Marketing consultant NZ | The Marketing Compass

One focused session with an NZ marketing consultant. One strategic document. Total clarity on who you’re marketing to, what to say, and where to spend your time – built to brief AI and guide every piece of content you create.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Get clarity on your market, your message, and where to focus – from Cornelia Luethi, a marketing consultant NZ businesses trust

You know your business is good – but you’re not sure your marketing reflects that.
You’ve tried various marketing tactics, but nothing feels consistent or joined-up.
When someone asks who your ideal client is, you say ‘pretty much anyone who needs what I do’ – and you know that’s not quite right.
You’re on multiple social media platforms because you feel like you should be – but you’re not sure any of them are actually working.
You’ve tried using AI tools to help with your content – but the output feels generic, off-brand, or just not quite right, and you suspect the brief going in isn’t good enough.
You spend time and money on marketing, but you can’t shake the feeling you’re not focusing on the right things.

Unclear on your ideal client? Then nothing else in your marketing will be clear either.

As an NZ marketing consultant with 30 years of experience, here’s the thing I see repeatedly: the tactics don’t matter if the strategy isn’t right.

You can post on Instagram every day, run Google ads, write a blog, and send a newsletter – and still feel like you’re spinning your wheels. Not because those things don’t work. But because without a clear picture of exactly who you’re talking to, what they need to hear, and what will move them to act, even the best tactics fall flat.

Most business owners – when pushed – describe their target market as something like: “women aged 25 to 65, mainly Auckland, we’re on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and we’re looking at TikTok.” That’s not a target market. That’s a wish list. And spreading your marketing budget and your time across 5 platforms to reach everyone usually means you reach no one effectively.

The result? Marketing that feels like guesswork. Content that doesn’t connect. Campaigns that don’t convert. And a growing suspicion that you’re doing a lot of work for very little return. You feel disillusioned, burnt out, and feel like you’ve wasted money and effort.

It’s not your fault. Nobody teaches you this stuff when you start a business. But as a marketing consultant NZ, I can help give you the clarity you need.

Stop marketing without a compass – and have it all written down

Imagine sitting down to write a social media post, a newsletter, or a website page – and instead of staring at a blank screen, you open a document that tells you exactly who your ideal client is, what language resonates with them, what they need to hear before they’ll trust you, and which channel to use to reach them.

That’s what The Marketing Compass gives you.

It’s a focused, in-person strategy session followed by a polished, professional document – built not to sit in a drawer or hidden on your hard drive, but to be used. Every day. As a briefing tool for your content, your campaigns, and your AI tools. As a reference when you’re not sure what to write. As a compass when you’re tempted to say “yes” to a tactic that doesn’t serve your strategy.

A good marketing strategy NZ businesses can actually implement needs to be honest, specific, and actionable. And it needs to be built around your business, your clients, and your goals – not a generic template.

What you’ll walk away with:

Total clarity on who your ideal client actually is – not a demographic bracket, but a real, detailed picture of the person most likely to buy from you.
A positioning statement that captures what makes your business worth choosing – in plain language your clients actually understand.
A clear picture of what to say and when – the key messages that will resonate most with your ideal client, how to back them up, and how to handle the doubts or hesitations that stop people from getting in touch.
A brand and writing style guide – so everything you produce, whether written by you, a copywriter, or an AI tool, sounds consistent and on-brand.
A client-speak glossary, competitor positioning notes, and a core content bank – the detail that turns AI from a generic content machine into something that genuinely reflects your business.
Your True North statement – a single sentence that gives you and every tool you use a north star for all content, forever.

30 years of marketing expertise

I’m Cornelia Luethi – a marketing consultant NZ service businesses rely on. I’m based in Kerikeri, Bay of Islands, New Zealand, with a particular focus on Auckland SMEs who are brilliant at what they do but not sure their marketing reflects that.

I’ve spent 30 years in marketing – a decade in corporate marketing roles across New Zealand and the UK, and 20 years running my own marketing and copywriting consultancy. In that time I’ve helped businesses across dozens of industries get clear on who they’re talking to, what to say, and how to say it.

My qualifications: BSc (Hons) Management Studies, Royal Holloway University of London. Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing (DipM), Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK. HubSpot certified in Content Marketing, SEO, and Email Marketing.

I’m a marketing strategist who has spent three decades thinking about what makes businesses connect with the right clients – and I bring all of that thinking into every session.

The Marketing Compass – ready to brief AI

What’s included:

3-hour in-person strategy session: I’ll bring snacks for us to share, and we’ll have a break halfway through.
Marketing Compass document covering your business overview, brand positioning, ideal client profiles, SWOT analysis, messaging hierarchy, and channel strategy. It’s written in enough detail to upload directly into AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude, so every piece of content you generate is genuinely on-brand, on-message, and targeted to the right people.
A brand and writing style guide that documents your tone of voice, preferred English variant, use of contractions, formality level, and the specific language that makes your brand sound like you.
A ‘what we don’t do’ summary: this is a clear list of services, messages, and approaches that are out of scope for your business, so AI tools stay on-brand and never suggest something you’d never offer or say.
Competitor positioning notes: a brief snapshot of how your key competitors position themselves, and how your business is deliberately different. Stops AI from producing content that sounds like everyone else in your industry.
A core content bank: some examples of your existing content you consider on-brand, whether that’s a paragraph from your best blog post, a line from your homepage, or a case study extract. AI pattern-matches from real examples far more accurately than from descriptions alone. (Bring these to your session.)
Your True North statement: a single sentence capturing the most important thing a potential client should understand about your business, above everything else. The north star for every piece of content you – or AI – will ever create.
Common misconceptions: what potential clients typically get wrong about your business or industry, documented so AI can proactively address them in content rather than waiting for objections to arise.
A client-speak glossary: the actual words and phrases your clients use when they describe their problem, in their own language. Not your industry terminology, but their words. AI trained on this produces content that resonates rather than content that merely informs.
Two rounds of revisions to ensure the Marketing Compass document is accurate, useful, and genuinely reflects your business.

Investment: $1,500 + GST
Delivered within 10 working days of your strategy session.
→ Contact me to book your session – or to ask me questions if this is right for you.

Contact me to arrange your Marketing Compass

Stage 2: The 90-day action plan

From strategy to action – what happens next?

The Marketing Compass gives you total clarity on who you’re marketing to, what to say, and where to focus.

The 90-day action plan takes that strategy step further and turns it into a specific, sequenced list of actions for the next three months – so you know exactly what to do first, second, and third, and why.

It’s delivered as a separate document once you’ve reviewed and signed off on your Marketing Compass. That sequence matters: the action plan is only useful once the strategy is right. There’s no point planning actions around a target market or positioning statement you haven’t yet agreed on.

What the 90-day action plan covers:

Prioritised actions for months one, two, and three – specific and sequenced, not a vague to-do list.
Channel-specific recommendations based on your agreed strategy – what to post, where, and how often.
Content priorities – what to write first, and why it matters for your ideal client.
Quick wins – the things that will make the biggest difference fastest, so you see results while the longer-term strategy builds.
A simple way to measure progress – so you know whether what you’re doing is working.

Stage 2 investment: From $500 + GST

(Final price confirmed once the Marketing Compass is complete, as complexity varies by business.)

The 90-day action plan is an optional add-on – but most clients find it’s the piece that turns strategy into momentum.

Ian Harris, Harris & Thurston

“Since Cornelia wrote our website, our new website started generating high-quality enquiries almost immediately. The best part about working with Cornelia was all her ideas and insights – she has a lot of knowledge. Plus she’s very organised and kept the project running, even when I got busy. I would definitely recommend Cornelia’s services.”
Ian Harris · Harris & Thurston, Paihia, Bay of Islands

Who this is for

The Marketing Compass is designed for service business owners who are brilliant at what they do – but not sure their marketing reflects that. It’s particularly well-suited to:

Owner-operators of service businesses across Northland and Auckland who are ready to stop guessing and start marketing with focus and confidence.
Business owners who describe their target market as “pretty much anyone who needs what I do” – and know, deep down, that’s not specific enough.
Businesses preparing for a website redesign, rebrand, or new service launch – where getting the strategy right before the content is written saves significant time and money.
Anyone who’s tried various marketing tactics but never felt like they added up to a coherent plan.
Business owners using AI tools for content who know their briefs aren’t good enough to get genuinely useful output – and want a document that fixes that.
Business owners who want to use AI tools for content production but need a proper brief to get output that’s genuinely on-brand – not generic, not beige, not like everyone else.

This is a collaborative, in-person session that requires your full engagement for three hours. The quality of the Compass depends on the quality of the conversation – so it works best for business owners who are ready to think deeply about their business, their clients, and their goals.

If you’re looking for a done-for-you content marketing service rather than strategic clarity, my Words On Tap retainer might be a better fit.

How it works

Get in touch and we’ll have a brief conversation to make sure this is the right fit for your business.
We’ll book your in-person session – at your place, or a convenient location in Northland or Auckland.
We meet for three hours. Bring your thinking. I’ll bring the questions, the framework, and the snacks.
Within ten working days, you’ll receive your Marketing Compass document for review.
We refine it together (up to two rounds of revisions) until it’s exactly right.
You walk away with a strategic document you can use immediately – and refer back to for years.

What’s included in full

The Marketing Compass is one of the most comprehensive marketing documents you’ll find at this price point – because every section has a job to do, both as a strategic reference and as a brief for AI tools.

Section	What it covers
Business overview	Current state, core offer, key challenges, and growth goals.
Brand positioning	What you do, who you're for, how you're different, and your recommended positioning statement.
Ideal client profiles	1–3 detailed profiles - not demographics, but a real picture of who buys from you, what they need to hear, and where to find them.
SWOT analysis	Honest assessment of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats - specific to your business.
Messaging hierarchy	Core messages, proof points, and ready-to-use answers to your most common objections.
Channel strategy	A 'channel' is simply where you show up to market your business: Instagram, LinkedIn, email newsletters, networking groups, Google search, and so on. This section identifies which one or two channels are the right fit for your business and your ideal client - and gives you clear permission to stop spreading yourself across the rest. One channel done well consistently outperforms five done badly.
Brand & writing style guide	Your preferred English variant (NZ, Australian, UK, or US), use of contractions, tone of voice, cadence, formality level, words and phrases to use, words and phrases to avoid, and any other style preferences - all documented so AI tools produce content that sounds like you, not like a generic brand.
What we don't do	A documented list of services, messages, and approaches that are out of scope - so AI tools never suggest something off-brand or outside your offer.
Competitor positioning notes	A brief snapshot of how key competitors position themselves and how your business differs - so your content stands out rather than blending in.
Core content bank	Examples of existing content you consider on-brand, used as pattern-matching material for AI tools and as a style reference for anyone creating content for your business.
True North statement	A single sentence capturing the most important thing a potential client should understand about your business. The north star for all content - human or AI-generated.
Common misconceptions	What potential clients typically get wrong about your business or industry, documented so content can proactively address doubts and objections.
Client-speak glossary	The actual words and phrases your clients use to describe their problem - not your language, theirs. Ensures all content resonates with the people you most want to reach.

Timeline

Your Marketing Compass will be delivered within ten working days of your strategy session, unless we agree on a different timing.

Travel costs

Kerikeri/Bay of Islands: No additional charge.
Northland (Whangarei, Kaitaia, Dargaville): $150 + GST
Auckland: $300 + GST (covers travel, overnight, and all associated costs)
Beyond Auckland: By arrangement – get in touch to discuss.

Why in-person only? Because three hours of genuine strategic conversation – the kind that draws out what you really think about your business, your clients, and your goals – works better face to face. A Zoom call is fine for many things. This isn’t one of them.

Daniela Alexandra, Psychic Light

“Cornelia is professional, creative, and incredibly supportive. She thinks outside the box, offers fresh inspiration, and is flexible and patient when my needs evolve. I would absolutely recommend Cornelia to anyone ready to take their business to the next level.”
Daniela Alexandra · Psychic Light, Kerikeri

Frequently asked questions

What exactly is a marketing strategy document, and how is it different from a traditional marketing plan?

A traditional marketing plan was often a long, dense document written by a consultant and filed in a drawer. Useful to write, rarely used afterwards. The Marketing Compass is the opposite – a focused, practical document built to be used every day. It gives you the strategic clarity to brief your team, your copywriter, your designer, and your AI tools consistently and confidently. Think of it as your marketing Compass: a tool you pick up every time youâre not sure which way to go, not a document you file and forget.

Why is it in-person? Can we do it on Zoom?

Three hours of strategic conversation works better face to face. There’s something about being in the same room – with no screen between you, with the ability to draw on a whiteboard or sketch out an idea on paper – that produces better thinking than a Zoom call. I’ve deliberately kept this as an in-person-only service because I believe the outcome is worth the travel.

I already have a rough idea of my target market. Do I still need this?

Almost certainly yes – and this is the most common misconception I encounter. Most business owners have a rough idea. What they don’t have is a detailed, written-down, specific profile of their ideal client that they can hand to a copywriter, a designer, or an AI tool and get genuinely useful output back. ‘Service businesses in Auckland’ is a start. ‘Owner-operated professional services firms turning over $1M+, no internal marketing team, preparing for a rebrand, typically frustrated that their website doesn’t reflect the quality of their work’ is a target market.

How does the Marketing Compass work with AI tools?

The Marketing Compass is designed to be a working document. That includes uploading it directly into AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude before asking them to generate content. The more context and detail an AI tool has, the better the output – and a full Marketing Compass, with your ideal client profiles, messaging hierarchy, tone of voice, and channel strategy, it gives AI the full picture so you get the best output.

What’s included in the brand and writing style guide?

This is the section that makes the biggest difference to AI output quality – and it’s something most marketing documents completely overlook.

The style guide documents everything an AI tool needs to write in your voice rather than its own. That includes which version of English you use (New Zealand, Australian, UK, or US – they’re more different than you’d think), whether you use contractions, your preferred tone of voice and level of formality, the cadence and flow of your writing, words and phrases that feel like you, and words and phrases you’d never use.

Without a style guide, AI produces grammatically correct content that sounds like everyone else. But with the style guide in your Marketing Compass, AI produces content that reads like you wrote it – which is the whole point.

Why does the Compass include so much detail – isn’t a summary enough?

The short answer: no. And this is one of the most important things to understand about using AI tools for content.

AI generates better output the more context it has. A vague brief produces generic content. A rich, detailed brief – with ideal client profiles, messaging hierarchy, tone of voice, competitor positioning, client language, and a clear picture of what the business does and doesn’t do – produces content that sounds like it was written by someone who genuinely knows the business.

The Marketing Compass is deliberately comprehensive because every section serves a purpose. The ideal client profiles tell AI who it’s writing for. The messaging hierarchy tells it what to say. The style guide tells it how to say it. The competitor notes tell it what to avoid. The client-speak glossary tells it which words will land. The “one thing” statement gives it a north star.

Together, these turn AI from a generic content machine into something that genuinely reflects your business – consistently, every time you use it.

Why do I need to bring existing content examples to the session?

Because AI pattern-matches from real examples far more accurately than from descriptions. Telling an AI tool “write in a warm, conversational tone” produces a different result from showing it three paragraphs of content that already hits that mark.

Bring three to five examples of content you consider on-brand – a paragraph from your best blog post, a line from your homepage, a case study extract, even an email you wrote that sounded exactly right. They don’t need to be polished. They just need to feel like you. These go straight into the Compass as your core content bank, and they’ll improve the quality of every piece of AI-generated content you produce from that point forward.

What happens after the Marketing Compass is delivered?

The document stands alone – you can take it and run with it entirely on your own. But most clients find they want to keep the momentum going, and there are a couple of natural next steps depending on where you are.

If you want to turn the strategy into a specific action plan, Stage 2 is the 90-day action plan – a prioritised, sequenced list of exactly what to do in months one, two, and three. It’s delivered once you’ve signed off on the Marketing Compass, priced from $500 + GST depending on complexity, and most clients find it’s the piece that turns clarity into momentum.

If you want ongoing content support – writing the blogs, case studies, website updates, and articles that flow from your strategy – my Words On Tap retainer is designed exactly for that. It’s a flexible monthly hour bundle you can use however you need, with no lock-in and 30 days’ notice to pause or cancel. Find out more about Words On Tap.

And if you simply want to take the Marketing Compass and implement it yourself, or brief your own team or agency from it – it’s built to make that straightforward too. There’s no obligation to continue working with me, and the document is designed to be genuinely useful regardless of what comes next.

What’s the 90-day action plan and why is it separate?

The 90-day action plan takes the agreed strategy and turns it into specific, prioritised actions for the next three months. It’s delivered as a separate document once you’ve reviewed and signed off on the Marketing Compass – because the action plan is only useful once the strategy is right. It’s quoted separately and priced from $500 + GST depending on complexity.

Do you work with businesses outside Northland and Auckland?

The in-person session is currently limited to Northland and Auckland, where I’m happy to travel. If you’re based elsewhere in New Zealand, get in touch – I’m open to the conversation and to travelling further afield. 🙂

Ready to get clear on your marketing?

If you’ve read this far, you already know whether this is right for you.

The Marketing Compass is for business owners who are done with guessing and ready to work with a marketing consultant NZ businesses trust – investing three focused hours and $1,500 + GST into getting their marketing strategy right, once and properly.

You’ll walk away with one of the most comprehensive marketing documents available at this price point – a detailed Marketing Compass covering your ideal client profiles, positioning, messaging, channel strategy, style guide, competitor notes, client-speak glossary, and your north star True North statement. A document you’ll actually use every time you brief a copywriter, a designer, or an AI tool. Every time you sit down to write something and aren’t sure where to start. Every time you need to make a marketing decision and want orientation rather than guesswork. Every business needs a compass. Most are navigating without one.

The Marketing Compass – Ready to Brief AI: $1,500 + GST

Get in touch to book your session.