The Diagnostic

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How It Works
Phase 1: Marketing Operations Architecture Audit (3 weeks)

I assess where your marketing capability is fragmented:

AI Integration Assessment:

Where can AI automate execution? (content, reporting, segmentation, optimization)
Where do humans add strategic value? (diagnosis, insight, commercial strategy)
What governance prevents fragmentation and misuse?
Commercial Acumen Audit:

How is marketing connected to revenue, margin, customer lifetime value?
Where are activity metrics vs outcome metrics creating influence gaps?
What's the business case for brand investment vs performance spend?
Cross-Functional Integration:

How aligned are CMO/CFO/CTO/COO on growth strategy?
Where is customer ownership fragmented across marketing/product/service/sales?
What data sits in silos preventing strategic decisions?
Experience System Mapping:

Where are customer journeys broken between marketing promise and delivered experience?
How does marketing connect to product innovation and service design?
What's the gap between brand positioning and operational reality?
Deliverable: Roadmap showing where to automate, where to integrate, where to invest for measurable commercial impact.


Phase 2: Marketing Operations Transformation (12 weeks)

We build the integrated system:

AI Layer:
Automate execution (content production, reporting, optimization) to free human capacity for strategy, diagnosis, and insight

Data Architecture:
Integrate marketing/product/finance/CX data so strategic decisions use full-picture information

Experience Design:
Map and optimize end-to-end customer journeys so marketing promises align with delivered experience

Governance Framework:
Ensure brand consistency, commercial alignment, and cross-functional collaboration without bureaucracy

Outcome: CMO becomes enterprise orchestrator, not campaign manager.


Phase 3: Strategic Marketing Architecture (monthly retainer)

Ongoing system evolution:

AI and automation capability advancement
Cross-functional alignment (CFO/CTO/COO collaboration)
Brand stewardship + commercial performance balance
Team capability building
Board reporting frameworks that demonstrate commercial impact

Why This Works
You're not buying tools or campaigns.
You're building the operating system that makes marketing a commercial engine.

The businesses winning over the next decade won't have the best specialists.
They'll have specialists who are powerful together - coordinated by architecture, not heroic effort.


Proven Results
Bupa:

AI assistant: 300% efficiency gain (automation handled execution, humans elevated to strategy)
Design System: $6M asset, $1M annual savings (governance without bureaucracy)
Enterprise-scale: 4.7M customers, 42 Agile squads coordinated through shared architecture
NAB:

$1.3M year-one savings, 10x ROI
Commercial impact: Connected CX investment to customer lifetime value and churn reduction
Good Design Australia Gold Award
Integration: Marketing promises aligned with branch, call center, and digital delivery
Track record: Enterprise marketing transformations that deliver board-level commercial outcomes.


The Business Case
Investment: $15-20k diagnostic → $80-150k transformation → $10-15k/month strategic retainer

Returns:

Immediate: Eliminate duplicate software subscriptions, reduce agency/vendor fragmentation
Short-term: AI automation frees 20-30% capacity for strategic work
Medium-term: Integrated data enables predictive decision-making and faster experimentation
Long-term: Board influence increases as marketing demonstrates clear connection to revenue, margin, and growth
Break-even: Typically one major initiative where integrated approach delivers measurable commercial impact


This Isn't For Everyone.
You need this if:

  • Board is asking for commercial impact, not campaign reports
  • AI investments haven't delivered expected productivity gains
  • Customer experience is fragmented across marketing/product/service touchpoints
  • You're spending on duplicate tools and disconnected vendors
  • CFO/CTO relationships are transactional, not strategic


You don't need this if:

  • Board are happy with revenue
  • Campaign execution is the primary mandate
  • No pressure to demonstrate ROI and commercial outcomes
  • You're content with existing metrics and don't need board influence

    Start With a 3-Week Diagnostic
    Marketing Operations Architecture Audit: $15-20k

Deliverable: Clear roadmap showing where AI fits, where integration is broken, and what the commercial opportunity is.

If it doesn't deliver actionable clarity and ROI justification, you don't pay full fee.

[Book diagnostic]

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Dan Bradley MAICD  |  Fractional Strategic Design Director |  Perth / Melbourne / Sydney
0425 401 034 | hello@xen.global | LinkedIn

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We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work across Australia: the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation in Boorloo, the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong Boon Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation in Naarm - and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation in Warrang. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.