Marketing Channel Power Rankings
Rank channels by current impact, upside, and fit before allocating resources
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 7
- Confidence
- 97%
The Marketing Channel Power Rankings convert an unfocused marketing mix into an explicit resource-allocation decision. Start with the business outcomes marketing must produce: attracting prospects, earning consideration, and converting customers. Evaluate each channel according to its present impact, remaining upside, predictability, and relevance to the company's operating model. Channels that remain necessary but offer mostly incremental returns belong in an honorable-mention tier rather than receiving aggressive new investment. Rank the remaining channels by the additional value another unit of time or money could create. The resulting order is contextual rather than permanent; product complexity, viral acquisition loops, changing platforms, and new technology can all alter it. Repeating the exercise every six to twelve months keeps resource allocation aligned with the opportunity landscape.
Origin
Extracted from Marketing Against The Grain, where the hosts periodically debate channel rankings to help marketing teams allocate capital and time.
Core principles
- 01Rank channels for today's business climate rather than historical reputation
- 02Prioritize channels with meaningful upside over channels with merely predictable returns
- 03Separate essential baseline activities from areas deserving additional investment
- 04Adapt rankings to the product, market, and customer-acquisition model
- 05Revisit the rankings as technology and distribution conditions change
How to run it
- 1
Define the desired outcomes
Specify what marketing must accomplish, such as attracting customers, increasing consideration, and driving purchases. Use those outcomes as the common standard for every channel.
Pro tip Translate broad growth goals into measurable acquisition and conversion outcomes.
Watch out Do not rank channels solely by visibility or popularity.
- 2
Inventory the complete mix
List acquisition, conversion, positioning, community, paid, and owned-media activities. Include channels already operating as well as plausible new opportunities.
Pro tip Group related formats under strategic buckets when separate rankings would create false precision.
Watch out Do not omit baseline channels simply because they feel mature.
- 3
Score current value and upside
Assess each channel's current impact, potential incremental return, predictability, and fit with the business. Distinguish a reliable channel from one with unusually large remaining upside.
Pro tip Ask what another unit of time or money is likely to produce over the next year.
Watch out Historical effectiveness does not guarantee that a channel still has the highest marginal return.
- 4
Create an honorable-mention tier
Place necessary but mature or highly predictable channels in a baseline tier. Continue operating them without automatically making them the focus of new investment.
Pro tip Treat honorable mentions as steady-state programs rather than abandoned channels.
Watch out Do not confuse a lower growth ranking with a recommendation to stop the activity.
- 5
Rank the growth priorities
Order the remaining channels according to where focused investment can generate the greatest business impact. Force explicit trade-offs instead of declaring everything important.
Pro tip Give the highest position to the opportunity with the greatest near-term asymmetric upside.
Watch out A ranking that contains ties everywhere will not guide resource allocation.
- 6
Apply business-specific modifiers
Adjust the order for product complexity, audience behavior, viral product loops, and existing strengths. A simple consumer product and a complex B2B platform should not use identical priorities.
Pro tip Document why each company-specific modifier changes the default order.
Watch out Do not copy another company's ranking without examining its acquisition model.
- 7
Schedule the reranking
Revisit the list every six to twelve months or after a major technological or platform shift. Compare actual outcomes with the assumptions behind the previous ranking.
Pro tip Preserve previous rankings so the team can see how the opportunity landscape changed.
Watch out Do not allow a temporary ranking to become permanent doctrine.
In the wild
The hosts ranked AI conversion-rate optimization first, owned media second, organic search third, product marketing fourth, and brand marketing fifth. Email and messaging, online and offline community, and paid performance marketing remained honorable mentions: useful staples, but not the largest sources of additional upside.
→ The list gave marketers a concrete order for allocating incremental time and money during the next six to twelve months.
A B2B software company applies the default ranking but raises product marketing because prospects struggle to understand its platform. It preserves search and owned media investments while directing additional resources toward clearer positioning, launches, and sales enablement.
→ The company adapts the ranking to its product rather than following a generic channel list literally.
Common mistakes
Treating every channel as a growth priority
A channel can be operationally necessary without deserving the next incremental dollar or hour. Failing to distinguish these categories produces diluted execution.
Ranking by historical reputation
Mature channels may remain valuable while offering limited upside. Rank their present marginal opportunity, not their past importance.
Ignoring business-model differences
Product complexity, audience, and acquisition loops can materially reorder the list. A universal ranking without contextual modifiers creates false confidence.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for founders and marketing leaders deciding where to increase or reduce investment over the next six to twelve months.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal as a universal benchmark without adjusting for a company's product, audience, maturity, and existing advantages.
From the transcript
“the way that we are going to rank these is overall value and impact to businesses today”
“what we talk about is like capital and time allocation”
“the number one thing on this list Kieran I think if we do it right whenever we do it if we do it every 3…”
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