The Challenge
Genext Students, an EdTech B2B product targeting tuition center owners, was burning cash on customer acquisition. With a CAC of ₹4,725 against an LTV of ₹10,000, the unit economics were unsustainable. The team was spending on the wrong channels, using generic messaging, and losing leads due to manual handoff delays. My mandate: Fix the economics or shut down the marketing engine.
The Strategy
Phase 1: Customer Research (Month 1-2)
Interviewed 50+ tuition center owners to understand their behavior, pain points, and decision-making process.
- Key Insight: Our ICP was tuition owners with 30+ students per class
- They spent time on social media, not searching for solutions on Google
- Price and operational efficiency mattered more than features
Phase 2: Channel Optimization (Month 2-3)
Tested intent-based platforms (Google Ads) vs. social media (Facebook/Instagram).
- Google Ads failed: ₹8,000+ cost per lead
- Facebook/Instagram won: ₹1,200 cost per lead
- Rationale: Interrupt where they already spend time, don't wait for intent
Phase 3: Creative & Messaging Testing (Month 3-6)
Ran systematic A/B tests across multiple dimensions:
- Character style: Illustrations beat human figures (23% better CTR)
- Language: Regional languages (Hindi/Gujarati) beat English (31% better conversion)
- Message focus: Pricing-led messaging beat features (18% better conversion)
Phase 4: Marketing Automation (Month 4-8)
Built Facebook → Zapier → Salesforce automation to eliminate manual lead handoff.
- Reduced lead-to-call time from 5 minutes to 3 minutes (40% improvement)
- Automated regional routing (leads to correct sales rep by geography)
- Result: 40% improvement in conversion rates
The Results
₹4,725 → ₹650
86% CAC Reduction
15.4:1
LTV:CAC Ratio Achieved
+40%
Conversion Rate Lift
70 → 74
Daily Conversions
Key Learnings
- Customer research beats assumptions every time. Talking to 50+ users revealed our audience wasn't on Google—they were on Facebook.
- Channel fit matters more than "best practices." What works for B2B SaaS doesn't work for Indian tuition owners.
- Regional localization is non-negotiable in India. Hindi and Gujarati messaging drove 31% better conversion than English.
- Automation creates compound returns. Reducing lead handoff time by 2 minutes improved conversion by 40%.
- Simple qualification beats complex scoring. Our binary filter (30+ students) outperformed sophisticated lead scoring models.