Demand Engine (WAVE Model)

Design the strategic demand gen machine: which channels, what content at each stage, how they interconnect, and how budget is allocated for maximum pipeline impact.

When to Use

• Pre-launch demand gen planning
• Annual marketing strategy
• Channel mix optimization
• New segment demand gen design
• Marketing budget planning

What You'll Need

Critical inputs (ask if not provided):

• Product and target audience
• Available budget range
• Sales motion (PLG, sales-led, hybrid)

Nice-to-have:

• Position Lock output (messaging to fuel campaigns)
• Journey Architect output (gates define content staging)
• Current channel performance data

Process

Step 1: Channel Inventory and WAVE Scoring

Evaluate 15+ demand channels:

Score each channel on 4 dimensions (1-10):

Dimension	What It Measures	Scoring Guide
Weight	Volume of qualified demand possible	1=tiny reach, 5=meaningful, 10=massive scale
Audience-fit	How well does this channel reach your ICP?	1=wrong audience, 5=partial overlap, 10=perfect match
Velocity	Time from first touch to hand-raise (inverse)	1=12+ months, 5=3-6 months, 10=under 30 days
Efficiency	Expected CAC relative to LTV	1=unsustainable, 5=acceptable, 10=highly efficient

WAVE Composite = (W x 0.25) + (A x 0.30) + (V x 0.20) + (E x 0.25)

Channels to evaluate: Organic search/SEO, Paid search, Social organic, Social paid, Content marketing, Email nurture, Events/webinars, Partnerships/co-marketing, Community/PLG, Analyst relations, PR/media, Review sites, Account-based marketing, Influencer/creator, Product-led virality, Referral programs

Step 2: Channel Mix Architecture

Based on WAVE scores:

Classification	WAVE Score	Investment Level	Action
Primary	7.5+	Heavy -- full program build	60% of budget
Secondary	5.0-7.4	Moderate -- test and scale	25% of budget
Experimental	Below 5.0	Small experiments	15% of budget

Map channel interplay: how channels reinforce each other (e.g., content fuels SEO fuels organic social fuels email nurture).

Step 3: Content-to-Stage Mapping

Using Journey Architect's 7 gates (or simplified awareness-consideration-decision):

Stage	Content Purpose	Content Types
G1-G2 (Awareness)	Trigger problem recognition	Thought leadership, industry reports, provocative POVs
G2-G3 (Education)	Educate on solutions	How-to guides, comparison frameworks, analyst reports
G3-G4 (Differentiation)	Prove you are the best choice	Case studies, demos, technical deep-dives, ROI calculators
G4 (Conversion)	Remove purchase barriers	Business case templates, security docs, implementation guides

Step 4: Campaign Architecture

For each primary channel, define:

• Campaign theme and messaging (from Position Lock)
• Target audience segment
• Content assets required (from Step 3)
• KPIs and targets (impressions, clicks, MQLs, SQLs, pipeline)
• Timeline (pre-launch, launch week, post-launch sustain)
• Budget allocation

Step 5: Rebalancing Rules

Monthly rebalancing criteria:

• Channel exceeds CAC target by 25%+ for 2 months: reduce budget 30%
• Channel outperforms CAC target by 25%+: increase budget 20%
• Experiment reserve replenished quarterly from underperforming channel cuts

Output

Save to outputs/demand-engine-[YYYY-MM-DD].md

Deliverables:

1. Channel Strategy Matrix: All channels scored, ranked, and classified with investment levels
2. Demand Gen Playbook: Channel-specific tactics, content requirements, and KPIs
3. Budget Allocation Model: Allocation by channel and month with rebalancing rules
4. Content Requirements Map: What assets are needed, by stage and channel

Chain Connections

• Next skill: Run enablement-forge to create the content and sales assets identified here
• Also feeds: budget-allocator (demand gen budget feeds overall launch budget), launch-command (campaigns are a launch workstream)
• Enhanced by: Run after position-lock (messaging drives content) and journey-architect (gates define staging)