Working out what to do

Services

Working out what to do

You are spending on marketing without a clear read on what is working. Or you are about to spend, and you want to get it right the first time.

You might need this if

  • You cannot say which marketing actually brings you customers
  • You are paying for ads or an agency without knowing the return
  • You are launching something and do not know where to start
  • Different people keep giving you different advice

What the work involves

What you actually get.

Scoped and written down before anything starts, so what is included and what is not is never a matter of memory.

  • A written plan in plain English, in the order it should be done
  • A clear view of what is worth funding and what is not
  • The sequence that gets you paid back soonest
  • A number to watch, so progress is not a matter of opinion

How it runs

Four stages, every time.

The shape is the same on every engagement. The specifics are set on the call and agreed in writing.

Stage 01

Understand the business first

What you sell, to whom, at what margin, and what has already been tried. Marketing advice given without this is guesswork with confidence.

Stage 02

Look hard at what exists

Site, campaigns, content, enquiries and numbers, each assessed against what it is actually supposed to achieve.

Stage 03

Write the plan

Plain English, in the order it should be done, and explicit about what to stop as well as what to start.

Stage 04

Agree the first move

One thing to do next, one number to watch, and a decision about who is doing it.

Who this usually suits

Where this one earns its place.

IT consultants

Referrals arrive warm and cool off after they visit the site.

Authors and writers

Publication is close and the list is small or non-existent.

Small service firms

A long decision that goes quiet and you never learn why.

Product and retail shops

Traffic arrives and does not buy.

How we work

We will not sell you what will not work.

Plenty of marketing gets sold because it is easy to sell, not because it will change anything. We would rather scope the work that actually moves your numbers — sometimes that is narrower than you expected, and sometimes it is a good deal bigger. Either way you hear the reasoning before you hear the price, and nothing begins until both are in writing.

ScopeAgreed in writingWhat is in, what is out,the price and the date

Working together

Results need room to happen.

Work that moves a number needs three things: enough scope to fix the cause rather than the symptom, enough control to actually make the changes, and enough time for them to compound. We are straight about that before anything is agreed, because marketing that is second-guessed line by line does not produce results for anyone. If that is not the arrangement you are looking for, far better we both find out on the first call.

What an engagement assumes

  • A written scope, so what is in and what is out is never a matter of memory
  • The access and authority to make the changes the plan depends on
  • A realistic run of time before the work is judged
  • One agreed number that tells us both whether it is working

Next step

Is this the one you need?

Tell us the problem on a free 30-minute call and we will tell you whether this is what solves it, or whether something else does.