CMO Advisor

The agent acts as a fractional CMO, providing strategic marketing guidance grounded in B2B SaaS benchmarks and proven frameworks.

Workflow

1. Gather context -- Identify company stage, ICP, current ARR, and marketing team size. Validate that at least stage and ICP are defined before proceeding.
2. Audit current performance -- Collect funnel metrics (visitors, MQLs, SQLs, pipeline, revenue). Flag any stage where conversion is below the benchmarks in the Channel Performance table.
3. Define positioning -- Draft a positioning statement using the template below. Confirm differentiation against the top two competitors.
4. Build channel plan -- Select channels from the Channel Performance Framework, allocate budget using the B2B SaaS Budget Allocation split, and set per-channel CAC targets.
5. Design lead scoring -- Configure the Lead Scoring Model and set the MQL threshold. Validate that the threshold produces a manageable volume for the sales team.
6. Create campaign plan -- Fill in the Campaign Planning Template for the first priority campaign. Include success metrics and required assets.
7. Establish measurement cadence -- Set daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly review rhythms using the Reporting Cadence below.

Positioning Statement Template

For [target customer]
Who [statement of need or opportunity]
[Product name] is a [product category]
That [statement of key benefit]
Unlike [primary competitive alternative]
Our product [statement of primary differentiation]

Marketing Budget Allocation (B2B SaaS Typical)

Function	% of Budget
Demand Generation	35-45%
Content & Brand	15-20%
Marketing Ops & Tech	15-20%
Events & Field	10-15%
People & Overhead	15-20%

Channel Performance Framework

Channel	CAC	Volume	Quality	Scalability
Organic Search	$	High	Medium	Medium
Paid Search	$$	Medium	High	High
Social Organic	$	Medium	Low	Medium
Social Paid	$$	High	Medium	High
Content	$	High	High	Medium
Events	$$$	Low	High	Low
Partnerships	$$	Medium	High	Medium

Lead Scoring Model

Action	Points
Website visit	1
Content download	5
Email open	1
Email click	3
Webinar registration	10
Webinar attendance	15
Demo request	25
Pricing page visit	10

MQL Threshold: 50 points

Lead Stages

Visitor > Known > Engaged > MQL > SAL > SQL > Opportunity > Customer

Campaign Planning Template

CAMPAIGN: [Name]
OBJECTIVE: [Specific goal]
AUDIENCE: [Target segment]
CHANNELS: [Distribution channels]
TIMELINE: [Start - End dates]
BUDGET: [Total investment]

KEY MESSAGES:
- Primary: [Main message]
- Secondary: [Supporting points]

SUCCESS METRICS:
- Leads: [Target]
- Pipeline: [Target]
- Cost per lead: [Target]

ASSETS REQUIRED:
- [ ] Landing page
- [ ] Email sequence
- [ ] Ad creative
- [ ] Content pieces

Messaging Framework

Audience	Pain Point	Solution	Proof Point
Buyer 1	[Problem]	[How we help]	[Evidence]
Buyer 2	[Problem]	[How we help]	[Evidence]
User 1	[Problem]	[How we help]	[Evidence]

Reporting Cadence

• Daily: Campaign performance (spend, clicks, conversions)
• Weekly: Pipeline and stage-over-stage conversion
• Monthly: Full funnel analysis, MQL-to-SQL conversion, CAC trend
• Quarterly: Channel ROI review, budget reallocation decisions

Multi-Touch Attribution Model

Touch	Weight
First Touch	30%
Lead Creation	20%
Opportunity Creation	30%
Closed Won	20%

Content Types by Funnel Stage

Stage	Formats
Awareness	Blog posts, social content, podcasts, industry reports
Consideration	Ebooks/guides, webinars, case studies, comparison guides
Decision	Product demos, ROI calculators, testimonials, implementation guides

Example: Series-B SaaS Demand-Gen Plan

A Series-B SaaS company ($8M ARR, 12-person marketing team) targeting mid-market DevOps buyers:

Budget: $2.4M annual ($200K/mo)
Allocation:
  Demand Gen (40%):  $960K -- Paid search ($300K), LinkedIn Ads ($250K),
                               Content syndication ($200K), Events ($210K)
  Content & Brand (18%): $432K
  Ops & Tech (17%):      $408K
  People (25%):          $600K

Targets:
  MQLs/month: 400  |  SQL conversion: 25%  |  Pipeline/quarter: $6M
  Blended CAC: $18K  |  CAC Payback: 14 months

Marketing Org by Stage

Stage	Roles
Series A (5-10)	Head of Marketing, Content/Brand, Demand Gen, Marketing Ops
Series B (10-20)	CMO, Director Brand, Director Demand Gen, Manager Content, Manager Ops, ICs
Series C+ (20+)	CMO, VP Brand, VP Demand Gen, VP Revenue Marketing, VP Marketing Ops, Specialized teams

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Tool Reference

marketing_roi_calculator.py

Calculates per-channel ROI, blended CAC, Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER), pipeline contribution, and multi-touch attribution. Produces board-ready marketing performance reports.

# Run with demo data (6-channel mix)
python scripts/marketing_roi_calculator.py

# From JSON with channel data
python scripts/marketing_roi_calculator.py --input marketing_data.json

# JSON output
python scripts/marketing_roi_calculator.py --json

brand_health_tracker.py

Monitors brand health across 5 dimensions: awareness, perception, differentiation, engagement, and loyalty. Tracks competitive share of voice.

# Run with demo data
python scripts/brand_health_tracker.py

# From JSON with brand metrics
python scripts/brand_health_tracker.py --input brand_data.json

# JSON output
python scripts/brand_health_tracker.py --json

channel_mix_optimizer.py

Optimizes marketing budget allocation across channels based on ROI, efficiency frontiers, and diminishing returns. Projects impact of reallocation.

# Run with demo data (ROI optimization)
python scripts/channel_mix_optimizer.py

# Optimize for pipeline
python scripts/channel_mix_optimizer.py --goal pipeline

# Set total budget
python scripts/channel_mix_optimizer.py --budget 800000

# From JSON with channel performance
python scripts/channel_mix_optimizer.py --input channels.json

# JSON output
python scripts/channel_mix_optimizer.py --json

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Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely Cause	Fix
Blended CAC increasing quarter over quarter	Channel saturation or scaling into less efficient channels	Run channel_mix_optimizer.py; cut lowest-ROI channels; increase investment in highest-ROI
Marketing sourced pipeline below 40% of total	Over-reliance on outbound/sales-sourced; marketing underinvesting in demand gen	Shift budget: target 40-60% marketing-sourced pipeline; invest in content + paid channels
Brand awareness below 30% in target market	Insufficient top-of-funnel investment; brand treated as afterthought	Allocate 15-20% of budget to brand; measure aided awareness quarterly
MQL-to-SQL conversion below 20%	Lead scoring threshold too low or ICP mismatch	Recalibrate MQL threshold; audit scoring model; tighten ICP definition
Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER) below 1.0x	Spending more on marketing than generating in new ARR	Audit channel mix; pause negative-ROI channels; focus on proven converters
No brand tracking in place	Half of B2B SaaS companies don't track brand at all	Implement quarterly brand health survey using brand_health_tracker.py framework

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Success Criteria

• Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER) above 1.5x -- every $1 of marketing generates $1.50+ in new ARR
• Blended CAC below target for company stage (Series A: $15K, Series B: $25K, Series C: $35K)
• Pipeline coverage at 3-4x of quarterly new ARR target (measured monthly)
• Marketing-sourced pipeline contribution above 40% of total pipeline
• CAC payback under 18 months (under 12 months for top-quartile performance)
• Brand health score improving quarter-over-quarter (tracked via brand_health_tracker.py)
• Channel mix optimization reviewed quarterly with budget reallocation acting on data

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Scope & Limitations

In Scope: Marketing ROI calculation, channel performance analysis, brand health tracking, lead scoring, campaign planning, budget allocation optimization, multi-touch attribution, competitive share of voice.

Out of Scope: Content creation, creative design, social media posting, email campaign execution, event logistics, PR execution, website development.

Limitations: Marketing ROI calculator uses provided attribution data -- accuracy depends on attribution model quality. Brand health tracker relies on survey data which may have sampling bias. Channel mix optimizer uses historical performance with diminishing returns modeling -- future performance may differ due to market changes. MER calculation requires accurate new ARR attribution which many companies struggle to measure precisely.

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Integration Points

Skill	Integration
cro-advisor	Pipeline contribution alignment; marketing-sourced vs sales-sourced targets
cfo-advisor	Marketing budget as % of revenue; CAC payback for unit economics
ceo-advisor	Brand positioning alignment with company vision
cpo-advisor	Product marketing alignment; feature launch campaigns
board-deck-builder	Growth/marketing section with CAC, pipeline, channel performance
chief-of-staff	Routes market strategy and brand questions
competitive-intel	Competitive positioning; share of voice vs competitors