Marketing strategy services
Positioning, go-to-market plans and brand tracking for companies with 10 to 500 staff. Fixed prices, senior strategists, written results.
What we do
Start with positioning if customers cannot tell you apart. Start with a go-to-market plan if the position is clear and a launch is close.
Positioning
Research with your customers, a positioning map of your market, one positioning statement and the message rules for everyone who writes about you.
Go-to-market plans
The first six months of a launch or relaunch: target customers in order, channels, messages, budget by month and what to measure.
Brand tracking
Every quarter, 300 customers place you and your competitors again; we redraw the map and write one page on what moved.
Positioning workshop
The one-day workshop on its own, for teams that already have good customer research.
Example prices, before tax.
How a positioning project runs
The same four steps for every company. You see the research before the workshop, never a surprise on the day.
1
Map the market
Weeks 1 to 3
Twelve customer interviews, a survey of 300 to 500 buyers and an audit of up to eight competitors.
2
Choose the ground
Week 4
A one-day workshop with your leadership team. The map goes on the wall and we pick one position together.
3
Plan the move
Weeks 5 and 6
The positioning statement, message rules and the first campaigns, channels and budget.
4
Track the move
Every quarter
The same short survey, re-plotted on the same map, with a one-page report.
What you get on paper
Short documents your team will actually open again.
- The positioning map of your market, with every competitor placed by customers
- A one-sentence positioning statement and the reasons to believe it
- Message rules: what we say, what we stop saying, words we use
- A launch or campaign plan with budget by month
- The raw research: interview notes and survey data
Questions before a project
How is this different from a branding agency?
We decide what you stand for and who it is for. A design agency then makes it look right. We are happy to brief the agency you already use.
How many customers do you speak to?
Twelve one-hour interviews and a survey of 300 to 500 buyers in a typical project. For small markets we interview more and survey fewer.
Do you run the campaigns too?
No. We write the plan and the briefs, and we sit in on the agency’s first presentation. Keeping strategy separate keeps it honest.
What if the research says we should not move?
Then we say so, and the project ends with the map and a lower bill. It happens about once a year (sample).
Can we start with a smaller piece of work?
Yes. The one-day workshop with your existing research is the usual first step.
Book a 30-minute strategy call
Tell us what is stuck. We will say plainly whether positioning is the problem, and if it is not, who could help. The call is free (sample).