The MASH Method

Many of my clients come to me knowing what they want to achieve, but completely overwhelmed by the sheer quantities of choices in marketing today.  They know they need to make changes or create a plan, but can’t make sense of where to start.  That’s where The MASH can help.

The MASH method is building blocks for strategy.  By addressing each component with you, we’re able to understand what needs to be done and how to get started.

M – The market

A – The Action

S – The Service

H – The How

Now let’s break it down.

The Market
This encompasses all market research, including your competition, your inspiration and your customer.  Who is your ideal customer?  And, who else can provide them the service or product you’re offering?  Understanding your market helps to inform branding strategies as well as helping to set realistic goals and expectations.

The Action
Starting, growing and running a business is not easy.  There’s a reason you’ve decided to undertake such a project, so what are you hoping to accomplish?  The Action encompasses all your business goals, short term and long term, as well as your brand vision.  What you want to do and how you want to be perceived while doing it.

The Service
Whether you’re marketing a product or service, what exactly are you selling?  How are you going to get it to your customers and how do you want your customers to feel about the process?  Even something as simple as downloading an app or making an impulse buy of a T-shirt has a process.  You have more influence of this process than you think.  The greatest brands know this and manage the process end to end.

The How
How do you set yourself apart?  As a company, product or service you’re doing one of two things: 1) you’re blazing a trail, creating something entirely new, or 2) you’re doing something better than your competition.  In either circumstance, you have competition.  There’s always a who or what that you’re replacing, whether it’s through innovation or revelation.  If you can’t quickly articulate what makes your service or product unique, you’ll never breakthrough in today’s crowded and noisy marketplace.

No one part of the MASH is more important than the rest.  While it’s laid out in this particular order because it forms a word that’s easy to remember, they all work together to create an informed and actionable plan.  Ready to start?  Let us help you lay a foundation, build a plan and get to work.