Hiring an agency before a strategy
The agency's plan becomes your strategy, whether it fits or not.
Independent digital marketing consulting for businesses that want a straight answer: what is working, what is wasting money and what to do next. A plan you can run in-house, with your agency or with us.
Advice from people who have led agencies and built brands.
Straight answers, even when the answer is to spend less.
Built for your team, your agency or us to deliver.
One-off projects or month-to-month advisory.
By John Conigliaro, Director and Lead Consultant, Anahaw Media. Updated September 2026
Most businesses are not short on marketing activity. They are short on clarity. Ads are running, posts are going out and agencies are sending reports, but nobody can say with confidence what is working and what is wasting money.
Our digital consulting gives you a senior, independent view from an experienced digital agency in Perth. We audit what you have, look at your real numbers and build a practical strategy with clear priorities, budgets and a 90-day roadmap. Then we can advise your team or agency as they deliver it.
We use our PSRBL model, Prospect, Search, Retarget, Brand and Loyalty, to find the gaps in your buying journey and decide where every dollar should work hardest.
Plenty of businesses have paid for a strategy. Far fewer have one they actually use. These are the reasons, and what we do instead.
Problem 01 of 06
What usually happens
A 60-page deck that nobody opens after the meeting.
How we do it
A short, practical plan with owners, budgets and a 90-day roadmap.
Problem 02 of 06
What usually happens
The recommendation just happens to be the service they sell.
How we do it
Independent advice. If your current team or tools can do it, we say so.
Problem 03 of 06
What usually happens
Opinions and trends, not your actual data.
How we do it
We start with your tracking, sales data and search demand.
Problem 04 of 06
What usually happens
Budget spread thin across everything, so nothing works properly.
How we do it
We pick the channels with the best odds and sequence them.
Problem 05 of 06
What usually happens
Nobody can tell if the plan is working.
How we do it
Clear targets and simple reporting from day one.
Problem 06 of 06
What usually happens
A great plan with nobody to run it.
How we do it
A plan built for your team, your agency or us to deliver.
Good strategy is simple, specific and used every week. That is what we build.
Consulting is only worth paying for if it changes what happens next. We keep every recommendation tied to a result you can measure.
And there are no lock-in contracts. Use us for one project or keep us on as a monthly advisor.
We check your tracking before we trust any report, then look at what your leads and sales really cost across every channel.
We tell you what to stop, what to fix and what to start, in that order. Sometimes the best advice is to spend less.
Every recommendation has an owner, a rough budget and a timeframe, so it turns into action, not a document.
You leave every session knowing exactly what to do next and why.
Whether your numbers can be trusted at all.
What each channel really delivers, not what it claims.
What growth actually costs you today.
How you show up in Google and AI answers.
How well your site turns visitors into enquiries.
Who can deliver the plan, and where the gaps are.
Four ways we help. Most clients start with an audit and strategy.
A clear, honest look at what you have and how it is performing.
We check GA4, conversion tracking and CRM data so every decision rests on numbers you can trust.
How you rank, what is holding you back and how AI tools describe your business. See AI search optimisation.
Where your Google and Meta budgets go, what they return and where they leak.
Speed, messaging and the path from visit to enquiry or sale.
What competitors are doing well, and where they are leaving gaps.
No jargon. A clear list of what to stop, fix and start.
From findings to a plan your team can act on.
Clear, realistic targets tied to leads, sales and profit.
The right mix across our PSRBL model: Prospect, Search, Retarget, Brand and Loyalty.
Where each dollar should go, and what to expect back.
A prioritised plan with owners and timeframes.
What to say, to whom, and why they should choose you.
Simple measures so you always know if the plan is working.
A senior advisor in your corner, month to month.
Review results, adjust priorities and plan the next month.
We check agency reports and proposals, and ask the questions you might not know to ask.
Help deciding who to hire, what to outsource and how to brief them.
Independent advice on CRMs, analytics, automation and eCommerce platforms.
A fresh set of eyes on big decisions before you commit budget.
Plain-English summaries for owners, boards and leadership teams.
For businesses modernising how they market, sell and report.
How leads, sales and customer data flow through your business today.
The right CRM, analytics and automation setup for your size and goals.
One trusted view of performance instead of five conflicting reports.
Practical, safe ways to use AI tools in content, ads and reporting.
Bring your team up to speed with digital marketing training.
A staged plan to make changes without disrupting the business.
| Consultant | Agency | In-house team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent advice | Yes | Sometimes | Depends on experience |
| Hands-on delivery | Guides it | Yes | Yes |
| Cost | Project or monthly fee | Monthly retainer | Salaries and overheads |
| Best for | Clarity and direction | Delivery at scale | Day-to-day execution |
Most engagements follow the same simple path.
We talk through your goals, challenges and what you have tried.
You will see: whether consulting is the right fit, and what it would cover.
We review your data, channels, website and competitors.
You will see: a clear picture of what is working and what is not.
We walk you through the findings and shape the plan together.
You will see: agreement on priorities, budgets and targets.
We deliver a practical 90-day roadmap with owners and timeframes.
You will see: a plan your team or agency can start on straight away.
Optional monthly sessions to review progress and adjust.
You will see: steady progress and a senior sounding board.
More channels mean more to audit and plan.
Messy tracking takes longer to untangle.
Multiple brands, locations or markets add depth.
One-off project or monthly advisory.
We will always be upfront about scope and cost before we start.
Everything we deliver is built to be used, not filed away.
Every finding links to a recommendation, and every recommendation links to a step in your roadmap.
You get concise documents in plain English, with priorities clearly marked.
We write the plan so your team or agency can pick it up and run with it.
Where is your marketing leaking money?
Ten quick questions. Get a score for tracking, ads, search, website and repeat business, plus a clear first step.
Take the health check Free. No sign-up.They do different jobs. The right choice depends on whether you need direction or delivery.
Independent advice, audits and strategy. You get clarity and a plan, and your team or agency does the work.
Best for: clarity before spending, checking your current agency and building in-house capability.
A team that runs your campaigns day to day, from SEO to paid ads and content.
Best for: ongoing delivery at scale.
We do both, which means we can tell you honestly which you need. Many clients start with consulting, then decide whether to run the plan in-house or with our team.
Consulting helps most when decisions are big and the stakes are real.
Know where to spend a limited budget before you spend it. See small business marketing.
Find where profit leaks across ads, SEO and your store. See eCommerce marketing.
Build a pipeline strategy for long, complex sales. See B2B marketing.
Turn expertise into a steady flow of qualified enquiries.
Grow bookings within advertising rules. See healthcare marketing.
Make every dollar of a tight budget count.
An independent senior view across brands and agencies. See enterprise marketing.
Find product-market messaging and scalable channels. See SaaS marketing.
Thinking about bringing in a consultant? Here is what to expect, and how to get real value from it.
A digital marketing consultant looks at your marketing from the outside, works out what is and isn’t working, and builds a plan to improve it. Unlike an agency, a consultant’s main job is advice and direction, not running campaigns day to day.
The best consultants combine strategy with hands-on experience, so their advice is practical, not theoretical.
Consulting makes the most sense when you recognise signs like these:
A useful audit goes beyond a list of technical errors. It should cover:
Our PSRBL model maps the whole buying journey: Prospect reaches new buyers, Search wins the moment they look, Retarget brings back the ones who didn’t buy, Brand builds trust and Loyalty turns customers into repeat buyers.
Most businesses are strong in one or two stages and weak in the rest. The strategy fixes the weakest links first, because that is where the fastest gains usually are.
You don’t need a polished brief. It helps to share:
Advice only pays off when it is acted on. Agree who owns each action, set a review date and keep the plan short enough to use. A 90-day roadmap you follow beats a 12-month strategy you don’t.
A structured review of what you have and how it performs.
A prioritised, time-based plan of actions.
Key performance indicator. A number that shows progress.
Cost per acquisition. What each lead or sale costs.
How credit for a sale is shared between channels.
Marketing technology, like CRMs and automation tools.
An ongoing monthly fee for continuing support.
Senior expertise part-time, instead of a full-time hire.
Score your business on all five stages, fill in a worksheet for each one, and finish with a budget and 90-day plan on one page.
Get the free PDF See all downloadsMost businesses don’t need more marketing. They need better marketing: fewer channels done properly, tracking they can trust and a clear plan.
We will tell you what to cut as readily as what to add. That is what independent advice is for.
We see the same patterns in most businesses we advise. Flip a card to see how we fix it, and tick any that sound like you.
The agency's plan becomes your strategy, whether it fits or not.
Decisions are made on numbers that are wrong.
Doing what others do, without knowing if it works for them.
A little on every channel, so nothing gets enough to work.
Everyone is responsible, so nobody is.
Constant pivots mean nothing gets time to work.
Buyers ask ChatGPT and Google's AI, and your brand isn't there.
Whether you work with us or someone else, ask these questions first.
If a consultant can’t answer these clearly, keep looking. We are happy to answer every one of them on a strategy call.
Straight answers to the questions business owners and marketing managers ask us most.
It depends on the scope. Audits and strategy projects are quoted upfront, and ongoing advisory is a monthly fee with no lock-in contract.
It depends on how many channels and how much data are involved. We will give you a clear timeline before we start.
We can. Many clients start with consulting, then have our team run some or all of the plan. Others use their own team or agency.
Yes. We review reports, accounts and proposals and give you an honest, independent view.
Consulting is led by John Conigliaro, a Filipino-Australian digital marketer now based in Perth, with more than 15 years’ experience across Singapore and Australia. He has led agencies in Australia on technical execution and growth strategy, completed an MBA and a dissertation on Digital Transformation, and has managed almost 300 campaigns, from small businesses to multinational brands like Canon, Uniqlo and Benefit Cosmetics.
Yes, for an accurate audit. Read-only access to analytics, ad accounts and your CRM is usually enough.
Yes. We can help define the role, review candidates’ skills and plan their first 90 days.
Yes. We cover practical, safe ways to use AI tools, and how your brand shows up in AI answers.
We work across eCommerce, B2B, professional services, healthcare, not-for-profits and more. The principles are the same; the details are yours.
Either. Some clients want a one-off audit and strategy; others keep us on as a monthly advisor.
No. Ongoing advisory is month-to-month.
Your goals, your current marketing spend and access to your key accounts. We handle the rest.
About the author
Director and Lead Consultant, Anahaw Media
John Conigliaro is the Director and Lead Consultant at Anahaw Media, a Perth digital marketing agency focused on performance. A Filipino-Australian digital marketer now based in Perth, WA, with more than 15 years’ experience across Singapore and Australia, he has led agencies in Australia on technical execution and growth strategy, founded a globally recognised eCommerce brand, and managed almost 300 campaigns, from small businesses to multinational brands, including Canon, Uniqlo, Benefit Cosmetics, Asiana Airlines, Changi Recommends, APM and Golfbox. He completed an MBA and a dissertation on Digital Transformation, holds a specialisation in Computer Applications from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLSU-CSB), and is also a consumer tech critic and publisher. His mission is to use his talent and passion for digital marketing to change businesses for the better, in how they win customers and how they build their brand.
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