Layer 01Size
Start with how big each segment really is.
The category splits into six segments. The largest is where every competitor already spends, so size alone says little about where to go next.
01Where to play next
Find the customers worth chasing.
Growth Strategy finds your next best customers and the openings in the market nobody has taken, then turns them into a sequence of moves your team can run.
02Reading the ground
Growth rarely sits where the category is loudest.
Every engagement begins with the same survey: four layers laid over one map of the category, until the openings show themselves.
Layer 02Share
Then overlay the share you already hold.
Your brand is strong in A and D, thin in C and E. Share shows where you are defending, not where you could grow.
Layer 03Growth
Add how fast each segment is moving.
C and E are growing three to five times faster than the category. That changes the picture more than any single number.
Layer 04Whitespace
Growth hides where speed meets low share.
Two segments are growing fast and nobody owns them yet. They become the first candidates to score, not the conclusion.
Source: desk research + your sales data
Illustrative
| Segment | Size £m | Your share | Growth per year | Whitespace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 420 | 38% | 2% | No |
| B | 310 | 24% | 4% | No |
| D | 180 | 31% | 3% | No |
| C | 260 | 6% | 14% | Yes |
| E | 150 | 4% | 11% | Yes |
| F | 90 | 12% | 6% | No |
03What the work covers
Six parts. One shortlist.
Everything below is designed to end in a ranked list of where to go next, and a sequence for getting there.
No.The questionHow we answer itOutput
01
Weeks 01–02
Market & category mapping
Are we fighting for the part of the market that is actually growing?
Desk research, category data, share-of-search and analyst reads, mapped segment by segment.
Where the category is moving, who is winning which segment, and which openings are real rather than rumoured.
02
Ranked · scored
Next best customer
If sales could call only three kinds of customer next quarter, which three?
Your sales and CRM data, won and lost interviews, then a weighted score for every segment.
The segments most likely to buy next, sized and ranked by fit, reach and margin, not by how loud they are.
03
Whitespace map
Competitive whitespace
Where could the brand stand that no competitor can quickly follow?
Competitor audit, message and offer mapping, store and channel walks, review mining.
Where competitors are absent, weak or slow. Openings a brand can own before anyone notices.
04
One page
Growth thesis
What single argument will leadership fund, and what would prove it wrong?
Synthesis workshop with leadership; every claim traced back to evidence in the pack.
One page that says where growth comes from, in what order, and what has to be true for it to happen.
05
Now · next · later
Sequenced moves
Who does what on Monday, and what waits until the first move has worked?
Moves scored on return and readiness, then sequenced with owners, measures and dates.
Now, next and later. Each move with an owner, a measure and a date, so strategy leaves the deck.
06
Defined up front
Measurement design
Which number, two months in, tells us to keep going or to stop?
A north-star metric broken into drivers and leading indicators, with baselines and sources.
The handful of numbers that tell you it is working, defined before the first move ships.
04Next best customer · live model
Change what matters, watch the ranking move.
An agent scores every segment against five criteria from your data and our interviews. People decide what each criterion is worth. Move a weight and the shortlist re-ranks.
Illustrative modelInteractive demo: five weighting sliders re-rank six illustrative customer segments. It plays sample weightings until you use a control. Ranking updates are announced below the bars.
- 1 Segment CDigital-first entrants 66
- 2 Segment DSpecialist operators 64
- 3 Segment ALarge incumbents 62
- 4 Segment EPremium niche 62
- 5 Segment BRegional chains 60
- 6 Segment FPrice-led volume 52
Agent note
With equal weights, Segment C leads on breadth: no single criterion carries it. Scores draw on CRM history and interview notes.
Sources · CRM export · won/lost interviews · category data
People decide
- Which weighting reflects the goalRevenue, share, margin or a new market — the strategist sets it with leadership.
- Which segments make the shortlistThe top three go forward only once a person has read the evidence behind each.
- Where the data is too thinLow-confidence scores are sent back for interviews, not averaged away.
Shortlist awaiting sign-off
05Competitive whitespace
Plot the field on what buyers weigh. The gap draws itself.
Competitors are placed on the attributes customers actually use to choose, drawn from interviews and review mining. Change the lens and the openings change with it.
Opening found
Affordable specialist
Nobody offers specialist depth at a mid-to-low price. Brands C and D own expertise, but only at the premium end.
- Buyers want it
- Interviews · 9 of 14 raise price
- Brand can claim it
- Specialist team already in place
- Hard to copy
- Depth takes years to build
Agent places brands from review text and public offers. Strategist decides which gap the brand can credibly defend.
Illustrative06Growth thesis · One page
The whole strategy on one page a board can argue with.
One page that says where growth comes from, in what order, and what has to be true for it to happen. Every line is traced to evidence, and the margin shows who checked it.
MemoYour brand · growth thesis
Win the fast-growing specialists first, then widen.
01Where growth comes from
Most new revenue over the next two years comes from Segment C, digital-first entrants, who are growing fastest and have no brand they trust yet. Segment D follows, where our fit is strongest.
02In what order
Win C first with a specialist offer at a mid price. Use that proof to enter D within two quarters. Hold A; do not chase it on price.
03What has to be true
Buyers in C must value expertise over breadth, and we must be able to onboard in days, not weeks. If either fails the test in the first move, we stop and re-rank.
04What we will not do
We will not launch in all six segments, and we will not compete with Brand C on premium price.
07How the engagement runs
Read the ground, rank it, then route it.
Desk research and customer conversations run in parallel, so the ranking is built on both.
Scroll the route sideways
-
Stop 01Wk 01–02
Discover
Your data, the category, the customers you have and the ones you lost. Interviews and desk research in parallel.
- Agents
- Agents transcribe and tag every interview; desk research is summarised with sources.
- People
- People run the conversations and choose who to talk to.
Leaves with
-
Stop 02Wk 03–04
Define
Segments scored and ranked. Openings tested against your capability to take them.
- Agents
- Agents score each segment and stress-test weightings.
- People
- The strategist sets the weights and signs the shortlist.
Leaves with
-
Stop 03Wk 05–06
Sequence
Moves ordered by return and readiness, with measures attached. A roadmap the leadership team signs.
- Agents
- Agents draft move cards and measure definitions from the thesis.
- People
- Leadership orders the moves and signs the roadmap.
Leaves with
08Sequenced moves
Strategy leaves the deck as moves with names on them.
Now, next and later. Each move with an owner, a measure and a date, so strategy leaves the deck.
Now
Next 90 days 3 moves-
Marketing
Launch the specialist offer to Segment C
-
Sales
Brief the team on the new shortlist and scripts
-
Product
Cut onboarding from weeks to days
Next
Months 4–6 3 moves-
Marketing
Publish proof from the first C customers
-
Sales
Open Segment D with a partner-led pilot
-
Product
Package a mid-price tier for specialists
Later
Months 7–12 3 moves-
Marketing
Enter Market 03 with the proven C playbook
-
Product
Add the reporting feature D buyers asked for
-
Sales
Review Segment A once C and D are won
09Measurement design · Defined up front
Agree the numbers before the first move ships.
The handful of numbers that tell you it is working, defined before the first move ships. One north-star, the drivers that move it, and the early signals that show up first.
Illustrative metrics10What you keep
6 documents, one evidence pack.
Everything the ranking and the roadmap rest on is handed over in formats your teams already use, so the reasoning survives after we leave.
-
Market & category map
Category boundaries, segment sizes, who wins where, and the openings worth testing.
FigmaPDF
-
Next-best-customer ranking
Every segment scored on the five criteria, with the weights leadership signed and the evidence behind each score.
SheetDeck
-
Competitive whitespace map
Competitors placed on the attributes buyers use, with the gaps the brand can credibly claim.
Figma
-
Growth thesis
Where growth comes from, in what order, what has to be true, and what the brand will not do.
One page
-
Move roadmap · now / next / later
Moves in three horizons, each with an owner, a measure and a date.
DeckBoard
-
Measurement frame
North-star, drivers and leading indicators with definitions, sources, baselines and targets.
Sheet
Handover Files are yours, editable, and referenced to the interviews and data they draw on.
11What changes
Three decisions leadership gets to make differently.
-
01
Before
Twelve segments on a slide, each with a champion, and no agreed way to choose between them.
After
A shortlist, not a long list
Three segments worth the effort, in order, with the reason each made the cut.
-
02
Before
Gaps spotted on a chart that the brand has no right to claim, and no plan to defend.
After
Openings you can defend
Whitespace that fits what the brand can credibly claim, not just gaps on a chart.
-
03
Before
A strategy deck approved in the boardroom, then left unread by the teams meant to act on it.
After
Moves your team can run
Every move has an owner, a measure and a date. Strategy that leaves the deck.
12Questions from the boardroom
What leadership asks before signing a growth brief.
Straight answers to the questions that come up in the first meeting.
Ask your own
Answer
It sits between the two. We start with where the business wants to be, then find the customers and openings that get it there, and hand marketing a sequence it can execute.
Answer
Access to your sales and customer data, a few hours with the people who talk to customers, and a clear view of what growth you are chasing: revenue, share, margin or a new market.
Answer
No. Smaller brands often benefit most, because they cannot afford to chase every segment. A ranked shortlist is the point.
Answer
Either your team runs it, or we do. Brand Identity, Campaign and Marketing Technology all plug into the same moves.
13Where to go from here
The shortlist is the start. The rest of Brand Design takes it further.
Growth Strategy decides where to play. These capabilities decide how the brand shows up there, and most engagements pair it with two of them.
Back to Brand DesignLet’s build what happens next.
Tell us what you’re building. We’ll answer straight.