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Marketing Operations Stack — Skills + MCPs per AARRR Stage

skills/marketing-plan/references/ops-stack-mapping.md

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Marketing Operations Stack — Skills + MCPs per AARRR Stage

This doc maps every marketing-skill and every relevant MCP/API integration to the AARRR stage(s) it primarily serves. It's the source for Section 11 of every plan.

Note on scope. Skills below live in this marketingskills repo. A few references point to optional tools from adjacent Claude Code marketplaces (e.g., vercel:agent-browser, compound-engineering:diagram-maker) — substitute equivalents if not installed. When a plan references a skill or tool that isn't available, fall back to the underlying tactic and call it out in Section 13's open decisions.

The thesis

A small team + fCMO + agentic tooling = output of a 15–20-person traditional marketing org. The skills + MCPs encode workflows that previously required dedicated headcount per channel.

The plan's Section 11 makes this thesis explicit by:

  1. Mapping skills to stages so the founder sees which skills execute which work
  2. Mapping MCPs/APIs to stages so the founder sees the tooling layer
  3. Naming a concrete operational example that proves the stack works
  4. Showing capability unlocks by funding stage (pre-seed → seed → Series A)

Marketing skills mapped to AARRR

Acquisition skills

SkillWhat it doesPrimary use in Acquisition
seo-auditAudit site for technical and on-page SEOQuarterly site health checks
ai-seoOptimize content for AI search engines / LLM citationFuture-proof content strategy
programmatic-seoBuild template-driven SEO pages at scaleLocation, comparison, integration page systems
schemaAdd structured data markupRich snippets, eligibility for AI citation
content-strategyPlan content topics, pillars, cadenceSetting the editorial calendar
competitorsBuild vs-pages and alternative-to-pagesCapture high-intent SERPs against competitors
adsPlan and structure paid campaignsApple Search Ads, Meta, Google, LinkedIn
ad-creativeGenerate ad variations and creativeIterate ad creative across platforms
socialPlan and write social media contentLinkedIn, Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok
typefullySchedule/post tweets, threads, LinkedIn contentCadence operations for founder-led channels
cold-emailWrite B2B cold outreach + sequencesOutbound for B2B SaaS / hybrid businesses
analyticsSet up tracking, GA4, conversion eventsFunnel instrumentation
free-toolsPlan engineering-as-marketing free toolsBuild tools that generate links + leads
marketing-website-designDesign marketing sites with intentionPillar/landing page design
launchPlan and execute launches (Product Hunt, GA, feature launches)GTM moments — strategy + tactical execution

Activation skills

SkillWhat it doesPrimary use in Activation
onboardingOptimize user onboarding flowsOnboarding rebuild, activation rate tests
signupOptimize signup/registrationReduce friction at top of activation
croOptimize any marketing page or formConversion testing across pages, forms, landing pages
paywallsOptimize paywalls and upgrade screensTrial → paid conversion (also Revenue)
popupsOptimize popups, modals, slide-insLead capture + activation prompts
copywritingWrite marketing copyOnboarding screens, paywall copy, CTAs
copy-editingEdit and improve existing copyVoice / clarity pass before ship
copycraftReal-time copy variation overlayLive copy iteration during reviews
website-copyWrite full website copy (stage-8 from CF process)Comprehensive site copy production
ab-testingPlan A/B testsStructure for onboarding variant tests
marketing-psychologyApply behavioral science to copy and CROPersuasion principles in activation moments

Retention skills

SkillWhat it doesPrimary use in Retention
emailsDesign email sequencesCustomer.io / Mailchimp / Resend flow building
churn-preventionBuild cancellation flows, save offers, win-backReduce churn, recover failed payments
copywriting / copy-editingEmail copy productionLifecycle email content
paywalls(cross-cuts) — upgrade prompts in retention emailsUpsell within lifecycle
ab-testingTest email variantsSubject line, CTA, timing tests

Referral skills

SkillWhat it doesPrimary use in Referral
referralsPlan and launch referral / affiliate / ambassador programsCore skill for Section 7
socialCreate ambassador-shareable contentTalking points, post templates
copywritingAmbassador / affiliate email copyRecruitment, onboarding, communication
marketing-website-designPer-ambassador landing pagesAttribution surface
emailsAmbassador lifecycle emailsOnboarding, monthly digest, payout notifications

Revenue skills

SkillWhat it doesPrimary use in Revenue
pricingAudit and optimize pricingPlan tier structure, annual defaults, value metrics
paywallsPaywall optimizationTrial → paid, free → paid conversion
sales-enablementBuild sales decks, one-pagers, demosB2B sales support material
revopsRevenue operations, lead lifecycleMarketing → sales handoff
ab-testingPricing experimentsTest annual default, intro pricing, tier consolidation

Cross-cutting / brand foundation skills

SkillWhat it doesPrimary use
product-marketingSet up the .agents/product-marketing.md context file (positioning, ICP, voice)Foundational — run first; every section of the plan references this
customer-researchConduct customer interviews + surveysSection 2 + Section 3 (Current state)
marketing-psychologyApply behavioral scienceCross-cuts copy, CRO, paywalls
marketing-ideasThe 139-idea librarySection 12 of plan (Idea bank)

MCPs and APIs mapped to AARRR

Acquisition tooling

ToolWhat it providesWired-at-client check
Ahrefs APISEO data: keyword research, backlinks, competitor analysisRequired AHREFS_API_KEY in .env
DataForSEO APISERP data, keyword volume, competitor SERP analysisRequired API key
GA4 MCPTraffic by channel, conversion events, retention curvesWired via gcp project + service account
GitHub MCPRepo work: marketing site (site-name-promo patterns), content authoringStandard gh CLI auth + MCP server
Typefully MCPSocial posting (LinkedIn, X, Threads, Bluesky)Typefully account + API key
Google Ads MCPAd account management, campaign creation, performance pullsWired post-budget-unlock
agent-browserBrowser automation (form fills, screenshots, scraping)CLI install: npm install -g agent-browser
dev-browserGeneral-purpose browser automationMCP server install
defuddleClean markdown extraction from web pagesCLI install
NotionInternal knowledge directory accessNotion API key
Stripe MCPLTV math, paid-CAC reconciliation (cross-cuts to Revenue)Stripe account + restricted key

Activation tooling

ToolWhat it provides
App Store ConnectConversion rate by listing variant, install funnel
GitHub MCPMobile app repo for onboarding code edits
Figma / Pencil MCPOnboarding screen design + iteration
Customer.io MCPIn-app messaging + lifecycle email coordination
Stripe MCPSubscription state for paywall logic
GA4 MCPActivation events instrumentation

Retention tooling

ToolWhat it provides
Customer.io MCPThe retention infrastructure — flow building, segmentation, sending
ShopifyHardware buyer events as lifecycle triggers
Stripe MCPSubscription state, churn cohorts, plan changes
GA4 MCPSession events, retention curves
Resend / Mailchimp / SendGridAlternatives to Customer.io for different stacks

Referral tooling

ToolWhat it provides
Dub.coAmbassador attribution, short links, per-ambassador tracking
Stripe MCPCommission accounting + payouts via Connect
GitHub MCPPer-ambassador landing pages
Customer.io MCPAmbassador lifecycle (recruitment → onboarding → monthly digest → payout notifications)
Rewardful / Tolt / Mention MeAlternatives to Dub for affiliate management

Revenue tooling

ToolWhat it provides
Stripe MCPPricing tests, subscription analytics, churn cohort analysis, blended CAC math
ShopifyHardware transactions
GA4 MCPRevenue events
Customer.io MCPPaywall / pricing-related lifecycle
NotionCommercial knowledge directory

Cross-cutting tooling

ToolWhat it provides
NotionShared knowledge base
GitHub MCPShared context repo ({client-org}/{client-context})
defuddleResearch extraction
obsidian-cliWorking notes for fCMO
Pencil MCPDesign files
Figma MCPDesign files (if Figma)

Capability unlocks by funding stage

The plan's Section 11 must include this table (or equivalent), specific to the client's current and projected funding stages.

StageHeadcountToolingChannels live
Pre-seed / bootstrappedfCMO + founder teamAll current tooling + marketing-skills library + MCP layerOrganic only (SEO, content, App Store, founder-led social, events, WOM, ambassador)
Seed close+ first marketing hire (lifecycle/content owner)+ paid ad accounts (Apple Search Ads, Meta, LinkedIn) + ads skill activated+ paid acquisition pilot ($5–15K/mo — see funding-stage-unlocks.md for canonical tiers)
Seed deployment+ designer (potentially fractional)+ analytics expansion (Mixpanel / Amplitude if needed)+ paid scaling ($20–50K/mo) + first launches (PH, GA)
Series A+ performance marketing lead + content lead+ dedicated tooling spend ($2–5K/mo software) + sponsored event budget+ paid scaling ($50–150K/mo) + international consideration + B2B vertical expansion
Series B+Full-stack marketing org (10+ people)+ agency partnerships + PR firm+ brand campaigns + acquisitions + sponsorships at category level

The concrete-example test

Section 11 of the plan must include at least one concrete operational example that proves the stack thesis. The example should be:

  • A specific event (not abstract claim)
  • From this client's actual history if possible (most credible)
  • Tied to a non-technical person executing via the stack (proves it works without dedicated engineering)

Examples from real engagements:

  • "On the kickoff call, Alex drafted a working Customer.io abandoned-cart flow live, using Customer.io's Claude MCP. Validated that a non-technical founder can ship lifecycle work using the skill pattern independently."
  • "In two weeks, the team scaled from 0 to 14 ranking keywords using programmatic-seo against the Ahrefs API + GitHub MCP — no dedicated SEO hire required."
  • "The first email campaign generated a 24% reply rate after cold-email skill + GA4 MCP + Stripe MCP gave the team a verified target list of users with high LTV but no recent activity."

If the client has no such moment in their history yet, frame the example as the first move — "Here's the demonstration the team will run in week one to validate the stack:"

When the stack doesn't apply (yet)

For clients without MCP connections set up, frame Section 11 differently:

  • List the skills that DO apply with current tooling
  • Name which MCPs would unlock which sections of the plan
  • Treat MCP setup as a Q1 priority alongside the bedrock fixes

A plan can't claim the agentic-stack thesis if the stack isn't wired. Be honest about state.