Templates/Demand Generation Audit Template
Marketing Strategy Templates4 sections

Demand Generation Audit Template

A structured audit framework for evaluating your current demand generation program. Covers channel performance, funnel conversion, attribution, content effectiveness, and spend efficiency — with a scoring rubric that identifies exactly where to focus.

When to use this template:

Run this audit when starting a new marketing role, when pipeline has missed target for 2+ consecutive quarters, when a board or investor asks for a marketing assessment, or when evaluating a fractional CMO engagement.

In this template:

  • Section 1: Funnel & Conversion Audit
  • Section 2: Channel Performance Audit
  • Section 3: Content & Messaging Audit
  • Section 4: Attribution & Analytics Audit
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Section 1: Funnel & Conversion Audit

CURRENT FUNNEL METRICS (fill in your numbers): Website visitors/month: _______ (target benchmark: growing MoM) Visit-to-lead conversion rate: ______% (benchmark: 2–5% for B2B) MQL/month: _______ MQL-to-SQL conversion: ______% (benchmark: 40–60% for well-defined MQLs) SQL/month: _______ SQL-to-Opportunity: ______% (benchmark: 50–70%) Opportunity-to-Close: ______% (benchmark: 20–40% for B2B SaaS) Average sales cycle: _______ days (benchmark: [varies by ACV]) Average deal size: $_______ Marketing-sourced % of pipeline: ______% (benchmark: 30–50% for scaling startups) FUNNEL HEALTH SCORE: Score each metric 1–3 (3 = at or above benchmark, 2 = close, 1 = significantly below): Visit-to-lead: ___/3 MQL-to-SQL: ___/3 SQL-to-Opp: ___/3 Opp-to-Close: ___/3 Total score: ___/12 8–12: Strong funnel — focus on volume and channel diversification 4–7: Leaky funnel — fix conversion issues before adding traffic <4: Broken funnel — prioritize funnel audit before any new spend

A broken funnel + more traffic = more wasted spend. Audit conversion before channels. If your MQL-to-SQL is below 30%, your lead quality or SDR follow-up process is broken — don't solve it with more leads.

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Section 2: Channel Performance Audit

FOR EACH ACTIVE CHANNEL, COMPLETE: CHANNEL: [Organic SEO] Monthly leads/MQLs: ___ | Monthly spend (time/money): $___ | CAC from this channel: $___ Conversion rate (visit-to-lead): ___% | Trend: 📈 Growing / 📉 Declining / — Flat Assessment: 🟢 Scaling | 🟡 Optimizing | 🔴 Cutting CHANNEL: [Paid Search — Google] Monthly leads/MQLs: ___ | Monthly spend: $___ | CAC: $___ CTR: ___% | Conversion rate (click-to-lead): ___% | ROAS: ___ Assessment: 🟢 Scaling | 🟡 Optimizing | 🔴 Cutting CHANNEL: [Paid Social — LinkedIn] Monthly leads/MQLs: ___ | Monthly spend: $___ | CAC: $___ CTR: ___% | CPL: $___ | Lead quality score: ___/5 Assessment: 🟢 Scaling | 🟡 Optimizing | 🔴 Cutting CHANNEL: [Content Marketing] Monthly organic sessions from content: ___ | Content-attributed MQLs/month: ___ Top performing content pieces: [list top 3 by leads generated] Assessment: 🟢 Scaling | 🟡 Optimizing | 🔴 Cutting CHANNEL: [Email/Outbound] Outbound emails sent/month: ___ | Reply rate: ___% | Meetings booked/month: ___ CAC from outbound: $___ | Sequence performance: ___/10 Assessment: 🟢 Scaling | 🟡 Optimizing | 🔴 Cutting

The channel audit should be completely data-driven, not opinion-driven. Channels reps 'feel' are working are often underperforming vs. channels they ignore. Let the CAC and conversion data lead.

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Section 3: Content & Messaging Audit

WEBSITE MESSAGING AUDIT: □ Homepage hero: Is the value prop clear in 5 seconds? Yes / No / Unclear □ Target customer: Does the site clearly say who it's for? Yes / No □ Proof points: Are there specific metrics/case studies on the homepage? Yes / No □ CTA clarity: What is the primary conversion action? (Demo / Trial / Contact / Content) □ Mobile experience: Is it optimized for mobile? Yes / No CONTENT LIBRARY AUDIT: □ Total published pieces: ___ □ Pieces ranking on Page 1 for target keywords: ___ □ Pieces generating 100+ organic visits/month: ___ □ Pieces with internal links to conversion pages: ___ □ Last content audit/update date: ___ MESSAGING CONSISTENCY CHECK: □ Does homepage messaging match what SDRs say on calls? Yes / No / Partially □ Does the demo follow the same messaging pillars as the website? Yes / No □ Is there a documented messaging guide that everyone uses? Yes / No MESSAGING SCORE: 3 'No' answers or more = messaging crisis — document your positioning before touching any channel

Messaging inconsistency across channels is the silent killer of demand gen programs. Prospects who see one message on LinkedIn, a different one on your website, and a third from your SDRs lose trust. Audit consistency before optimizing channels.

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Section 4: Attribution & Analytics Audit

ATTRIBUTION SETUP REVIEW: □ UTM parameters used consistently across all paid campaigns? Yes / No □ CRM source field populated for all leads? Yes / No (check: what % have 'unknown' source?) □ Marketing attribution model defined? (First touch / Last touch / Multi-touch / Linear) □ Marketing-sourced vs. marketing-influenced pipeline: defined and tracked? Yes / No □ Monthly/quarterly marketing reporting to leadership? Yes / No □ A/B test results documented and actioned? Yes / No ANALYTICS SCORE: 2+ 'No' answers = your marketing decisions are based on gut, not data.

You can't improve what you don't measure. Start with UTM consistency and CRM source fields — these two fixes unlock 80% of the attribution clarity most startups need.

Pro Tips

  • Run this audit quarterly — your marketing program evolves faster than most founders realize
  • Score each section and focus improvement efforts on the lowest-scoring areas first
  • Involve your SDR team in the messaging audit — they hear objections daily that marketing often misses

Cactus insight: The most valuable thing about a demand gen audit isn't the final score — it's the conversations it forces. Founders consistently discover that their SDRs and their website are telling completely different stories.

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