A SWOT analysis on a company is a structured assessment of its internal strengths and weaknesses alongside external opportunities and threats. Done properly, it gives leadership a shared, honest picture of where the business stands and what conditions it is operating in. Done badly, which is most of the time, it produces a wall of…
Buying personas are a description of who buys from you, built from research, behavioural data, and direct customer insight. Done well, they shape messaging, channel strategy, and product positioning. Done badly, they become a slide deck exercise that nobody references after the kick-off meeting. Most personas sit in the second category. Not because the concept…
A marketing plan should include a clear business objective, a defined audience, a channel strategy tied to that audience’s behaviour, a budget with allocation rationale, and measurable outcomes that connect back to commercial results. That is the core. Everything else is either supporting detail or noise. Most marketing plans I have reviewed over two decades…
Ethics issues in marketing are not a niche concern for compliance teams. They sit at the centre of how brands build trust, how agencies win and keep clients, and how the industry justifies its existence to the public. When marketing crosses ethical lines, it rarely does so with a villain twirling a moustache. It happens…
Buyer intent marketing is the practice of identifying where a prospect sits in their decision-making process and matching your marketing activity to that moment. Done well, it tells you not just who might buy, but when they are most likely to act, and what message will move them. Done poorly, it becomes an elaborate justification…
The freemium model is a go-to-market pricing strategy where a product is offered free at a base level, with revenue generated by converting a subset of users to a paid tier. Done well, it builds a large user base quickly, creates genuine product familiarity, and lets conversion happen through experience rather than persuasion. Done poorly,…
An expansion readiness prioritization framework gives marketing and commercial teams a structured way to assess whether their go-to-market foundations are strong enough to support growth into a new segment, geography, or product line before they commit budget and headcount. Without one, expansion decisions tend to be driven by optimism and opportunity cost anxiety rather than…
Business competitive analysis is the practice of systematically examining your competitors to understand their positioning, strengths, weaknesses, and strategic direction, so you can make better decisions about your own. Done well, it sharpens your strategy, surfaces genuine market opportunities, and gives leadership a clearer picture of where the business actually stands. Done badly, which is…
Community-led growth is a go-to-market approach where your existing users, customers, or advocates become the primary engine of acquisition, retention, and expansion. Instead of relying solely on paid channels or outbound sales, you build conditions where people want to participate, share, and bring others in. Done well, it compounds. Done badly, it is an expensive…
A focus group is a moderated research session in which a small group of participants, typically six to ten people, discuss a product, service, concept, or message in response to guided questions. The output is qualitative: attitudes, language, reactions, and the reasoning behind them. Used well, focus groups surface things that surveys cannot, specifically the…
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