Marketing Capability Audit

Overview

Assess marketing readiness by mapping goals to funnel stages, scoring core capabilities, and producing a prioritized 30/60/90-day plan.

Workflow Decision

Use a lighter checklist if pre-PMF or no consistent demand; use the full checklist if demand is consistent and growth is the goal.

digraph when_flow {
  node [shape=box];
  start [label="Start audit"];
  q1 [shape=diamond, label="Consistent demand + repeatable acquisition?"];
  pre [label="Use pre-PMF checklist subset"];
  post [label="Use full checklist"];
  start -> q1;
  q1 -> pre [label="no"];
  q1 -> post [label="yes"];
}

Audit Steps

Capture context Collect: product type, ICP, price point, sales motion, geo, launch timeline, budget, current traction, team capacity, and constraints.
Map goals to funnel stages Pick 1-2 primary goals (e.g., awareness, qualified leads, trials, activation, retention). Tie each goal to a funnel stage.
Score capabilities Use the checklist in references/marketing-checklist.md. For each item, mark:

Ready: implemented and working
Partial: exists but incomplete or inconsistent
Missing: not present Include evidence and owner for each item.

Prioritize gaps Rank gaps by impact and effort. Choose top 5 to address in the next 30 days.
Produce outputs Deliver:

Scoreboard (stage → readiness)
Top 5 gaps with rationale
30/60/90 plan with owners
Metrics to track (per goal)

Quick Reference

Stage: Awareness Key capabilities: Positioning, PR/media list, website clarity, basic SEO, social presence Primary artifacts: Messaging doc, landing page, tracking baseline

Stage: Consideration Key capabilities: Proof, case studies, email capture, comparison content Primary artifacts: Lead magnet, nurture emails, proof assets

Stage: Conversion Key capabilities: Pricing page, trial/onboarding, sales collateral Primary artifacts: Pricing page, demo flow, objection handling

Stage: Retention/Referral Key capabilities: Lifecycle email, activation tracking, referral loops Primary artifacts: Activation checklist, retention metrics

Example

Input:

B2B SaaS, $99/mo, founder-led sales, US market
Launch in 6 weeks, budget $2k/mo, no paid yet
Some organic traffic, no email list

Output (summary):

Goals: Awareness + qualified trials
Top gaps (30 days):
1. Messaging doc (Missing)
2. Analytics baseline (Missing)
3. Lead magnet + email capture (Missing)
4. Trial onboarding email (Partial)
5. Keyword-backed content plan (Missing)
30/60/90: launch landing page refresh, email capture, 4 SEO pages, set up analytics, start monthly newsletter

Common Mistakes

Treating every channel as required instead of matching to goals
Running paid before messaging and analytics are stable
Ignoring retention/activation metrics while focusing only on acquisition
Building assets without a clear ICP and positioning

Resources

references/marketing-checklist.md: Current marketing capability checklist and notes