Strategy and operations

Marketing strategy built on numbers

A useful strategy starts with a number: how much the business sells today, through which channel, and where the sale gets lost. With that baseline we pick a few actions, each with a hypothesis that can be tested within weeks.

North team · Updated October 7, 2026 · 5 min read

Current datasales, bookings, messages
Baselinefunnel and unit economics
Hypothesiswhich change moves the number
Testsmall, measurable action
Scalewhat worked

The work cycle: measure, hypothesize, test and scale.

What you can do

Four areas of analysis (visibility, content, audience and partners) turned into concrete tools.

FunnelWhere the sale gets lostinquiries ÷ reach · bookings ÷ inquiriesThe rate at each stage, by channel. It shows which fix adds the most.

NumbersUnit economicsLTV ÷ CACHow much a customer brings in over their lifetime and how much you can pay to acquire one.

CapacityOccupancy by time slotsold ÷ available, by day and hourWhich days and hours go unsold and what they are worth.

MessageFraming testA/B · same spendTwo ways of presenting the same offer. The one that brings more inquiries wins.

CategoryCompetitor maphow everyone talksWhat your competitors promise and what space is left open for your brand.

ContentSocial media auditinquiries per 1,000 reachWhich posts bring messages and which ones only entertain.

AudienceFollowers versus customerscity and age of each groupWhether the people who follow you look like the people who buy from you.

PartnersBrands with your same customeraffinity scoreWhich nearby businesses already talk to the people you want to attract.

How it is done

Three analyses with the numbers from Casa Aurora, the hotel in the dashboard below.

The funnel says what to fix first

We rebuild the last month, from the people reached to the stays. Then we simulate what happens if each stage improves. The stage that adds the most goes first in the plan.

Casa Aurora funnel and what each improvement addscalculation

Stage            Count      Rate
Reach              48,000
Inquiries           1,240   2.6%
Bookings              223   18%
Stays                 205   92%

If this improves...                   Extra bookings per month
Reach +10%                            124 inquiries × 18%   ≈ 22
Inquiry → booking from 18% to 23%     1,240 × 5 pts         ≈ 62
Stays from 92% to 95%                 223 × 3 pts           ≈  7

Recommendation. Before buying more reach, look at the conversion from inquiry to booking. The problem is usually in the reply: how long it takes and what it says.

The goal comes from free capacity

A useful goal is calculated from what the business can sell. Take the capacity of the slow time slot, the current occupancy and a realistic target occupancy.

From occupancy to the plan goalcalculation

Rooms                           26
Tuesdays and Wednesdays/month   8.7
Available nights                26 × 8.7 = 226
Occupancy today (42%)           95 nights
Target occupancy (60%)          136 nights
Difference                      +41 nights per month

Recommendation. With one-night midweek stays, that gives the dashboard goal of +40 bookings per month. A goal that does not come from this calculation is usually a wish.

Framing test before investing heavily

The same offer is presented in two ways and each version gets the same small spend. It is measured in inquiries, not likes.

Two framings for the midweek staycalculation

Version                              Spend       Inquiries   Cost per inquiry
A · "A midweek getaway"               $6,000         41          $146
B · "Come back when the city is       $6,000         88           $68
     calm"

Recommendation. With fewer than 30 inquiries per version the difference can still be chance. Here B wins by a clear margin and becomes the message for the email and the ads.

Which analysis for which question

Your question	Analysis	Data needed
Why am I not selling if I have followers?	Funnel by channel	Messages and bookings from the last 90 days
How much can I spend on ads?	LTV versus CAC	Ticket, frequency, margin and current spend
Which days or products should I push?	Occupancy or sales by time slot	Booking system or POS
Which message should I use?	Framing test	A small ad budget with two versions
Did the campaign work?	Control group	10% of the segment that does not receive it

What the dashboard looks like

Baseline · Casa AuroraIllustrative example

Average occupancy68%last 90 days

Tuesday and Wednesday42%the free capacity

Inquiry → booking18%conversion

Plan goal+40bookings per month

Occupancy by day of the week (%)

MTWTFSS

Funnel for the last month · square-root scale

Reach48,000

Inquiries1,240

Bookings223

Stays205

Tech stack

Data sources: Booking system or POS, Meta Business Suite, Google Analytics 4, Google Business Profile, WhatsApp and Instagram inboxes.
Model: Funnel by channel (reach → inquiry → booking → visit → repeat purchase) and unit economics: average ticket, margin, acquisition cost and customer lifetime value.
Tracking: UTM parameters and unique links per channel and per partner to attribute every sale.
Dashboard: One monthly dashboard with 5 to 7 metrics, no more.

Under the hood

A hypothesis sheettext

Hypothesis  If we offer stay + dinner to past guests for Tuesdays and Wednesdays,
            occupancy on those days rises from 42% to 60% in 4 weeks.
Metric      Tuesday and Wednesday occupancy (booking system)
Channel     Email to past guests + Meta Ads to lookalike audiences
Cost        Ad spend + included dinner (kitchen cost)
Decision    If it reaches 55% or more in week 4, we scale it.

Every action in the plan is written like this before launch: what we expect, how we measure it and when we decide.

What we measure

CAC: Customer acquisition cost: marketing spend divided by new customers in the period.
LTV: Customer lifetime value: average ticket × annual frequency × average years of relationship, on margin.
Conversion rate by stage: What percentage moves from inquiry to booking and from booking to visit.
Occupancy by time slot: Capacity sold by day and time; it shows where there is room to grow.

Case analysis

Liquid Death: selling water as if it were craft beer

Liquid Death · United States, 2017 to 2024

Bottled water is almost impossible to differentiate: every brand looks the same. Mike Cessario didn't change the product. He changed the frame: he gave it the look of heavy metal and craft beer, and a slogan nobody forgets, "Murder Your Thirst".

What they did, step by step

Before having the product, he shot an ad for about 1,500 dollars and posted it on social media to measure the reaction.
The response was the validation: 3 million views and between 60,000 and 70,000 Facebook followers in five months.
He used that traction to raise capital and start manufacturing.
He built the brand as an entertainment machine: humor and content people want to watch because, in his words, almost everyone hates marketing.
He borrowed the language of junk food and alcohol to lead that audience toward a healthy drink.

USD 263Min retail sales in 2023, the third straight year of triple-digit growth

USD 1,400Mvaluation in March 2024, double that of 2022

The mechanism

Test ad~1,500 USD, before the product
Measured reactionviews and followers
Capitalwith that traction
Brand as entertainmentcontent people seek out

Demand validation before producing: the metric was the audience's response to a video.

Why it worked. The water stopped competing against other waters and started competing on "cool" against beer and energy drinks. Same product, new framing.

Watch video

Video: CBS News.

Analysis of a public case. North Marketing did not take part in this work. The sales and valuation figures are the ones published by Retail Dive.

Sources: TBPN Digest · Marketplace · Retail Dive

How we do it for your brand

We look at your category from the outside: how everyone talks and what space is left open.
We test the framing before investing heavily: one piece, a small ad budget, and we measure the reaction.
We choose the framing that moves the number most and turn it into a message, an offer and a channel.
We set a goal and measure it every month.

Go deeper

TopicMarketing plan in 7 daysWhat to do, in what order and how much it can add, in one week.TopicSocial media auditWhich posts sell, which ones don't, and why.

Frequently asked questions

What do I get after the diagnosis?

A one-page plan, built in 7 days: the goal, the actions in order and how much each one can add.

Does the strategy include execution?

Yes. We put the plan into motion and measure it every month.

What if my data is not organized?

We start with estimates and measure from day one. Within two or three weeks there is a real baseline.

How long until I see a result?

Small tests give a signal in two to four weeks. That is why the guarantee is 30 days: if there are no results, we refund your money.

Let’s start with a free diagnosis

30 minutes to see where your business is losing customers and what to do first. If you don’t see results in 30 days, we give your money back.

Book your diagnosis

We’ll message you on Instagram with times.

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