AI-Powered Strategy Evaluation — 2026-04-05

Overview

Mark Hope demonstrated a live workflow using Claude to rapidly build a data-driven marketing strategy for DavaCare (a senior memory care / assisted living operator). The session covered the full evaluation framework: training the AI on client data, establishing business economics, generating a phased 12-month plan, and crafting a 90-day proof-of-concept pitch to justify a budget increase.

Attendees: Mark Hope, Sebastian Gant, Melissa Cusumano, and ~20 additional Asymmetric team members.

Related client record: ^[1]

Business Economics

Understanding the unit economics before building any plan is the foundation of this framework. For DavaCare, Claude calculated:

"One new customer is worth three times what they pay us for the whole year. You need to have that in your head — what is the stuff we're working on worth to the client?" — Mark Hope

These numbers reframe the client's $3,500/month retainer as a clear, high-ROI investment. A single move-in pays back the annual retainer ~4.5x.

The AI Evaluation Framework

Step 1 — Train the AI on the Client

Feed Claude the following in a single context window:

1. Client website URL — Claude reads and summarizes the business
2. Market research prompt — Ask Claude to evaluate the competitive landscape
3. Business objective — Define the goal (e.g., "fill 30 beds across 10 locations, then build a waitlist")
4. Financial inputs — Monthly rate, average stay, LTV, current budget

Data exports to upload:
- Google Search Console → Queries report (Excel or PDF — Claude struggles with CSV)
- Google Analytics → Acquisition report (PDF preferred)
- Ahrefs → Organic traffic / keyword data
- Google Ads → Campaign performance report (PDF)

Tip: Use Excel or PDF exports rather than CSV. Claude has known issues parsing CSV files reliably.

Step 2 — Establish Business Economics

Ask Claude to calculate LTV, allowable CAC, and the full conversion funnel (visitors → leads → tours → move-ins). Request citations for any benchmark numbers — Claude can reference industry reports (e.g., Wisconsin Assisted Living Association, Senior League data).

Step 3 — Generate the Strategic Plan

With context loaded, ask Claude to build a plan to achieve the stated objective. It will identify gaps in current performance and propose a phased strategy with specific OKRs for each quarter.

Key Findings from DavaCare Analysis

Claude's analysis of DavaCare's GSC, GA, Ahrefs, and Ads data surfaced three critical issues:

• Traffic is 90% branded — Almost no visibility for high-intent non-branded searches (e.g., "assisted living Wisconsin," "memory care near me"). New customer acquisition requires non-branded traffic; branded traffic indicates people who already know the brand.
• PPC budget is misallocated — St. Francis and Pewaukee campaigns have a $199 CPL vs. $86 for top-performing campaigns — a 2.3x gap with no reallocation.
• Review deficit — Only 16 Google reviews across all locations vs. 50–100 for competitors, suppressing local pack rankings.

12-Month Plan

Phase 1 — Quick Wins (Months 1–3)

PPC
- Reallocate budget away from St. Francis and Pewaukee to top-performing campaigns
- Add negative keywords (research/non-buyer-intent terms)
- Launch campaigns for the 3 locations currently running no ads
- Target: 2.7%–4.5% conversion rate

SEO
- Optimize title tags across all location pages
- Add unique 500+ word descriptions per location page
- Implement local business schema on all 10 locations
- Target: Move location pages from position 10 → position 5

Google Business Profile
- Claim and verify all 10 locations
- Complete all fields, add photos, enable messaging
- Launch review generation campaign
- Target: 16 → 50+ reviews

CRO
- Add prominent click-to-call buttons
- Simplify contact/inquiry forms
- Add exit-intent pop-up with "Schedule a Tour" CTA
- Target: 5.4% → 7% site conversion rate

Phase 1 expected outcome: ~60 leads/month, 6–8 additional move-ins (filling roughly a quarter of the 30 vacant beds).

Phase 2 — Scale (Months 4–6)

Content & SEO
- Expand ranking pages from 12 → 40
- Build city landing pages and service pages
- Publish informational content targeting non-branded queries
- Target: 10% → 40% non-branded organic traffic

PPC Restructure
- 50% location-specific campaigns
- 25% high-intent commercial keywords
- 15% brand defense
- 10% competitor conquest

Referral Program
- $1,000 gift card for a family referral that results in a move-in (+$500 at 90 days)
- Build partnerships with hospitals, primary care providers, and elder care attorneys
- Rationale: $1,000 referral fee = 20% of first month's revenue — strong ROI

Phase 3 — Sustain & Optimize (Months 7–12)

Retargeting Engine
- Pixel all website visitors
- Build audiences: visited location page, viewed pricing, abandoned form
- Retarget via Display, Facebook/Instagram, YouTube
- Target: Convert 10–20% of retargeted visitors

Lead Nurture Sequences
- Automated email sequences: Thank You → Testimonials → Pricing → Tour Invitation → Check-In → Monthly Newsletter
- 60–90 day automated nurture window

Waitlist System
- Build a waitlist portal for when beds are full
- Priority notification system for waitlisted families

Budget Justification & Client Pitch

Claude's full-investment recommendation was $20,000/month for a projected 17x ROI ($248k annual investment → 30–40 move-ins → ~$4.2M in new LTV).

DavaCare's current spend is ~$3,000/month. The recommended two-step pitch:

Step 1 — The 90-Day Proof Plan

Use the current $3k budget, but reallocate it to proven performers.

• Month 1: Reallocate budget, add negative keywords, fix underperforming campaigns
• Month 2: Launch missing location campaigns, begin GBP optimization
• Month 3: CRO improvements, review generation push

90-day success metrics:
- Increase leads by 43% (21 → 30/month)
- Cut CPL by 22% ($100 → $85)

"The problem isn't the budget — it's how it's being spent." — Mark Hope

Step 2 — The Budget Increase Pitch (After 90 Days)

Present the proven data, then make the ROI case:

"With $3k/month, we increased leads by 43% and cut CPL by 22%. At $8k/month, we project 80 leads/month → 8 move-ins/month → $1.1M in new LTV. That's a 137x return. Every month we stay at $3k costs $165,000 in vacant bed revenue."

Frame the trade-off explicitly:
- Staying at $3k = proof-of-concept only, ~10–15 beds filled over the year
- Moving to $8k+ = full lead generation program, all 30 beds + waitlist
- Estimated cost of staying small: ~$2M in lost lifetime revenue

Using AI as a Force Multiplier

Once the plan is generated, Claude can drill into any individual task:

• "Give me step-by-step instructions for implementing local business schema"
• "Build the email nurture sequence — give me content, timing, and a template for each email"
• "Give me step-by-step instructions for pixeling all website visitors"
• "Given this PPC restructure target, give me step-by-step instructions to get there in Google Ads"

Claude will provide specific, actionable instructions including where to click, what to paste, and what to look for — eliminating "I don't know how to do this" as a blocker.

Workflow tip: Copy the full Claude conversation (Ctrl-A, Ctrl-C) into a Google Doc (Ctrl-V, then Ctrl-\ to strip formatting) to create a searchable, saveable reference document with all tables and recommendations intact.

Action Items

• [ ] Mark Hope — Share Claude chat link with all attendees
• [ ] Sebastian Gant — Gather precise data from DavaCare: bed vacancies and revenue per bed by location, to refine the model inputs
• [ ] Sebastian Gant — Pitch the 90-day proof plan to DavaCare, framing it as a test to justify a future budget increase
• [ ] All — Apply this framework to other clients: start with website, market research, and financial economics

Key Quotes

"You need to understand what the thing we're trying to sell is worth. What's the value of that thing? And therefore, what are we willing to spend to get one?" — Mark Hope

"Don't just say, 'I want to increase your website traffic by 10%.' You're just making that up. What you want to say is: in order to fill the 30 beds you have — which are worth $4 million — here's what we need to do." — Mark Hope

"When you get on these calls, don't just say 'I did this and I'm working on this landing page.' Explain what you're doing, why you're doing it, how you're doing it, and what the impact is if you achieve it." — Mark Hope

Related

• ^[1]
• ^[2]
• ^[3]