How It Works
Find a Fact
A specific, cited piece of evidence from your research.
Extract the Meaning
The 'so what?' — what this fact reveals about the business.
Make a Decision
A concrete, measurable recommendation the company should act on.
Build Your Card
Follow the steps to turn one piece of research into a strategic recommendation.
First, pick your bucket
Which area of the Situational Analysis does your fact belong to?
Coaching Corner
"Don't just tell the client what's true. Tell them what to DO about what's true."
Coaching Line #9 of 15
The Recommendation Formula
Every recommendation you write should follow this structure.
Because [FACT], we should [DECISION] so that [MEASURABLE OUTCOME].
FACT
A specific, cited data point from your research — not a vague observation.
e.g., "9-12% of dog supplement subscribers cancel monthly" (Company Data Room)
DECISION
A concrete action the company should take — specific enough that someone could start doing it tomorrow.
e.g., "Launch a 90-day onboarding drip sequence with vet-endorsed content"
MEASURABLE OUTCOME
A number you can track — a KPI that proves the decision is working.
e.g., "Reduce monthly churn from 12% to 8% within two quarters"
Full Examples
🐕 Dog Supplements
Because 9-12% of subscribers cancel monthly, we should launch a 90-day vet-endorsed onboarding drip so that monthly churn drops to 8% within two quarters.
💧 Hydrogen Wellness
Because the $1.5B hydrogen water market is growing 8.6% annually, we should launch a $29 starter kit targeting wellness-curious newcomers so that first-purchase conversion increases 15% in Q1.
🪒 Reusable Razors
Because 72% of consumers say sustainability influences purchases but only 22% switch brands, we should position the razor as "saves you $150/year" with sustainability as a bonus so that DTC trial sign-ups increase 20% in 6 months.
Where This Fits: The Marketing Plan
Your Fact → Meaning → Decision cards feed into a bigger structure. Here's the roadmap for the full semester.
Problem
What's the core issue the company needs to solve? (This is what your Situational Analysis reveals.)
Strategy
What's the big-picture approach to solving that problem?
Campaign
What's the creative concept or big idea that brings the strategy to life?
3 Tactics
What are the specific, measurable actions that execute the campaign?
Right now you're building the foundation (Problem). The rest comes later in the semester.