WHAT THIS ACTUALLY MEANS
Marketing strategy isn't a fancy document. It's knowing what to do next.
A lot of businesses have been sold “strategy” that turned out to be a 40-page PDF full of frameworks and acronyms that made sense in the meeting and then sat in a folder somewhere. That’s not what this is.
What I put together is a practical plan: where your business is now, where you want it to be, who your customers actually are, which channels are worth your time and money, and what to do in what order. Clear enough that you can act on it the same week.
For some clients that means a standalone strategy session and document. For others it’s the starting point for ongoing work together – website, social media, content – where having a clear direction means everything is pointed the same way.
The goal is that you leave with a clear answer to: “what should I actually be doing with my marketing budget and time?” Most businesses have never had a straight answer to that question.
Where you stand now
An honest audit of your current marketing - what's working, what isn't, and what's being overlooked
Who your customers are
Getting specific about who actually buys from you, why they choose you, and how they find you
Which channels to focus on
Where your time and budget will have the most impact - and which channels to stop wasting both on
What to say and how
The messages that resonate with your audience, in language that actually sounds like your business
A clear action plan
What to do, in what order, with realistic timelines - not a wishlist, a schedule you can actually follow
How to measure it
Simple ways to know whether what you're doing is working, without drowning in analytics
IS THIS FOR YOU?
If any of this sounds familiar, this is probably the right starting point
Most businesses that come to me for strategy recognise themselves in at least one of these.
You've been spending on marketing without knowing if it's working
Ads, a new website, social media, maybe a local magazine ad or two. You’re spending something every month and you’re not confident any of it is actually generating a return. You’ve never really had a way to measure it, and you’re not sure you’re spending on the right things in the first place.
You're about to invest and want to do it properly
Something is changing – a new product, a rebrand, a push for growth. You know marketing is going to be part of it and you’d rather go in with a clear direction than start spending and figure it out as you go. Getting the strategy right before the spend starts is almost always cheaper than correcting course later.
You're doing everything and it all feels disconnected
Your website says one thing, your social media says another, and your sales conversations are different again. There’s no consistent message tying it together. Customers get different versions of your business depending on where they encounter you, and none of them are quite right. A strategy fixes the foundation before anything else gets built on top of it.
You've tried to write a plan yourself and gone in circles
You know you need a strategy. You’ve started writing one, maybe more than once. It either becomes overwhelming or it stays too vague to be useful. Having someone come in from the outside who can ask the right questions, push back where needed, and put something coherent together tends to produce something you’ll actually use.
You don’t need to arrive with a clear brief or a polished set of objectives. In most cases, part of the value of a strategy session is working out what you actually want and what’s actually realistic. Starting the conversation is enough.
"Everybody seems to think they know best how to improve your business through social media. We were lucky to find Tom Thomas Web & Media because Tom actually does know what he is doing. Tom has a great way with words and has insight as to how our business works. He has also been patient and helpful in explaining what he is doing to somebody who has no knowledge of how social media works.
Graham Aggio – Glebe Farm
WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH
Concrete deliverables, not just a conversation
Strategy work produces something tangible. Here’s what’s included depending on the engagement.
01
A marketing audit
An honest assessment of where your marketing currently stands – your website, your social channels, your messaging, your competitors, and how customers are actually finding you. Covers what’s working, what isn’t, and what’s missing entirely. You get this in writing, not just as a verbal summary.
02
Clear audience profiles
A written description of your actual customers – who they are, what they care about, how they make decisions, and what they need to hear before they’ll buy. This shapes every piece of marketing you produce from that point on. Vague “target demographics” aren’t useful. Specific, realistic profiles are.
03
A channel and budget recommendation
A clear breakdown of which marketing channels are worth your investment and which aren’t – based on your specific business, audience, and budget. Not a generic list of things you could try. A ranked recommendation of what to do first, with an honest view on expected return and timeframe.
04
A 90-day action plan
The strategy document itself: a practical, time-bound plan covering what to do in the next three months, who’s responsible for each element, and how you’ll know if it’s working. Short enough to be usable. Specific enough to act on. Not a 40-page PDF that gets filed away on day two.
HOW IT WORKS
What a strategy engagement looks like from start to finish
Most strategy projects run over two to three weeks. Here’s how the time is typically structured.
1
Discovery call
A focused conversation covering your business, your goals, and your current marketing. I’ll ask specific questions and push back where the answers are vague. By the end of this I have enough context to know what needs the most attention and where the plan should focus.
2
Research and audit
I review your existing marketing, look at what your competitors are doing, and analyse how customers are finding and evaluating you. This is the work that happens between sessions – it informs the recommendations rather than just reflecting back what you’ve already told me.
3
Strategy session
A working session to walk through the findings, test the recommendations, and make sure the plan reflects your actual situation rather than a theoretical one. This is where we refine the direction together before anything gets written up formally.
4
Plan delivery
The finished strategy document is delivered in a format you can actually use – not just read once and file. I’ll walk you through it and flag the things that need immediate action versus longer-term focus. If you want to talk through implementation afterwards, that’s an option too.
INVESTMENT
Monthly retainer pricing
Social media management works best as an ongoing arrangement. Here’s what that typically looks like.
Starting point
Marketing audit-
Discovery call (60 mins)
-
Review of current marketing channels
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Website and social media assessment
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Written findings and recommendations
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Priority actions clearly identified
full strategy
90-day marketing plan-
Everything in the audit
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Audience profiles and competitor review
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Channel and budget recommendations
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Messaging and positioning work
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Full 90-day action plan document
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Strategy session and plan walkthrough
ongoing support
Strategy and advisory-
Monthly strategy check-in (60 mins)
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Plan review and adjustment
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Ad-hoc marketing questions and input
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Campaign and content feedback
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Monthly progress summary
These are starting points. Every project is scoped individually. Get in touch with a brief description of where you are and what you need, and I’ll come back with an honest estimate.
*Prices from.
Why work with me
The strategy is only useful if someone can actually carry it out
A lot of marketing consultants are good at producing strategy documents. The problem is the document assumes someone else will implement it – and when that person doesn’t exist, or has no time, the strategy sits there and nothing changes.
Because I also do the implementation work – websites, social media, video, content – the strategy I put together is always grounded in what can realistically be done, by whom, and at what cost. It doesn’t recommend things that aren’t achievable for your size of business. And if you want me to help deliver it afterwards, that’s a natural next step.
I can implement what I recommend
Website, social media, content, video - if the strategy calls for it, I can deliver it directly rather than leaving you to find someone else.
I understand small business realities
Strategy that assumes a marketing team, a big budget, and unlimited time isn't strategy for most small businesses. Everything I recommend is sized for where you actually are.
Honest input, not just validation
If something isn't working or isn't worth doing, I'll say so. You're paying for an honest outside view, not a consultant who agrees with everything you've already decided.
Local market understanding
Based in Congleton and working across Cheshire and the North West, I understand the market most of my clients are operating in - which shapes the recommendations in ways a generic strategy wouldn't.
WHERE STRATEGY LEADS
Once you know the direction, here's how I can help you move
A strategy is the starting point. These are the services most clients move into once the plan is clear.
Website Design
If the strategy identifies your website as the priority - which it often does - I build custom WordPress sites designed to convert visitors into enquiries.
Social Media
Ongoing management or content creation, built around the strategy rather than guessing what to post. Consistent, properly made, and done for you.
Photography & Video
If the strategy calls for better content - and it usually does - I produce photo and video that gives your marketing something worth sharing.
If you’re a brand new business with no budget and no existing presence, getting started with something simple is probably fine. But if you’ve already spent any money on marketing and aren’t sure what it achieved, a strategy session will almost certainly save you more than it costs – by stopping you from spending in the wrong places. Most businesses that come to me have already wasted more than the cost of a strategy on things that didn’t work.
The main difference is that I also do the implementation work. A traditional consultant produces a strategy and leaves you to find people to execute it. Because I do websites, social media, content, and video, the strategy I produce is connected directly to what comes next – and you’re not left holding a document with no one to deliver it. It’s also significantly cheaper than a traditional consultancy engagement, and sized for a small business rather than a corporate.
Bring it. A second pair of eyes on an existing plan is often just as valuable as starting from scratch. I’ll look at what you’ve got, tell you honestly what I think of it, and either build on it or suggest where it needs rethinking. There’s no ego in the process – if what you’ve put together is solid, I’ll say so.
Both. Some clients want a one-off strategy session and then handle implementation themselves. Others want a monthly advisory arrangement where I check in on progress, answer questions as they come up, and help adapt the plan as things change. And some move from strategy into ongoing delivery work – website, social media, content – where I’m doing the execution rather than just advising on it. All of those are options.
A marketing audit is typically delivered within a week of the discovery call. A full 90-day strategy usually runs over two to three weeks from start to delivery – discovery call, research and audit work, strategy session, then the written plan. I’ll give you a realistic timeline when we discuss scope, and I don’t pad it out unnecessarily.
It depends on your situation. Paid ads can be part of the picture, but they’re not always the right starting point for small businesses – particularly if the foundations aren’t in place yet. A website that doesn’t convert, social channels that look neglected, or messaging that isn’t clear will undermine paid campaigns regardless of how much you spend on them. The strategy will tell you honestly whether paid advertising makes sense for you right now, and if so, which channels and what budget is realistic.
