Acquisition Channel Advisor

Purpose

Guide product managers through evaluating whether to scale, test, or kill an acquisition channel based on unit economics (CAC, LTV, payback), customer quality (retention, NRR), and scalability (magic number, volume potential). Use this to make data-driven go-to-market decisions and optimize channel mix for sustainable growth.

This is not a channel strategy framework, it's a financial lens for channel evaluation that helps you avoid scaling unprofitable channels or killing channels with fixable problems. Use when deciding how to allocate marketing budget across channels.

Input

Works best with: The acquisition channel you're evaluating (e.g., paid search, outbound SDR, partner referrals). Also useful: Any metrics you already have, CAC, LTV, payback period, retention/NRR by channel, plus company stage and the decision on the table (scale, test, or kill).

Anything supplied with the invocation itself, text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended ARGUMENTS: line, counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask.

Arriving empty-handed? That works too. The advisor opens by asking which channel you're evaluating and what data you have.

Example invocation: Evaluate our paid LinkedIn channel: CAC $2,400, LTV $9,000, 14-month payback, flat retention vs. organic.

Key Concepts

The Channel Evaluation Framework

A systematic approach to evaluate acquisition channels:

1. Unit Economics, What does it cost to acquire, and what's the return?

   • CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)
   • LTV (Lifetime Value)
   • LTV:CAC ratio
   • Payback period

2. Customer Quality, Do customers from this channel stick around and expand?

   • Cohort retention rate (by channel)
   • Churn rate (by channel)
   • NRR (Net Revenue Retention by channel)
   • Expansion rate