alex's Sound Philosophy course; Sam's somatic methodology course |
| 107 | Podcasts | Quietude podcast — interview format with category experts and customers |
| 111 | Challenges as Marketing | "21-day nervous system reset" — tasteful, no fitness-bro tone |
| 113 | Controversy as Marketing | Meditation-vs-Regulation IS mild controversy — lean in carefully |
| 126 | YouTube Reviews | Pitch Quietude to wellness YouTubers — Huberman fan-creator tier |
| 127 | YouTube Channel | Sound design behind-the-scenes; Sam session demos |
| 129 | Review Sites | App Store reviews actively managed; Trustpilot for eye mask Shopify |
| 130 | Live Audio | Twitter Spaces / LinkedIn Audio with Alex on sound + body |
| 134 | Certifications | Quietude Guides cert IS this — Q3+ pilot |

**Q4+ / long-game:**

| # | Idea | Quietude note |
|---|---|---|
| 56 | Reseller Programs | Corporate wellness platforms (Modern Health, Lyra) as resellers |
| 67 | Roadshows | Quietude Experiences IS this — eye mask + listening session pop-ups in 3 cities |
| 71 | Conferences | Quietude-hosted "Sound + the Body" — long-game category-defining moment |
| 76 | Documentaries | Alex's story is documentary-grade — long game |
| 77 | Black Friday Promotions | Holiday eye mask + Premium bundle |
| 80 | New Year Promotions | New Year nervous system reset campaign |
| 84 | Giveaways | Eye mask giveaway with brand partner (Wellness Mama tier) |
| 85 | Vacation Giveaways | Quietude + retreat partner giveaway (quietude.center could be venue) |
| 87 | Powered By Marketing | "Sound system by Quietude" badge in B2B venue installs |
| 104 | Book Marketing | Sound Philosophy as a book — long-game positioning anchor |
| 105 | Annual Reports | "State of the Nervous System" — Quietude's data + industry commentary |
| 106 | End of Year Wraps | "Your nervous system year" — Spotify Wrapped equivalent |
| 110 | Awards as Marketing | Quietude founds an award for innovative biophilic acoustic design |
| 116 | Grants as Marketing | Free Quietude subscriptions for therapists, social workers, first responders |
| 119 | OOH Advertising | Conditional on audience evidence, total exposure, measurement, brand review, and explicit approval |
| 120 | Marketing Stunts | Public sound installation could work — brand-fitting |
| 121 | Guerrilla Marketing | Sound installation in subway / airport — interesting but requires care |
| 131 | International Expansion | Finland HQ + global ICP — Q4 or post-Series A |

### 12.2 Activation examples

| # | Idea | Status | Quietude note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 124 | App Store Optimization | Now | Q1 priority — listing rewrite in voice (also Acquisition) |
| 90 | One-Click Registration | Now | OAuth (Apple, Google) for app signup — standard activation lift |
| 51 | Onboarding Emails | Q2 | Flow 2 — held until UI stable post-onboarding-rebuild |
| 96 | Onboarding Optimization | Q1-Q2 | The 3-variant test IS this — primary activation work |
| 47 | Founder Welcome Email | Q2 | Personal welcome from Alex or Sam early in Flow 2 |
| 48 | Dynamic Email Capture | Q2 | Smart capture on `quietude.app` — exit intent + scroll depth |
| 95 | Concierge Setup | Q3+ | High-touch onboarding for B2B venue clients + high-value subscribers |

### 12.3 Retention examples

| # | Idea | Status | Quietude note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | Reactivation Emails | Now | Flow 4 ships in weeks 3–4 — exactly this |
| 52 | Win-back Emails | Q1 (week 11-12) | Standalone campaign on top of Flow 4 |
| 53 | Trial Reactivation | Q2 | Expired-trial recovery campaign once paywall is firing |
| 45 | Mistake

# Funding and Budget Capability Unlocks

Funding labels do not determine a marketing budget, hiring plan, or channel mix.
Use this reference to document what *verified resources* make possible and what
remains gated.

## Evidence Required

For every proposed unlock, record:

- available cash, runway floor, and board-approved burn;
- current team capacity and named accountable owner;
- measured funnel, retention, margin, and blended-CAC ranges;
- current vendor price, commitment, cancellation terms, and data rights;
- operational dependencies such as creative, sales, onboarding, and support;
- approval state, maximum exposure, review date, and stop conditions.

If any input is missing, label the unlock `hypothesis` or `blocked`. Never infer
spend or headcount from `pre-seed`, `seed`, `Series A`, or another stage name.

## Capability States

### Current

Work the existing team can execute with approved accounts, cash, data, and
review capacity.

Document:

- live channels and their measured constraints;
- active owners and weekly capacity;
- committed tools and contracts;
- known evidence gaps and compliance limits.

### Approved Test

A bounded experiment with explicit approval.

Document:

- hypothesis and decision;
- exact channel and audience;
- maximum cash and time exposure;
- success, pause, and stop conditions;
- owner and review date.

### Conditional Unlock

Work that becomes possible only after a named condition is confirmed—for
example, financing closes, an owner is hired, tracking is verified, or a test
meets its decision rule.

Do not schedule or spend against a conditional unlock before the condition and
approval are both verified.

### Deferred

Work that does not fit current evidence, capacity, risk, or strategy. State the
reason and the smallest new evidence that could change the decision.

## Capability Map

| Capability | Current evidence | Constraint | Unlock condition | Owner | Approval | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition test | | | | | | |
| Lifecycle | | | | | | |
| Content | | | | | | |
| Creative | | | | | | |
| Analytics | | | | | | |
| Community / PR | | | | | | |

## Applying It to the Plan

### Section 3 — Current State

List verified resources, owners, contracts, constraints, and approval status.
Do not assign a standardized tier.

### Sections 4–8 — AARRR

Mark every move `current`, `approved test`, `conditional unlock`, or `deferred`.
Tie it to evidence and an owner.

### Section 9 — 90-Day Roadmap

Include only current work and approved tests. Conditional work may appear as a
decision checkpoint, never as an assumed execution task.

### Section 10 — Outlook

Show scenarios tied to explicit conditions. Use dated low/base/high assumptions
from `budget-planning.md`; do not present a funding-stage benchmark as a
forecast.

### Section 11 — Operations Stack

Map approved tools and public Suede skills to accountable owners. A tool route
does not prove capacity or replace headcount.

## Category Adjustments

Category changes the questions, not the answer:

- **Consumer:** verify acquisition economics, platform fees, creative capacity,
  and retention before paid scale.
- **B2B:** verify sales-cycle length, pipeline capacity, contract value, and
  enablement ownership.
- **Hardware:** include inventory, fulfillment, returns, and blended margin.
- **Regulated / clinical:** require qualified legal, claims, privacy, and
  evidence review.
- **Marketplace:** model supply and demand separately.
- **Developer / open source:** distinguish community adoption from commercial
  conversion.

All recommendations remain client-specific and approval-bound.

# Growth Patterns — Evidence-Driven Scenarios

Growth rarely follows a smooth forecast. Use patterns to organize hypotheses,
not to assign a company to a universal ARR phase or promise a timeline.

## Evidence First

Before selecting a pattern, record dated evidence for:

- acquisition volume, mix, cost, and saturation;
- activation and time-to-value;
- cohort retention and expansion;
- sales, onboarding, support, and product capacity;
- gross margin, cash, and approved exposure;
- market or product changes that could create a discontinuity.

If the evidence is missing, say `unknown` and propose the smallest measurement
or bounded test that resolves it.

## Pattern 1 — Linear

A comparable unit is added at a roughly steady rate over a bounded period.

Use only when:

- the cohort and measurement window are explicit;
- variance is visible rather than hidden by a rolling average;
- capacity is sufficient for the implied volume.

Treat continuation as a hypothesis. Set a review date and stop condition.

## Pattern 2 — Step Function

A discrete change—such as a launch, segment, product capability, or distribution
agreement—may shift the baseline.

Document:

- the intervention and causal hypothesis;
- the pre-change baseline;
- the decision window and confounders;
- the capacity needed if the baseline changes.

Do not label ordinary variance as a step function.

## Pattern 3 — Layered Curves

Channel, product, and market initiatives can mature at different times. The plan
may prepare a second bounded test before the first plateaus, but it must not
assume every new curve compounds.

| Layer | Evidence to read | Constraint to name |
|---|---|---|
| Channel | marginal reach, CAC, conversion, saturation | creative, audience, budget |
| Product | activation, retention, expansion, support load | engineering and service capacity |
| Market | segment demand, sales cycle, win/loss, localization | fit, compliance, operations |

## Selecting the Planning Scenario

Build low, base, and high cases from the client's evidence. For each:

- name assumptions and sources;
- show capacity and cash constraints;
- define owner, review date, and stop conditions;
- separate approved work from conditional unlocks.

Funding stage and ARR may be descriptive context, but neither determines the
binding constraint, channel, hiring plan, growth multiple, or north-star metric.

## How This Informs the Plan

| Section | What to include |
|---|---|
| **3 (Current state)** | Dated evidence, observed pattern, uncertainty, and current constraint. |
| **4–8 (AARRR)** | Stage-specific evidence and the smallest intervention tied to the current constraint. |
| **9 (90-day roadmap)** | Approved tests and measurement checkpoints. |
| **10 (outlook)** | Low/base/high scenarios and conditional decisions, not a promised curve. |
| **13 (measurement)** | Metrics selected from the business model and current decision. |

External benchmarks belong only in a separate context box with current source,
cohort definition, and comparability limits.

# Idea Cross-Reference — 139 Marketing Ideas Mapped to AARRR

The `suede-marketing-ideas` skill catalogs 139 marketing tactics. This doc is
the source-of-truth mapping: every idea is assigned to a primary AARRR stage.
It does not prescribe timing, spend, or staffing.

The plan's Section 12 ("Tactical idea bank") uses this mapping as the base, then
layers client-specific brand, category, evidence, capacity, dependency,
authority, and risk filters. A round label or calendar quarter never supplies
the status.

## How to read this doc

- **139 unique ideas, 143 entries.** Four ideas cross-cut multiple AARRR stages and appear under each stage they serve (#79 Early-Access Referrals, #91 In-App Upsells, #114 Moneyball Marketing, #117 Product Competitions). Each duplicate row carries a cross-cut note.
- **"Entries" counts rows; idea IDs are unique.** Section header counts reflect rows in this doc, not unique ideas from `suede-marketing-ideas`.
- **Numbers correspond exactly to the `suede-marketing-ideas` skill ordering.** If that source ordering changes or expands, update this doc.

## AARRR assignment for all 139 ideas

### Acquisition (116 entries)

These ideas primarily serve top-of-funnel awareness, traffic, and lead generation.

| # | Idea | Category | Decision requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Easy Keyword Ranking | Content & SEO | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 2 | SEO Audit | Content & SEO | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 3 | Glossary Marketing | Content & SEO | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 4 | Programmatic SEO | Content & SEO | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 5 | Content Repurposing | Content & SEO | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 6 | Proprietary Data Content | Content & SEO | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 7 | Internal Linking | Content & SEO | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 8 | Content Refreshing | Content & SEO | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 9 | Knowledge Base SEO | Content & SEO | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 10 | Parasite SEO | Content & SEO | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 11 | Competitor Comparison Pages | Competitor | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 12 | Marketing Jiu-Jitsu | Competitor | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 13 | Competitive Ad Research | Competitor | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 14 | Side Projects | Free Tools | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 15 | Engineering as Marketing | Free Tools | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 16 | Importers as Marketing | Free Tools | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 17 | Quiz Marketing | Free Tools | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 18 | Calculator Marketing | Free Tools | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 19 | Chrome Extensions | Free Tools | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 20 | Microsites | Free Tools | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 21 | Scanners | Free Tools | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 22 | Public APIs | Free Tools | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 23 | Podcast Advertising | Paid Ads | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 24 | Pre-targeting Ads | Paid Ads | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 25 | Facebook Ads | Paid Ads | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 26 | Instagram Ads | Paid Ads | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 27 | Twitter Ads | Paid Ads | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 28 | LinkedIn Ads | Paid Ads | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 29 | Reddit Ads | Paid Ads | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 30 | Quora Ads | Paid Ads | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 31 | Google Ads | Paid Ads | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 32 | YouTube Ads | Paid Ads | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 33 | Cross-Platform Retargeting | Paid Ads | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 34 | Click-to-Messenger Ads | Paid Ads | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 35 | Community Marketing | Social & Community | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 36 | Quora Marketing | Social & Community | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 37 | Reddit Keyword Research | Social & Community | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 38 | Reddit Marketing | Social & Community | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 39 | LinkedIn Audience | Social & Community | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 40 | Instagram Audience | Social & Community | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 41 | X Audience | Social & Community | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 42 | Short Form Video | Social & Community | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 43 | Engagement Pods | Social & Community | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 44 | Comment Marketing | Social & Community | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 49 | Monthly Newsletters | Email | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 54 | Affiliate Discovery via Backlinks | Partnerships | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 55 | Influencer Whitelisting | Partnerships | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 56 | Reseller Programs | Partnerships | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 57 | Expert Networks | Partnerships | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 58 | Newsletter Swaps | Partnerships | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 59 | Article Quotes (HARO) | Partnerships | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 60 | Pixel Sharing | Partnerships | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 61 | Shared Slack Channels | Partnerships | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 63 | Integration Marketing | Partnerships | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 64 | Community Sponsorship | Partnerships | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 65 | Live Webinars | Events | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 66 | Virtual Summits | Events | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 67 | Roadshows | Events | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 68 | Local Meetups | Events | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 69 | Meetup Sponsorship | Events | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 70 | Conference Speaking | Events | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 71 | Conferences (own-hosted) | Events | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 72 | Conference Sponsorship | Events | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 73 | Media Acquisitions | PR & Media | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 74 | Press Coverage | PR & Media | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 75 | Fundraising PR | PR & Media | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 76 | Documentaries | PR & Media | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 77 | Black Friday Promotions | Launches | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 78 | Product Hunt Launch | Launches | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 79 | Early-Access Referrals | Launches | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 80 | New Year Promotions | Launches | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 81 | Early Access Pricing | Launches | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 82 | Product Hunt Alternatives | Launches | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 83 | Twitter Giveaways | Launches | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 84 | Giveaways | Launches | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 85 | Vacation Giveaways | Launches | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 86 | Lifetime Deals | Launches | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 87 | Powered By Marketing | Product-Led | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 88 | Free Migrations | Product-Led | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 89 | Contract Buyouts | Product-Led | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 97 | Playlists as Marketing | Content Formats | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 98 | Template Marketing | Content Formats | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 99 | Graphic Novel Marketing | Content Formats | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 100 | Promo Videos | Content Formats | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 101 | Industry Interviews | Content Formats | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 102 | Social Screenshots | Content Formats | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 103 | Online Courses | Content Formats | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 104 | Book Marketing | Content Formats | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 105 | Annual Reports | Content Formats | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 106 | End of Year Wraps | Content Formats | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 107 | Podcasts (own-hosted) | Content Formats | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 108 | Changelogs | Content Formats | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 109 | Public Demos | Content Formats | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 110 | Awards as Marketing | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 111 | Challenges as Marketing | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 112 | Reality TV Marketing | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 113 | Controversy as Marketing | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 114 | Moneyball Marketing | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 115 | Curation as Marketing | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 116 | Grants as Marketing | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 117 | Product Competitions | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 118 | Cameo Marketing | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 119 | OOH Advertising | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 120 | Marketing Stunts | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 121 | Guerrilla Marketing | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 122 | Humor Marketing | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 123 | Open Source as Marketing | Platforms | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 125 | App Marketplaces | Platforms | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 126 | YouTube Reviews | Platforms | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 127 | YouTube Channel | Platforms | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 128 | Source Platforms | Platforms | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 129 | Review Sites | Platforms | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 130 | Live Audio | Platforms | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 131 | International Expansion | International | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 133 | Investor Marketing | Developer/etc | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 138 | Podcast Tours | Audience-Specific | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |

### Activation (8 entries)

| # | Idea | Category | Decision requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | Founder Welcome Email | Email | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 48 | Dynamic Email Capture | Email | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 51 | Onboarding Emails | Email | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 90 | One-Click Registration | Product-Led | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 91 | In-App Upsells | Product-Led | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 95 | Concierge Setup | Product-Led | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 96 | Onboarding Optimization | Product-Led | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 124 | App Store Optimization | Platforms | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |

### Retention (8 entries)

| # | Idea | Category | Decision requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | Mistake Email Marketing | Email | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 46 | Reactivation Emails | Email | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 50 | Inbox Placement | Email | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 52 | Win-back Emails | Email | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 53 | Trial Reactivation | Email | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 94 | Offboarding Flows | Product-Led | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 135 | Support as Marketing | Developer/etc | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 134 | Certifications | Developer/etc | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |

### Referral (5 entries)

| # | Idea | Category | Decision requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | Affiliate Program | Partnerships | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 79 | Early-Access Referrals | Launches | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 92 | Newsletter Referrals | Product-Led | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 93 | Viral Loops | Product-Led | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 137 | Two-Sided Referrals | Audience-Specific | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |

### Revenue (2 entries — most monetization is strategy not tactic)

| # | Idea | Category | Decision requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | In-App Upsells | Product-Led | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 132 | Price Localization | International | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |

> **Skipped from Revenue:** #86 Lifetime Deals appears under Launches (Acquisition section) only. It's generally off-brand for subscription products because it damages LTV math; recommend in Section 12's Skip list with rationale, not in stage totals.

### Cross-cutting / brand foundation (2 entries)

| # | Idea | Category | Decision requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 114 | Moneyball Marketing | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 139 | Customer Language | Audience-Specific | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |

### Developer-specific / dev tool products (2 entries)

| # | Idea | Category | Use when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 117 | Product Competitions | Unconventional | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |
| 136 | Developer Relations | Developer/etc | Verify fit, evidence, owner, capacity, dependencies, approval, review, and stop conditions |

## How to apply this to a specific client

For Section 12 of the plan:

### Step 1 — Filter for category fit

For each idea, ask:
- Does this idea apply to the client's category? (e.g., #16 Importers only for SaaS; #19 Chrome Extensions only for browser-relevant; #136 DevRel only for dev tools)
- Skip ideas that don't apply, with a note

### Step 2 — Filter for brand voice

For each idea, ask:
- Does this idea conflict with the client's brand voice?
- Common conflicts:
  - **Lifetime Deals (#86)** — conflicts with premium positioning
  - **Twitter Giveaways (#83)** — often off-brand for serious / clinical / luxury voices
  - **Humor Marketing (#122)** — off-brand for serious / clinical voices
  - **Cameo Marketing (#118)** — off-brand for most voices
  - **Reality TV Marketing (#112)** — off-brand for most voices

If conflict, place in Skip list with explicit rationale.

### Step 3 — Set evidence-and-authority status

For ideas that pass filters, set status:
- **Current** — already approved, owned, resourced, and within present constraints
- **Approved test** — bounded exposure with source-backed hypothesis, owner,
  review date, and stop conditions
- **Conditional unlock** — exact evidence/resource/dependency and authorization
  are named but not yet satisfied
- **Deferred** — does not fit current evidence, capacity, risk, or strategy; name
  what could change the decision
- **Skip** — conflicts with category, brand, legal, ethical, or business-model
  constraints; record the reason

The Decision requirement column is a checklist, not a default status. For every
non-skip idea, record source/as-of date, owner and capacity, dependency state,
maximum cash/time exposure, approval, review date, and pause/stop rule.

### Step 4 — Write the client-specific note

Every `Current`, `Approved test`, or `Conditional unlock` idea gets a one-line
client-specific note plus its evidence/authority record. Examples below are
illustrative prompts, not recommendations:
- For idea #11 Competitor Comparison Pages: "Quietude vs. Calm / Headspace / Brain.fm / Endel / Wavepaths — high-intent SERPs"
- For idea #133 Investor Marketing: "Alex's seed raise — leverage angel backchannel for PR + intros"
- For idea #15 Engineering as Marketing: "HRV interpretation guide; nervous system self-assessment; sound bath finder directory"

### Step 5 — Sum the bank

After all five AARRR tables + skip list:

```markdown
### Idea-bank summary

- {Acquisition count} ideas applicable to Acquisition
- {Activation count} to Activation, {Retention count} to Retention
- {Referral count} to Referral
- {Revenue count} to Revenue
- {cross-cutting count} cross-cutting
- {skipped count} ideas skipped for brand / business-model fit

**What this shows:** the plan covers X% of the available tactical inventory.
Coverage is descriptive, not a quality score. Conditional ideas become eligible
only when their named evidence, owner capacity, dependencies, authorization,
review date, and stop conditions are satisfied.
```

## How to maintain this doc

If `suede-marketing-ideas` adds new ideas (it's a living skill — the 139 may become 145 or 160 over time):
1. Read `skills/suede-marketing-ideas/references/ideas-by-category.md` in the public Suede skill pack
2. Assign each new idea to a primary AARRR stage using the rules above
3. Add to this doc's tables
4. Update SKILL.md's idea-count reference

## Sources

- `skills/suede-marketing-ideas/SKILL.md` (in the public Suede skill pack)
- `skills/suede-marketing-ideas/references/ideas-by-category.md` (in the public Suede skill pack)

# Measurement Framework — KPIs, North Stars, Cadence

Every plan needs a measurement section that tells the team how to know if the plan is working. This doc is the source for Section 13's measurement subsection.

**Related docs:**
- `growth-patterns.md` — linear, step-function, and layered-curve scenarios
- `budget-planning.md` — blended-CAC evidence and low/base/high scenario limits

## The north-star principle

A north star is one metric that captures the business-model thesis at the highest level. It should:
- Be derivable from the funnel + revenue model
- Move slowly enough to be a strategic compass (not whipsawed by weekly noise)
- Trade off correctly against other metrics — improving the north star should generally improve the business

Don't default to "ARR" or "MRR" alone. Those are outcomes, not norths. Pick something that captures the business model.

## North-star patterns by business model

### B2B SaaS (subscription)
- **Net Revenue Retention (NRR)** — keeps existing customers + expansion in focus
- Alternative: "Logo retention × expansion ARR"
- Why: ARR alone hides churn / lets gross-add growth mask product fit problems

### D2C consumer app (subscription)
- **Blended LTV / blended CAC** — keeps unit economics honest as paid layer scales
- Alternative: "Day-35 paid users from cohort × LTV"
- Why: monthly subscription metrics are volatile; cohort × LTV smooths it

### Hybrid hardware + software (e.g., Quietude)
- **Blended LTV / blended CAC across hardware + software** — captures the wedge thesis
- Alternative: "Hardware-buyers-to-subscriber conversion × blended margin"
- Why: hardware revenue isn't free (cost to make); subscription revenue isn't expensive to acquire if hardware funds it

### Marketplace (two-sided)
- **Liquidity ratio × take-rate** — captures both sides + monetization
- Alternative: "Monthly transacting users × take-rate × repeat frequency"
- Why: GMV alone doesn't capture whether the marketplace is becoming a habit

### Developer tool / open source
- **Weekly active developers × paid-conversion** — captures both adoption and monetization
- Alternative: "Weekly active orgs × seats per org × ARPU"

### Content / media business
- **Daily active readers / listeners × ad revenue per session** — captures both reach and monetization
- Alternative: "Subscriber count × retention × ARPU"

### Commerce (DTC, non-subscription)
- **Repeat purchase rate × AOV × frequency** — captures monetization layered on quality of customer
- Alternative: "Customer LTV / CAC × payback period"

## Leading indicators by AARRR stage

After the north star, every plan needs leading indicators per AARRR stage. These move faster than the north star and trigger investigations.

### Acquisition leading indicators
- Organic visits/month, total + per pillar (SEO health)
- App Store / Play Store visit-to-install rate (ASO health)
- Founder-led social channel growth → email subscriber conversion (LinkedIn / X / Substack funnels)
- Event-to-app conversion rate (event ROI)
- Ambassador-attributed visits (referral funnel)
- Paid CAC by channel (when paid is firing)

### Activation leading indicators
- Day 1 / Day 7 / Day 35 → paid conversion rate
- Onboarding session-completion rate
- First key-action completion (post-signup activation event)
- App Store conversion rate (install → trial → paid)
- Trial → paid conversion rate

### Retention leading indicators
- Day 30 / Day 60 / Day 90 retention
- Monthly churn rate (gross + net)
- Lifecycle email engagement (open / click / unsubscribe by flow)
- Hardware → app activation rate (for hybrid businesses)
- Win-back / reactivation rate

### Referral leading indicators
- Ambassador-attributed new subs (via Dub or similar)
- Share-after-value moment rate (% of users sharing)
- Two-sided referral completion rate
- Guides program referrals (when live)
- NPS score (if surveyed)

### Revenue leading indicators
- ARPU by cohort
- Annual plan adoption %
- Cohort LTV by source
- Plan mix shifts
- Eye-mask / hardware attach rate (for hybrid)
- Expansion revenue (B2B)

## Review cadence

The plan should specify decision rhythms that match data latency, operational
capacity, and the accountable owner's needs. Weekly, monthly, and quarterly are
labels for consideration, not mandatory frequencies.

### Operational sync
- **Who:** named workflow owners and decision maker
- **When:** chosen from execution cadence and signal latency
- **Format:** source-backed AARRR changes, shipped artifacts, blockers, and
  decisions due
- **Output:** owner-assigned actions and recorded decisions

### Metrics review
- **Who:** accountable business owner plus only the required operators/reviewers
- **When:** chosen from cohort maturity and reporting latency
- **Format:** full metric definitions, source/as-of dates, scenario comparison,
  qualitative evidence, and option reprioritization
- **Output:** documented continue/adjust/pause decisions, including unresolved
  capacity questions rather than assumed hiring

### Plan recalibration
- **Who:** named plan owner, executive decision maker, and required reviewers
- **When:** the chosen planning interval or an explicit trigger fires
- **Format:** plan review against evidence ranges and decision rules,
  channel-level analysis, resource/approval changes, and next-interval scenarios
- **Output:** versioned plan decision with owners and review dates

## KPI target setting

For each planning interval in Section 10, include 3–5 source-backed KPI decision
rules only when a baseline exists. These should be:
- **Specific** — name metric definition, cohort, baseline, source, and as-of date
- **Measurable** — pull from a wired data source
- **Scenario-bounded** — show low/base/high cases from historical patterns or
  label assumptions unverified
- **Decision-triggering** — name owner, review date, and hit/miss action

### KPI target patterns by decision state

- **Repair:** verify a known defect is removed using a dated baseline, acceptance
  readback, owner, and regression guard.
- **Instrument:** ship the measurement path and prove event/count reconciliation
  before setting a performance target.
- **Validate:** compare a new cohort or bounded test with its pre-registered
  baseline and decision rule.
- **Expand:** increase exposure only within an approved ceiling while the
  measured guardrails hold.
- **Compound:** test whether multiple channels or loops add incremental value;
  do not infer attribution from correlated movement.

Any of these states may occur in any quarter. Calendar position, company stage,
or a financing event does not choose the state or target.

## Selecting a Growth Scenario

Do not impose a stage-based growth multiple. Build low/base/high scenarios from
the client's dated retention, margin, capacity, pipeline, and cash evidence.
External benchmarks may be shown only with a current source, cohort definition,
and explicit note that they are context rather than a target.

## Forecasting reality check

A plan derives a budget and an annual goal. It does not produce a 12-month month-by-month forecast that's reliably accurate to the dollar.

Forecast confidence depends on the model, data history, input stability, and
operating process—not listing status or ARR. Label every projection with its
source dates, assumptions, range, limitations, owner, and recalibration rule.
Treat unsupported point estimates as illustrative scenarios.

What the plan commits to honestly:
- The annual goal is a defensible direction-of-travel
- The budget is the resource commitment that makes the goal plausible
- The 90-day roadmap (Section 9) is what's actionable now
- Month-to-month projection is illustrative, not promised

Founders who over-engineer the forecast end up explaining variance every month instead of executing. The plan should resist this — name the annual target, the quarterly KPIs, and the kill criteria. Don't promise the month.

Full context in `budget-planning.md`.

## Kill criteria

For every channel or initiative, the plan should specify when to stop. Often missing from plans, kill criteria force discipline.

Template:

> If `{metric, definition, cohort}` crosses `{threshold approved by owner}` after
> `{minimum evidence window/sample/exposure}`, `{named owner}` pauses or changes
> `{scope}` on `{review date}`. Source: `{artifact and as-of date}`.

Thresholds must come from the client's baseline, economics, safety boundary, or
a current cited comparator with a matched cohort. If evidence is insufficient,
the rule is an instrumentation or evidence-collection checkpoint, not a
fabricated performance cutoff.

## Guardrail metrics

Some metrics get a hard guardrail (cannot drop below threshold). Useful for protecting brand or unit economics during aggressive growth.

Record guardrails in this auditable form:

| Metric definition | Threshold/range | Source and as-of | Owner | Minimum evidence | Triggered action | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|

The accountable owner approves every threshold and action before launch.
Platform ratings, complaint rates, CAC, and similar metrics have no universal
cutoff in this skill.

## Data sources mapping

The plan should name where each metric comes from. This makes it auditable.

| Metric | Source |
|---|---|
| Organic traffic | GA4 / Ahrefs |
| App Store conversion | App Store Connect |
| Funnel conversion (Day N → paid) | Internal analytics (Mixpanel / Amplitude) or App Store Connect cohort export |
| Retention | Customer.io segments + product analytics |
| MRR / ARR | Stripe (via MCP if wired) |
| Plan mix | Stripe |
| Lifecycle email metrics | Customer.io |
| Ambassador attribution | Dub.co |
| Hardware → app activation | Shopify + App Store + internal join |
| NPS | Survey tool (Customer.io / Typeform / SurveyMonkey) |

## When data isn't wired

If a metric can't currently be measured, flag it in Section 13's open decisions. Example:

> "Hardware → app activation rate not currently visible in the App Store dashboard. Requires Shopify ↔ App Store Connect join. Q1 work item."

A plan with un-measurable goals is a plan that can't be validated. Surface the instrumentation work explicitly.

## Reporting cadence + automation

Where possible, discover currently callable, authorized data sources and
automate a review only after confirming schemas, owners, and data boundaries.
Otherwise produce a manual Markdown review from user-supplied exports. Choose an
email, sheet, or dashboard from audience, decision cadence, maintenance
capacity, and approved tooling—not from funding stage.

# Methodology — How a Marketing Plan Gets Made

The three-phase workflow that produces a comprehensive marketing plan. SKILL.md is the orchestration layer; this is the operational detail.

## Phase 1 — INIT (research + intake)

**Goal:** Walk into Phase 2 with enough context to draft every section without guessing.

### Step 1.1 — Set up the plan folder

Canonical file layout for every plan:

```
.agents/suede-marketing-plans/{client-slug}/
├── materials/         # Client-provided files (decks, audit output, brand-voice doc, etc.)
├── research.md        # Written in Phase 1 (INIT)
├── progress.md        # State machine — see Step 1.1.1 for schema
├── sections/
│   ├── 01.md          # Executive summary (written last, ordered first)
│   ├── 02.md          # Strategic frame
│   ├── ...
│   └── 13.md          # Measurement, RACI, open decisions, appendix
└── final_plan.md      # Compiled deliverable (Phase 3 output)
```

### Step 1.1.1 — `progress.md` state schema

Every plan tracks a single `progress.md` file at the plan root. It's the source of truth for resumption. Schema:

```markdown
# {Client} — Marketing Plan Progress

phase: init
# Replace the value above with exactly one of: init, review, finalize, finalized.
init_step: materials
# During init, replace with exactly one of: materials, live_data, intake, complete.
current_section: none
# Exactly one of: none, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 01.
# Use none outside review. The review order is 02→03→...→13→01.
plan_version: v1
source_plan: none
source_plan_version: none
# The two source fields are none for a new plan and identify the finalized
# parent only for an explicitly requested revision.
finalize_step: not_started
# Replace during finalize with exactly one of: not_started, compile, verify,
# publish_offer, publish_authorized, published, complete.
section_write_section: none
section_write_sha256: none
# These two fields are a recoverable write intent. Set both before promoting an
# approved section artifact and clear both only after progress metadata agrees.
final_plan_sha256: none
reopen_section: none
reopen_from_version: none
reopen_to_version: none
reopen_archive_path: none
reopen_final_sha256: none
reopen_section_sha256: none
reopen_section01_sha256: none
# The reopen fields are either all none or populated as applicable until
# recovery completes. Record them before archiving or changing review state.
last_updated: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM

## Sections completed
- [ ] 2. Strategic frame
- [ ] 3. Current state
- [ ] 4. Acquisition
- [ ] 5. Activation
- [ ] 6. Retention
- [ ] 7. Referral
- [ ] 8. Revenue
- [ ] 9. 90-day roadmap
- [ ] 10. 12-month outlook
- [ ] 11. Marketing operations stack
- [ ] 12. Tactical idea bank
- [ ] 13. Measurement, RACI, open decisions, appendix
- [ ] 1. Executive summary (synthesized last)

## Approved artifacts
<!-- Zero or more unique lines. Each line must contain exactly one canonical
path in this form, with no commas or annotations:
- sections/02.md
-->
The only valid entry grammar is
`^- sections/(0[1-9]|1[0-3])\.md$`, and entries stay in review order.

## Publication receipt
status: not_requested
# Exactly one of: not_requested, declined, authorized, published.
target: none
# Replace none with the canonical repo, branch/PR route, and repo-relative path
# only after the user supplies and authorizes it.
content_sha256: none
idempotency_key: none
remote_commit: none
commit_url: none

## Notes
<any open decisions, blockers, or out-of-band context that aren't in research.md>
```

### Step 1.1.2 — Resumption decision tree

On every invocation, check state in this order:

1. **No `{client-slug}/` folder** → fresh plan. Create the folder,
   `materials/`, empty `sections/`, and `progress.md` with `phase: init` and
   `init_step: materials` before writing `research.md`.
2. **Folder exists, no `progress.md`** → legacy or interrupted INIT. If the
   folder is empty, create the complete schema above with `phase: init`,
   `init_step: materials`, `current_section: none`,
   `finalize_step: not_started`, and the new-plan default `plan_version: v1`.
   If it contains artifacts, preserve them, inventory them as unverified
   recovery candidates, create the same conservative INIT state, and do not
   infer approval. Treat any `research.md` as partial evidence, not proof that
   INIT finished.
3. **`progress.md` has `phase: init`** → resume from `init_step`:
   `materials` → Step 1.2, `live_data` → Step 1.3, `intake` → Step 1.4.
   `complete` transitions to `phase: review`, `current_section: 02`.
4. **`progress.md` exists, `phase: review`** → REVIEW in progress. Run the
   section-artifact reconciliation below before drafting. Resume only from the
   reconciled `current_section`; never silently substitute an unchecked box.
5. **`progress.md` exists, `phase: finalize`** → FINALIZE was interrupted.
   Reconcile `final_plan.md` against `final_plan_sha256`, then resume from
   `finalize_step`. At `publish_offer`, a `declined` receipt moves directly to
   completion without asking again. At `publish_authorized`, reconcile the
   remote target by idempotency key and content hash before any retry. A
   verified `published` receipt means do not push or publish again.
6. **`progress.md` exists, `phase: finalized`** → plan is done. **Do not silently overwrite.** Ask the user: *"This plan is finalized (v{N}). Want to (a) revise it as v{N+1}, (b) start a fresh plan in a new folder, or (c) re-open a specific section?"*

Before applying this tree, recover any populated reopen intent as described
under **Re-open recovery**. A transition with a populated reopen intent is not
a normal finalized or review state.

#### Section-artifact reconciliation

Treat a section as complete only when all three records agree: its checkbox is
checked, its exact `- sections/NN.md` line appears once under Approved
artifacts, and that readable file exists.

1. If `section_write_section` and `section_write_sha256` are populated, check
   `sections/.NN.md.tmp` and `sections/NN.md` against the recorded SHA-256.
   Promote a matching temp file when needed, then finish the checkbox,
   one-path-per-line Approved-artifact entry, and next-section update. Clear
   the intent only after readback confirms all records. This recovery is
   idempotent.
2. If neither candidate matches the intent, preserve both, report the
   mismatch, and request a decision. Do not clear the intent, infer approval,
   or redraft.
3. With no write intent, a checked/approved section whose file is absent or
   unreadable is an incomplete record. Uncheck it, remove its Approved-artifact
   line, set `current_section` to the earliest incomplete token in review
   order, and report the repair.
4. With no write intent, an artifact that is not both checked and approved is
   an orphan. Preserve it as recovery evidence and ask whether to restore its
   approval or archive it. Do not overwrite or redraft it first.
5. Reject duplicate, comma-separated, annotated, noncanonical, or out-of-range
   Approved-artifact entries. Normalize only after the underlying file and
   checkbox are reconciled.

Update all affected state fields and `last_updated` together whenever state
changes. Write the new state before beginning the next step so interruption
always resumes safely. Never advance a phase while its required artifacts or
receipts are absent.

### Step 1.2 — Read existing materials

If `materials/` has files, read all of them. Common drops:
- Pitch deck / investor deck
- Positioning doc / brand voice doc
- Customer research / ICP doc
- App Store metrics / analytics snapshot
- Lifecycle email inventory
- Prior audit output (any scored current-state assessment the team has run)
- SEO research (`seo/plan.md`, `seo/keyword-shortlist.md`)
- Kickoff call transcript
- Founder Slack / async notes

Read everything. Capture key facts to `research.md` as you go.
After all available materials are reviewed, set `init_step: live_data`.

### Step 1.3 — Pull live data where wired

If MCPs/APIs are wired for this client, pull:

- **Ahrefs** → domain rating, organic keywords, backlinks, top pages, ref domains (per `/suede-seo-audit` skill)
- **GA4 MCP** → traffic by channel, conversion events, retention curves
- **Stripe MCP** → MRR, ARR, churn, plan mix, blended LTV by cohort
- **App Store Connect** (through a currently authorized read method) → install → trial → paid funnel; cohort retention
- **Customer.io MCP** → flow inventory, send / open / click / unsubscribe rates
- **Shopify** → product page conversion, AOV, repeat rate
- **GitHub MCP** → repos inventory, last commit dates, what's stale
- **Notion** → internal knowledge directory if exposed

Don't ask the user to copy/paste data that can be pulled directly.
After the available authorized data sources are exhausted or explicitly
deferred, set `init_step: intake`.

### Step 1.4 — Conduct structured intake

For every gap in the materials, ask the user. The minimum intake covers ten topics:

After each intake answer or scoring batch, append the sourced fact, as-of date,
and unresolved fields to `research.md`, then update `last_updated` while keeping
`phase: init` and `init_step: intake`. Read this record before the next question
so an interruption never causes repeated intake or lost answers.

#### Intake 1 — Client overview
- What does the company do, in one sentence (founder's words)?
- What's the primary product?
- What other products / SKUs / tiers exist?
- Is the product live, beta, or pre-launch?
- If beta: throttling? GA timeline?

#### Intake 2 — ICP
- Who are you for, in one sentence?
- What do they say they want?
- What do they actually want?
- What's their stated problem? Their real problem?
- Demographics / firmographics: who fits the ICP exactly?

#### Intake 3 — Funnel state today
- What are the current funnel numbers? (signups, activations, paid, retention)
- What's the funnel *shape* — is it bottle-necked at top, middle, or bottom?
- What's the biggest leak?

#### Intake 4 — Funding state
- Current round label, if relevant context (never a budget, channel, or hiring rule)?
- Total raised to date?
- Current burn / runway?
- Active raise? Closing when?
- Investors of note?
- Permission to mention fCMO engagement in pitches?

#### Intake 5 — Team
- Founders and what each owns (product, marketing, sales, etc.)?
- Other roles on the team and their marketing surface area?
- Advisors who touch marketing?
- Agencies / contractors / fractionals?
- Where are the obvious gaps?
- For each current marketing owner: what outcome, capacity, skills, access, and
  approval boundary do they have? See `team-and-agency-model.md` for the
  evidence-driven ownership map used in Sections 9 and 11.

#### Intake 6 — Budget
- Current monthly marketing spend, broken down: paid acquisition, tools, retainers, headcount?
- Current approved exposure, runway floor, review date, and stop conditions?
- Which capabilities are current, approved tests, conditional unlocks, or
  deferred (see `funding-stage-unlocks.md`)?
- Blended CAC if known (including salaries, content costs, tools, retainers — not just paid ad spend). If unknown, flag as the top Section 13 open decision — every revenue projection depends on it.
- ARPC, annual retention rate (or churn rate), so the budget math in `budget-planning.md` can be applied to Section 8 (Revenue) and Section 10 (12-month outlook).

#### Intake 7 — Channels currently active
- Acquisition: organic SEO, paid search, paid social, content, social, partnerships, events, PR, ambassadors, etc. — for each, status (live / paused / never tried)
- Activation: onboarding state, signup flow, paywall, first-session experience, app store listing
- Retention: lifecycle email state, in-app upsells, churn cohort
- Referral: program existence, attribution, inbound interest
- Revenue: pricing structure, plan mix, recent experiments

#### Intake 8 — Already done
What past work should this plan acknowledge?
- Major launches and dates
- PR moments and who covered
- Content pillars / hubs / cornerstone pieces
- Partnerships
- Awards / certifications
- Notable customers / users (if consumer-named users)
- Past advisors / fractionals

#### Intake 9 — In-flight and stuck
- What's drafted but not shipped? Why?
- What's been "almost ready" for months?
- What's blocking each?
- What's broken or actively harmful?

#### Intake 10 — Strategic posture
- The most important thing to fix this quarter (founder's read)
- The most important thing to ignore this quarter (founder's read)
- What investors / board are asking about most
- Any constraints not visible elsewhere (legal, partnership-related, brand-related)

### Step 1.5 — Score current state against the rubric

Use the 17-section rubric in `references/current-state-rubric.md` as your scoring lens. Two modes:

- **From rich materials.** When the team has shared decks, prior content audits, an existing brand voice doc, recent positioning work, or a kickoff call transcript — score from those. Mark "scored from materials" in the section heading.
- **From a separately scored audit.** If the team already has a scored current-state assessment (in any format), ingest those numbers directly. Don't redo the work.

Either way, the output is the scored 17-row table that becomes Section 3 of the plan, followed by a 2–4 sentence "shape interpretation" calling out where strengths and gaps cluster.

### Step 1.6 — Write research.md

Compile everything into `research.md` with this structure:

```markdown
# {Client} — Marketing Plan Research Record

**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Author:** (fCMO / planner name)

## Company snapshot
- One-sentence description
- Stage (pre-seed / seed / Series A / etc.)
- Product status (beta / GA)

## ICP
- Primary ICP
- Stated vs. actual problem
- Demographics / firmographics

## Funnel state today
- Current numbers
- Funnel shape
- Biggest leak

## Funding
- Total raised
- Current round status
- Runway

## Team
- Founders and ownership
- Marketing surface area by person
- Gaps

## Current marketing budget
- $/mo total
- Breakdown
- Approved exposure, runway floor, review date, and stop conditions

## Channels currently active
[By AARRR stage]

## Already done (acknowledge in plan)
[List]

## In-flight and stuck
[List with blockers]

## Strategic posture
- Founder's top priority
- Founder's top de-prioritization
- Investor pressure points
- Constraints

## Current-state rubric scores
[17 section scores using `references/current-state-rubric.md`. If a prior scored audit exists, paste those scores. Otherwise mark "scored from materials."]

## Materials read
[List of files in materials/ + when read]
```

Save and verify `research.md`, then update the existing `progress.md` in one
state transition: `init_step: complete`, `phase: review`,
`current_section: 02`, preserve the existing `plan_version`, and stamp
`last_updated`. Move to Phase 2 only after the readback matches.

---

## Phase 2 — REVIEW (section-by-section drafting)

**Goal:** Walk through all 13 sections of the plan template (`references/plan-template.md`), drafting each, getting user confirmation, saving as you go.

### Step 2.1 — Transition progress.md

Use the existing `progress.md` created at fresh-start initialization. Confirm
`init_step: complete`, set `phase: review` and `current_section: 02`, preserve
the existing `plan_version` (initialize `v1` only for a new plan), and stamp
`last_updated`. Never replace the file or discard its notes.

### Step 2.2 — Walk each section in this order: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, then 1

Section 1 (Executive Summary) is drafted **last** because it depends on every other section's conclusions. Walk Sections 2 → 13 in numeric order, then synthesize Section 1 from the others. The final compiled `final_plan.md` is always presented in canonical order 1 → 13.

For each section, use the template at `references/plan-template.md` to draft. Then in chat:

1. Present the draft (or key bullets — short sections inline, long sections as bullet outline first)
2. Ask: *"Approve, adjust, or expand?"*
3. Iterate until user confirms
4. Stage the confirmed text as `sections/.NN.md.tmp`, validate that it is the
   approved section, and calculate its SHA-256.
5. Before promoting the file, persist `section_write_section: NN` and
   `section_write_sha256: {hash}` with `last_updated`. Then atomically rename
   the matching temp file to `sections/NN.md`.
6. Check only Section NN's checkbox and add exactly one
   `- sections/NN.md` line to Approved artifacts. For NN 02–13, set
   `current_section` to the first incomplete token after NN (normally the
   immediate next token and `01` after `13`; when recovering a re-open, skip
   sections already complete). Clear both write-intent fields and stamp
   `last_updated`.
7. For NN 01, first require all 13 checkboxes and all 13 readable approved
   artifacts, then make its metadata completion and the transition to
   `phase: finalize`, `finalize_step: compile`, `current_section: none`,
   cleared write intent, and `last_updated` one verified progress-file write.
   If the completeness guard fails, keep the write intent and reconcile the
   first mismatch. Read back the artifact hash and all state changes before
   compiling. This leaves no legal all-complete REVIEW state to replay after an
   interruption.

### Step 2.3 — Section-specific guidance

**Section 1 (Executive summary)** is synthesized from Sections 2–13 after they're all approved. Draft it last; present it first in the output document.

**Section 3 (Current state)** uses the embedded 17-section rubric in `references/current-state-rubric.md`. If a prior scored audit exists, paste those scores in. If not, score from available materials.

**Sections 4–8 (AARRR)** each follow the same internal structure: current state, the plan (numbered moves), 90-day moves, 12-month outlook, skills + tools. Don't skip the skills + tools sub-section — it's what makes the plan operationally honest.

**Section 11 (Marketing operations stack)** is auto-generatable from `references/ops-stack-mapping.md` plus the specific moves named in Sections 4–8.

**Section 12 (Idea bank)** is auto-generatable from
`references/idea-cross-reference.md` plus client-specific filters. Timing comes
from fit, evidence, owner capacity, dependencies, approval, and stop conditions,
never a funding label.

**Section 13** lives at the end. Open decisions should be ranked by impact. Appendix should reference only files the team can access (warn about machine-local paths).

### Step 2.4 — Brand voice consistency

If the client has documented brand voice rules (captured in research.md / Section 2), every section must respect them. Common voice constraints:
- Vocabulary rules (YES / NO lists)
- CTA rules (e.g., "never pressure")
- Initiatory vs. explanatory framing
- Tone (e.g., authoritative-yet-accessible, intimate-yet-professional)

If a section's draft violates the brand voice, redo it before showing it to the user.

---

## Phase 3 — FINALIZE (compile + verify + publish)

**Goal:** Produce `final_plan.md` and optionally publish to a shared repo.

### Step 3.1 — Compile

Before compilation, verify all 13 checkboxes, all 13 matching Approved artifacts,
and readable `sections/01.md` through `sections/13.md`. Halt with the first
mismatch; do not compile or claim completion.

Set `phase: finalize`, `finalize_step: compile`, and `last_updated` together
before starting. Concatenate `sections/01.md` through `sections/13.md` into
`final_plan.md` (canonical order 1 → 13, regardless of drafting order). Add:
- Title header with date and the existing `plan_version` marker
- "Prepared by / For / Date / Status" frontmatter
- Section anchors that work in Notion paste

Compilation must be deterministic for identical inputs. Write to
`.final_plan.md.tmp`, read it back, calculate SHA-256, atomically promote it,
then record that hash in `final_plan_sha256`. On resume, a matching
`final_plan.md` satisfies compile without rewriting it. If the file and
recorded hash disagree, regenerate from the 13 approved section files and
promote only after the deterministic output verifies; never advance a
mismatched artifact.

### Step 3.2 — Verification pass

Before printing:

- **Cross-reference check** — every `suede-marketing-ideas` number (e.g., "idea #17") matches the actual idea in `references/idea-cross-reference.md`. Every related-skill mention either exists in the public Suede skill pack or is documented as an external dependency (see the scope note in `ops-stack-mapping.md`).
- **MCP/API check** — every tool mentioned in Section 11 actually exists in the user's stack (per research.md intake) OR is flagged as "future / not yet wired."
- **Path check** — no machine-specific paths in the output. Prove it by running `grep -nE '/Users/|/home/|/private/tmp' final_plan.md` and requiring zero matches; replace any hit with a descriptive reference.
- **Voice check** — final read against brand voice rules. Flag and fix violations.
- **Open-decisions check** — every "TBD" or unanswered question from intake is listed in Section 13's open decisions, not hidden in the body.
- **Acknowledge check** — every item from "already done" in research.md is acknowledged somewhere in the plan.

**Halt format for a failed check.** On any check that does not pass: stop
finalize, name the failed check and the specific artifact that failed it (the
idea number, the tool, the grep hit, the voice rule, the missing open decision),
then offer these options and wait for the user's choice — (1) fix the source
section and re-run the full verification pass, (2) accept as-is with the
mismatch recorded in Section 13's open decisions, (3) re-open that section in
REVIEW, or (4) abort finalize and keep the current `phase`. Never advance
`finalize_step` past a failed check.

After compilation readback and `final_plan_sha256` verification succeed, set
`finalize_step: verify`. The verification pass is also idempotent: rerun every
check after interruption and advance only when all still pass. Then set
`finalize_step: publish_offer`. Preserve
`plan_version`; do not reset it to `v1`.

### Step 3.3 — Print

Output `final_plan.md` to the plan folder. Print a summary to chat:

> *"Marketing Plan {plan_version} saved to `.agents/suede-marketing-plans/{client-slug}/final_plan.md`. ~X,XXX words across 13 sections. Ready to paste into Notion or share with the team."*

### Step 3.4 — Publish (optional)

If the publication receipt is `status: published` with a target, matching
content hash, remote commit, and verified commit URL, do not publish again. If
it is `status: declined`, do not ask again; continue to Step 3.5. Only a
`not_requested` receipt may trigger this question:
> *"Want me to publish this to a shared GitHub repo so the team can access it? If yes, what's the target repo and path (e.g., `{client-org}/{client-context}/marketing/plan.md`)?"*

If yes, resolve the repo and branch/PR protection route read-only first. Hash
the verified `final_plan.md`, derive a deterministic idempotency key from that
canonical target plus the content hash, and record the exact target, hash, key,
and `status: authorized`. Then set
`finalize_step: publish_authorized` before any external mutation:
- Clone (or assume cloned) target repo
- Confirm the resolved branch/PR path remains authorized; direct-to-main
  requires separate explicit approval
- Before every initial attempt or retry, inspect the authorized remote
  branch/PR history for the idempotency key and verify the target blob hash. If
  both match, record that remote commit and URL as published without pushing.
  If the key exists with a different blob, or the blob exists under ambiguous
  provenance, stop for reconciliation.
- Copy `final_plan.md` to the target path
- Do not mutate the content after hashing. If a target-specific appendix change
  is needed, return to verification, update and recompile the local plan, then
  calculate a new content hash and idempotency key before authorization.
- Commit with the idempotency key in a machine-readable trailer, then push only
  within that authorization
- After push, read the commit and target blob back from the remote. Only when
  the key and content hash both match may progress record `remote_commit`,
  `commit_url`, `status: published`, and `finalize_step: published`.

This remote-first reconciliation closes the crash window after a successful
push but before the local receipt write: resumption discovers the existing
remote result and records it instead of creating another commit.

If no: record `status: declined`, clear any target/hash/key/commit fields, and
leave it local. Declined is terminal for this plan version and must not
re-prompt.

### Step 3.5 — Mark finalized

Only after `final_plan.md` passes readback and publication is either declined,
has a verified receipt, or remains `not_requested` because publication was
outside the current scope and no offer was made, set `phase: finalized`,
`finalize_step: complete`, and `last_updated` together. Do not use
`not_requested` to bypass an unanswered publication offer. This terminal state
prevents silent overwrite.

---

## Resuming a plan

Resumption is governed entirely by the decision tree in Step 1.1.2 above — always check state in that order on every invocation.

If the user chooses **revise as v{N+1}**, start a clean review cycle rather
than copying approved sections. Scan `{client-slug}-v{N+1}` and numbered
suffixes in order. Reuse the first folder whose progress file identifies the
same `source_plan`, `source_plan_version`, and new `plan_version`; otherwise
use the first absent path. An empty candidate may be adopted, but never
overwrite a nonempty candidate with missing or contradictory provenance.

Initialize the selected folder's complete schema first with the incremented
version, `source_plan` and `source_plan_version`, `phase: init`,
`init_step: intake`, `current_section: none`, every section unchecked, no
Approved-artifact lines, `finalize_step: not_started`,
`final_plan_sha256: none`, and a fresh `not_requested` publication receipt.
Then copy only `research.md` through an atomic temp-file promotion; do not copy
sections, `final_plan.md`, review checkboxes, or prior publication state. On
retry, matching provenance resumes this partial folder and reconciles the
research copy instead of creating another version folder. The finalized parent
remains untouched.

If the user chooses **fresh**, select `{client-slug}-fresh-YYYYMMDD` and create
its new `v1` schema before any research write. On retry, inspect that folder
before choosing a suffix: when it contains a readable new-plan schema
(`source_plan: none`, `plan_version: v1`) in an unfinished state and no
`final_plan.md`, adopt and resume it. Append `-02`, `-03`, and so on only when
the existing candidate is finalized or incompatible; apply the same
adopt-before-suffix rule to each candidate. Never delete, archive, or overwrite
the prior plan without separate approval.

If the user explicitly chooses **re-open Section NN** in the existing finalized
plan, normalize NN to one of the two-digit section tokens, compute the next
version, one deterministic timestamped archive path, and SHA-256 for the final
plan, Section NN, and (when NN is 02–13) Section 01. Before any archive
mutation, persist the applicable reopen fields, their hashes, and
`last_updated`. Copy and hash-verify `progress.md`, `final_plan.md`, Section NN,
and, when NN is 02–13, Section 01 into that archive path. After each archive
copy verifies, remove its matching live deliverable or section artifact. On
retry, an already matching archive copy is success, not a second copy or
overwrite.

After archive verification, increment `plan_version`, set `phase: review`,
`current_section: NN`, `finalize_step: not_started`,
`final_plan_sha256: none`, uncheck Section NN, and remove exactly its
Approved-artifact line. Reopening any of Sections 02–13 also invalidates
Section 01: uncheck it and remove `- sections/01.md` because its synthesis is
now stale. Reset the publication receipt to a fresh `not_requested` state,
stamp `last_updated`, verify the resulting review state, and only then clear
all reopen-intent fields.

### Re-open recovery

When any reopen-intent field is populated, recover before the normal resumption
tree. Reuse the recorded archive path; never generate another timestamp.
Copy or move only missing artifacts, verify each available hash against the
hashes recorded in the reopen intent, then finish the exact invalidation and
version transition above. If a source or archive copy disagrees with its
recorded hash, preserve both and stop for a decision. Clearing every reopen
field, including the recorded hashes, is the final operation, so retries are
idempotent whether interruption happened before archive, during moves, or
after the review-state transition.

## Failure modes to watch for

- **Skipping intake.** A plan written without proper intake is generic and won't survive contact with the founder. Always do the full ten-topic intake unless the user explicitly waives it.
- **Pretending data exists.** If you can't confirm a number (current MRR, retention rate, etc.), don't guess. Mark it `[TBD — to confirm with team]` in the plan and add to open decisions.
- **Ignoring the brand voice.** If the client has a strong voice (most do), every section must respect it. Read the voice rules before drafting any copy-adjacent text.
- **Padding the idea bank.** Section 12 is comprehensive only if it includes the skip list with reasons. Don't pad with ideas that clearly don't fit just to hit the 139.
- **Glossing over uncomfortable metrics.** If churn is high or activation is low, name it in Current State. Founders read past sugar-coating.
- **Treating financing as capability.** A round may be a conditional input, but
  every unlock still requires verified resources, evidence, an owner, approval,
  review date, and stop conditions.

# Marketing Operations Stack — Skills + MCPs per AARRR Stage

This doc maps every marketing-skill and every relevant MCP/API integration to the AARRR stage(s) it primarily serves. It's the source for Section 11 of every plan.

> **Note on scope.** Skills below live in the public Suede skill pack. External
> tools are optional. Discover current callable, authorized capabilities first;
> otherwise use a manual workflow and record the limitation in Section 13.

## The thesis

The public Suede skill pack and verified integrations can make approved workflows more repeatable for a small team. They do not replace channel ownership, human review, or missing expertise, and they do not imply a headcount-equivalence or guaranteed output.

The plan's Section 11 makes this thesis explicit by:
1. Mapping skills to stages so the founder sees which skills execute which work
2. Mapping MCPs/APIs to stages so the founder sees the tooling layer
3. Naming a concrete, evidence-backed operational example that shows how the stack was used
4. Showing capability unlocks by verified evidence, owner capacity,
   authorization, maximum exposure, review date, and stop conditions

## Marketing skills mapped to AARRR

### Acquisition skills

| Skill | What it does | Primary use in Acquisition |
|---|---|---|
| `suede-seo-audit` | Audit technical and on-page SEO, AI-search readiness, and structured data | Quarterly site health and search-readiness checks |
| `suede-programmatic-seo` | Build template-driven SEO pages at scale | Location, comparison, integration page systems |
| `suede-content-strategy` | Plan content topics, pillars, cadence | Setting the editorial calendar |
| `suede-competitors` | Build vs-pages and alternative-to-pages | Capture high-intent SERPs against competitors |
| `suede-ads` | Plan and structure paid campaigns | Apple Search Ads, Meta, Google, LinkedIn |
| `suede-ad-creative` | Generate ad variations and creative | Iterate ad creative across platforms |
| `suede-social` | Plan and write social media content | LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok |
| Typefully (external integration) | Schedule/post tweets, threads, LinkedIn content | Cadence operations for founder-led channels |
| `suede-cold-email` | Write B2B cold outreach + sequences | Outbound for B2B SaaS / hybrid businesses |
| `suede-analytics` | Set up tracking, GA4, conversion events | Funnel instrumentation |
| `suede-free-tools` | Plan engineering-as-marketing free tools | Build tools that generate links + leads |
| `suede-site-alchemy` | Design marketing sites with intention | Pillar/landing page design |
| `suede-launch-packaging` | Plan and execute launches (Product Hunt, GA, feature launches) | GTM moments — strategy + tactical execution |

### Activation skills

| Skill | What it does | Primary use in Activation |
|---|---|---|
| `suede-onboarding` | Optimize user onboarding flows | Onboarding rebuild, activation rate tests |
| `suede-signup` | Optimize signup/registration | Reduce friction at top of activation |
| `suede-site-alchemy` | Optimize marketing pages, forms, popups, and landing pages | Conversion testing across activation surfaces |
| `suede-paywalls` | Optimize paywalls and upgrade screens | Trial → paid conversion (also Revenue) |
| `suede-copy` | Write, edit, and iterate marketing copy | Onboarding screens, paywall copy, CTAs, and voice review |
| `suede-ab-testing` | Plan A/B tests | Structure for onboarding variant tests |
| `suede-marketing-psychology` | Apply behavioral science to copy and CRO | Persuasion principles in activation moments |

### Retention skills

| Skill | What it does | Primary use in Retention |
|---|---|---|
| `suede-emails` | Design email sequences | Customer.io / Mailchimp / Resend flow building |
| `suede-churn-prevention` | Build cancellation flows, save offers, win-back | Reduce churn, recover failed payments |
| `suede-copy` | Email copy production | Lifecycle email content |
| `suede-paywalls` | (cross-cuts) — upgrade prompts in retention emails | Upsell within lifecycle |
| `suede-ab-testing` | Test email variants | Subject line, CTA, timing tests |

### Referral skills

| Skill | What it does | Primary use in Referral |
|---|---|---|
| `suede-referrals` | Plan and launch referral / affiliate / ambassador programs | Core skill for Section 7 |
| `suede-social` | Create ambassador-shareable content | Talking points, post templates |
| `suede-copy` | Ambassador / affiliate email copy | Recruitment, onboarding, communication |
| `suede-site-alchemy` | Per-ambassador landing pages | Attribution surface |
| `suede-emails` | Ambassador lifecycle emails | Onboarding, monthly digest, payout notifications |

### Revenue skills

| Skill | What it does | Primary use in Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| `suede-pricing` | Audit and optimize pricing | Plan tier structure, annual defaults, value metrics |
| `suede-paywalls` | Paywall optimization | Trial → paid, free → paid conversion |
| `suede-sales-enablement` | Build sales decks, one-pagers, demos | B2B sales support material |
| `suede-revops` | Revenue operations, lead lifecycle | Marketing → sales handoff |
| `suede-ab-testing` | Pricing experiments | Test annual default, intro pricing, tier consolidation |

### Cross-cutting / brand foundation skills

| Skill | What it does | Primary use |
|---|---|---|
| `suede-product-marketing` | Set up the `.agents/product-marketing.md` context file (positioning, ICP, voice) | Foundational — run first; every section of the plan references this |
| `suede-customer-research` | Conduct customer interviews + surveys | Section 2 + Section 3 (Current state) |
| `suede-marketing-psychology` | Apply behavioral science | Cross-cuts copy, CRO, paywalls |
| `suede-marketing-ideas` | The 139-idea library | Section 12 of plan (Idea bank) |

## MCPs and APIs mapped to AARRR

### Acquisition tooling

| Optional tool | What it can provide | Availability and authority check |
|---|---|---|
| **Ahrefs API** | SEO data: keyword research, backlinks, competitor analysis | Confirm an already authorized connection; never request or expose a secret |
| **DataForSEO API** | SERP data, keyword volume, competitor SERP analysis | Confirm authorized account, cost ceiling, and data terms |
| **GA4 MCP** | Traffic by channel, conversion events, retention curves | Confirm callable property, identity, scope, and read-only boundary |
| **GitHub MCP** | Repo work: marketing site, content authoring | Confirm exact repo, branch, permissions, and mutation approval |
| **Typefully MCP** | Social drafting or posting where supported | Confirm account identity; posting requires explicit publication approval |
| **Google Ads MCP** | Campaign analysis or approved account changes | Confirm account identity and read-only/change scope; spend changes need explicit approval |
| **Browser automation** | Form checks, screenshots, and authorized workflows | Use only if already available and permitted; installation and submission are separate approvals |
| **Page extraction** | Clean text extraction from permitted web pages | Use an available reader; do not install software or bypass access controls |
| **Notion** | Authorized internal knowledge access | Confirm workspace, page scope, and read/write boundary |
| **Stripe MCP** | LTV inputs and paid-CAC reconciliation | Confirm account identity, restricted scope, and read-only boundary |

### Activation tooling

| Tool | What it provides |
|---|---|
| **App Store Connect** | Conversion rate by listing variant, install funnel | Confirm authorized property and available read method; do not assume browser tooling |
| **GitHub MCP** | Mobile app repo for onboarding code edits |
| **Figma / Pencil MCP** | Onboarding screen design + iteration |
| **Customer.io MCP** | In-app messaging + lifecycle email coordination |
| **Stripe MCP** | Subscription state for paywall logic |
| **GA4 MCP** | Activation events instrumentation |

### Retention tooling

| Tool | What it provides |
|---|---|
| **Customer.io MCP** | The retention infrastructure — flow building, segmentation, sending |
| **Shopify** | Hardware buyer events as lifecycle triggers |
| **Stripe MCP** | Subscription state, churn cohorts, plan changes |
| **GA4 MCP** | Session events, retention curves |
| **Resend / Mailchimp / SendGrid** | Alternatives to Customer.io for different stacks |

### Referral tooling

| Tool | What it provides |
|---|---|
| **Dub.co** | Ambassador attribution, short links, per-ambassador tracking |
| **Stripe MCP** | Commission accounting + payouts via Connect |
| **GitHub MCP** | Per-ambassador landing pages |
| **Customer.io MCP** | Ambassador lifecycle (recruitment → onboarding → monthly digest → payout notifications) |
| **Rewardful / Tolt / Mention Me** | Alternatives to Dub for affiliate management |

### Revenue tooling

| Tool | What it provides |
|---|---|
| **Stripe MCP** | Pricing tests, subscription analytics, churn cohort analysis, blended CAC math |
| **Shopify** | Hardware transactions |
| **GA4 MCP** | Revenue events |
| **Customer.io MCP** | Paywall / pricing-related lifecycle |
| **Notion** | Commercial knowledge directory |

### Cross-cutting tooling

| Tool | What it provides |
|---|---|
| **Notion** | Shared knowledge base |
| **GitHub MCP** | Shared context repo (`{client-org}/{client-context}`) |
| **defuddle** | Research extraction |
| **obsidian-cli** | Working notes for fCMO |
| **Pencil MCP** | Design files |
| **Figma MCP** | Design files (if Figma) |

## Capability unlocks by verified resource state

Section 11 must include this table (or equivalent). Funding stage may be context,
but it does not supply the answer.

| Capability | Current evidence and owner | Constraint | Unlock condition | Approval / maximum exposure | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition test | | | | | |
| Lifecycle | | | | | |
| Content / creative | | | | | |
| Analytics | | | | | |
| Community / PR | | | | | |

Mark each capability `current`, `approved test`, `conditional unlock`, or
`deferred` using `funding-stage-unlocks.md`. Never infer headcount, tool spend,
or channel scale from a round label.

## The concrete-example test

Section 11 of the plan must include at least one concrete operational example that grounds the stack thesis in evidence. The example should be:
- A specific event (not abstract claim)
- From this client's actual history when a source artifact is available
- Tied to a named owner, workflow, review step, and observable result
- Careful not to attribute an outcome to a skill or integration unless the evidence supports that causal claim

Use this evidence format:
- *"On [date], [owner] used [verified skill/tool] to complete [specific workflow]. [Reviewer] approved [artifact or deployment]. The recorded result was [measured observation], according to [source]."*
- If the result is only an illustrative planning scenario, label every number as an assumption and state that it is not an expected outcome.

If the client has no verified example yet, frame it as the *first test* — "Here is the workflow the team will run in week one, the artifact it will produce, and the metric it will observe." Do not present the test as proof or forecast its result.

## When the stack doesn't apply (yet)

For clients without callable authorized connections, frame Section 11
differently:
- List the manual workflows and public Suede skills that apply now.
- Name the specific evidence or efficiency question an optional connection
  could address, plus owner, data boundary, cost, fallback, and review.
- Keep setup or installation as an unapproved option until the user explicitly
  authorizes the exact tool, account, scope, cost, and mutation boundary. Do not
  assign it to Q1 by default.

A plan can't claim the agentic-stack thesis if the stack isn't wired. Be honest about state.

# Plan Template — The 13-Section Structure

The canonical template for every marketing plan generated by this skill. Each section has a purpose, a structure, and inline prompts for what to draft.

The Quietude plan (see `references/example-quietude.md`) is the canonical reference implementation.

---

## Title block

```markdown
# {Client} — Marketing Plan {plan_version}

**Prepared by:** {Author / fCMO name}
**For:** {Founders / leadership team}
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Status:** Draft {plan_version} — for team review
```

---

## Section 1 — Executive summary

**Purpose:** Lift-and-share. A founder should be able to paste this into a board update or investor email without editing.

**Length:** 400–700 words. Tight.

**Structure:**
1. **One-sentence frame.** What does this plan optimize for? Not "more revenue" — something specific to this client at this stage.
2. **Three big bets, ranked by leverage.** Each is a paragraph. Bet = a high-conviction thesis about where the team should focus capital and attention.
3. **What twelve months looks like, plausibly.** Bullet list. The plausible outcome state at end of plan horizon. Investor-readable.
4. **90-day priorities.** Numbered list. The six (give or take) moves that ship in the first quarter.

**Voice notes:**
- Match the client's voice
- Direct, founder-readable, no marketing-speak
- Use names and numbers (specific channels, specific metrics) — not abstractions
- Tradeoffs named explicitly when they matter

---

## Section 2 — Strategic frame

**Purpose:** Distill positioning, ICP, business-model logic, and brand voice into a single page that any team member or new hire can read to orient.

**Length:** 800–1500 words.

**Structure:**

### What {Company} is, in one sentence
Pulled from positioning doc / seed deck / founder language.

### The category we're claiming
Is the company creating a new category, redefining an existing one, or competing in a defined category? Name it. State the category-defining frame in 2–3 sentences. Reference the source (founder's words, ICP doc, etc.).

### Who we're for (ICP, distilled)
Demographics / firmographics + stated problem vs. real problem + what they're actually buying. Tight, 4–6 bullets.

### The business model logic
How does the company make money? What's the customer-acquisition unit economics theory? What's the compounding channel thesis (if any)? Pulled from seed deck / financial model / founder narrative.

### Brand voice (the non-negotiable)
If the client has documented voice rules, list them. YES / NO vocabulary. CTA rules. Tone. Core method (initiatory, explanatory, narrative, etc.). Every other section of the plan must respect these.

**Voice notes:**
- This section is the most "lift from existing materials" — don't invent positioning. Surface what's there.
- If positioning is unclear or contradicted across materials, flag it in Section 13's open decisions.

---

## Section 3 — Current state

**Purpose:** Anchor the plan in reality. What's the team, budget, in-flight work, and stuck work *today*?

**Length:** 1000–2000 words.

**Structure:**

### Team composition (marketing surface area)
Table of every person with marketing surface area:

| Person | Role | Marketing surface area |
|---|---|---|

Be honest about gaps. For each uncovered capability, record the outcome, present
owner and capacity, evidence of durable workload, access and risk, options
(reassign, defer, automate, contractor, agency, or employee), decision owner,
maximum exposure, and review date. Do not infer a hire, title, or vendor from
company size, funding, or hire order; use `references/team-and-agency-model.md`.

### Marketing budget (current)
- Paid acquisition: $X/mo
- Tooling stack: list with estimated cost
- Retainers / fCMO: list
- Headcount: list
- Blended CAC: $X (must include salaries, content costs, tools, retainers — not just paid spend; see `references/budget-planning.md` for the calculation)
- Current spend as % of ARR: X% (record for context; do not compare with an
  unsourced universal range)

State which capabilities are current, approved tests, conditional unlocks, or
deferred (see `references/funding-stage-unlocks.md`). The 90-day plan includes
only current work and explicitly approved tests.

### Phase of SaaS growth
Name the observed pattern and current constraint from dated acquisition,
activation, retention, capacity, cash, and market evidence (see
`references/growth-patterns.md`). Section 10 presents conditional low/base/high
scenarios and review checkpoints.

### What's already done (acknowledge, then build on)
Table:

| Asset | Status | Marketing leverage |
|---|---|---|

This is where past launches, PR moments, content pillars, certifications, notable users get acknowledged. **Critical**: don't write a plan that ignores work the team is proud of.

### What's in-flight (drafted but not shipped)
Table:

| Item | Status | Blocker |
|---|---|---|

Be honest about blockers. Where the blocker is "no time" or "no decision," that goes to Section 13's open decisions.

### What's stuck (and needs to unstick this quarter)
Table:

| Issue | Cost of inaction | Action |
|---|---|---|

Stuck things are the most leverage-positive places to focus the first weeks of the 90-day plan.

### Audit rubric snapshot
17-section scored snapshot using the embedded current-state rubric. See `references/current-state-rubric.md` for the full rubric and scoring guides.

If a prior scored audit exists, paste those scores in. Otherwise score from available materials and note "scored from materials" under the heading.

| # | Section | Score | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Positioning | 0–5 | |
| 2 | Customer research | 0–5 | |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 17 | Internationalization | 0–5 | |

**Total: X / 85 (Y%).** Note the *shape* of strength and weakness — that shape is the gap the rest of the plan closes.

**Voice notes:**
- Honest > polished. If the client's metrics are bad, name them. Founders read past sugar-coating.

---

## Section 4 — Acquisition

**Purpose:** Answer "how do strangers become aware of us?" Map every channel: current state, planned moves, skipped (with reason).

**Length:** 1000–1800 words.

**Structure:**

### Current state
Brief. What's working today, what's not, what the data shows about channel mix.

### The plan
Numbered "Moves." Each move is a paragraph describing the evidence, hypothesis,
owner, specific work, exposure, review date, and stop conditions. Build the
move set from client evidence rather than an archetype menu. Candidate questions:

- Is there measured search demand and an accessible site surface?
- Does a verified marketplace or store listing matter to the current funnel?
- Which audience channels show comparable reach and qualified action?
- Is there a source-backed credibility event worth amplifying?
- Do events, partnerships, commerce, or sales enablement address the measured
  constraint?
- Is a paid test justified by audience, economics, tracking, creative capacity,
  explicit approval, and an affordable downside?

### 90-day acquisition moves
Week-by-week breakdown of the ships in the first quarter.

### 12-month acquisition outlook
Quarter-by-quarter outcome state (Q1 / Q2 / Q3 / Q4).

### Skills + tools
- **Skills:** list relevant public Suede skills (`suede-seo-audit`, `suede-programmatic-seo`, `suede-ads`, `suede-social`, `suede-competitors`, etc.)
- **MCPs / APIs:** list connections (Ahrefs API, GA4 MCP, Typefully MCP, Stripe MCP for LTV math, etc.)

---

## Section 5 — Activation

**Purpose:** Answer "once someone tries us, do they have an experience that converts?"

**Length:** 800–1500 words.

**Structure:** Same as Acquisition (Current state / The plan / 90-day / 12-month / Skills + tools).

**Common moves:**
- Bedrock fixes (broken signup, broken onboarding gates, etc.)
- Onboarding tests / rebuild (often the most leveraged move at this stage)
- App Store listing rewrite (cross-references to Acquisition)
- Lifecycle Flow ship order (when to ship onboarding emails vs. hold for product stability)
- Paywall + pricing review (often Activation × Revenue)

### Skills + tools
`suede-onboarding`, `suede-signup`, `suede-paywalls`, `suede-copy`, `suede-site-alchemy`, `suede-ab-testing`, etc.

---

## Section 6 — Retention

**Purpose:** Answer "once someone converts, do they stay and deepen?"

**Length:** 800–1500 words.

**Structure:** Same as above.

**Common moves:**
- Lifecycle email flows (post-purchase, lapsed user, win-back)
- Subscription / preference centers
- Churn reconciliation (often metric definitions don't match across surfaces)
- Hardware → software activation paths (for hybrid businesses)
- Annual plan default tests (cross-references to Revenue)

### Skills + tools
`suede-emails`, `suede-churn-prevention`, `suede-copy`, `suede-paywalls`, etc.

---

## Section 7 — Referral

**Purpose:** Answer "do retained users bring more users, and at what cost?"

**Length:** 500–1200 words.

**Structure:** Same as above.

**Common moves:**
- Ambassador / affiliate pilot only after inbound fit, rights/disclosures,
  economics, owner capacity, tracking, maximum exposure, approval, review, and
  stop conditions are verified
- Share-after-value moments built into product
- Founder amplification (founder as referrer-zero)
- Long-game expert / Guides / certified-host network
- Gifting flows (for consumer / hardware)

### Skills + tools
`suede-referrals`, `suede-social`, `suede-emails` (for ambassador lifecycle), `suede-copy`, etc.

---

## Section 8 — Revenue

**Purpose:** Answer "what do we charge, who pays, and how does it compound?"

**Length:** 500–1200 words.

**Structure:** Same as above.

**Common moves:**
- Pricing audit (what's actually charged today vs. listed?)
- Annual plan default tests
- Hardware → software bundling formalization (for hybrid businesses)
- Storefront / commerce page optimization
- B2B case studies + sales material
- Long-term value pools (data licensing, enterprise expansion) — flagged not executed in 12-month plan

### Unit economics
Required table:

| Metric | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ARPC (avg monthly revenue per customer) | $X | Pulled from Stripe / billing |
| Blended CAC | $X | Includes all marketing costs, not just paid |
| Retention / churn input | X% | Definition, cohort, window, source, as-of date |
| LTV range | $X–$Y | Finance-approved model, margin treatment, horizon, source assumptions |
| LTV / CAC range | X–Y | Compared with the company's approved hurdle and payback constraint; no universal threshold |

These feed the sensitivity model in Section 10. If any input is unknown, label
the output `unverified assumption`, show low/base/high cases, and list the
missing decision in Section 13. Do not use a reciprocal-churn shortcut when
cohort retention, gross margin, or a finance-approved LTV definition is absent.

### Skills + tools
`suede-pricing`, `suede-paywalls`, `suede-sales-enablement`, `suede-revops`, `suede-ab-testing`, etc.

---

## Section 9 — 90-day roadmap

**Purpose:** The tactical execution layer. Every move ships within a named week, with an owner.

**Length:** Tables, not prose. Should fit on one printed page if possible.

**Structure:** Four 2–3-week sprints:

### Weeks 1–2 — Unblock
Highest-confidence, lowest-cost changes. Removing things that are broken.

| Move | Stage | Owner |
|---|---|---|

### Weeks 3–4 — Foundation
Pillar/foundational work. Domain consolidation. First content. First flows shipping. First tests live.

### Weeks 5–8 — Velocity
Compounding work begins. Content cadence. Repeat tests. Channel scaling.

### Weeks 9–12 — Compound
Second-order moves. Layered tactics. 90-day review prep.

---

## Section 10 — 12-month outlook

**Purpose:** Quarterly decision checkpoints with conditional capability
unlocks anchored in dated evidence, resource capacity, approval, and an
explicitly testable growth-pattern hypothesis.

**Length:** Four sub-sections, one per quarter. ~250–400 words each. Plus a short framing paragraph at the top naming the budget method and growth pattern.

### Framing (top of Section 10)

State explicitly:
- **Scenario method used.** Capacity-based or goal-based sensitivity model.
  See `references/budget-planning.md`; show source dates, low/base/high
  assumptions, approval state, and limitations.
- **Maximum approved exposure**, downside stop, owner, and review date.
- **Resulting outcome range.** A decision scenario, not a guarantee.
- **Growth pattern hypothesis.** Linear, step-function, or layered S-curves,
  chosen from current evidence and revisited at the review date.

### Structure (per quarter)

#### Q{N} — Months {X}–{Y}

**Verified resource state:** {current evidence, capacity, cash/runway boundary,
owner, and approval as of date}

**Conditional unlocks:** {condition → capability}, including decision owner,
maximum exposure, review date, and pause/stop conditions. A financing event may
be one condition but never supplies the spend, hire, vendor, channel, or target.

**Focus:** One-sentence focus theme for the quarter.

**Outcomes by end of Q{N}:**
- Bulleted outcome list (5–8 items)

**KPI decision rules:** 3–5 source-backed ranges or thresholds. For each, name
baseline/cohort/date, low/base/high assumption, owner, review date, and action
on hit/miss. Do not invent a number to fill the template.

**Channel/Product/Market S-curve position:** Which curves are growing, which are plateauing, which is the next one being staged for this quarter (see `growth-patterns.md` — layering principle).

---

## Section 11 — Marketing operations stack

**Purpose:** Show how approved work runs through accountable owners, present
capacity, authorized manual or tool-assisted workflows, review gates, and
fallbacks. Do not imply that tooling replaces staffing or expertise.

**Length:** Tables + brief explanation.

**Structure:**

### The thesis
1–2 paragraphs explaining how the public Suede skill pack and verified integrations make approved workflows more repeatable. Do not claim headcount equivalence, guaranteed throughput, or replacement of channel ownership and human review.

### Skills mapped to AARRR stages

| Stage | Primary skills | Supporting skills |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition | (list) | (list) |
| Activation | (list) | (list) |
| Retention | (list) | (list) |
| Referral | (list) | (list) |
| Revenue | (list) | (list) |
| Cross-cutting | (list) | (list) |

### MCPs / APIs mapped to stages

| Stage | Existing connections | fCMO tooling layer |
|---|---|---|

### A concrete example
Pick one verified operational moment that shows how the stack was used. Name the source artifact, owner, review gate, and observed result; do not infer causality or broader performance from the event.

### Capability unlocks by verified resource state

| Capability | Current evidence/owner | Constraint | Unlock condition | Approval / maximum exposure | Review / stop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (workflow) | (source, date, owner, capacity) | (specific gap) | (verified condition) | (decision owner and ceiling) | (date and rule) |

### Team and agency model (RACI)

Use `references/team-and-agency-model.md` to compare current ownership,
reassignment, deferral, automation, contractor, agency, and employee options
against actual duration, capacity, access, risk, cost, and handoff needs.

| Function | Owned by (internal strategic role) | Executed by (IC / contractor / agency) |
|---|---|---|
| Growth marketing (demand engine) | | |
| Product marketing (story engine) | | |
| Content marketing (trust engine) | | |

If a function lacks an accountable owner, add a bounded ownership decision to
Section 9. Do not assume the answer is a hire or vendor. Record evidence
required, options, decision owner, maximum exposure, approval, review date, and
the interim safe state. Pull conditions from
`references/funding-stage-unlocks.md`.

---

## Section 12 — Tactical idea bank

**Purpose:** Cross-reference all 139 ideas from the `suede-marketing-ideas` skill against AARRR stages, with client-specific status.

**Length:** Long — tables can easily total 150+ rows.

**Structure:**

### Intro paragraph
Explain the cross-reference: Sections 4–8 prescribe what's *being done*. This section maps what's *possible*.

### Status legend

- **Current** — already active with a verified owner and evidence
- **Approved test** — bounded test with exact approval, exposure, and stop rules
- **Conditional** — only after named evidence, capacity, approval, and review gates
- **Deferred** — intentionally held pending a named decision or resource
- **Skip / off-brand** — incompatible with brand voice or business model

### 12.1 Acquisition ideas

By status (Current / Approved test / Conditional / Deferred / Skip), tables of
relevant `suede-marketing-ideas` entries by number.

| # | Idea | Client note |
|---|---|---|

### 12.2 Activation ideas
### 12.3 Retention ideas
### 12.4 Referral ideas
### 12.5 Revenue ideas
### 12.6 Cross-cutting / brand foundation ideas

### Idea-bank summary
- Counts per AARRR stage
- Counts skipped, with rationale
- What the plan covers as a % of the available tactical surface area
- What this proves about the client's stage

Use `references/idea-cross-reference.md` as the source-of-truth mapping. Apply
client-specific filters during draft. Timing comes from fit, evidence, owner
capacity, dependencies, authorization, and stop conditions—not a round label.

---

## Section 13 — Measurement, RACI, open decisions, appendix

**Purpose:** Operational close. Define how the plan gets measured, who owns what, what's still TBD, and where to find the deeper docs.

**Structure:**

### Measurement — the metrics that matter

**North star (proposed):** One metric that captures the business-model thesis. For Quietude it was blended-LTV-to-blended-CAC; for a B2B SaaS it might be NRR × NPS; for a marketplace, take-rate × monthly transacting users. Make it specific to the company.

**Leading indicators by AARRR stage:** Table:

| Stage | Leading indicators |
|---|---|
| Acquisition | ... |
| Activation | ... |
| Retention | ... |
| Referral | ... |
| Revenue | ... |

**Review cadence:**
- Weekly: who syncs with whom, on what
- Monthly: who reviews what
- Quarterly: plan recalibration trigger

### RACI

| Domain | Responsible | Accountable | Consulted | Informed |
|---|---|---|---|---|

Common domains: strategic plan, brand voice, app/product implementation, lifecycle, SEO content, App Store, founder-led social, events, ambassadors, B2B sales, pricing, investor narrative, future hires.

### Open decisions blocking the plan

Ranked by impact. Each is: name + impact + what's blocked.

1. (highest impact) ...
2. ...
8. (lowest impact) ...

### Appendix — deep-dive links

**Published in this repo / shared with team:** {relative paths to docs in the shared repo}

**Founder-authored strategic context** (internal knowledge base): {names of docs the team has access to outside the plan repo}

**fCMO working drafts** (not yet published): {names + how to access from author}

---

## Closing line

```markdown
*{Client} Marketing Plan {plan_version}. Prepared by {Author}, {Date}. For team review and discussion.*
```

---

## Per-section heuristics for "is this section done?"

- **Section 1** — A non-Quietude reader could understand the company's growth thesis from this alone.
- **Section 2** — Brand voice rules are explicit enough that any new copywriter could follow them.
- **Section 3** — All "in-flight" items have an owner and a blocker named.
- **Sections 4–8** — Each move names an owner, evidence source, execution method,
  review gate, and fallback. Name a public Suede skill or authorized tool only
  when actually available; a manual workflow is valid.
- **Section 9** — Every row has an owner.
- **Section 10** — Each quarter names source-backed scenarios, resource
  conditions, accountable approval, review date, and pause/stop rules.
- **Section 11** — At least one evidence-backed operational example shows how the stack was used without overstating causality.
- **Section 12** — Skip list has rationale, not just absence.
- **Section 13** — North-star is specific to this company (not generic "ARR growth").

# Team and Agency Model — Ownership Before Org Charts

This reference helps assign work. It does not prescribe a first hire, title,
agency type, or in-house/outsourced ratio from funding stage or company size.

## Start With the Work

For each required capability, document:

- outcome and decision it supports;
- current owner and weekly capacity;
- skills, access, and data required;
- risk, confidentiality, and approval boundary;
- duration: durable ownership, bounded project, or temporary surge;
- success evidence and review date.

Do not open a role or vendor search until the gap is explicit.

## Ownership Options

### Existing Internal Owner

Use when the work requires durable company context and the owner has capacity,
authority, and the needed skill. Protect time and define what stops.

### New Employee

Consider when evidence shows a durable workload, close product/customer context
is essential, and the company can support recruiting, management, compensation,
and a realistic ramp. Title follows actual scope and reporting structure; never
assign it from hire order.

### Contractor or Specialist

Consider for bounded deliverables or specialized capacity. Require:

- precise scope and acceptance criteria;
- data/access minimization;
- IP, confidentiality, security, and compliance terms;
- maximum cost and change-control approval;
- named internal reviewer and handoff plan.

### Agency

Consider when coordinated multi-person capacity is demonstrably needed. Compare
the actual senior team, relevant work, commercial model, data handling, minimum
commitment, exit terms, and references. Agency size is not a proxy for fit.

### Defer or Automate

Defer work that lacks evidence, owner capacity, or strategic fit. Automation may
reduce repetitive effort only after the process, permissions, review gate, and
failure path are understood.

## Capability Map

| Capability | Outcome | Current owner/capacity | Gap | Best ownership hypothesis | Evidence needed | Decision date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth / distribution | | | | | | |
| Product marketing | | | | | | |
| Content / creative | | | | | | |
| Lifecycle | | | | | | |
| Analytics / operations | | | | | | |

One person may cover several rows. Labels such as `T-shaped` or `pi-shaped` may
describe observed breadth, but they are not hiring requirements or proof of fit.

## Vendor Decision Scorecard

Score each candidate from evidence, not category reputation:

| Dimension | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Relevant delivery | Comparable, verifiable work and references |
| Senior attention | Named delivery team and allocation |
| Operating fit | Communication, cadence, and change control |
| Data / security | Access model, retention, subprocessors, incident path |
| Commercial fit | Total cost, minimums, payment, renewal, exit |
| Handoff | Documentation, assets, accounts, and knowledge transfer |

Get explicit approval for the selected scope, vendor, maximum cost, terms, and
access before signing or provisioning anything.

## Applying It to the Plan

### Section 3 — Current State

Map every current owner, capacity limit, open role, contractor, vendor, and
approval boundary.

### Section 9 — 90-Day Roadmap

Assign approved work to named owners. Hiring or agency selection appears as a
decision task with evidence and authority, not as an assumed unlock.

### Section 11 — Operations Stack

For each workflow, show accountable owner, reviewer, tool access, and fallback.
A public Suede skill can structure work; it does not replace accountable
ownership or prove staffing capacity.

### Section 13 — Open Decisions

List unresolved ownership gaps, evidence needed, decision owner, maximum
exposure, and next review date.