Frequently Asked Question
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The Marketing Canvas is a structured strategic method that helps organisations clarify, align, and improve their marketing decisions.
It provides a shared framework to:
Understand the context you operate in
Define clear and realistic ambitions
Assess your readiness to execute
Identify where to act first for maximum impact
Unlike traditional marketing plans, the Marketing Canvas focuses on decision quality, not documentation volume.
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It is both.
As a method, it defines a logical sequence of thinking (context → goals → readiness → ideas → action).
As a tool, it provides concrete canvases, questions, and scoring systems to guide discussions and decisions.
If your teams struggle to align on priorities, this dual nature becomes a strength rather than a constraint.
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A traditional marketing plan often answers “what should we do?”
The Marketing Canvas first answers “are we ready to do it — and why?”Key differences:
Focus on shared understanding, not slide decks
Explicit treatment of uncertainty, assumptions, and hypotheses
Continuous reassessment rather than annual planning
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The Marketing Canvas is designed for:
Entrepreneurs and founders
SME leadership teams
Marketing and non-marketing managers
Consultants and facilitators
It is particularly effective when decisions require cross-functional alignment.
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Typical moments include:
Launching or repositioning a product or service
Entering a new market
Scaling a business
Re-aligning marketing after rapid growth or change
Preparing a strategic or investment decision
If decisions feel fragmented, emotional, or politically driven, the Marketing Canvas provides structure.
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Yes — and often more impactful.
Smaller organisations benefit from:
Clear prioritisation
Explicit trade-offs
Limited resource alignment
The method scales down and up, from solo entrepreneurs to complex organisations.
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The Marketing Canvas is structured around five phases:
Understand the Context – market, competition, trends
Define Your Goals – ambitions, hypotheses, financial logic
Assess Your Readiness – capabilities, gaps, sustainability
Ideate – solutions, improvements, alternatives
Prioritise and Implement – impact, effort, execution
Each phase produces explicit outputs, not vague conclusions.
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Yes but not perfect data.
The method encourages:
Using available data where possible
Explicitly stating assumptions where data is missing
Revisiting assumptions as learning increases
This prevents false certainty, a common issue in strategy work.
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It depends on ambition and depth:
Fast-track assessment: a few hours to one day
Full strategic cycle: several workshops over a few weeks
The key principle: progress over perfection.
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You should expect:
A clear strategic narrative
Prioritised actions linked to real constraints
Shared understanding across stakeholders
Explicit strengths, weaknesses, and trade-offs
Most importantly, you gain decision confidence.
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By making three things explicit:
What you know
What you assume
What you choose not to do
This dramatically reduces misalignment and execution risk.
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Yes, sustainability is embedded, not added as an afterthought.
Each dimension explicitly assesses:
Long-term viability
Social and environmental impact
Alignment between ambition and responsibility
This helps avoid short-term optimisation at long-term cost.
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No.
It is intentionally designed for mixed teams:
Management
Operations
Sales
Finance
Marketing
Marketing becomes a business conversation, not a silo.
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No.
It does not tell you what to do.
It helps you understand why you should do it or not.The method supports thinking quality, not templates for imitation.
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Absolutely.
It is designed as a living framework:
Revisit after major decisions
Update as context evolves
Use selectively for specific challenges
Strategic maturity comes from iteration, not one-off exercises.