Growth Metrics Accelerator: Using AI to Optimize Your Targeting & Reduce CAC

Reading time: 12 minutes | Video length: 35 minutes

Hey Cannonballer! Welcome to the first installment of our four-part Cannonball methodology series. If you're tired of generic AI marketing outputs and LinkedIn comments saying, "This post is interesting. Thanks for having such an interesting post," you're in the right place. This training will transform how you use AI tools for marketing by making them true partners rather than generic response generators.

Executive Summary

• The Cannonball methodology consists of four components: Focus, Investigate, Narrate, and Deploy (FIND)

• The Focus module teaches you how to "warm up the model" with critical context about your product and customers.

• You'll learn four essential prompts that create the foundation for all your AI marketing efforts.

• This approach works for users at all levels (beginner to expert) and significantly enhances AI output quality.

• Your AI tools (particularly Claude and ChatGPT) need specific, detailed context to generate valuable marketing insights.

The FIND Framework: Your Map to AI Marketing Success

The Cannonball methodology is designed to systematically guide you through creating marketing campaigns that connect with your ideal customers using everyday AI tools. Each component builds on the previous one:

1. Focus - Understand your product's market position and your ideal customers

2. Investigate - Research and analyze customer data and market opportunities

3. Narrate - Craft compelling messaging and campaign narratives

4. Deploy - Execute multi-channel campaigns with precision

Today, we're starting with Focus - the critical foundation. Without this groundwork, even the most sophisticated AI will struggle to generate relevant marketing insights. As we say in the training: be the guide, not the river.

The Four Core Components of Focus

1. Category Understanding

Before you can effectively market your product, you need to understand where it sits on the market maturity curve. This positioning dramatically affects your go-to-market strategy:

Are you in the innovator phase, where market education is essential? Early adopters, where technical detail matters? Or early majority, where streamlined messaging and social proof become critical?

Our Category prompt helps AI tools understand your market position by analyzing:

• Current user base size

• Available case studies and ROI proof points

• Established use cases

• Competitive landscape

Example output from our case study: Skimmer.com (pool service software) was identified midway through the early majority phase - a critical insight shaping all subsequent marketing decisions.

2. ICP Definition: Razor-Sharp Ideal Customer Profiles

Generic marketing fails because it targets everyone and connects with no one. The ICP prompt creates a hyper-specific profile of your ideal customer, including:

• Company size parameters (revenue, employee count)

• Industry specifics and sub-segments

• Geographic considerations

• Pain points and motivations

• Technology stack and adoption patterns

For Skimmer.com, we discovered:

• Annual revenue: $200K-$2M

• Business size: 2-25 employees with 1-15 field technicians

• Focus: Residential pool maintenance (not commercial)

• Key pain point: Transitioning from manual systems to digital management

• Tech stack: Basic office computers, mobile devices, often using QuickBooks

This level of specificity transforms generic AI outputs into laser-focused marketing guidance.

3. Persona Development: The Human Element

While your ICP defines the business characteristics, personas bring your customers to life as individuals with daily challenges, career journeys, and decision-making patterns.

Our Persona prompt creates detailed buyer personas including:

• Professional background and career trajectory

• Daily responsibilities and challenges

• Decision-making authority and process

• Information sources and industry connections

• Communication preferences

For Skimmer.com, we developed two key personas:

David Rivers: The Growing Pool Service Owner

• Started as a technician with hands-on experience

• Currently manages 100-200 pools (up from the 20-30 he serviced)

• Struggles with scheduling, route optimization, and technician management

• Highly values peer recommendations and Facebook pool service groups

• Prefers practical, direct communication about ROI and time savings

Sarah Thompson: The Operations Manager

• 8-15 years industry experience, progressing from technician to operations

• Manages a team of 10-15 technicians servicing 300-600 pools

• Holds advanced pool operator certification

• Spends 40% of her time on route planning and technician scheduling

• Values video content and quick response times from vendors

These detailed personas allow your AI marketing assistant to craft messaging that speaks directly to your customers' situations.

4. Market Context: Competitive Landscape

The final Focus component establishes where your solution sits among alternatives and what makes it uniquely valuable. This context helps AI understand:

• Key competitors and alternatives (including non-software solutions)

• Your unique value proposition and differentiators

• Industry trends and regulatory considerations

• Market adoption patterns and barriers

For Skimmer.com, our analysis identified they're competing against:

• Manual/paper systems and spreadsheets

• Generic business management software

• Industry-specific competitors

• DIY custom solutions

Understanding this landscape enabled our AI to generate targeted messaging that addresses specific competitive advantages.

The Prompt Library: Your AI Marketing Foundation

Below are the four core prompts we use in the Focus module. I've included notes on when and why to use Claude vs. ChatGPT.

Category Prompt

https://claude.site/artifacts/28d58b67-bf2d-4f2e-8c1d-843ed6b83b8d

ICP Prompt

https://claude.site/artifacts/1fd36ece-dd4d-4f53-a7b9-08f1a5e114a3

Persona Prompt

https://claude.site/artifacts/145cea5f-69ce-48bc-a982-2f931557cc66

Pro Tips: Getting the Most from AI Marketing Tools

Warming Up the Model

Large language models like Claude and ChatGPT operate similarly to humans with the "primary recency effect" - they remember what they read first and most recently, often forgetting details in the middle.

To counter this:

• Place the most essential context at the beginning of your prompts

• Consider repeating critical information at the end of longer prompts

• Build context progressively through conversation rather than in one giant prompt

The Copy-Paste Method

For vertical SaaS companies with specialized products (like Skimmer.com), your website contains invaluable context that AI needs:

1. Systematically copy key sections from your website (value proposition, features, case studies)

2. Paste them into your conversation with the AI

3. Follow with your specific prompt questions

4. This "warms up" the model with accurate, specific information about your product

Choosing the Right Tool for the Job

Use ChatGPT (especially GPT-4) when:

• You need web research capabilities

• You want to explore complex market data

• You need multiple sources synthesized quickly

Use Claude when:

• You need more nuanced, thoughtful analysis

• You're developing creative marketing concepts

• You want longer, more contextual outputs

• You need better reasoning about customer psychology

Consider using ChatGPT for initial research and Claude to craft the final marketing concepts for the best results.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

1. The Generic Trap: Giving AI tools vague instructions like "write marketing copy for my product" without proper context.

2. Scope Confusion: Trying to tackle too much in one prompt instead of building context progressively.

3. Missing Market Position: Failing to establish where your product sits on the maturity curve before developing messaging.

4. Assumed Knowledge: Expecting AI to understand industry-specific terms and concepts without explanation.

5. Skipping Personas: Jumping straight to campaign ideas without establishing who you're talking to.
   
   

Next Steps: Preview of The Investigate Module

In our next session, we'll dive into the Investigate module, where you'll learn:

• How to use AI to analyze customer data for hidden patterns

• Techniques for competitive intelligence gathering

• Methods for identifying untapped market opportunities

• Tools for validating your market assumptions

Your Focus Challenge

Before our next session, try applying the Focus framework to your product or service:

1. Use the Category prompt to determine your market maturity position

2. Define your ICP using the detailed prompt provided

3. Create at least one detailed buyer persona

4. Share your results in the comments for feedback (optional)

Questions for Discussion

• Where do you currently struggle most when using AI for marketing?

• Which of your marketing tasks would benefit most from this focused approach?

• What specific industry or product type are you working with?

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Remember: The difference between generic AI marketing and breakthrough campaigns isn't in the AI tools themselves—it's in how you prime them with context. Be the guide, not the river.

Join us on Monday, March 10th for Part 2: Investigate, where we'll build on these foundations to uncover actionable marketing insights.