Clear thinking for leaders with something to move.
Before you ask for more marketing, ask this
Most marketing briefs are business questions in disguise. The real issue usually sits earlier than the campaign - in a decision nobody has settled yet.
Read the article →Are you helping, or handing out cards?
Brands that help before they sell keep customers longer. Trust is a retention strategy, not a values statement - and Bain puts numbers on it.
Why isn't my marketing working?
If marketing is busy but nothing is moving, the problem is rarely the marketing. It is usually a decision nobody made.
Marketing strategy vs marketing tactics: which one are you missing?
Strategy is the decisions. Tactics are the actions. Most businesses are short of the first, not the second.
Fractional CMO, consultancy or agency: which do you need?
Three ways to resource marketing, three different jobs. How to pick by the gap you actually have.
How to brief a marketing agency so the work lands
A good agency cannot fix an unclear brief. What to settle before the work starts, and why preparation beats budget.
Do I need a rebrand or a repositioning?
A rebrand changes how you look. Repositioning changes what you stand for. How to tell which one you actually need.
Your change keeps stalling. That is a communication problem, not a people problem.
Why change stalls even when the strategy is sound, and how to bring people with you.
Your launch is leaking before it starts. That is an offer problem, not a campaign problem.
Why most launches lose momentum before the campaign runs, and the offer decisions to settle first.
Your business outgrew its story. That is a positioning problem, not a marketing problem.
The signs a business has outgrown its positioning, why a rebrand rarely fixes it, and how to get clear again.
The world outside just got harder. This is not the time to wait.
Why pausing is the most expensive move available, and how to hold your nerve with a clear next step.
Clear thinking, in your inbox, once a month.
One considered piece a month on the decisions that come before the marketing. No noise, no selling.