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Tahir Akbar

@tahirakbr.bsky.social

130 followers 58 following 87 posts

I help SaaS & tech companies scale with AI-powered marketing and automation. My expertise lies in building growth systems that drive revenue, not just leads. 📍 Marketing | Lead Gen | AI-Powered Ops | MarTech

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Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Mar 29

The Content Cemetery

↳ 50 blog posts.
↳ 10 webinars.
↳ Zero pipeline impact.
↳ Buried content

#ContentMarketing

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Mar 29

The Campaign Treadmill Curse

Running campaigns nonstop, but never moving forward.

#Marketing

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Mar 29

The High CAC Nightmare

Pouring more $$ into ads… but CAC keeps climbing. The real nightmare.

#SaaS #CAC

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Mar 29

Everyone’s busy turning themselves into Ghibli characters lately…

So I gave it a SaaS spin.

Instead of dreamy portraits, I've created Horror Movie Posters for SaaS team.

#Marketing #SaaS

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 19

7/ Key Takeaway:

If you’re underestimating your CAC, you’re scaling on false assumptions.

Your growth strategy depends on getting this number right.

Are you tracking real CAC — or just ad spend?

Let’s discuss. 👇

#SaaS #Marketing #GrowthMetrics #DemandGen

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 19

6/

How to Fix It

✅ Track all costs, not just ad spend.
✅ Factor in team time, content, & software expenses.
✅ Account for onboarding & customer success costs.
✅ Treat every part of acquisition as an investment — not just paid channels.

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 19

5/

If you think your CAC is $100 per customer, it’s likely $130-$140 when you factor everything in.

Scaling without tracking real CAC = burning cash without knowing it.

So, how do you fix it?

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 19

4/

3️⃣ Customer Success & Onboarding
→ Support calls, onboarding, and retention efforts increase acquisition costs.

4️⃣ Brand & Community Building
→ Webinars, events, and social engagement fuel growth, but don’t show up in your CAC spreadsheet.

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 19

3/ Hidden Costs That Inflate Your CAC

1️⃣ Content Creation Costs
→ High-quality content takes time & resources—but rarely gets accounted for.

2️⃣ Tool Stack & Software Expenses
→ CRM, automation, analytics — critical tools, but often ignored in CAC calculations.

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 19

2/ Most teams calculate CAC like this:
Ad Spend ÷ New Customers = CAC

❌ But that’s incomplete.

Your true CAC includes way more than just paid ads.

Here’s what you’re probably missing:

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 19

1/ Most companies underestimate their CAC.

They track ad spend but ignore the hidden costs eating into profitability.

Last year, I audited a SaaS company scaling aggressively in MENA.
Their CAC? 30-40% higher than they thought.

Here’s why. 🧵👇

#CAC #SaaS #Marketing

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 18

Notion didn’t chase users.
Users chased Notion.

PLG wasn’t just a strategy—it was an ecosystem.

Are you looking to build this kind of system for your SaaS or B2B company?

Let’s chat and build one for you. ⤵️

www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Tahir Akbar ✪ on LinkedIn: #saas #growthmarketing #productledgrowth #casestudy #notion | 17 comments

Most SaaS startups burn cash on ads. Notion didn’t. Instead of chasing customers, they built a system where customers came to them. Here’s how they did… | 17 comments on LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 18

📈 The Results?

➝ 100M+ users with minimal paid marketing
➝ Enterprise adoption without a heavy sales team
➝ A viral loop that scales without increasing CAC

Notion’s growth wasn’t luck.
It was engineered.

#SaaS #GrowthMarketing

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 18

5️⃣ They Turned Users Into Ambassadors

Notion didn’t just build a user base. They built a movement.

➝ Notion Ambassadors
➝ Community-led events and meetups
➝ Recognition & rewards

Instead of hiring a massive marketing team, they empowered superfans to do it for them.

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 18

4️⃣ They Focused on Content, Not Ads

Most SaaS companies dump money into paid marketing.
Notion let users create content that marketed itself.

➝ SEO-optimized guides
➝ User-generated templates
➝ Localized communities

Great content compounds over time. Ads don’t.

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 18

3️⃣ No Sales Teams. Just Seamless Adoption.

Notion removed friction. They didn’t need hard selling—just:

➝ Instant value – No sales call needed.
➝ Cross-device sync – Work anywhere, anytime.
➝ Baked-in upsells – Teams hit limits, then upgraded naturally.

It's a great PLG story!

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 18

2️⃣ They Let Users Market the Product

Instead of pushing ads, Notion pulled users in.

➝ Users created & shared templates
➝ Ambassadors educated new users
➝ Community-led content ranked on Google
→ Free, organic traffic.

Users did the marketing. Notion just enabled it.

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 18

1️⃣ The Product Was the Growth Engine

#Notion’s best marketing? The product itself.

➝ Freemium model – Users got hooked.
➝ Collaboration-first – Teams naturally invited others.
➝ Templates & sharing – Users created & distributed Notion workspaces.

This wasn’t a sales funnel — it was a viral loop.

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 18

In 2018, Notion was just another productivity tool in a crowded market.

Competing against Evernote, Google Docs, and Trello, they had NO chance of outspending them.

So, they built a system where users did the marketing for them.

Here’s what we can learn 👇

#Notion #SaaSGrowth #Marketing

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 18

Most startups burn money on ads to acquire users.

Notion didn’t.

Yet, they scaled to 100M+ users—without spending millions on paid marketing.

Here’s how they did it 🧵👇

#Notion #SaaS #GrowthMarketing

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 13

I write on marketing, AI, and building growth system for SaaS and technology companies.

Follow me here, and or LinkedIn!

www.linkedin.com/in/tahirakbar/

#Marketing #SaaS #Tech

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 13

Why AI-Powered Systems Win?

→ 50% less time spent on bad leads
→ 3X better engagement with a consistent pipeline
→ Lower CAC with smarter targeting

Your lead gen system shouldn’t drain your budget — it should be an automated growth engine.

#LeadGeneration #Marketing #SaaS

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 13

5️⃣ Scale with AI Analytics & Data

→ Predict high-converting leads before outreach
→ AI optimizes campaigns in real time
→ Find funnel gaps with AI-driven insights

AI helps scale faster & cut wasted spend.

#Marketing #LeadGeneration #SaaS

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 13

4️⃣ Sync Your MarTech Stack

→ Connect CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce) with automation
→ Auto-update contacts with AI enrichment tools
→ AI routes leads based on scoring

Disconnected tools waste leads. AI aligns data.

#LeadGeneration #MarTech #B2BMaketing

Tahir Akbar @tahirakbr.bsky.social · Feb 13

3️⃣ Personalize Outreach with AI

→ Use AI to write hyper-personalized emails
→ Automate follow-ups across multiple channels
→ Modify messaging based on lead behavior

Generic outreach fails. AI personalizes at scale.

#LeadGeneration #B2BMarketing #SaaS