Build the plan
Map the few channels that can plausibly reach the buyer at your current budget and stage.
Build channel planStan Consulting · do it yourself guides
These guides are written for operators who own the marketing decision but do not have a full-time marketing lead to delegate it to. Open them to decide which channels to run, how much budget each one actually needs to produce a signal, and what to build before the next marketing spend decision another dollar on ads.
Quick answer
This pillar covers the strategic decisions a founder makes before opening a single ad account: how to calculate what a customer is worth, how to pick the first channel, how much budget is needed to reach the learning threshold on any given channel, and how to sequence the build. It is written for founders and operators running growth-stage businesses, not for marketing specialists. If you want the framework applied to your specific account and market rather than the framework itself, the Conversion Audit delivers written findings in 72 hours for scoped after intake.
Scanning order
Strategy work should reduce options, not create more of them. Use this pillar to decide where signal is most likely, what budget can prove it, and what should wait.
Map the few channels that can plausibly reach the buyer at your current budget and stage.
Build channel planTranslate revenue stage and acquisition economics into a budget that can produce useful signal.
Set budget by stageChoose the first two or three channels by speed-to-signal, margin, operational preparedness, and buyer intent.
Prioritize channelsSort the active work into stop, repair, or scale before adding another campaign.
Run effort auditCreate a narrow no-code marketing agent that prepares source-checked hooks, scripts, and approval notes.
Build AI workflowSeparate what must exist before traffic from what can be built after the first evidence arrives.
Get a QuoteThat usually means the missing input is not a tactic. It is commercial priority: margin, market maturity, sales capacity, offer strength, or the fastest path to trustworthy signal.
The collection
Guide
How to build a marketing channel plan when you have limited budget
A five-step channel planning process for operators with $3,000 to $15,000 per month in marketing budget.
Open guide →Guide
How to set a marketing budget by revenue stage
Marketing budget should be set as a percentage of trailing-twelve-month revenue, with the percentage shifting at each revenue stage. The structure for each stage and where most operators get the allocation wrong.
Open guide →Guide
How to prioritize marketing channels at launch
New businesses cannot afford to test every channel. The structure for picking the two or three most likely to produce signal first, and the order to layer the rest.
Open guide →Guide
How to audit marketing effort vs return
A 25-minute stop, repair, or scale worksheet for teams doing a lot of marketing but not getting enough commercial movement from it.
Open guide →Guide
do it yourself agentic AI marketing guide: no-code agents and AI UGC ads
Build no-code AI marketing agents and AI-generated UGC ad tests with prompts, tool roles, approval gates, and disclosure checks.
Open guide →Limits of a guide
A guide describes the decision sequence. Your business has a specific version of it: a price point, a contribution margin, a buyer who is either actively searching or not yet aware the category exists, a website that either converts at 2 percent or 0.4 percent, and a tracking setup that is either reliable or silently miscounting half the events. The framework will tell you what question to ask. It will not tell you which answer applies to your numbers.
If you have assess the guide and the right next step is still unclear, the next step is the Conversion Audit. Written findings, prioritized fix list, 72-hour turnaround, scoped after intake, no retainer. The marketing audit checks your actual unit economics, your actual conversion path, and your actual channel mix, and returns the specific sequence that applies to your account rather than the general framework.
Related pillars
The engagement format
scoped after intake. written delivery. Written findings. Marketing Audit first.
Get a QuoteMarketing path
Marketing issue. The useful question is where this topic touches spend, visibility, conversion, trust, or buyer action.
Buyer friction. Most weak marketing paths fail because the buyer lacks proof, context, urgency, or a clear next step.
Next move. Match the issue to the service lane before adding traffic, tools, or another campaign.
When to use SC. Use SC when the marketing system has traffic, calls, carts, or leads, but the buyer path still leaks.
| Signal | What it usually means | Next path |
|---|---|---|
| Channel issue | Ads, SEO, AI visibility, email, or local search may need a tighter service path. | Match service |
| Page issue | The page may need clearer proof, offer context, and a stronger action path. | Fix pages |
| Budget issue | The next step should be context before more spend. | Send context |