In my last post I talked about step one: really understanding a client’s ambition.

Once we’re clear on where they want to go, we need to get brutally honest about where they actually are.

That’s what step two is all about: mapping the business in its current scope.

Here’s what we unpack with clients:

1. Competitive review
Who really shows up in the customer’s consideration set? How are they positioned, and what are they actually good at versus what they claim?

2. Market price positioning
Where does the brand sit on the value/price ladder today? Premium, parity, or discount – and does that align with how it behaves and presents itself?

3. Market dynamics
We map the category on simple matrices (e.g. value vs distinctiveness) to reveal the real spaces, not the imagined ones. This quickly shows clusters, gaps, and over-served territories.

4. Core competencies
What can this business do better than anyone else? We strip it back to the few capabilities that are genuinely hard to copy.

5. Market trends & dynamics
Which shifts are structural vs short-term noise? We’re looking for forces that will reshape demand, not just next quarter’s bump.

6. Channel dynamics
How does the brand really perform across channels – owned, earned, paid, retail, partner? Where is margin created, diluted, or left on the table?

Only when this current map is clear do we earn the right to talk about stretch, new scope, and new growth. That’s where we’ll go in the next post.

‍