Improve the return on your investment in acquisition
I take you from "I got it from some website" to "OMG you have to try this company."
That happens when the promise of your marketing matches the experience of your brand. When it doesn't, you're paying to acquire people who won't come back and won't tell anyone else about you.
I find where the experience contradicts the story you're telling, fix what's causing it, and make the whole thing pull in one direction.
No sale, no follow-up unless you want one.
What it's like to work with me
Seven stages from first conversation to ongoing measurement. Not every client needs all seven - you can enter at any point, and exit when the work is done.
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Discovery
Before any work begins, we scope what's actually needed. One conversation, then a proposal that reflects your situation.
The free 30-minute call is the start of this. I take the time to understand your business, your brief, and your constraints before suggesting a scope - so the proposal reflects what you actually need, not a standard retainer.
- One conversation to understand the brief, the context, and what success looks like
- A proposal built for your situation, not a templated package
- No obligation until you've seen the thinking and agreed the scope
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Kick-off
Get properly oriented. We clarify the real problem, align on objectives, and set up the engagement to run well from the start.
The first session is a working session, not a formality. We define the problem clearly, agree on what success looks like, and map who needs to be involved and when. Sometimes the brief shifts here - and that's exactly the point.
- Agreed brief and objectives to work against from day one
- Access to the right data, research, and people identified early
- A project plan built around how you actually work
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Explore
Research before recommendations. I build the evidence base before forming a view - no brief goes unchanged once I've looked properly.
Customer interviews, stakeholder conversations, competitive benchmarking, journey mapping - whatever the situation needs. Quick wins are identified here so momentum builds while the strategy is underway.
- Customer and stakeholder interviews, not just desk research
- A map of the current experience as customers actually live it
- Quick wins identified early and actioned in parallel with the strategy
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Define
The pivot from research to strategy. We agree on what the real problem is before building anything. Most briefs describe a symptom.
I present what the research has revealed and we agree on what we're actually solving for. This is often where the framing shifts - and that's exactly the point. No strategy until we're solving the right problem.
- A shared understanding of the real problem, not just the perceived one
- Priorities linked to business goals and constraints
- Agreement on the scope needed: brand strategy, CX strategy, or both
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Develop
Build the strategy - brand, experience, or both. Done collaboratively in workshops, so it holds up when I'm not in the room.
I work through workshops with your team, not at them. We define what the brand stands for, how the customer experience should deliver it, and the specific moments that create disproportionate impact for your business.
- Brand platform: positioning, personality, narrative, and reasons to believe
- Brand Basics (the non-negotiables) and Brand Amplifiers (the moments only you would create)
- CX designed through the lens of the brand, validated with real customers
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Make it practical
Turn the strategy into something the organisation can actually use. I provide the blueprint and the facilitation - implementation sits with your teams.
Strategy that lives in a deck doesn't change anything. This stage equips your people to deliver it - clear priorities, assigned owners, defined behaviours, and a comms brief that keeps everyone pulling in the same direction.
- Implementation plan with owners, timelines, and KPIs
- Staff behavioural framework aligned to your brand and CX standards
- Phased rollout: pilot first, review, refine, then scale
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Measure
Set up the infrastructure to know whether it's working - and a feedback loop so the strategy keeps pace with the business.
Often built into the close of an engagement rather than a standalone piece of work. We define the KPIs that actually matter, build a monitoring cadence, and create a process for continuous improvement.
- KPIs tied to brand vision and business goals, not just operational metrics
- A dashboard and review cadence your team can sustain
- A continuous improvement loop: diagnose early, prioritise, act
Sound familiar?
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The brand hasn't caught up with the growth
The business has grown faster than the brand. Something feels off, the website, the pitch, the way the team talks about what you do, but nobody can name it precisely.
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The strategy exists on paper
You inherited a brand strategy you didn't build and don't believe in. It lives in a deck. It's not driving decisions, and nobody references it unless they have to.
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The experience is good. The story isn't.
Operations are solid, the product is strong. But the marketing isn't sticking, the premium pricing isn't landing, and the brand doesn't reflect what you actually deliver.
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The rebrand landed. Nothing changed.
Six months ago, you launched a new brand. It looks better. But the experience hasn't caught up, the way things feel to customers, the way the team talks about the business.
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You need senior firepower without a full hire
A project that spans brand, CX, and comms, and you need someone who can work at strategy level. A senior thinking partner for the duration, not an account manager with a team behind them.
If you asked me for three words to capture how I work, I'd say:
Dig. Reveal. Sharpen.
Most briefs describe a symptom, not the problem. I dig until I find it. Then I show what was already there but missed, the thing that's been normalised, taken for granted, or seen too narrowly.
Twelve years finding the gap.
I've spent over twelve years building strategy across brand, CX, and comms. Agency-side at TBWA\MCR, Havas Lynx, and Mediacom, then independently. My experience spans:
- Retail
- FMCG
- Healthcare
- Leisure
- Finance
- Hospitality
I'm as comfortable building a brand platform as I am mapping a patient journey or writing a comms strategy. Because I've worked across disciplines, I tend to spot the connections, and the contradictions, that specialists miss.
Want to see an example of my work and how I think?
Three problems. One frame.
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Brand strategy
When the brand isn't doing what it should, or doesn't reflect the business you've become. I work on positioning, narrative, and the strategic foundations that make everything else coherent.
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Experience and CX strategy
When the promise and the reality don't match. I map the gap between what a brand commits to and what customers actually experience, then build the strategy to close it.
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Research and insight
When you need to understand what's actually going on before deciding what to do about it. Customer research, stakeholder interviews, category analysis, the kind of investigation that changes the brief.
If something here is your problem, the first 30 minutes are on me.
What happens at our free session?
A useful 30-minute conversation, not a sales call. We'll talk through what's going on in your business, the symptom, the situation, what you've already tried, and I'll help you separate the surface issue from the real underlying problem.
No commitment. No pitch. If we're a fit, we'll figure out next steps. If not, you'll leave with a clearer view of what to work on.