Highly innovative, stands out from competitors, and showcases unique, creative approaches that resonate across multiple channels.

Creativity is present, but marketing efforts feel boxed into traditional methods or limited channels, with room for more innovation.

Marketing lacks innovation and creativity, relying on outdated tactics that no longer capture audience attention.

The marketing strategy supports growth across all channels, with activities aligned to business goals, driving both brand awareness and demand.

The strategy is partially holistic but may be fragmented or focused too narrowly on certain areas, lacking a comprehensive approach.

The strategy is not aligned with business growth goals, with marketing being treated as a siloed or secondary function.

The brand is consistently communicated and highly differentiated in the marketplace, with a strong, clear message that resonates with the target audience.

Some brand awareness exists, but messaging lacks differentiation, and brand positioning needs sharpening.

The brand is losing relevance, with outdated messaging that fails to connect with the market or reflect the company’s values.

Marketing decisions are driven by deep customer insights and competitor analysis, ensuring that every campaign is strategically informed.

Data is collected, but insights are not fully utilised, leading to less-informed decisions and potential missed opportunities.

No customer or market insights are driving marketing activity, leading to reactive rather than proactive strategies.

Campaigns are consistently delivering a high return on investment (ROI), with clear metrics and full visibility of what drives success.

Some data is measured, but gaps in analysis create uncertainty around the true effectiveness of marketing efforts.

There’s little to no measurement of marketing activities, resulting in poor decision-making and lack of ROI visibility.

Marketing focuses on more than just lead generation, considering long-term relationships, customer retention, and lifetime value.

The focus is primarily on generating leads, but efforts to nurture long-term customer engagement are underdeveloped.

Marketing is purely transactional, focused solely on short-term lead generation without any emphasis on customer relationships.

Marketing is customer-centric, speaking directly to customers’ emotional needs and offering personalised experiences that drive loyalty.

Some customer focus is present, but messaging can be impersonal or generic, lacking strong emotional connection with the audience.

Marketing is product- or feature-driven, with little regard for customer needs or emotional benefits.

The company demonstrates deep expertise in its product or service offering, and this specialization is reflected in marketing that speaks confidently to customer needs.

Some specialisation is evident, but the company’s marketing doesn't fully leverage its expertise or communicate it effectively.

Marketing lacks specialisation, and messaging fails to demonstrate the company’s unique strengths or deep knowledge in its field.

Customers are passionate advocates for the brand, regularly recommending it to others and generating organic word-of-mouth marketing.

Some customers provide testimonials or positive feedback, but there is not a strong community or active promotion by loyal customers.

Few, if any, customers are actively promoting the brand, and there is a lack of engagement or enthusiasm from the customer base.