---
name: marketing-funnel-plan
description: "Plan a full-funnel marketing strategy from awareness to retention. Use when asked to build a marketing funnel, map the customer journey to tactics, plan demand generation, or diagnose where a funnel leaks. Produces a funnel plan — stage definitions, the metric and conversion target per stage, channels & tactics, the biggest leak, and a 90-day focus."
---

# Marketing Funnel Plan Skill

Most marketing plans are a list of tactics with no theory of how they connect. This skill builds the
funnel as a system: each stage has a definition, a metric, a conversion rate, and the tactics that move
people to the next stage — so you can see where the funnel actually leaks and spend there, not everywhere.

## Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:

- **Product & motion** — what's sold, to whom, and the motion (self-serve, sales-led, PLG hybrid).
- **Current numbers** — traffic, signups, activation, conversion, retention (whatever exists; estimates are fine).
- **Goal** — the business outcome and timeframe (e.g. 2× qualified pipeline this quarter).
- **Constraints** — budget, team, and channels already in play.

## Output Format

### Funnel Plan: [product]

**1. Funnel map** — a stage-by-stage table (the spine of the plan):

| Stage | Definition (entry → exit) | Metric | Current | Target | Primary channels/tactics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awareness | | reach / visits | | | |
| Acquisition | | signups | | | |
| Activation | | first value moment | | | |
| Revenue | | paid conversion | | | |
| Retention | | active / renewed | | | |
| Referral | | invites / shares | | | |

**2. The biggest leak** — the stage with the worst conversion vs. benchmark, and why fixing it beats adding top-of-funnel volume.

**3. Channel strategy** — which channels serve which stage, and the one or two channels to go deep on (not all of them).

**4. Measurement** — how each stage is tracked, attribution approach (and its limits), and the leading indicator you'll watch weekly.

**5. 90-day focus** — the 2–3 bets that move the biggest-leak stage, sequenced, with the success metric for each.

## Quality Checks

- [ ] Every stage has a definition, a metric, and a numeric conversion target — not just a label
- [ ] The single biggest leak is identified and prioritised over adding more top-of-funnel
- [ ] The plan goes deep on 1–2 channels rather than spreading thin across many
- [ ] A weekly leading indicator is named for the focus stage
- [ ] The 90-day plan is sequenced bets, not an undifferentiated tactic list

## Anti-Patterns

- [ ] Do not pour budget into the top of the funnel when the leak is mid-funnel — more visitors through a leaky funnel just wastes more money
- [ ] Do not list every channel — focus beats breadth; name the 1–2 that fit the motion
- [ ] Do not set tactics without a metric and target per stage — unmeasured tactics can't be cut
- [ ] Do not treat attribution as truth — state its limits and lean on leading indicators
- [ ] Do not ignore retention/referral — acquisition-only funnels buy growth they can't keep

## Based On

Pirate Metrics (AARRR — Dave McClure) and full-funnel demand-generation practice.

## Example Trigger Phrases

- "Build a marketing funnel."
- "Map the customer journey to tactics."
- "Plan demand generation."
- "Diagnose where a funnel leaks."