Before we get started…
My partners and I just opened enrollment for business owners who want a Scalable Operating System installed before the end of the year.
Our goal is to get you unstuck and out of the “day-to-day” before the holiday craziness takes over, finish 2026 strong...
…and set up to make 2027 your best year ever.
Ok, onto this week's article (which, as you’re about to see, is a pretty special one)…
"What's our marketing strategy?"
I've scaled 8 companies past $10M and helped 100+ business owners do the same, but I’ve never had a good answer to the question of, “What’s our marketing strategy?”
Because the truth is…it depends!
It depends on your industry…your price point…your sales motion…whether you're B2B or B2C…online or offline…high-information vs. low-information buyers...
…it just…depends.
Which is a fancy way of saying,
"I'm not sure, but here's what seems to be working for everyone else who kind of looks like us."
And that's the rub…
Most businesses are running the wrong marketing playbook, because nobody ever told them which marketing playbook they should be running.
So I went looking for a better answer than "it depends."
And I’m pleased to report that after 26 years of in-the-trenches experience and 18 months of deep research…
…I finally found it.
I call it The Cycle-Scope Matrix (a.k.a. The Four Playbooks), and it's a simple framework that tells any business which of 4 marketing playbooks it should be running, and exactly which channels, offers, and metrics belong in it.
And this is the first time I've ever shared it outside of a small group of clients, so I hope you like it, and I hope you scroll down and give me your candid feedback and comments at the end.
Let's get into it…
The Cycle-Scope Matrix
Here’s the most important thing you need to know about designing a marketing strategy: Your playbook has nothing to do with whether you're B2B or B2C, online or offline, or what you sell and what you charge.
It comes down to two variables:
Audience SCOPE: how listable and targetable your buyers are.
Sales CYCLE: how long it takes someone to go from first hearing about you to first buying from you.
Put scope and cycle on a grid and you get what I call the Cycle-Scope Matrix:
Every business lands in one of the four squares:
The Fox (narrow scope, short cycle): B2B services with a clear ideal client (IT/MSPs, uniforms, commercial cleaning), consumables and supplies (packaging, office supplies, coffee), and hobby or specialty products.
The Peacock (narrow scope, long cycle): agencies, sales trainers, copywriters, coaches, consultants, speakers, creators, and specialty niche products (collectibles, custom builds).
The Panda (broad scope, short cycle): grocery and convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants, and local staple retail (hardware stores, everything stores).
The Elephant (broad scope, long cycle): HVAC, roofing, remodeling, foundation repair, pest control, auto dealers, premium furniture and mattresses, elective medical and dental, and financial services and insurance.
Each square gets its own playbook (hence the “Four Playbooks” name). Let’s review each playbook (a.k.a. animal) and see which one is right for you…
The Fox Playbook: Precision Targeting
"I’m a fox. I win by saying the right thing to the right list, and then following up until they buy."
Think Uline. If you own a business, you likely get their catalog.
And you get it every month (unless it comes weekly), because the catalog IS the funnel. It lands on a desk, someone needs boxes, and they order that afternoon. No nurture sequence needed.
Here's the Fox playbook:
What they're really buying: practical improvement (savings, speed, reliability, convenience).
Best practices: tight targeting by list, title, account, and geography. Account-based marketing (picking specific companies and marketing to them one by one). Outbound plus retargeting plus intent search. Land-and-expand. Trade placements and industry events.
Channels: outbound email, LinkedIn targeting, intent search, retargeting, trade shows and industry events.
Offers: free audit or assessment, sample kit, 24-hour quote, pilot or trial, "switch-and-save" analysis.
Media mix: 60% targeted outreach, 20% retargeting, 20% search.
Metrics to track: meeting rate, conversion rate, CAC (customer acquisition cost), CAC payback, LTV (lifetime value), and average first-order value.
Avoid: broad brand-awareness campaigns aimed at an untargeted audience. That's Elephant spending on a Fox budget.
A Fox doesn’t need to be famous. They just need to get in front of the right audience and follow up relentlessly.
Example Foxes: Uline, Restaurant Depot, Sweetwater.com
The Peacock Playbook: Tribes & Fame
"I’m a peacock. I win by being so remarkable that my tribe can't ignore me."
Think Basecamp. They may be a software company, but their tribe is defined by a shared belief (small teams who reject hustle culture) more than the product itself.
Their founders write books, publish “think pieces,” and get into “Twitter battles,” and they sold their point of view long before anyone saw a demo of their product.
Here's the Peacock playbook:
What they're really buying: trust, taste, worldview alignment, and identity.
Best practices: publish consistently so you become the "Embedded Influencer" in your niche. Lead with story and point of view over features. Build trust assets (proof and social validation). Collaborations, community, and an email list.
Channels: YouTube, podcasts, guest spots on other people's shows, email newsletter, speaking, collaborations, branded search.
Offers: book a call or apply, workshop or webinar, starter program, community or membership.
Media mix: 70% content and collaborations, 20% retargeting, 10% conversion capture.
Metrics to track: audience growth, return consumption (how many people keep coming back for more), inbound leads, close rate, referrals, branded search.
Avoid: leading with price, discounts, or feature lists. That's Fox behavior, and it dissolves the tribe.
Build the tribe first. If you do it right, by the time they book a meeting, they've already decided to buy.
Example Peacocks: Basecamp, Tracksmith, VaynerMedia
(In case you're wondering, The Scalable Company is a Peacock. That’s why you're reading this newsletter.)
The Panda Playbook: Convenience & Habit
"I’m a panda. I win by being the easiest, most familiar choice, every single time."
Think Buc-ee's. Broad audience (gas station), instant decision. They solved the only two things travelers actually care about: clean bathrooms and available gas pumps.
They mastered convenience first, THEN layered a cult brand on top (because nobody drives 200 miles for a stuffed beaver mascot).
Here's the Panda playbook:
What they're really buying: habit, ease, and consistency.
Best practices: visibility and frictionless access. Customer experience as marketing (speed, friendliness, consistency). Local discovery through maps and reviews. Promo bursts with credible urgency.
Channels: signage and frontage, Google Business Profile, local radio and TV, short-form video, a loyalty app.
Offers: bundles, limited-time items, loyalty program, event-based promos.
Media mix: 50% always-on local presence, 30% brand familiarity, 20% offer bursts.
Metrics to track: foot traffic, repeat rate, basket size, review velocity (how fast new reviews come in), redemption rate, loyalty enrollment.
Avoid: using advertising to paper over a bad experience. You'll just buy more people a bad first impression.
Make it easy, make it quality, make it consistent…and your customers will do the rest of your marketing for you.
Example Pandas: Buc-ee's, Dutch Bros, Chick-fil-A
The Elephant Playbook: Trust & Brand Reputation
"I’m an elephant. I win by becoming the name people already trust before they ever need me."
Think Volvo. Every car buyer is a prospect, the decision takes months of research, and Volvo won it years earlier by owning a single word: safety.
They invented the three-point seatbelt and gave the patent away instead of licensing it. Sixty years later, that decision is still selling cars.
Here's the Elephant playbook:
What they're really buying: reduced risk and confidence.
Best practices: relational brand building (be distinctive, and be consistent). Sales activation that still feels relational. Mass reach plus consistency plus capture. Sales enablement for the consultative close, because long-cycle deals die in the proposal, long after the ad did its job.
Channels: reviews and reputation, branded search, radio, TV, billboards, connected TV and streaming, referrals, PR and community sponsorships, retargeting.
Offers: free inspection or assessment, financing, seasonal checkup, maintenance plan, lifetime warranty.
Media mix: 60% brand building, 40% sales activation (flip it to 40/60 if you're a local operator).
Metrics to track: branded search lift, direct traffic, share of voice, inbound trend, close rate, referral rate.
Avoid: cutting brand spend to chase short-term ROAS (return on ad spend). It looks efficient for two quarters and starves the funnel for two years.
Be the name they already trust, and when the roof finally leaks, you're the only call they make.
Example Elephants: Progressive Insurance, Tempur-Pedic, Volvo
(Also, most local home services companies should be running an Elephant Playbook.)
Cross-Breeding: Borrowing Plays From Your Neighbors
Once you've locked in your animal, you're allowed to steal a few plays from the squares next door. Your neighbors share one of your two variables (scope or cycle), so some of their plays transfer.
For example:
Foxes can borrow a unique point of view from Peacocks (aimed at their exact list) and frictionless reordering from Pandas.
Peacocks can borrow trust assets, consistency, and patience from Elephants.
Pandas can borrow offer mechanics and credible urgency from Foxes, and always-on brand reach from Elephants.
Elephants can borrow a named voice publishing with a point of view from Peacocks. (Picture a roofing company whose owner becomes "The Honest Roofer" on YouTube.)
Just don’t cross the diagonal…
A Fox running billboard-style brand campaigns burns cash on people who were never going to buy. A Peacock running discount bursts dissolves its tribe, and worldview content can bore a Panda customer who just wants it fast.
So start with your animal’s playbook. Then, once you’ve mastered that one, you can start borrowing plays from your neighbors.
⚡️ Action Step: Find your square on the matrix and lock in your animal. Then pull last month's marketing spend and reallocate spend away from the channels and practices that aren’t on your playbook so you can double down on the ones that are.
Give it a shot and let me know how it goes…
-Ryan
Ryan Deiss
Co-Founder and CEO, The Scalable Company
P.S. The Cycle-Scope Matrix tells you which plays to run, but running them consistently, quarter after quarter, without every marketing decision routing back through you?
That’s the hard part.
And that's why the first thing we do with every client is install a custom "operating system" so the business runs, grows, and actually pays you…without depending on you for everything.
Quick Hits
The best of what I read, watched, and clicked this week…
📈 Growth
Most owners can name their cost per lead and not one dollar of revenue it produced (Owned and Operated)
One weekly email, 20 pieces of content, and the 3 channels to start with (Newsletter Operator)
What an “embedded influencer” is, and the 3 steps to build one inside your company (YouTube)
(HINT: If you’re a peacock, this one’s a must-watch.)
💰 Money
Profits fell 82% across 765 businesses after the owner died (Contrarian Thinking)
Dunkin's founder dumped every cup of coffee older than 18 minutes (Girdley's Letter)
A 36-year-old plumbing company that had never spent a dollar on marketing (SMB Deal Hunter)
The $275M trust that put a widow and a business manager in court (Business Lunch)
⚙️ Systems & Ops
🛠️ Tools & AI
Map how customers actually happen in your business on one page (Growth Engine Builder)
Put your playbook's metrics in one weekly view your whole team reads (CEO Dashboard)
Short links that follow a click all the way to the closed sale (Dub)
