LRN · STRATEGY STACK/REV. 2026-06
Sheet— 01 / 10 —STRAT
001 ·

The plan that connects a motion, its plays, and the economics that have to hold.

Choose where to play, then how to win.

Here is the RGM strategy stack — every growth strategy mapped, from go-to-market motions and account-based marketing to DTC and B2B SaaS playbooks. Each grounded in the unit economics that decide whether it works, and executable across 121 industries and 13 plays. Start with a pillar, explore the periodic table, or filter the index.

0+Strategy pages
0Go-to-market motions
0Growth plays
0Industries covered

How to read this stack: strategy is a choice of where to play and how to win, made before any tactic. Every play here is grounded in economics — check it against the 2026 benchmarks and the LTV:CAC calculator.

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At a glanceQuick answers

The short answers.

Which GTM motion?By ACV & buyer

Low ACV self-serve → PLG; high ACV committee → sales-led or ABM.

First test of a strategy?LTV:CAC ≥3:1

If the economics do not pay back, no play saves it.

B2B with big deals?ABM

Concentrate on a target list of high-value accounts.

DTC or ecommerce?DTC playbook

Acquisition, AOV and retention run as one system.

How many plays at once?Sequence them

Acquisition → conversion → retention → expansion, in order.

Strategy vs tactics?Where vs how

Strategy picks the game; tactics execute inside it.

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Load-bearing strategiesSheet — 02 / 10

Six motions hold the roof.

Start here. Nearly every growth strategy is a variation on a handful of go-to-market motions. Pick the one that fits your average contract value and buyer, and the plays follow.
Start here
  1. F-01Product-led growthThe product acquires and expands users — low-touch, self-serve.
  2. F-02Sales-led growthA sales team closes higher-value, considered purchases.
  3. F-03Account-based marketingConcentrate on a list of high-value target accounts.
  4. F-04DTC ecommerceAcquisition, AOV and retention as one system.
  5. F-05B2B SaaSFunnel, expansion, and net revenue retention.
  6. F-06Channel orchestrationMake channels compound instead of competing.
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The strategy indexSheet — 03 / 10

Every strategy, filed.

Look at the strategy library by area. Filter by name or pick a family. The full stack runs 6,100+ pages across 121 industries; the marquee strategies are below, and search opens the rest.

Showing 26 of 26 strategies

No strategy matches that filter. Search the full library — it reads every page.

This is the curated index. The full strategy stack holds 6,100+ pages — search the complete collection or jump to any family above.

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The map of strategiesSheet — 04 / 10

The periodic table of strategies.

Hover or tap a strategy. Twenty-four strategies grouped into five families — GTM motions, account-based, demand & channels, data & measurement, and brand & positioning. Filter by family, or hit ★ Core for the eight that anchor most programs. Each tile links to its guide.
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Strategy by the numbers — 2026Sheet — 05 / 10

The numbers a strategy must clear.

Tap a card. A strategy is only as good as the economics under it. Here are the bars healthy growth clears in 2026 — each sourced, each linked to the guide and the benchmarks compendium.
3:1LTV:CAC floor

Healthy LTV:CAC

Industry rule of thumbThe master ratio →
Did you know? ↗
18 moCAC payback

Median CAC payback

Benchmarkit / KeyBancBenchmarks →
Did you know? ↗
118%Net revenue retention

Enterprise NRR

BenchmarkitRetention benchmarks →
Did you know? ↗
11–30%Rule of 40

Clear the Rule of 40

Blossom Street VenturesSee the bar →
Did you know? ↗
40–60%Trial to paid

Opt-out trial to paid

OpenViewProduct-led growth →
Did you know? ↗
6.1xChannels compound

Retail media ROAS

SkaiChannel strategy →
Did you know? ↗
Strategy is choosing what not to do. The economics tell you which choices you can actually afford.
— RGM analysis, 2026

Growth-economics benchmarks, 2026 — see the full sourced set in the RGM Benchmarks compendium.

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RGM strategy toolsSheet — 06 / 10

Pressure-test the economics.

Use these. RGM ships free calculators for the numbers a strategy lives or dies on — LTV, CAC, payback, and budget — no signup. Prove the model before you fund it.
RGM ToolLTV:CAC Ratio

Whether a motion's economics hold up.

 RGM ToolCAC Payback

Months until a customer repays their cost.

 RGM ToolCAC Calculator

Your true, fully-loaded acquisition cost.

 RGM ToolLTV Calculator

Lifetime value from margin and retention.

 RGM ToolBlended CAC

Paid + organic cost per new customer.

 RGM ToolAllowable CAC

The ceiling on what you can spend to acquire.

 RGM ToolMER Calculator

Blended marketing efficiency ratio.

 RGM ToolROAS Calculator

Return on ad spend for any channel.

 RGM ToolBudget Forecaster

Plan spend across plays and months.

 RGM ToolChurn Rate

The leak every retention play is filling.

 RGM ToolAOV Calculator

Average order value and how to lift it.

 RGM ToolCustomer Lifetime

How long a customer stays, quantified.

Browse every calculator on the RGM tools floor, or start with the benchmarks compendium.

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MethodSheet — 07 / 10

How to build a strategy.

Five steps. Strategy is where most growth is won or lost, long before the first campaign. Here is the sequence.
  1. Define the growth model. Pick the motion that fits your average contract value and buyer — product-led, sales-led, account-based, DTC, or channel-led. This one choice shapes everything after it.
  2. Anchor to unit economics. The model has to pay back. Aim for an LTV:CAC of at least 3:1 and CAC payback under about 18 months, and confirm it with the calculator before you scale.
  3. Sequence the plays. Move through acquisition, conversion, retention and expansion in order — firing every play at once usually means none of them lands.
  4. Match plays to your industry. The same play runs differently for SaaS, DTC and local businesses. Use the industry playbook closest to yours as the template.
  5. Orchestrate and measure. Channels and plays compound. Measure incrementally with the measurement stack rather than crediting each in isolation.
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Go deeperSheet — 08 / 10

The deep playbooks.

Beyond the motion. Each strategy has an execution playbook, and the stack goes far deeper: 121 industries multiplied by 13 plays — SEO, content, paid, email, retention, CRO, brand and more — is over 1,500 industry-specific playbooks.
Deep playbookABM Orchestration Playbook

Run account-based plays across the committee.

 Deep playbookAccount Selection & Tiering

Pick the accounts worth the most effort.

 Deep playbookIntent Data

Find the accounts in-market right now.

 Deep playbookGrow Contract Value

The land-and-expand playbook.

 Deep playbookCustomer Data Platform

Unify first-party data for every play.

 Deep playbookChannel Orchestration

Make channels compound, not compete.

Working a specific vertical? The stack pairs strategies with industries — for example SaaS retention or DTC lifecycle. Search the full playbook library →

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The voices — top 12Sheet — 09 / 10

The voices — top 12.

Follow these. The people who shaped how modern growth strategy is designed and argued — from growth loops and PLG to positioning and brand effectiveness. Each links to a profile.
01Sean EllisCoined growth hacking; the PMF survey 02Brian BalfourReforge; growth loops & model fit 03Andrew Chena16z; network effects & cold start 04Lenny RachitskyProduct & growth strategy 05Elena VernaPLG & growth-model strategy 06Casey WintersRetention & growth-model design 07Eric RiesThe Lean Startup; build-measure-learn 08April DunfordPositioning; Obviously Awesome 09Byron SharpHow Brands Grow; penetration 10Seth GodinPermission marketing; the purple cow 11Mark RitsonBrand strategy & effectiveness 12Les BinetMedia effectiveness; the 60/40 split

Browse all marketing thought leaders →

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FAQSheet — 10 / 10

Strategy questions.

What is a growth strategy?

A growth strategy connects a go-to-market motion (how you reach and convert customers) to the plays and channels that execute it and the unit economics that must hold. It answers who you sell to, how you win them, and why the math works. The periodic table above maps the options.

What is the difference between product-led and sales-led growth?

Product-led growth lets the product acquire, convert and expand users with little human touch, suiting low-cost self-serve products. Sales-led growth uses a team to close higher-value deals. Most companies blend both as they move up market.

What is account-based marketing (ABM)?

ABM concentrates marketing and sales on a defined list of high-value target accounts, treating each account or tier as a market of one. It suits B2B businesses with large deals and multi-person buying committees.

How do I choose a go-to-market motion?

Start from your average contract value and buyer. Low ACV and self-serve buyers favor product-led growth; high ACV and committee buying favor sales-led or account-based motions. Then confirm the economics pay back with the LTV:CAC calculator.

What is a growth loop?

A growth loop is a self-reinforcing cycle where one user's activity drives the next user's acquisition, unlike a linear funnel. Loops compound, which is why durable models are built around them. See growth marketing.

How is strategy different from tactics?

Strategy is the choice of where to play and how to win — the motion, the audience, and the economics. Tactics are the specific executions inside that choice, like a campaign or an email flow. Good tactics cannot rescue the wrong strategy.

Sources & provenance

  1. Growth-economics benchmarks (LTV:CAC, CAC payback, NRR, Rule of 40, trial-to-paid, ROAS) are drawn from the RGM 2026 Benchmarks compendium, which sources each figure to Benchmarkit, KeyBanc, OpenView, Blossom Street Ventures, Skai and others.
  2. Go-to-market motion and family groupings are RGM's synthesis; every tile links to its full guide.
  3. Stack census — RGM analysis, June 2026; strategy page and industry counts are live totals from the deployed tree.