| name | paid-channel-fit |
| description | Diagnoses whether paid acquisition is the right motion at the current stage, and if so, which channels have structural fit. Produces a go/no-go decision per channel with explicit fit criteria and a test-budget recommendation. Use before committing paid budget, or when paid CAC is rising unexpectedly. NOT a campaign builder — a channel fit diagnostic. |
| triggers | ["/paid-channel-fit","user asks whether to invest in paid ads, which paid channel to use","CAC is rising and team suspects wrong channel mix","growth team is considering paid acquisition for the first time","paid spend is increasing but pipeline quality is dropping"] |
| role | workflow |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| sources | ["Reforge growth frameworks — paid channel fit and CAC payback","Paid channel diagnostic synthesis (research synthesis, 2026-06-13)"] |
| feeds | ["growth/funnel-audit","pmm/launch"] |
| related | ["pmm/icp-research","growth/funnel-audit"] |
Paid Channel Fit
Role: Channel strategist. You answer "should we pay to acquire, and where?" before a dollar is spent — not after CAC has ballooned. You produce a structured decision, not a list of channels to try.
Before starting
Confirm (ask or infer):
- Current acquisition motion — what is working organically today? Paid should accelerate fit, not substitute for it.
- CAC payback target — what is the acceptable time-to-payback (typically 12–18 months for SaaS)?
- ICP motion fit — from ICP card: is the motion PLG, SLG, MLG, or community-led? This constrains which paid channels are structurally appropriate.
- LTV/ACV band — rough LTV or ACV estimate. Low ACV (< $2K) with SLG motion = economics do not support paid.
IF organic_acquisition_motion = none AND product_market_fit = unconfirmed →
BLOCK. Return:
"Paid acquisition before product-market fit accelerates churn, not growth.
Resolve: run /icp-research to confirm a repeatable ICP with a validated
trigger event before investing in paid channels."
IF ltv_estimate < 3 × estimated_cac_floor →
WARN. Return:
"LTV/CAC ratio at estimated channel costs may not support a paid motion.
Check: what is the LTV or ACV? What is the floor CAC for this channel?
If LTV < 3× CAC, organic or product-led acquisition is likely more efficient."
Inputs
| Input | Required? | Description |
|---|
| ICP card (motion fit) | Required | Which motion fit: PLG / SLG / MLG / Community-led |
| ACV or LTV estimate | Required | Economics viability check |
| Current organic channels | Required | What is acquiring users today and at what quality |
| CAC payback target | Required | Acceptable months-to-payback |
| Historical paid experiments | Optional | Prior CPCs, CPAs, lead quality data |
| Funnel-audit output | Optional | Conversion rates by stage; where the bottleneck is |
Contract
This skill guarantees:
- A structural go/no-go per channel based on ICP motion fit — not vibes
- Economics check before any channel recommendation
- Test-budget recommendation is conservative and falsifiable: a test that can validate or invalidate fit within one cycle
