The outcome isn't more marketing activity. It's better marketing decisions.
The Marketing Direction Diagnostic comes before the prescription. It gives you an independent, senior-level assessment of your marketing, with clear priorities and a practical roadmap for what needs to happen now, set out in a written report.
As your business grows and evolves, its approach to marketing changes, and what it needs from marketing changes. You might be building marketing capability for the first time, already have a team in place or work with external partners. Either way, growth, new markets and rising investment are the moments to step back and check that marketing is focused on the right things.
“Marketing isn't working” is the comment I hear most often. These are the patterns behind it that I see most consistently.
Plenty of activity, but none of it connected. There's no way of knowing what's generating a return.
The MD wants growth. Finance wants ROI. Sales wants better leads. Until those goals are agreed, activity fills the void.
Different views on customers and priorities lead to mixed messages. Marketing can't serve a strategy that hasn't been agreed.
The brand, website and reporting were built for an earlier stage. Until they catch up, marketing can't be improved or justified.
These patterns don't resolve themselves. They need a senior, independent perspective to name them clearly and show a way through.
When results are falling short, it's tempting to jump straight to tactics: a new website, more content, another agency, a marketing hire.
The Diagnostic starts with the five questions that should come first, the Harmanie 5A Framework™:
AIM
What are you trying to achieve?
AUDIENCE
Who are you trying to reach?
ADVANTAGE
Why should they choose you?
APPROACH
How are you going to reach them?
ACTION
When are you actually going to do it?
The Diagnostic starts with Aim.
I start by understanding the business and examining the evidence behind the decisions you need to make. The Diagnostic usually follows six stages, with the exact scope agreed around your business and the questions you don't yet have answers to.
We discuss your business objectives, target customers, current marketing activity and commercial priorities.
Typically up to five conversations across leadership and customer-facing teams, to understand different perspectives, assess alignment and identify opportunities.
An independent assessment of your current marketing, positioning and brand against your business objectives.
Typically a half-day session with your leadership team to review the findings, challenge assumptions and agree the priorities for your marketing direction.
A clear, prioritised written assessment of the key findings, recommendations and next steps.
I present the findings, discuss the recommendations with you and agree a practical roadmap for moving forward.
Some findings sound obvious once they're said out loud. But obvious isn't the same as acted on, and it's rarely the same as clearly communicated. These are the kinds of things a Diagnostic brings to the surface.
A professional services firm
The firm had grown and changed. It had become more consultative and more willing to challenge its clients. Its brand hadn't kept up. Clients found it dated, and prospects saw it as trustworthy but uninspiring.
An engineering consultancy
Clients trusted the firm because they trusted specific individuals. That's a strength until those people step back, and then the reputation leaves with them. The full range of services wasn't clearly understood either, so clients weren't bringing it all the work it could do.
These are just two examples. Every Diagnostic uncovers different findings, and those findings become the foundation of your marketing strategy, so it's built on what's really happening rather than on assumptions.
The insights generated from this work have provided an important foundation for both our strategic planning and marketing direction.
You'll have a clear understanding of what marketing needs to achieve, where to focus and what to prioritise. The deliverables typically include:
Every business starts from a different position, so the scope of your Diagnostic will depend on the size and complexity of your business, the marketing already in place and the questions you need it to answer.
After our first conversation, I'll set out the proposed scope, timescale and fee for you to consider before any work begins.
The Diagnostic typically takes three to four weeks from discovery to presentation, depending on what has been agreed and the availability of the people involved. Any travel or accommodation is charged at cost and agreed in advance.
Your recommendations will reflect what your business needs. They may include developing your marketing strategy from the findings, undertaking customer or market research, strengthening internal capability or bringing in specialist support.
You can take the roadmap to your existing team and partners to put into action. If you need senior marketing leadership to guide implementation, I can continue as your Fractional CMO, with any further scope and investment agreed separately. Where specialist delivery is needed, I can bring in trusted partners and lead them for you.
Tell me a little about your business and the decisions you're facing. A complimentary 30-minute discovery call is the simplest way to find out whether the Diagnostic is the right place to start.
Book a discovery callNo obligation, just a conversation about your business.
Download the Marketing Direction Diagnostic guide