Startup marketing
terms explained simply.
The marketing, growth, and GTM terminology every startup founder needs to know — defined clearly, with real startup context, no agency jargon.
A
ACV (Annual Contract Value)
The average annualised revenue from a single customer contract. For SaaS companies, ACV = (Total contract value / years). Used to calculate CAC payback, sales efficiency, and to segment customers by tier.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation)
Optimising your content to appear as the recommended source in AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. The new frontier of organic visibility for startups.
C
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)
The total cost of acquiring one new customer — including all sales and marketing spend. CAC = Total S&M spend / Number of new customers acquired. The most important unit economics metric for startups.
CAC Payback Period
How long it takes to recover the cost of acquiring a customer through their revenue. Payback period = CAC / (MRR × Gross Margin). Benchmark: <12 months for consumer, <18 months for B2B SaaS.
CMO as a Service
Fractional Chief Marketing Officer engagement — full CMO-level strategy, team management, and execution ownership without the cost of a full-time hire. Typically structured as a retainer with defined scope and reporting.
Churn Rate
The percentage of customers who cancel or don't renew in a given period. Monthly churn = (Customers lost / Total customers at start of month) × 100. The silent killer of SaaS growth.
CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation)
The systematic process of increasing the percentage of users who complete a desired action on your website or product. Includes A/B testing, landing page redesign, and funnel analysis.
G
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)
Building the authority signals that large language models use when generating recommendations — structured data, E-E-A-T, citation strategy. Makes your brand appear in AI-generated responses.
GTM (Go-To-Market)
The strategy and plan for launching a product or entering a new market. Includes ICP definition, positioning, channel selection, pricing, and launch sequencing. The most important strategic document a startup can have.
I
ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)
A detailed description of the exact type of company or person your product is built for — the one who gets the most value, churns the least, and is easiest to acquire. Everything in marketing flows from a well-defined ICP.
L
LTV (Lifetime Value)
The total revenue you expect to generate from a single customer over their full relationship with your business. LTV = ARPU / Churn Rate. The counterpart to CAC in startup unit economics.
M
MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead)
A lead who has engaged with your marketing content in a way that suggests buying intent — visiting a pricing page, downloading a white paper, requesting a demo. Handed from marketing to sales for follow-up.
MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)
The predictable, recurring revenue generated in a given month. MRR = Number of active customers × Average monthly revenue per customer. The primary health metric for SaaS businesses.
N
NRR (Net Revenue Retention)
The percentage of revenue retained from existing customers after churn, downgrades, and expansion. NRR above 100% means you grow even with no new customers — the holy grail of SaaS.
P
PLG (Product-Led Growth)
A growth strategy where the product itself is the primary driver of acquisition, retention, and expansion. Users discover value before buying, often through freemium or self-serve models. Slack, Notion, Figma.
S
SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)
A lead that has been reviewed by sales and confirmed as a genuine potential customer worth pursuing. SQLs meet the ICP criteria and have shown clear buying intent.
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