Common Questions

Answers to the questions we get asked most often. If yours isn't here, reach out — we'd rather talk specifics than leave you guessing.

Getting started

What do the ten diagnostic pillars actually cover?
The diagnostic analyzes: Attribution (tracking accuracy and measurement gaps), Tech Stack (tool efficiency and redundancy), Conversion (forms, CTAs, checkout friction), Trust & Security (privacy, consent, legal disclosures), Brand (voice, sentiment and content quality across public surfaces), Marketing (CRM, email, social presence, automation), Advertising (ad platform detection and spend signals), Competitors (AI-powered research into positioning and market gaps), Product (offer clarity and pricing presentation), and Web, SEO, and GEO (Discoverability — Core Web Vitals, schema, indexation, meta coverage). Each pillar produces a score based on independent infrastructure analysis — compared against what you told us about your own marketing.
What happens after I complete the free diagnostic?
Your report is generated immediately — the system runs the full analysis regardless of your plan. The free report shows your 10-pillar perception vs. reality scores, your single most critical blind spot in full detail, an executive summary, and infrastructure verdict cards. Starter unlocks the complete picture: every blind spot, all priority optimisations, strengths to hone, market intelligence with competitor profiles, the full budget breakdown by pillar, and PDF export. Pro adds the investment roadmap with recommended spend per pillar, plus team sharing via org accounts. There's no automatic follow-up. The next move is yours.
What if our project or brand hasn't launched yet?
No diagnostic is needed. If there's no existing infrastructure to audit, we go straight to a Blueprint Discovery session — a structured conversation that covers intent, constraints, technology decisions, and success criteria from scratch. This is the entry point for greenfield clients. It typically scopes directly into an Architect engagement. Reach out to discuss.
Is the diagnostic review session included in the free diagnostic?
No. The automated 10-pillar analysis is always free — though the free report shows a focused subset of the findings (scores, top blind spot, executive summary, verdicts). Starter and Pro plans unlock progressively more depth: Starter adds all findings, market intelligence, and the full budget analysis; Pro adds the investment roadmap and team access. Reviewing any version of the report with us is a separate paid step — the Strategic Assessment ($300 USD) — and it's the entry point to the Audit stream. You can optionally add a deeper Competitive Report ($250 USD per competitor) or bundle an assessment with two competitor deep-dives at booking for $650 USD.
Can I run the diagnostic more than once?
Yes. The Free plan includes 2 reports in your first month and 1 per month after that. Starter gives you 5 per month, Pro gives you 10, and Enterprise gives you 40. It's useful to re-run after significant changes to your stack, after a rebrand, or to track improvement over time. Each run produces a fresh report. And if you upgrade your plan, the full analysis is unlocked on all your existing reports instantly — no re-run needed.

Pricing and scope

How is scoped pricing determined for Audit and Architect engagements?
We scope the work before quoting it. That means a brief conversation about your business, what the diagnostic found, and what you're trying to achieve — followed by a written scope and a fixed price. You know exactly what you're committing to before any work begins. Scope changes are discussed and approved, never billed silently.
What does "scoped" or "custom" pricing actually mean — can you give a rough range?
The Strategic Assessment is $300 USD flat fee. The Competitive Report is $250 USD per competitor — you pick the ones that matter most. Bundle an assessment with two competitor deep-dives for $500 USD at booking. Architect engagements vary more widely — a Blueprint alone is a different scope to a full Build & Monitor engagement. We don't publish fixed Architect ranges because the diagnostic genuinely changes the answer. Reach out or run the diagnostic and we can talk specifics.
Do I need to complete an Audit before moving to Architect?
Not always — but usually. The diagnostic exists partly because we don't want to quote an Architect engagement without understanding your current infrastructure. It's how we write a good spec. If you already have a thorough picture of your current state, we can discuss starting at Blueprint. But the Audit almost always surfaces things that change the scope.
Are your rates in USD?
Yes. Hourly rates are quoted in USD. If you're based in Australia or Canada, we're happy to provide rough local-currency equivalents as a reference point — just ask. All rates are subject to market exchange rates at time of invoicing.
What are Monitoring and Orchestration?
Both are ongoing engagements for clients who want their infrastructure kept healthy after an audit or build. Monitoring is observation and reporting — we re-run the diagnostic monthly, do targeted manual spot-checks on your priority pillars, and send a written report on what changed, what regressed, and what needs attention. You decide what to act on and your team executes. Orchestration adds light execution — small fixes handled directly (broken tracking pixels, consent configuration, schema errors, UTM corrections) plus coordination with your existing team. Anything larger than about two hours gets scoped and quoted separately. Pricing for both tiers is discussed at engagement start. Entry point is typically after a Strategic Assessment or Blueprint delivery.

How we work

What is domain translation and why does it matter?
Domain translation is the practice of making technical decisions legible to non-technical stakeholders — and vice versa. Every engagement includes it at no extra cost. In Assist, we explain the work we're doing. In Audit, we explain what findings mean for your business. In Architect, by the end of the engagement you'll understand the system well enough to make your own decisions going forward. No black boxes.
What is Spec-Driven Development?
SDD is our methodology: nothing gets built without a specification you've reviewed and approved. Before any system component is built, we define intent (what it's supposed to do), context (the constraints and existing stack), and success criteria (how we'll know it's working). The Blueprint is the spec. The build executes against it. Deviations are discussed, not assumed.
Do you work with businesses outside Australia and Canada?
Yes. The work is remote by default. We have direct experience across Australian, Singaporean, and UK markets, with compliance environments including ASIC and GDPR. Geography is not a constraint.
What industries do you work with?
Any business with a digital marketing or operational infrastructure worth auditing. We have deep experience in regulated financial services (CFD and derivatives trading, ASIC compliance, GDPR) and in agency environments. If your business operates in a compliance-sensitive context — financial services, legal, healthcare — we're familiar with those constraints.
Do you offer training or workshops?
Yes — we offer tailored training for teams on topics including marketing technology, AI readiness, and digital infrastructure. Contact us to discuss your requirements.

AI and agentic systems

We're using AI tools — does that change the diagnostic?
It should. Our Tech Stack pillar covers tool inventory and efficiency, and AI tool usage is part of that picture. Beyond tool selection, we're interested in whether your AI usage is governed — do you have documented intent for AI-assisted workflows, or are you prompting ad hoc? The latter is manageable at small scale but creates significant risk in production systems.
What does "operating what you own" mean, and why does it matter?
Most businesses have accumulated marketing infrastructure — tools, automations, tracking setups, content systems — that runs in the background without anyone actively piloting it. "Operating what you own" means having someone who understands the systems well enough to make decisions about them, not just use them. AI has made this more urgent: the tools are more capable, but undirected capability creates more noise, not less signal. Our Audit and Architect streams are both built around this — the goal isn't just to fix what's broken, it's to get you to a position where you're making deliberate decisions about your infrastructure rather than inheriting whatever accumulated by default.
What is a persistent, searchable AI knowledge system and why is it in the Architect stream?
Most AI tools are stateless — every session starts from zero. A persistent knowledge system is the infrastructure that fixes this: a database-backed, agent-readable layer that stores your context, decisions, and institutional knowledge so AI tools can access it across sessions and tools. For businesses integrating AI into their operations, this is foundational infrastructure. We build it as part of Architect engagements where AI workflows are in scope.

Still have questions?

The best starting point is usually the free diagnostic — it gives us both something concrete to talk about. Or reach out directly.