Methodology for Diagnosing Client Growth Bottlenecks in Marketing Consulting: A Data-Informed Framework
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/jbsm.3683Keywords:
Marketing Consulting, Growth Bottlenecks, Sales Funnel, Marketing Analytics, Necessary Condition Analysis, Customer Acquisition, B2BAbstract
Purpose: This article aims to propose a data-informed framework for diagnosing client growth bottlenecks in marketing consulting engagements. It focuses on helping consultants identify not only where growth opportunities exist, but also which specific restrictions within the commercial funnel prevent clients from converting market potential into measurable business performance.
Methodology: The article uses an integrative analysis of existing empirical studies from management consulting research, sales funnel analytics, and marketing analytics capability literature. Instead of conducting primary data collection, it translates prior empirical findings into a practical diagnostic mini-study for a single business-to-business client. The illustrative application uses synthetic but realistic data patterns to demonstrate how consultants can structure diagnostic questions, select relevant metrics, and interpret conversion dynamics.
Findings: The analysis shows that client growth problems are often not caused by one isolated weakness, but by the interaction of funnel-stage inefficiencies, weak metric discipline, limited analytics capability, and insufficient alignment between diagnosis and intervention design. The illustrative mini-study demonstrates that consultants can more effectively isolate root causes of stalled growth when they combine structured funnel decomposition with signal evaluation and necessity-based analysis of conversion restrictions.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: The article contributes the original FUSE-GRID Model, which stands for Funnel Understanding, Signal Evaluation, Growth Restriction Identification, and Intervention Design. The model offers a practical diagnostic logic for connecting empirical marketing evidence with consulting decision-making. For theory, it integrates funnel analytics and consulting methodology into a single diagnostic framework. For practice, it provides consultants with a reproducible approach for identifying growth bottlenecks and designing targeted interventions. For policy and professional standards, it supports more transparent, evidence-based consulting practices by encouraging clearer data requirements, diagnostic accountability, and client collaboration.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Arman Balaian
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