Where to focus
Which customers and opportunities deserve attention, what the business can credibly offer them and where it should stop spreading itself too thinly.
Marketing strategy & advisory
Marketing strategy for the business you are building.
You may have a capable team and trusted agencies, but still need a clearer direction for marketing. Method Marketing works with Irish SME founders, MDs and in-house leads to examine the commercial choices, agree priorities and turn them into a plan the business can use.
When this helps
A decision needs more than another opinion.
Perhaps the business has changed, but the marketing plan has not. You may be considering a new market, questioning an investment or trying to give the team a more useful brief.
Method Marketing starts with the commercial question, then examines the evidence, constraints and capability available. The work makes the choices explicit so the leadership team can agree a direction and a sound basis for delivery.
Your existing leadership team retains responsibility for running the marketing function. Strategy and advisory support helps resolve the decisions behind the work. Where the business needs continuing ownership of marketing direction, fractional CMO leadership is a separate form of support.
From the business goal to the work
Give each decision a direction.
- 01
Business goal
What needs to change?
- 02
Marketing priorities
Where should marketing focus?
- 03
Agreed plan
What will the business commit to?
- 04
Accountable delivery
Who owns the next step?
Review progress and use the evidence to inform the next decision.
The work
What the work can resolve.
What the plan should commit to
How the marketing priorities connect to the commercial goal, what each needs to succeed and who will make the next decision.
What to fund
How to judge proposed spending against the job it needs to do, including the people and follow-through required beyond the campaign itself.
What the team needs
Whether the gap sits in leadership, roles, agency briefs or working practices, before assuming that another hire or supplier is the answer.
Strategy connected to delivery
From expansion plans to a usable brief.
NAMO · Fractional CMO relationship
Marketing direction during expansion.
Method Marketing leads NAMO’s marketing direction as the business expands, connecting brand strategy, local launches and digital channels while building internal capability.
Explore the NAMO workA strategy needs to give the people delivering it a basis for decisions. Expansion, for example, raises questions about the customers to prioritise, what the offer should communicate and which work deserves investment.
The example below shows how an advisory engagement could turn those questions into a launch brief. It is illustrative; the scope and format would be agreed for the business.
The decision
Where should the launch focus?
Agree the priority audience, the buying situation and the proposition before choosing channels or commissioning creative.
The output
A brief the team can act on.
Set out the audience, message, channel priorities, budget assumptions, responsibilities and measures in one agreed launch brief.
The handover
A shared basis for delivery.
The internal lead and specialist partners use the brief to plan activity, judge proposals and review progress against the same priorities.
Working together
Start with the decision in front of you.
Method Marketing agrees the scope around the decision, the people involved and the work required. There are no fixed packages; the output and level of involvement are agreed before work begins.
Understand the situation
The first conversation establishes the business goal, what is limiting progress and which decision needs attention. Method Marketing gives a straightforward assessment of whether the scope is a good fit.
Examine what matters
The scope identifies the information and conversations needed. That could include the current plan, customer evidence, sales feedback or a review of how work is being delivered.
Make the choices explicit
Method Marketing works through the options and trade-offs with the relevant people. The resulting recommendation makes its assumptions clear and gives the leadership team a basis for action.
Give the work an owner
The plan sets out what happens next, who is responsible and how progress will be reviewed. Any continuing advisory support is agreed separately around the business’s needs.
A useful outcome
Something the team can work from.
The output depends on the question we agree to address. It might be a decision paper, a revised marketing plan or a brief that gives your team and partners a better basis for delivery.
Whatever the format, it should explain the choices, the work required and who owns the next step. The output is agreed before the work begins.
Robert Hawkes remains the senior point of accountability on each engagement, supported by Method Marketing’s network of specialist partners. Their involvement reflects the expertise the agreed scope requires.
See selected workBefore we speak
Which kind of support fits?
How is this different from a fractional CMO?
Strategy and advisory work supports a defined decision or an existing marketing lead. Fractional CMO support involves ongoing ownership of marketing direction as part of the leadership team. If that is the gap in your business, read about fractional CMO support.
Can you work with our existing team and agencies?
Yes. The starting point is the capability already in the business. Method Marketing involves the relevant people so the agreed direction gives the team and its partners a useful brief.
Do we need a full strategy project?
That depends on the problem. A defined question may need focused input; a wider change may need more substantial work. The first conversation establishes that difference before a scope is agreed.
Useful next reading
Give the decision a stronger foundation.
These guides help connect a marketing plan with leadership, investment and a brief the team can use.
Marketing strategy for Irish SMEs
Understand what a usable plan needs to decide before investing in activity.
When the CEO’s preference becomes the marketing brief
Assess recommendations against the customer and commercial objective.
Leadership and team guides
Work out who should own marketing and how the people involved should work together.
A useful first conversation
What does the business need to decide?
Share the decision ahead, what is limiting progress and who is already involved. Method Marketing will assess the scope and the level of support the business needs.