Free resource

The Marketing Playbook

A structured way to move from a business idea to a clear brand, a confident launch and sustainable growth. Eight stages, each with the questions to answer, the work to do and the signs you are ready to move on.

STAGE 01Idea and VisionDefine the problem, the vision, the goals and the assumptions you are betting on.STAGE 02Market and Customer ResearchUnderstand customers, competitors, demand and where the real opportunity is.STAGE 03Business Model and OfferClarify the value you deliver, how you price it and how the business makes money.STAGE 04Brand Strategy and PositioningChoose the audience, define what makes you different and decide how to talk about it.STAGE 05Brand Identity and ExperienceTranslate the strategy into a coherent identity, voice and customer experience.STAGE 06Marketing Strategy and Go-to-MarketSet objectives, priorities, channels, budgets and the launch plan.STAGE 07Launch and Customer AcquisitionAttract customers, test channels, improve conversion and learn from feedback.STAGE 08Growth and OptimizationMeasure performance, improve conversion and retention, and run meaningful experiments.

The roadmap is a guide, not a rule. Most businesses move back and forth — new research can change your positioning, and launch results can send you back to your offer.

Find your stage

Not sure where to begin?

Pick the statement that sounds most like your situation. You will be pointed to the stage that is most likely to help.

Where should I start?

Which sounds most like your situation right now?

I have an idea or a new business, but the problem and goals still feel fuzzy.Competitors seem more visible or easier to understand, and I am not sure who my best customers are.People like what we do but hesitate to buy, or our pricing feels arbitrary.We struggle to explain what makes us different.Our brand looks and sounds different depending on where people meet us.We are active on several channels, but priorities are unclear — or we have a launch coming up.Our marketing activity is not generating enough customers.Marketing performance is hard to measure, or growth has stalled.

Explore the stages

What each stage asks of you.

Stage 01 of 08

Idea and Vision

Turn a business idea into a clear statement of the problem it solves, who has that problem, what success looks like and which assumptions still need proof.

Questions to answer

What specific problem do we solve, and for whom is it painful enough to pay for?
How do people solve this problem today, and what is unsatisfying about it?
What would success look like in 12 months? In three years?
Which of our beliefs about the market have we actually tested?

You are ready to move on when

You can explain the problem in one sentence to someone outside your industry.
You know which assumption is riskiest and how you will test it.

Deliverables

Problem statementVision and 12-month goalsAssumptions log ranked by risk

Open the full stage

Guides

In-depth guides.

Practical, focused and written to be used — new guides are added only when they are genuinely useful.

01How to write a positioning statement that guides real decisionsBrand strategy · Stage 4: Brand Strategy and Positioning · 7 min read 02Choosing your first customer acquisition channelsGo-to-market · Stage 6: Marketing Strategy and Go-to-Market · 6 min read 03A simple marketing measurement plan for small teamsAnalytics · Stage 8: Growth and Optimization · 6 min read

Want help applying a stage to your business?

Book a free consultation to discuss your marketing challenges and explore possible next steps.

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