I was there at the start of paid ads and SEO, and I’m here for the AI revolution too. Over 25 years across brand, marketing and web development, I’ve seen plenty of reasons to rethink how a business reaches its customers.
I still want to understand the business problem before recommending a new approach.
What has changed for your business?
A new tool exists. A supplier is recommending a different channel. A competitor has launched something you haven’t tried.
Any of those can prompt a conversation. I’d ask what has changed for your customers, your offer or your ability to do the work.
That gives you a reason to act, and a way to judge the options.
What are you trying to achieve?
“We should use AI” leaves a lot undecided.
“Our team spends too long preparing the first version of this document, and we want to test whether we can reduce that time while maintaining the standard” gives you something to examine.
The same applies to marketing. If you want more enquiries, define which services and customers you want those enquiries to concern. If you want a new website, describe what it needs to help people do.
What will this replace or change?
Before adding work, I’d ask what the team will stop, reduce or do differently.
If the answer is that everything continues and another task is added, check whether the business has the capacity for it. A plan needs room for the work it creates.
What would make you continue?
Decide what you need to learn before committing to a test. Then agree on the evidence you’ll use to continue, change course or stop.
You might assess the suitability of enquiries, the time needed for a task or whether customers can complete an action on the website. Choose measures that relate to the problem.
Give the decision an owner
Someone needs to decide what happens after the test or review. Make that responsibility clear, alongside who does the work and who checks it.
I’d rather put a few well-defined decisions in front of a team than leave them with a long list of ideas and no order.
You can stay curious without taking everything on
I like learning what new tools can do. I also think a business needs permission to say “later” when an idea doesn’t fit its priorities.
If your marketing plan has become crowded, start by asking what you’re trying to achieve and which decision needs attention first.
Need an independent view?
In a Marketing and AI Direction Session, we can work through your questions and set priorities for the next 90 days.