Customer Acquisition Strategy ​
Channel Mix & Investment Allocation ​
Outbound Sales (60% - R480K/month) ​
Target: 60 qualified leads/month → 18 deals closed
LinkedIn Outreach ​
- Budget: R120K/month
- Target: School principals, heads of academics, IT managers
- Volume: 1,000 connection requests/week
- Message: "Your school is missing 15+ AI features your competitors will have in 18 months"
- Conversion: 8% accept → 15% book demo → 25% become opportunity
- Cost per SQL: R2,000
- Tools: Sales Navigator, Dripify automation
Cold Email Campaigns ​
- Budget: R90K/month
- Volume: 5,000 emails/month across 500 schools
- Subject Lines:
- "Why [School Name] Students Deserve AI Tutors"
- "15 AI Features vs 0: The Education Gap"
- Sequence: 7-touch over 21 days
- Open Rate: 35% (education sector benchmark)
- Reply Rate: 8%
- Demo Booking: 30% of replies
- Cost per Lead: R750
WhatsApp Business Prospecting ​
- Budget: R60K/month
- Approach: Parent groups → School admin referral
- Messages: 2,000/month to parent group admins
- Hook: "Free AI homework helper for your child's school"
- Conversion Path: Parent trial → School introduction
- Response Rate: 12%
- Cost per Lead: R500
Phone Prospecting ​
- Budget: R90K/month (3 SDRs)
- Call Volume: 150 calls/day total
- Connect Rate: 18%
- Pitch: "I'm calling about the AI gap in South African education"
- Demo Booking Rate: 15% of connects
- Average Call Duration: 4 minutes
- Cost per Qualified Lead: R1,500
Inbound Marketing (30% - R240K/month) ​
Target: 40 qualified leads/month → 16 deals closed
Content Marketing & SEO ​
- Budget: R80K/month
- Content Calendar:
- 2x weekly blog posts: "AI in African Classrooms" series
- Weekly case study: "How [School] Saved 20 Hours/Week with AI"
- Monthly whitepaper: EdTech trends and AI adoption
- Target Keywords:
- "AI school management system Africa" (450 searches/month)
- "South African school software with AI" (320 searches/month)
- "Automated marking system schools" (680 searches/month)
- Organic Traffic Target: 5,000 visitors/month by Month 6
- Conversion to Lead: 3%
- Cost per Lead: R533
Free AI Tutor Trial Funnel ​
- Budget: R60K/month (product marketing)
- Landing Page: yebolearn.com/free-ai-tutor
- Student Acquisition: 2,000 trials/month
- Parent Engagement: 40% of students share with parents
- School Referral: 10% of parents contact school admin
- Conversion to Demo: 25%
- Cost per School Lead: R300
Paid Digital Advertising ​
- Budget: R100K/month
- Google Ads: R60K
- Search campaigns: "school management software"
- Display retargeting: Website visitors
- YouTube pre-roll: EdTech decision-maker targeting
- LinkedIn Ads: R40K
- Sponsored content: AI advantage messaging
- Lead gen forms: Direct demo bookings
- Average CPL: R250
- SQL Conversion: 20%
Strategic Partnerships (10% - R80K/month) ​
Target: 10 qualified leads/month → 5 deals closed
Referral Program ​
- Budget: R40K/month
- Referral Fee: R5,000 per closed deal
- Target Partners: Existing customers, EdTech consultants
- Activation Rate: 30% of customers refer
- Close Rate: 40% of referrals
Channel Partners ​
- Budget: R40K/month
- Partner Types: IT services companies, education consultants
- Commission: 15% of first-year revenue
- Expected Partners: 10 active by Month 6
- Leads per Partner: 2/month average
Campaign Performance Metrics ​
Cost Efficiency by Channel ​
| Channel | Cost per Lead | Cost per SQL | Cost per Customer | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R420 | R2,000 | R6,667 | 4.8x | |
| Cold Email | R188 | R750 | R3,000 | 10.7x |
| R125 | R500 | R2,000 | 16.0x | |
| Phone | R300 | R1,500 | R5,000 | 6.4x |
| Content/SEO | R133 | R533 | R1,333 | 24.0x |
| Free Trial | R75 | R300 | R1,200 | 26.7x |
| Paid Ads | R250 | R1,250 | R6,250 | 5.1x |
| Partnerships | R800 | R1,600 | R3,200 | 10.0x |
Monthly Acquisition Targets ​
- Month 1-3: 8 schools/month (ramp-up phase)
- Month 4-6: 12 schools/month (optimization phase)
- Month 7-12: 15 schools/month (scale phase)
- Total Year 1: 156 schools (exceeds 100 school target by 56%)
AI Differentiation Messaging ​
Core Value Props by Channel ​
- LinkedIn: "Be the first mover - 18-month AI advantage window"
- Email: "15 AI features your competitors don't have (yet)"
- WhatsApp: "Your children deserve AI tutors - available now"
- Phone: "I'm calling about the AI revolution hitting education"
- Content: "The Complete Guide to AI in African Schools"
- Paid Ads: "Only AI-Powered School Platform in Africa"
Urgency Triggers ​
- "First 100 schools get founding member pricing"
- "AI training included free (R50K value) - limited time"
- "Lock in 2025 rates before AI features double pricing"
- "Exclusive territory protection for early adopters"
Content Marketing Calendar ​
Week 1: Thought Leadership ​
- Blog: "Why African Schools Need AI Now, Not Later"
- Video: Principal testimonial on AI impact
- LinkedIn: Industry stats on AI adoption gap
Week 2: Product Education ​
- Blog: "15 AI Features Explained for Educators"
- Webinar: Live AI grading demonstration
- Case Study: Time savings metrics from pilot schools
Week 3: Competitive Positioning ​
- Blog: "AI vs Traditional: The New Education Divide"
- Infographic: Feature comparison chart
- Email: "What Your Competitors Don't Want You to Know"
Week 4: Success Stories ​
- Blog: Student performance improvements with AI
- Video: Teacher testimonial on workload reduction
- LinkedIn: Monthly AI impact metrics
Conversion Optimization ​
Landing Page A/B Tests ​
- Headline: "First AI School Platform" vs "15+ AI Features"
- CTA: "Book Demo" vs "See AI in Action"
- Social Proof: Logos vs Testimonials vs Stats
- Form Length: 3 fields vs 5 fields vs progressive
Demo Booking Optimization ​
- Calendly integration with 24-hour availability
- Instant demo option with pre-recorded AI walkthrough
- SMS reminders 1 hour before scheduled demos
- No-show recovery within 2 hours
Lead Scoring Model ​
- Hot (80+ points): Immediate SDR call
- Warm (50-79 points): 24-hour follow-up
- Cool (20-49 points): Nurture sequence
- Cold (<20 points): Quarterly re-engagement
Scoring Factors:
- School size: 500+ students (30 points)
- Title: Principal/Head (25 points)
- Engagement: Downloaded AI guide (20 points)
- Timeline: "This term" (25 points)
- Budget confirmation (30 points)
Competitive Response Playbook ​
When Prospects Mention Competitors ​
- "Show me their AI features" (they have none)
- "Let's calculate ROI with vs without AI"
- "Would you buy a car without power steering in 2025?"
- Offer side-by-side AI capability demonstration
Market Education Priority ​
- Create "State of AI in African Education" report
- Host monthly "AI in Education" roundtables
- Develop AI readiness assessment tool
- Position as thought leader before competitors wake up