Consulting
A step back, a different angle and a strategy built for you alone.
Who it is for
Consulting suits businesses that need a sharp, senior view on a specific question rather than ongoing leadership. Perhaps growth has flattened and nobody can agree why. Perhaps you are about to launch, enter a new market or reposition the brand, and you want the strategy right before the money goes in.
It also suits leadership teams who already have good people but want an outside perspective: someone who will challenge the assumptions everyone inside the business has stopped noticing, and who has seen the same problems play out in other categories.
Most of my consulting work is with founders, chief executives and marketing leaders who want answers they can act on. Not a hundred-page report, but a clear point of view on what to do, what to stop doing and in what order.
Engagements range from a focused piece of work over a few weeks to ongoing advisory, where I am on hand for the decisions that matter most.
What I do
Brand strategy and positioning
I define what your brand stands for, who it is really for and why people should choose it, and turn that into a positioning your whole business can use. Strong positioning makes marketing more efficient, sales conversations easier and pricing more defensible.
Growth strategy and advisory
I look at where your growth has come from, where it could come from next and what is holding it back, then set out the moves with the biggest upside. That might be a new audience, a new channel, a sharper offer or a better way of keeping the customers you already have.
Customer and market research
Good strategy starts with customers. I use interviews, surveys, reviews, search and social data to understand how your customers really think, what they value and how they choose, and I bring that insight into every recommendation.
Competitor and category analysis
I map your competitive landscape: who you are really up against, how they position themselves, where they spend and what they say. The aim is to find the space you can own rather than the crowded middle everyone is fighting over.
Go-to-market and launch plans
For new products, services or markets, I build the plan that gets you there: the audience, the proposition, the channels, the creative approach, the budget and the measures that will tell you quickly whether it is working.
New venture development
Having founded and co-founded several businesses myself, I help new ventures shape their business model, proposition and marketing approach, and prepare the pitch decks and investor materials that come with raising money.
Business models and pricing
How you package and price what you sell shapes everything downstream. I help you test and refine offers, bundles, subscriptions and price points so they fit what customers value and what the business needs to earn.
Customer journey and conversion
I map the journey from first impression to purchase and beyond, find the points where people hesitate or leave, and recommend the changes to pages, offers, messaging and follow-up that will turn more interest into revenue.
Channel and media strategy
I help you decide which channels deserve your money and attention, how to balance brand and performance, and how to test new channels without betting the budget on them.
Marketing audits
A clear, honest review of your marketing as it stands: strategy, brand, channels, creative, data, team and partners. You get a plain-language view of what is working, what is not and a prioritised list of what to change first.
Technology and data review
I look at your analytics, attribution, CRM and marketing tools and tell you whether they are giving you a trustworthy picture of performance, and what it would take to fix them if not.
Leadership team workshops
Facilitated sessions that get founders and leadership teams aligned on positioning, priorities and plans. They are practical, focused on decisions rather than discussion, and end with clear owners and next steps.
How it works
Define the question
We start by agreeing exactly what you need to decide and what a good answer looks like, so the work stays focused on what matters.
Listen and look
I dig into your numbers, your customers, your competitors and your current marketing, and talk to the people inside the business who know it best.
Find the answer
I bring it together into a clear point of view: what is really going on, the options in front of you and the route I would take, with the reasoning behind it.
Make it real
We turn the recommendation into a plan with priorities, owners and measures. If you want help putting it into action, I can stay on as an advisor, step in as fractional CMO or bring in the team at Vertical Brands.
When consulting helps
Before a big decision
A launch, a rebrand, a new market or a major increase in spend. Getting the strategy right before the money goes in is far cheaper than fixing it afterwards, and far less painful for the team.
When growth has slowed
The usual levers have stopped working and the team cannot agree why. An outside view helps separate the symptoms from the causes and points to the moves that will make the biggest difference.
When the brand feels unclear
If your customers, your staff and your agencies would each describe the brand differently, positioning work brings everyone back to one clear story that makes every piece of marketing easier.
When you need a second opinion
Before signing off a plan, an agency proposal or a big hire, an experienced, independent view can save months of time and a great deal of money.
When starting something new
New ventures, products and propositions benefit from someone who has launched businesses before and knows where the early mistakes usually happen.
When the team needs alignment
Sometimes the strategy is sound but the leadership team is pulling in different directions. Facilitated workshops get everyone behind the same plan and the same priorities.
What you get
You get a clear answer to the question you started with, and the reasoning behind it, written for the people who have to act on it. Not a framework or a theory, but a point of view on what to do next.
You also get the benefit of an outside perspective. Many of the most useful recommendations come from spotting what everyone inside the business has stopped questioning, and some of them will feel counterintuitive at first. That is often exactly where the opportunity is.
Above all, you get a plan you can actually use: priorities in order, an owner for each piece of work and a short list of numbers that will tell you whether it is working.
Every project is built around the question you need answered, with a clear scope and end date agreed up front, so you know exactly what you are getting and when.
Ways to work together
Strategy project
A focused piece of work with a clear question, scope and end date, such as a positioning project, a growth strategy, a go-to-market plan or a full marketing audit.
Workshop or sprint
An intensive session, or a short series, with the leadership team, built around a specific decision, from defining the brand to agreeing next year's priorities.
Ongoing advisory
A monthly retainer for regular access to senior advice: reviewing plans, challenging assumptions and being on hand for the decisions that matter most.
Sectors I know well
eCommerce →
Positioning, offer, pricing and channel strategy for eCommerce and direct-to-consumer brands, with a clear view of how acquisition, conversion and retention fit together into profitable growth.
eLearning →
Proposition, pricing and launch strategy for course and training businesses, informed by building online training businesses of my own and knowing what makes learners buy.
B2B →
Positioning, messaging and go-to-market strategy for B2B companies, connecting marketing and sales around the same story, the same target accounts and the same pipeline.
Agencies →
Positioning, proposition, pricing and new business strategy for agencies, from someone who has founded, grown and sold agencies and knows what makes one stand out.
Why work with me
Most consultants have advised on growth. I have had to deliver it. I have founded and exited two agencies and co-founded start-ups across training platforms, ad networks and dining apps, so my advice comes from spending my own money and answering for the results.
I bring both halves of marketing to every question: the brand thinking that makes people feel something, and the performance discipline that proves what it is worth. I have done this for brands such as bp, Stoli and Distill Ventures, and today, through Vertical Brands, for clients like FACEGYM, Canagan and Decant Group.
I also like to look at problems from a different angle. Most brands are handed a template. The right answer for yours often sits somewhere the template cannot reach.
How I think about strategy
Strategy is often treated as a document. To me, it is a set of choices: who you are for, what you will be known for, where you will compete and, just as importantly, what you will stop doing. A strategy that does not make anything harder to do is usually not a strategy at all.
The best answers rarely come from the obvious places. Most businesses look at their own data and their nearest competitors. I look at how customers actually behave, what is happening in other categories and what everyone in your market assumes without questioning, which is usually where the opening is.
Strategy also has to survive contact with the people who deliver it. Every recommendation comes with priorities, owners and a short list of measures, and I test ideas with the team before they are final, rather than handing them down from above.
And I am comfortable recommending things that feel counterintuitive at first. If the right answer were obvious, you would already be doing it.
Consulting questions, answered
What does a marketing consultant do?
A marketing consultant gives you a senior, independent view on a specific marketing or growth question, then helps you decide what to do about it. That could mean defining your brand positioning, building a go-to-market plan, auditing your current marketing or advising the leadership team on where growth should come from next. The value is in the thinking, the outside perspective and the experience of having solved similar problems before.
How is consulting different from your fractional CMO service?
Consulting is focused on answering a specific question or delivering a defined piece of strategy, then handing it back to your team to run. As a fractional CMO, I join the leadership team on an ongoing basis and lead the work myself. Many clients start with a consulting project and move to a fractional role once they have seen how I work, but there is no expectation that they will.
How long does a consulting project take?
It depends on the question. A marketing audit or positioning project might take a few weeks, while a full growth strategy or go-to-market plan can take longer. Ongoing advisory runs month by month. We agree the scope, timing and deliverables up front, so you know exactly what you are getting and when.
How much does consulting cost?
Projects are priced around the scope and the time involved, so I quote after a first conversation once I understand what you need. Advisory retainers are priced monthly. Either way, you will know the cost before any work begins, with no surprises along the way.
What do I actually get at the end?
A clear recommendation and the reasoning behind it, presented to the people who need to act on it, plus a practical plan with priorities, owners and measures. I keep documents as short as they can be and as long as they need to be. The goal is decisions, not a report that sits in a folder.
Can you help us put the strategy into action?
Yes. Some clients take the plan and run it with their own team, some keep me on as an advisor to guide the work, and some ask me to step in as fractional CMO. For hands-on delivery, my agency Vertical Brands can take on the brand, creative and performance work, with no obligation to use it.
Do you work with start-ups?
Yes. I have founded and co-founded several businesses, and I enjoy working with founders at the early stages, when positioning, the business model and the first growth channels are still being shaped. I also help with pitch decks and investor materials for founders preparing to raise.
What industries do you work in?
I work mainly with eCommerce and direct-to-consumer brands, eLearning and education businesses, B2B companies and agencies, and I have worked with brands across beauty, drinks, pet food, energy and hospitality. Good strategy travels well between categories, and an outside perspective is often where the fresh ideas come from.
Will you work alongside our existing agencies?
Yes. I often work alongside agencies, helping set clearer direction, sharpen briefs and judge the work against the strategy. If something is not working, I will tell you honestly, but my job is to make your marketing better, not to replace partners for the sake of it.
How do we get started?
Get in touch through the contact form with a little about your business and what you are trying to solve. We will arrange a first conversation to understand the challenge, and if consulting is the right fit, I will come back with a proposed scope, timing and cost.
Do you sign NDAs?
Yes. Much of my consulting work involves confidential plans, numbers and launches, and I am happy to sign a non-disclosure agreement before we discuss anything sensitive.
Can you run a workshop for our leadership team?
Yes. Workshops are one of the most effective ways to get a leadership team aligned on positioning, priorities or plans. I design each one around the decision you need to make, facilitate it, and follow up with a clear summary of what was agreed and who owns what.
Do you do marketing audits?
Yes. An audit gives you an honest, independent view of your marketing as it stands, covering strategy, brand, channels, creative, data, team and partners. You get a prioritised list of what to fix first, which is often the most valuable starting point before investing more.
Can you help with pitch decks and fundraising?
Yes. Having founded and co-founded several businesses, I help founders shape the story investors need to hear, from the market and the proposition to the growth plan, and turn it into a deck that stands up to scrutiny.
Do you work remotely?
Mostly, yes, with time in person when it adds the most value, such as workshops, planning sessions and presentations. I am based in London and travel a lot, so spending time together in person is rarely a problem, wherever you are.
Will you challenge our plans?
Yes, and the challenge is often where the value is. I will tell you honestly what I think of your plans, your positioning and your spend, with the reasoning behind it. Good consulting is not about agreeing with the leadership team. It is about helping it make better decisions.
What makes your approach different?
I start by stepping back. Rather than applying a standard framework, I look at how your customers actually see you, find you and choose you, and follow the answer even when it seems counterintuitive. Then I make sure it turns into a plan your team can act on.
Can consulting turn into an ongoing role?
Yes, if it makes sense for the business. Some clients keep me on as an advisor after a project, some move to a fractional CMO engagement and some bring in Vertical Brands to deliver the work. None of that is assumed at the start.
How do you get up to speed so quickly?
By asking the right questions of the right people and looking hard at the numbers, the customers and the market. Having built businesses across different categories, I know where to look first and which problems tend to hide behind which symptoms.
What do you need from us to get started?
Access to the people and the information that matter: the leadership team, your key numbers, customer insight, and your current marketing plans and performance. We agree the essentials at the start so no time is wasted.
Can you help us decide between hiring and outsourcing?
Yes. Many consulting projects end with a question about who should deliver the plan. I can help you decide what to build in-house, what to outsource and what kind of people or partners to look for, based on your stage, your budget and the work involved.
