A purpose-led organisation, was being set up to support women facing vulnerability, instability and multiple disadvantages within the community. The vision was to provide a more holistic programme of support that went beyond immediate crisis response and focused on helping women move towards safer, more independent and sustainable living.
The organisation’s intended support model included practical and developmental services such as key work, counselling, advocacy, education, living skills, therapy-based interventions and access to wider specialist services. Alongside this, there was also a longer-term ambition to provide housing options for women moving on from the programme.
At this stage, the organisation was still pre-operational. This meant that the marketing challenge was not about increasing awareness of an existing service, but about creating a credible market entry strategy that could attract referrals, placements, funding and property opportunities.
The Challenge
The central challenge was how to position a new women’s support service in a market where larger and more established providers already existed.
The organisation recognised that potential referrers and partners might choose competitors because of their size, longevity, familiarity and existing contractual relationships. At the same time, they believed it had a meaningful point of difference: a more inclusive and holistic support model for women of all backgrounds, with a stronger focus on overall wellbeing, development and long-term independence.
The organisation therefore needed a marketing plan that could do more than generate visibility. It needed to:
-
build credibility with stakeholders and referral partners
-
define a clear target audience
-
communicate a distinctive offer
-
support early contract and partnership opportunities
-
• prepare the organisation for operational launch and sustainable growth
The Opportunity
Although the organisation was still in development, there was a clear gap to position around. They identified that there were limited services within its local area providing broader support for women across multiple areas of need, rather than responding only to one issue in isolation.
This created an opportunity to position the service as a more joined-up support model for women experiencing challenges linked to housing, domestic abuse, mental health, substance misuse, offending and wider social vulnerability.
The marketing plan also highlighted a longer-term opportunity to explore move-on accommodation or housing-related support, allowing the organisation to extend its value beyond programme delivery alone.
Strategic Focus
The marketing plan was shaped around four clear business goals:
-
receiving referrals
-
securing placements
-
attracting funding
-
sourcing suitable properties
To support these aims, the strategy needed to focus on both stakeholder engagement and service positioning.
The organisation’s customer groups were understood in two parts:
Stakeholders — including organisations and professionals working with vulnerable women, such as housing teams, probation, domestic abuse services, adult support, health and social care, drug and alcohol services, and mental health services.
Service users — women referred into the programme who required structured support to live more safely and independently in the community.
This distinction was important because the marketing needed to speak to both groups differently. Stakeholders needed confidence in the service model, quality and fit. Service users needed to feel that the support was safe, empowering and able to meet complex needs.
Approach
A structured marketing plan was developed to help the organisation move from concept to clearer market readiness.
1. Market understanding
The first step was to define who the organisation needed to reach and why. This included clarifying the stakeholder landscape, understanding likely referrers, and considering why similar organisations might currently be chosen instead.
This helped frame the organisation’s challenge more realistically and avoided relying on generic awareness-building alone.
2. Competitor awareness
The plan acknowledged that larger or more established organisations may appear safer choices to commissioners and referrers because of reputation, infrastructure and familiarity. Rather than ignore this, the strategy used it to sharpen Promises’ unique position.
3. Distinctive positioning
The strongest point of difference was its commitment to supporting women of all backgrounds through a wider developmental lens, not just crisis intervention. This gave the organisation a stronger story to communicate and created a basis for differentiated messaging.
4. Practical marketing activity
Because publicity had been identified as a weakness, the plan included early practical actions to improve visibility and credibility. These included:
-
completing the website
-
setting up Facebook
-
producing business cards and leaflets
-
sending a service introduction letter to stakeholders
-
attending local networking and sector events
-
engaging local papers and community-facing channels
The goal was to create a basic but credible visibility platform while the service developed operationally.
5. Foundation-building for growth
The plan also recognised that marketing success would depend on internal readiness. This included ensuring attractive but realistic pricing, completing key contractual documents, securing suitable service contracts and exploring subcontracting with larger organisations as a route into the market.
Offer and Target Audience
The plan identified a clear target audience made up of professionals and agencies connected to women experiencing multiple disadvantages, including:
-
housing teams
-
drug and alcohol services
-
domestic violence services
-
mental health support services
-
adult services
-
health-related services
-
probation
For these audiences, the organisation’s offer included:
-
counselling
-
training and workshops
-
key work support
-
life skills development
-
advocacy
-
legal access and representation support
-
art therapy
-
education support
-
referral into other specialist services
This created a broad but purposeful service offer designed to support women more holistically.
Obstacles Considered
The marketing plan was realistic about the barriers that could affect implementation. These included:
-
getting pricing right in a competitive market
-
achieving planning approval for change of use
-
ensuring local authorities would pay at sustainable levels
-
managing early-stage cash flow in the first 1–2 months
-
building trust quickly enough to compete with larger providers
By identifying these early, the plan provided a more grounded basis for decision-making.
Action Plan
A practical action plan was outlined to support launch activity. Early priorities included:
-
website completion
-
Facebook presence
-
printed collateral
-
stakeholder service letter
-
networking with local authorities and relevant organisations
These were low-cost, early-stage activities designed to begin building awareness and referral pathways while more substantive operational and contractual arrangements were being developed.
Measures of Success
The plan recognised the importance of reviewing progress against realistic indicators rather than vague ambition. Measures of success would include:
-
stakeholder contact made
-
meetings secured
-
referrals received
-
contracts explored or agreed
-
website and publicity completion
-
growth in visibility within local support networks
-
progress towards operational readiness
This provided a basis for ongoing review and refinement.
Strategic Value
This case highlights the importance of treating marketing as a growth and positioning function, not just a publicity exercise.
For a new purpose-led service, the real marketing challenge is often about credibility, relevance and access to referral pathways. By working through customers, competitors, opportunities, obstacles and practical actions in a structured way, the organisation was better placed to clarify its market position and build a more realistic route to growth.
Conclusion
This marketing plan gave this organisation a clearer framework for entering the market with purpose and direction. Rather than relying on general promotion, it created a strategic basis for attracting referrals, funding, partnerships and future service opportunities.
The case demonstrates how a purpose-led organisation can use structured marketing planning not only to raise awareness, but to strengthen positioning, identify viable opportunities and build towards sustainable delivery.