Is your marketing working -
or just busy?
There is usually a strategy of sorts. The marketing function is in place - salaried, freelanced or agency-led, it doesn't matter. Content goes out. Budget gets spent. People are working hard.
And yet something isn't connecting. Results don't follow effort in the way they should. The numbers are flat or inconsistent. Leads come in and go quiet. Existing clients aren't growing the relationship the way they could. Nobody is quite sure where the problem is - only that it is somewhere.
You know there’s a disconnect, but just can’t put your finger on it
That feeling is a gap - the distance between what the marketing is set up to do and what the business actually needs it to do right now. The gap either opened gradually - the market shifted, the business grew, the strategy didn't keep pace, or there was never quite enough budget in the right places to build on what was working. Or the business moved fast in its early stages and the marketing foundations were never properly laid - because there was no time, and it got left in the startup dust.
What I do
I go into service-led businesses and find those gaps. I do that by understanding the frustrations first - where the pressure is coming from, what has been tried, what has worked and what people have quietly stopped believing in. Frustrations are honest. They tell you where to look.
From that I can tell you what is actually going on, what to address first, why it matters and what is likely to happen if you don't. The engagement is built around what I find, not a service I decided on before I walk in.
It starts with a conversation.
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The gap between what marketing costs and what it produces is almost never where people think it is
How it works
First, a proper conversation
1
A proper conversation about what is going on - where the pressure is coming from, what has been tried, what is and isn't working as far as you can tell. I listen more than I talk. By the end of it we both have a clearer sense of whether I can genuinely help and what that might involve.
If I can help, we agree on the next step. If I can't, I'll tell you that and point you somewhere more useful.
The real work begins
2
This is where I go in properly. I look at the whole picture - the marketing, the thinking behind it, the systems supporting it, the people delivering it and the commercial outcomes it is supposed to produce.
I talk to the people involved - not to audit them, but to hear what they're actually dealing with. People say things in those conversations that don't appear in any report. That's usually where the most useful information lives.
I find the gaps. I listen for the frustrations. I follow the evidence rather than the assumption.
The scope depends on the business. A smaller organisation with a focused setup is a different piece of work from a larger one with multiple teams, functions and external relationships to understand. We agree the scope and the cost before anything starts.
The part where it gets clear
3
You get a clear picture of what is actually going on and why - not a report full of recommendations nobody will read. I separate what needs fixing from what would be nice to fix. I'm honest about the order that matters and the reasoning behind it, so the decisions that follow are yours to make with confidence rather than obligation.
Some of it your team can handle internally. Some of it needs a different resource or a sharper brief to whoever is already doing it. Some of it I can lead directly. We work out together what makes most sense given your team, your budget and your timing.
Your call from here
4
Some clients take the findings and run with them independently. Others bring me in for specific work - a defined project, a workshop, a period of focused support. Some want a senior marketing mind they can call on when a decision needs thinking through properly.
There's no pressure towards any of it. The work should be whatever actually moves things forward - not whatever fills a retainer.
Martin Ashby, Founder, Fuzzmedia UK
“We called Natacha our Marketing Therapist.”
“She created a supportive space to reflect on who we truly are and view our business from the customer’s perspective. Thanks to her, we now have invaluable documents that we refer to regularly for inspiration and to stay focused on our goals.”
Examples of work (without the names)
A founder-led venue services business needed to move from a one-person operation to something scalable and eventually sellable. Twenty years of client relationships needed segmenting. The website journey needed rebuilding. The messaging needed shifting from a directory service to a curated collection with genuine human expertise behind it. Work ongoing
— Work Ongoing A practice division within a professional services firm was stretched too thin to build what it needed from the inside. The work involved creating a centralised knowledge base - a toolkit spanning sales, training, marketing and bids - giving the practice a solid foundation to respond to proposals and presentations consistently and at pace. Alongside it, a strategy to strengthen cross-referral culture between practice areas. The toolkit now feeds central marketing's broader thought leadership and content output.
— Work In ProgressA fibre broadband provider needed to generate significant lead volume within three months to support a commercial transaction with a hard deadline. We rebuilt the brand campaign from the ground up. Website traffic increased by 223%. Engagement across social channels increased by 291%. The leads came in.
— Former ClientNot sure where to start?
Pop me a mail and we can set up a 20 minute virtual coffee chat to discuss your set up and if I am the right person to help (or not).
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