An engaged sponsor
A senior leader who owns the engagement internally, attends key sessions and can make decisions. Without one, even excellent strategy stalls.
Home/Our Method
The Alchemy method
A disciplined, four phase approach that turns raw information about your business into a strategy, a capable team and results that compound over time.
How we work
Advice is cheap. Transformation takes a method.
Every engagement, whether a focused project or a multi year fractional CMO relationship, follows the same sequence. It keeps the work grounded in evidence, aligned with leadership and connected to measurable outcomes.
I
Phase one
Diagnose
We begin by understanding the business as it really is. That means interviewing leadership, sales and a sample of customers, reviewing competitors and the market, auditing every marketing channel, examining analytics and CRM data, and assessing the team and agency relationships.
The output is a candid diagnostic report ranking the constraints on growth by impact. It is presented to leadership in a working session, because the conversation it sparks is often as valuable as the document.
II
Phase two
Design
With the constraints understood, we design the response. We define target segments and ideal customers, sharpen positioning and messaging, select the channel mix, set budgets, establish revenue linked metrics and build a prioritized roadmap.
Strategy is developed collaboratively through leadership workshops, so by the time it is finished it belongs to your team, not just to us.
III
Phase three
Deploy
Strategy only matters once it is working in the market. We translate the plan into briefs, playbooks and campaigns, help you select and brief agencies, advise on hiring and team structure, and stay close to critical launches.
Depending on the engagement, this can be light touch guidance to your existing leaders or hands on leadership as your fractional CMO.
IV
Phase four
Refine
We measure progress against the targets set in phase two, report to leadership in plain terms, and make disciplined adjustments. Budget moves toward what performs. Experiments that fail are stopped quickly.
Quarterly reviews keep the strategy current as markets shift, and ensure gains are sustained and built upon rather than slowly lost.
What you receive
Deliverables by phase
Concrete outputs at every stage, so progress is visible and the value of the engagement is never in question.
| Phase | Key activities | Deliverables | Leadership involvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. Diagnose | Interviews, customer research, channel and data audits, competitive review | Diagnostic report with prioritized growth constraints | Kickoff, interviews, findings session |
| II. Design | Segmentation, positioning, channel planning, budgeting, metrics | Marketing strategy, messaging framework, twelve month roadmap | Two to three strategy workshops |
| III. Deploy | Briefing, agency selection, hiring advice, launch oversight | Playbooks, briefs, team structure, vendor recommendations | Monthly steering meeting |
| IV. Refine | Performance tracking, testing, budget reallocation, strategy updates | Leadership dashboard, monthly and quarterly reviews | Quarterly business review |
Working together
What makes an engagement succeed
Access to the numbers
Honest access to sales, marketing and financial data, even when it is incomplete. We would rather work with imperfect truth than polished assumptions.
Willingness to choose
Strategy means deciding what not to do. The companies that grow fastest are the ones prepared to stop activities that are comfortable but unproductive.
Method questions
How it works in practice
No. Some clients engage us only for diagnosis and strategy and then execute on their own. Others join at phase three because they already have a strategy that needs leadership to implement. The discovery consultation helps determine the right entry point.
Most concentrated during diagnosis and design: roughly a few hours of interviews and two or three half day workshops for leadership. After that, a monthly steering meeting and quarterly reviews are typical.
Diagnostic findings often produce quick wins within the first month, such as cutting clearly wasteful spend. Changes in positioning and channel strategy typically show measurable pipeline impact within one to two quarters, with compounding gains over the following year.
Both. Leadership workshops are most effective in person and can be held at your offices. Research, analysis and ongoing advisory are handled efficiently through scheduled video sessions and shared workspaces.
Phase zero
Every transformation starts with a conversation
Book your complimentary discovery consultation with a senior consultant.