Clear Focus — the structured GTM diagnostic before money flows in the wrong direction.
A few weeks. Cross-functional. Evidence-based. The output: a clear picture of the current go-to-market state — and a prioritized action plan the organization can act on immediately.
The lowest-commitment entry point — and often the most important step before a larger engagement is decided.
Schedule a Clear Focus conversationWhat Clear Focus is ...
Clear Focus is essentially what happens in the first weeks of every marqueteer engagement anyway: a cross-functional assessment of the current go-to-market state along the Go-To-Market Value Chain. Just packaged as a standalone format — a few weeks, defined output, no commitment to a longer engagement. At the end, the company knows where to go from here.
... and what it is not:
It's not a strategy project that ends up in a drawer. The diagnostic is designed for decisions — what to prioritize, what to stop, and where a deeper engagement makes sense. Nor is it an audit for its own sake. If the diagnosis shows there's no significant GTM problem, that gets communicated just as clearly.
And it's not a consultant briefing. Thorsten Rhode conducts the analysis himself — stakeholder interviews, data review, channel analysis, competitive context. No junior team writing up questions and assembling slides.
What gets examined — the five stages of the Go-To-Market Value Chain
The diagnostic covers all five stages — because GTM problems rarely sit where they first become visible.
| Stage | What gets examined - Examples: | What the output reveals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Customer | Who actually buys — and why? What drives the purchase decision? | Whether the customer picture is accurate or built on assumption |
| 2 — Product | Does the value proposition hold up? Is the portfolio strategically positioned? | Where margin and growth are being lost — and where the potential sits |
| 3 — Marketing | Is communication customer- or product-centric? Consistency across touchpoints? | Where messaging supports the buying process — and where it slows it down |
| 4 — Channel | Are channels aligned with buying behavior — or do we need fresh solutions? | Where budget is being deployed efficiently — and where it's being wasted |
| 5 — Measurement | Are the right metrics being tracked? Can marketing activity be connected to business outcomes? | Whether the organization makes decisions with or without evidence |
The output
At the end of a Clear Focus engagement, there's no 200-page document. There's a structured decision-making foundation:
- Findings per stage — where the Go-To-Market Value Chain is working, where it breaks, and why.
- Prioritized action plan — what should be addressed immediately, what is prioritized in the medium and longer term.
- Clarity on the next step — whether a larger engagement makes sense, in which format, and with what scope.
The output belongs to the organization. It can be implemented internally, used as the foundation for a follow-on engagement — or as a hybrid.
When Clear Focus is the right fit
Clear Focus fits, for example, in these scenarios:
- Growth has stalled — but the cause isn't clear. Multiple areas are showing symptoms and nobody has yet put together the full picture.
- A new market, new audience, or new product segment is on the horizon — and before resources are committed, the foundations need to be right.
- An acquisition is in the rearview mirror — but integrating the go-to-market function is an immediate need.
- Previous investments in agencies, consultants, or campaigns haven't delivered expected results — and it's unclear why.
- A larger interim or fractional engagement is under discussion — but the client wants to see how marqueteer works before committing to a longer relationship.
Real-world examples
At a PE-backed medical aids manufacturer, the engagement began with a full assessment of the go-to-market situation. The diagnostic revealed that the actual problem wasn't in marketing — it was in the go-to-market model itself: a B2B system that was fundamentally unsuited to a new product category. What followed was a complete B2B-to-B2C transformation.
At a specialty produce importer, the customer analysis revealed USD 20M in business development potential that the sales team started unlocking via cross-selling and with marketing's support. USD 2M was realized in the first 12 months.
In both cases: the entry point was a diagnostic. The value was in what the diagnostic made visible.
Fee
Clear Focus is structured as a project fee — defined scope, defined output, fixed price. No day rates, no open-ended billing. Scope is agreed and the work gets underway.
The first conversation confirms whether Clear Focus is the right fit.
No commitment, no risk. 30 minutes to understand whether the situation matches what Clear Focus delivers — and what might follow.