Before We Build Anything

Hi, I'm Christina — I want to build something that actually serves you.

I'm the founder of Spark of Clarity, a marketing strategy and customer experience consultancy for small business owners and nonprofit leaders. Running a business today is more challenging than ever — growth brings new complexity, marketing feels scattered, priorities compete for attention, and it's harder to know what will make the biggest impact.

I'm conducting research to better understand the real challenges business owners face, how they make marketing decisions, and what kind of strategic support creates the most value.

As a Token of Appreciation

My primary goal is to listen and build something genuinely valuable for our local business community. As thanks for your time, you'll get:

The option to schedule a complimentary 30-minute Discovery Conversation
An invitation to be featured (free) in our Local Business Spotlight

⏱ Estimated time: 10 minutes

Thank you for helping shape something purposeful.

— Christina Gentry, Founder, Spark of Clarity

Section One

Tell me about your business

Your name *

Organization name *

How long have you been in business? * (years)

Email Email *

Phone (optional)

Website (optional)

Please complete all required fields before continuing.

Section One, cont.

A little more context

Section One, cont.

A quick business snapshot

A few fast facts that help me understand the context behind your answers.

Who handles marketing at your company?

Are you the one making the calls, or is there a person or team leading it day-to-day? A sentence or two is plenty.

Roughly what's your annual revenue (or operating budget, if you're a nonprofit)? (helps me understand context — never shared)

Under $100K — early stage, still finding our footing. $100K–$250K — gaining traction, but marketing is a mess. $250K–$500K — established, the stakes are higher now. $500K–$1M — things are working, I want to keep it that way. $1M+ — we've outgrown a lot of our early systems. Prefer not to answer

Section One, cont.

Where are you today?

Pick the statement that best reflects your business right now — there's no wrong answer.

"We're building structure." — We rely mostly on word-of-mouth and are still defining our ideal customer. "We have systems, but lack execution clarity." — We have a marketing operation, but disjointed tools and data complexity are slowing us down. "We're doing the work, but it's not yielding results." — We have active channels and budget, but we aren't seeing the ROI we expect. "We are established, but want to optimize it." — We have a established marketing operation and are looking for ways to improve efficiency and new opportunities. Other

Section Two

Marketing Activities & Tracking

When you look at your new customers today, how do you primarily identify where they came from?

Please check the boxes below for any activities you are actively utilizing in your business, and whether you have a process to track their performance.

Which of the following best describes how you feel about your current data?

The "Data Puzzle": My data is scattered across too many places; I don’t have a single source of truth. The "Low Volume" approach: We don’t do enough marketing for tracking to be a priority right now. The "Uncertain" approach: I track things, but I’m not sure if I’m looking at the right metrics. The "Consistency" struggle: I track things consistently, but the results aren't helping me make better decisions. The "Optimized" approach: I know exactly what to track and analyze to see what is working.

One More Thing

If you could solve ONE business challenge in the next 90 days...

What would it be?

Section Three

Working with outside partners

Have you worked with a consultant, agency, coach, or strategist before?

Never Yes, currently Yes, previously

Section Three, cont.

When choosing someone to help your business, what matters most?

Click your top 5, in order of importance. Click again to remove a pick.

0 of 5 ranked

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Understanding my business & industry

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Trust & transparency

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Communication

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Results

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Strategy

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Practical, hands-on execution

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Education

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Accountability

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Flexibility

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Long-term partnership

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Other

Section Four

Which type of support feels right for where you are now?

"Give me templates I can use myself." — I want digital downloads, worksheets, and clear steps to work through this on my own. "Let's work on this together." — I want guidance and collaboration, but I'll be executing most of it myself. "Just tell me what to do and handle it." — I want someone to lead the strategy and execution while I focus on running my business. Not sure yet — I'm still figuring out what I need.

Section Four, cont.

If you had your way, what would you want support on?

Thinking beyond what's broken — what would you actually want help building? Pick your top 3.

Select up to 3 — 0 selected

Business Strategy — e.g., building a clear roadmap for where we're headed Brand Strategy — e.g., refining who we are and how we show up Customer Experience — e.g., mapping out the full client journey Marketing Strategy — e.g., pulling our channels into one cohesive plan Digital Experience — e.g., a website or online presence that actually converts Marketing Operations — e.g., systems and processes that just work Performance — e.g., dashboards and reporting I can actually trust Executive Advisory — e.g., a strategic sounding board when I need one

Section Four, cont.

Investing in Growth

This helps me understand what's realistic for your business stage.

What usually prompts you to seek outside help?

Growth has stalled. Marketing has become overwhelming. We don't have the right expertise internally. We're growing faster than our systems. We need a fresh outside perspective. Leadership needs strategic guidance. We lose momentum because priorities keep changing.

If you believed the right marketing partner could help your business grow, how would you approach that investment?

I'd only consider one-time projects as needed. I'd budget for a focused 4-6 week project to deliver a specific strategy or audit. I would invest if I believed the return justified it through on-going advisory relationship. I would budget for a deeper involvement and strategic partnership integrated into our business. Not sure — it would depend on the situation and would budget for it later.

What would give you the confidence to invest in outside strategic support?
Clear return on investment (ROI) Transparent pricing Someone who understands my business Strong communication Proven results or testimonials Clear roadmap before work begins Flexibility in approach and delivery Trust and credibility Other — please specify

Imagine you found someone you completely trusted to help your business grow. What level of investment would feel reasonable for that kind of partnership?

Hi, I'm Christina — I want to build something that actually serves you.

As a Token of Appreciation

Tell me about your business

A little more context

A quick business snapshot

Where are you today?

Marketing Activities & Tracking

If you could solve ONE business challenge in the next 90 days...

Working with outside partners

When choosing someone to help your business, what matters most?

Which type of support feels right for where you are now?

If you had your way, what would you want support on?

Investing in Growth

A bit about investment...

You're helping build something bigger.

Tell us your story

You're all set.