The 90-Day Growth Sprint: A Practical Playbook for Small Teams
Big growth does not require big teams. It requires focus, fast feedback, and a repeatable process. This playbook shows how to run a 90-day sprint that aligns strategy, creative, and analytics so you can ship better work and see results sooner.
Why a 90-day window works
Long enough to plan, build, and learn from real data.
Short enough to keep urgency high and avoid scope creep.
Easy to repeat so wins compound and the team improves each cycle.
Execution Matters
Phase 1: Diagnose and choose leverage (Week 1)
Your goal is to pick one growth problem that matters.
Baseline
Traffic by channel, conversion rate, CAC, ROAS, payback, top pages.
Funnel leaks: where most drop-offs happen.
Identify constraints
One sentence: “We would grow faster if X improves by Y.”
Example: “Demo conversion from paid traffic is 1.2%. If we reach 2.0% we cut CAC by 35%.”
Pick one leverage area
Acquisition quality, on-site conversion, lifecycle revenue, or product activation.
Deliverable: a one-page brief with the problem, target metric, and success threshold.
Phase 2: Strategy and test plan (Week 2)
Translate the brief into a focused plan.
Audience and message
Primary persona and core promise in one line.
Pain, proof, and payoff that your assets will show.
Channel and format
Choose 1 to 2 primary channels that fit the audience and price point.
Select 2 to 3 creative formats you can produce quickly and repeat.
Measurement
Define leading indicators and the one metric that decides success.
Set guardrails for budget, frequency, and time to first read.
Deliverable: a 6-slide mini deck with objective, audience, message, channels, tests, and KPI sheet.
Phase 3: Build the system once (Weeks 3 to 4)
Create the foundation that makes testing fast.
Tracking: GA4 events, pixels, UTMs, and a source-of-truth dashboard.
Templates: ad copy blocks, creative sizes, landing page sections, and email modules.
Creative assets: 1 core concept with 3 variants for hook, offer, and proof.
Landing page: one page focused on a single action with social proof and a clear next step.
Deliverable: a working stack where anyone can launch a test in under 30 minutes.
Phase 4: Test in tight loops (Weeks 5 to 10)
Run small, fast experiments that answer one question at a time.
Weekly cadence
Mon: launch 2 to 4 tests.
Wed: midweek check, kill obvious losers, scale early winners.
Fri: read results, log learnings, propose next tests.
Good first tests
Hook angle in the first 3 seconds.
Offer framing and value exchange.
Proof device: testimonial vs numbers vs demo clip.
Landing page hero copy and above-the-fold layout.
Decision rules
Pre-set a minimum sample size.
Require a clear lift with confidence before scaling.
Keep a change log so you can trace causality.
Deliverable: a living test log with hypothesis, setup, results, and next move.
Phase 5: Scale and systemize (Weeks 11 to 12)
Double down on what works. Turn it into a playbook.
Scale budgets on the best creative and audiences.
Bundle learnings into guidelines for messaging, visuals, and offers.
Automate recurring tasks like reports and asset exports.
Plan the next sprint with a new constraint to solve.
Deliverable: a 1-page summary with wins, losses, and the short list of repeatable plays.
Creative checklist for higher conversion
One promise, one audience, one action.
Brand is recognizable without reading a logo.
First frame or headline pays off the hook.
Proof within 5 seconds: number, name, or narrative.
Obvious path to the next step with minimal fields.
Landing page essentials
Clear headline that mirrors the ad.
Subhead that explains the payoff in plain language.
Social proof near the call to action.
Short form with only must-have inputs.
Speed budget: under 2.5s Largest Contentful Paint on mobile.
Trust signals: guarantees, security badges, or usage stats.
Metrics that matter
Hook rate: percent who stay past 3 seconds.
Hold rate: percent who watch or read at least half.
Share or save rate for social.
Qualified click rate to your landing page.
Conversion rate to your single target action.
Economics: CPA, ROAS, payback, and net lift vs control.
Common pitfalls to avoid
Too many goals in one sprint.
Testing creative before fixing tracking.
Copy that leads with features instead of outcomes.
Landing pages that ask for too much, too soon.
Declaring winners without statistical or directional confidence.
Skipping the change log so nothing is truly learnable.
“Virality begins when a clear truth collides with real emotion and meets zero friction.
Make it easy to feel, easy to share, and the spark spreads itself.”
The goal is not reach for its own sake. It is reach that leads somewhere. Measure signals that prove impact, like share rate, save rate, watch time, and the path from the post to a simple next step. Ship quickly, learn within 48 hours, and iterate until the lift flattens. When you pair a true insight with a sticky idea and frictionless distribution, you create conditions where campaigns catch fire.