RESULT OBTAINED
Worked case
A complete marketing strategy example: one case followed end to end
What must be established
A useful analysis keeps its controls visible.
- 01
Each step cites the completed asset that justifies it, with its source and date.
- 02
Each renunciation is written before the decision, not reconstructed afterwards.
- 03
The review rule names a signal, a threshold and an owner.
Decision reference
Make the next choice more explicit.
DECISION SUPPORTED
What does a complete, documented and reviewable marketing strategy look like once every step has been taken?
DELIVERABLE TO KEEP
A complete strategy file, readable on one page, reusable as a template for one’s own decision.
NEXT ELEMENT TO EXAMINE
Framing the decisionExplore →Framing the decision
The case follows an organisation selling an operational-continuity service to SMEs. The question settled: which markets and segments to invest in over the next two years to build a defensible advantage? The mandate sets the decision-maker, the scope, the horizon, the constraints and the assumptions to verify before any figures are produced.
- Decision: where to invest for a defensible advantage.
- Scope: the services business, over a twenty-four-month horizon, with six salespeople and a capped acquisition budget.
- Renunciation written from the outset: no extension of the offer during the period.
Estimating the market and qualifying the evidence
The market is estimated in two ways. The top-down route starts from a published market of €80m of which 27% falls within the scope; the bottom-up route multiplies 12 000 accounts by an annual spend of €1 800. Both converge on €21.6m, and each figure carries its source, its date and its confidence level.
- Theoretical market retained: €21.6m, two routes reconciled.
- Weak evidence flagged: the relevant share of 27% is an assumption to document.
- Rule: no estimate without a dated source enters the file.
Segmenting and prioritising
Four segments are scored on attractiveness, access and ability to win: regulated industry, multi-site services, public sector, startups. The first two are close; regulated industry is prioritised because the intended position is defensible there, and multi-site services move to a second wave. Startups, accessible but hard to defend, and the mass market are set aside.
- Priority segment: regulated industry, where a service interruption costs immediately.
- Second wave: multi-site services, high access, to open after the first proof.
- Renunciation: no generalist campaign for twenty-four months.
Positioning and proving the advantage
The chosen position is measured reliability: a recovery commitment published every quarter and verifiable by the customer. It is tested against the two alternatives customers actually consider, the low price and the generalist provider. The advantage rests on two distinctive capabilities, the technical on-call service and the documented incident history.
- Position: proven reliability, not the lowest price.
- Expected evidence: a published, audited recovery rate.
- Capability to protect: the on-call service, hard to imitate in under eighteen months.
Comparing the options and deciding
Three options are built at the same scope and horizon: broad coverage, regulated vertical, partner platform. Each names its intended gain, its renunciation, its accepted risk and its review condition. The regulated vertical is retained for its credibility, with sector concentration accepted and immediate volume given up. The partner platform stays open below a threshold.
- Option retained: regulated vertical, eligible.
- Option discarded: broad coverage, evidence too scattered.
- Conditional option: partner platform, if the partner brings two qualified opportunities within sixty days.
Setting the review
The strategy is dated and reopened on a signal, never on impression. Three signals are tracked: the segment’s preference, the economics of the service and the operational capability. Each has a threshold, an owner and a reading date. The file also records what would reverse the renunciation of the mass market.
- Signal: recovery rate below 95% for two consecutive quarters.
- Reopening threshold: segment preference declining in two surveys.
- Owner and rhythm: sales management, half-yearly review.
- Making Strategic Trade-offs, Harvard Business School (opens in a new tab)Reference framework for the trade-offs and renunciations that structure the case.
- The Role of Leaders in Strategy, Harvard Business School (opens in a new tab)Source on the unique position, the consistency of activities and responsibility for the decision.
MOVE FROM ANALYSIS TO YOUR DECISION
Compare the method with three fully calculated decisions
MOVE FROM ANALYSIS TO YOUR DECISION
Compare the method with three fully calculated decisions
RETURN TO THE DECISION SYSTEM
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