Marketing plan

Considering your business or product, find 3 competitors similar to you and 2–3 competitors that may be leading or that are in the same ecosystem, but aren't offering the same solution or targeting the same market

Evaluate why these competitors are leading the industry. Focus on their competitive advantage and branding that differentiates them from the rest of the industry.

Tips:

Select a leading competitor or company from those mentioned that is ahead of yours, and evaluate the marketing strategies that competitor uses to target customers and grow their business. (If evaluating two competitors, use one sticky note color per competitor and provide only a brief explanation per sticky note.)

Consider the following questions in addition to your initial thoughts:

Recommendations: If you are evaluating 2 or more competitors use one sticky note color per competitor. If there are many competitors to analyze try copy and pasting the entire board below.

Evaluate everything from the previous steps and consider the strategies, messaging, advertising, and growth tactics your main competitors may be using. Create a one-page recommendation document outlining these key insights, highlighting tactics that can be adapted, improved, or deployed to win in the market, and addressing the following questions:

Identify the external drivers shaping the architectural and built-environment sector today. Consider macro factors such as zoning regulations, urban planning mandates, sustainability requirements like net-zero codes, construction cost inflation, interest rate fluctuations, and client demand shifts across residential, commercial, and public typologies.

Evaluate your architectural firm across the four SWOT dimensions on the whiteboard:

Synthesize the SWOT whiteboard into clear positioning insights. Note the underserved architectural niches you can own, what distinct value proposition separates your firm from competitors, and which high-margin client segments offer the greatest potential for leadership.

Create a one page document and translate findings into actionable tactical and strategic initiatives for your practice:

Define your architectural practice's overarching strategic objective. Avoid trying to serve all markets; instead, clarify where your firm wants to grow and what you will intentionally decline. Examples include increasing high-value custom residential commissions, becoming the preferred design partner for regional civic work, or elevating average project fee margins by 15%.

Clarify your firm's growth direction, core practice strengths, and clear boundaries on what project typologies or client types fit your long-term vision.

A business strategy can have different goals as each organization measures success differently.

Here are a few examples:

Try to be specific:

👉 Discuss and define your growth strategy.

📡Tip: A growth strategy is an action plan that will help you get a higher market share and grow your organization. This strategy can be short-term or long-term.

If you are not familiar with the options, check out our card deck "growth strategy"

Determine your core architectural services and chosen project typologies rather than offering generalist work. Discuss and add your strategy to the board:

Architecture marketing relies on trust, relationships, and prestige rather than broad mass-market advertising. Discuss and map your promotional strategy:

Establish a pricing model that reflects design expertise and protects project profitability. Discuss and map your fee strategy:

Identify the geographical reach and channels through which clients discover and procure your architectural services. Discuss and map your strategy:

In architecture, expertise and personal reputation drive client decisions. Discuss and map your people strategy:

Define an organized, transparent delivery process that builds client confidence from concept to construction administration. Discuss and map your strategy:

Clients evaluate an architecture practice through tangible proof of capability and aesthetic quality. Discuss and map your physical evidence strategy:

Please share your ideas for website updates—like adding new projects, team changes, or new services. Put one suggestion per sticky note!

Review the planned architecture portfolio updates, positioning statements, and tactical messaging shifts designed to capture commercial and residential project leads.

Confirm that the planned revisions align directly with our updated brand positioning and service offerings:

Select the current readiness status of your prepared website materials and add any context in the comments.

Execute and track the primary workstreams needed to deploy the website refresh onto staging.

Assign each task to an owner with a strict staging deadline before final leadership review.

Formal review and sign-off on the staged architecture website updates.

Reviewers should verify narrative consistency, portfolio imagery presentation, and lead workflow integrity before releasing the site to production.