How we understand strategy.
Hopeless is a marketing agency.
And we’re a strategy consultancy.
This is because most marketing problems are actually strategy problems. If you can discover how your company is most likely to succeed, and if you can align around that — you don’t just get a more powerful message.
You get a more powerful business to go with it.
Benjie’s approach is informed by Roger Martin, Les McKeown, Gino Wickman and by his own experience as an entrepreneur and marketing leader.
Like all creative work, the heart of strategy is dialogue. It starts with listening and it culimates with choosing.
And once your choices are clear, eveything else becomes clearer too.
Strategy gaps create growth problems.
REALITY Gap
When when your vision isn’t lived, sales slumps and marketing underperforms.
SYSTEMS Gap
When your tools are weak, your message winds up mixed and clients miss your value.
CULTURE Gap
When only leaders understand your goals, teams clash and values are mere lip service.
How we work with you.
1. Align your team.
WORK:
We interview leaders, clients and key team members.
We consult with leadership to turn today’s “lived strategy” into the one that best aligns your goals, your gifts and your unique position
We consult with teams to turn proposed strategy into messaging and operational plans.
RESULT:
You know your business DNA.
You’ve got a written strategy, a brand message and a 12-month tactical roadmap — and your team’s aligned around it.
Your next steps are clear. You’re confident.
ENGAGEMENT:
Looks like consulting.
Takes 2-3 months, billed at a monthly rate that depends on how deep we’ll dive together.
When we’re done, you decide whether you need us for Phase 2.
2. Activate your plan.
WORK:
We execute the “marketing” portion of your roadmap, reworking tools like website, video or social content in 1-month creative sprints.
We set up the structure to generate leads with these tools and evaluate results.
If your strategy calls for help in areas like sales or operations, we can bring in partners for this work — or you can find your own.
RESULT:
Your new message is fixed in words and images.
You’ve got the tactics to achieve your goals and the tools to execute those tactics efficiently.
You’ve shown up. You’re measuring results.
ENGAGEMENT:
Looks like a marketing agency.
Takes 2-3 months. Billed at a project rate on top of your monthly fee.
When we’re done, you decide whether you need us for Phase 3.
3. Impact your industry.
WORK:
We review results weekly and gather real-world feedback from your team.
Then we make changes to align your strategy with reality.
This keeps us accountable to a marketing result — and keeps you accountable to the purpose you’ve aligned around.
RESULT:
You have support for what you can do yourself — and our team for the rest.
What’s working gets better. What’s not working gets different.
ENGAGEMENT:
Feels like consulting OR a fractional CMO, depending on your need.
Billed at a monthly rate plus intermittent project rates for agency work.
This stage lasts until you no longer need support.
Start with a 1-day strategy.
It takes time to engage a team, uncover gaps and re-align.
But we can build your back-of-napkin strategy in a day.
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A deep dive into your goals, your problems and your purpose with your CEO and, at most, one other leader.
More than an interview, this is a collaborative conversation about what your company could contribute at its best — and what’s stopping you.
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While you go about your day we do the research, line the pieces up and craft 3 possible strategies to get you where you want to go.
Strategy is a choice. Seeing the possibilities side-by-side is how you choose with confidence.
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We share strategic options with you and explore, together, where each path might lead and what it asks of you.
Your strategy is your business DNA. We can’t decide that for you — but we can be your partner in the conversation.
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Your written strategy is the “how” and “why” of how you’ll make your mark - in full alignment.
If you’re a small company or an early-stage startup, your best next step may be to activate this one-day strategy.
Organizations with more than a few employees should consider a longer engagement to test and refine this strategy first. Others in your company must speak into it before you can align around it.
No mattter your size, you’ll have deeper clarity after 24 hours - and you’ll know if Hopeless Marketing is the right partner for you.