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  • Your Demand Gen Isn’t ‘Full Funnel' - It’s Fragmented: A 4‐Layer System to Run Smart Experiments Across Every Channel in 2026

Your Demand Gen Isn’t ‘Full Funnel' - It’s Fragmented: A 4‐Layer System to Run Smart Experiments Across Every Channel in 2026

Author

Chintankumar Maisuria
February 16, 2026

In partnership with

Read time: 3 minutes.

Welcome to the 194th edition of The Growth Elements Newsletter. Every Monday and sometimes on Thursday, I write an essay on growth metrics & experiments and business case studies.

Today’s piece is for 8,000+ founders, operators, and leaders from businesses such as Shopify, Google, Hubspot, Zoho, Freshworks, Servcorp, Zomato, Postman, Razorpay and Zoom.

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Start with the real problem (in business terms)​

  • ARR growth slowed despite “being everywhere” (search, social, content, outbound, events, partners).

  • CAC payback > 18-24 months; paid looks busy, board metrics don’t move.

  • Sales complains about lead quality; marketing complains “nothing gets enough budget to work.”

  • Diagnosis: too many channels, no clear demand system (no defined jobs, no clear bottleneck).

[1] Define 4 demand jobs, not 20 channels​

  1. Create demand

    • Brand, founder POV, content, community, events, dark social, video.

    • Goal: make the right buyers care before they’re in‑market.

  2. Capture demand

    • Search (incl. AI/LLM surfaces), review sites, comparison pages, high‑intent outbound, partners.

    • Goal: intercept active demand at sane CAC.

  3. Convert demand

    • Landing pages, offers, demo flows, PLG trials, sales process.​

    • Goal: turn interest into SQOs and opps with healthy win‑rates.

  4. Expand demand

    • Onboarding, lifecycle, in‑product prompts, customer marketing.

    • Goal: move NRR, expansion ARR, and payback.

Every channel/program is assigned to one primary job (no “orphan” tactics).

[2] Design experiments per job (weakest job first)​

  1. Create demand experiments

    • Eg: shift 20% LinkedIn budget from lead gen forms to POV/content to ICP lists.

    • Success metric: uplift in direct + branded search pipeline, “heard of you before” in HDYHAU.

  2. Capture demand experiments

    • Eg: new search term clusters + offers (diagnostic, ROI tool, competitor comparison).

    • Success: SQOs, CAC, payback per cluster (not just CPL).

  3. Convert demand experiments

    • Eg: test VSL funnel vs classic “book demo,” or guided PLG trial vs unguided.​​

    • Success: SQO rate, win‑rate, sales cycle.

  4. Expand demand experiments

    • Eg: new onboarding emails, CS touchpoints, in‑app prompts for upsell.

    • Success: activation %, NRR, expansion ARR for core ICP.

Each experiment: 1 job, 1 primary metric, defined budget + time window.

[3] Budget like a portfolio: core vs experiments​

  1. Core (70-80%):

    • Programs within each job that already hit CAC/payback targets.

    • Objective: maintain a predictable pipeline and NRR.

  2. Experiments (20-30%):

    • Tests aimed at the weakest job, not random channels.

    • Guardrails:

      • Minimum monthly budget per Google/LinkedIn test (no £200 micro‑tests).

      • 4-8 week minimum or until X number of SQOs/opps reached.

      • Pre‑defined “graduate/kill” rules based on CAC, payback, and pipeline quality.

  3. Output: simple board slide, core vs experiments, by job, with CAC/payback and learning.

[4] What not to do (2026 demand gen edition)​

  • Don’t add channels when no job is working reliably.

  • Don’t declare “LinkedIn/Google/content doesn’t work” off tiny, under‑funded tests.

  • Don’t ask performance marketing to fix broken activation or retention with more spend.

  • Don’t measure create‑demand only on last‑click; its job is to better direct/branded pipeline, win‑rates, and velocity.

  • Final line: “You don’t need more channels. You need one clear demand system and a disciplined experiment portfolio that serves it.​

That's it for today's article! I hope you found this essay insightful.

Wishing you a productive week ahead!

I always appreciate you reading.

Thanks,
Chintankumar Maisuria