Clear about the investment.
Flexible about the question.
You don't need to know exactly what you need before you come to us.
The scope of an Ellingston engagement is determined by the business question, the evidence available, and the depth of investigation required.
We start with a short exploratory conversation to understand the question before defining the work.
The Ellingston Business Investigation
Something isn't working—or you are questioning where to intervene next. We investigate what is actually happening before you decide what to change.
You don't need a full scope document. Most engagements start with a single observed imbalance:
"Revenue is growing. Profit isn't."
We investigate what's driving the gap between revenue growth and profitability — from pricing and customer economics to delivery costs and resource allocation.
"Traffic is growing. Conversion isn't."
We investigate where the customer journey is breaking — from acquisition and positioning to pricing, experience, and conversion.
"Customers are leaving. We don't know why."
We investigate where the journey breaks—from early positioning and sales handoffs to product onboarding reality.
"The team is busy. Progress isn't."
We investigate workflows, decision-making, priorities, resource allocation, and the friction slowing execution.
"We're considering AI. Should we?"
We investigate the underlying workflow, the actual bottleneck, the quality of the available data, and whether AI or automation would solve the problem — rather than simply add another layer of technology.
"Something feels off, but we can't pinpoint it."
We start with the question, identify what needs to be understood, and design the investigation around the evidence required to make the decision.
"We don't investigate everything simply because we can. We investigate what matters to the decision."
Scope is dictated by the question, the evidence available, and the depth required.A clearer understanding of what to do next.
Every investigation is structured around the question we're trying to answer.
Executive Findings
A concise view of what we found and what matters most.
Business Diagnosis
What appears to be happening, what is driving it, and which assumptions hold up against the evidence.
Priority Matrix
What deserves attention now, what can wait, what should change, and what shouldn't.
Strategic Recommendations
Specific recommendations connected to the findings—not a generic list of initiatives.
90-Day Action Plan
A practical sequence of priorities, actions, owners and measurements.
Measurement Framework
How to determine whether the decisions are producing the intended result.
Final Readout
A structured walkthrough of the findings, diagnosis and recommended direction.
The question determines the work.
Two businesses can ask a similar question and require completely different investigations.
Scope
How many parts of the business need to be examined?
Complexity
How interconnected is the problem?
Evidence
What data already exists, and what needs to be collected?
Access
Do we need customer research, stakeholder interviews, product analysis, financial information, or operational review?
Depth
Are we answering one focused question or investigating a broader business problem?
The investigation is not the end.
It's the point where you know what to do next.
Take it internally
You have the diagnosis, priorities and action plan. Your team takes it forward.
Solve specific problems with Ellingston
If the investigation identifies work we can directly help execute, we scope that separately. This may involve strategy, product, experience, analytics, operations, technology or implementation.
Continue with Ellingston
For businesses that need ongoing strategic involvement after the initial investigation, we can continue beyond the initial engagement.
Bring in another specialist
Sometimes the right answer is outside our scope. We'll tell you that.
Strategic Advisory
For businesses that need continued strategic involvement after the initial investigation.
We don't charge for complexity you don't need.
A focused business question may require a focused investigation.
A broader problem may require deeper work.
The goal isn't to make the engagement larger. The goal is to make the decision clearer.
Frequently Asked Questions
You don't need the answer.
Start with the question.
Tell us what you're trying to understand.
15–30 minute exploratory conversation · No obligation