Our portfolio is not your marketing plan.

“Have you worked with a business like ours before?”

Asking for an example from your industry is a way of looking for reassurance. A useful answer should show relevant experience while recognizing what will be different in your case.

It is a natural question when choosing an agency. You want to see relevant experience, understand the quality of work and trust that the team can see the project through.

A portfolio helps you evaluate these things. It gives you examples, highlights and concrete topics to discuss.

There is an essential step between “we have done similar work” and “this approach fits your business”: understanding your situation.

A successful project provides evidence and lessons. Applying them to another business requires fresh judgment.

A good portfolio also shows the thinking behind the work.

You can see the quality of design, how messages are built, the functionality of a website or the consistency of a campaign.

When the project is explained and documented, you can understand more: the initial problem, the reasons for choosing a solution, the contribution of the team and the results obtained.

This information helps you assess a partner’s competence.

To judge its relevance to your business, we also need to understand the conditions in which the project was delivered.

Two brands in the same industry can work very differently.

Two restaurants, two clinics, two furniture stores, two clothing brands.

At first glance, they seem like fair comparisons. They sell products or services in the same category and may share similar goals.

But people choose between them for reasons that go beyond the business category.

Location, the precise offer, price, delivery speed and trust all matter. So does the experience after the purchase.

These differences affect the arguments we can use in communication and the results we can realistically pursue.

A hypothetical example: two brands selling sofas.

The first has standardized products, available from stock, at affordable prices and with fast delivery.

The second makes sofas to order, offers customization, charges more and has a longer lead time.

Both sell sofas. People may choose them for quite different reasons.

For the first, availability, price and speed of delivery can be important arguments.

For the second, we need to explain customization options, materials and execution. A visit to the showroom, where the client sees the samples and discusses the right configuration, may be useful.

A campaign centered on immediate delivery cannot simply be transferred to a made-to-order product. A showroom invitation also needs rethinking for a brand that sells exclusively online.

Those business differences should shape the marketing decisions.

That’s why we also ask about things that, at first sight, seem outside the campaign.

We want to know what products are available, where you deliver, how long an order takes and what services are included.

We are interested in what people ask before buying, what makes them hesitate and why they sometimes choose an alternative.

These answers help us identify what is worth communicating or improving.

Sometimes the product needs a better demonstration. At other times, it needs clearer delivery information, an explanation of the price difference or a simpler way to request a quote.

The recommendation must account for what actually shapes the customer’s choice.

Portfolio results need explaining too.

“We increased sales.” That is a claim worth exploring.

• For what period?
• With what investment?
• For what products?
• Were there discounts?
• Has the profit also increased?
• What other changes have occurred in the business?

A campaign aimed at existing customers starts in a different place from one introducing the brand to new people.

Similarly, a large number of inquiries should be read alongside their relevance and the sales that followed.

Each team’s contribution matters too: who developed the strategy, produced the assets, managed the campaign and handled the sale?

A result becomes more useful when you understand how it was obtained, what it represents and what influenced it.

A competitor’s visible campaign is a starting point for investigation

We can study the messages, offer, product presentation and experience on the website.

Seeing an ad frequently does not tell us whether it is profitable. We may know nothing about costs, orders, returns or the contribution of existing customers.

Observations can help us form hypotheses, which we then test against your own business.

Copying the visible work does not recreate the conditions that may have made it successful.

Experience in the same industry also matters.

Knowledge of the industry can help us understand the products, customers’ questions and the buying process.

At the same time, a project from another industry can provide relevant lessons.

Maybe the problem was the same: people were asking for information, but never reached a sales conversation. They bought once and didn’t come back. Or they didn’t understand why the offer costs more.

Experience with a comparable problem can provide useful questions and directions. The specifics of your business still need to be understood and verified.

What is worth asking when someone presents a project?

• What problem did you start with?
• What resources and constraints did the client have?
• What did your team actually do?
• Why did you choose that approach?
• How did you measure the result, and what are the limits of that interpretation?
• What do you consider relevant to our situation?
• What differences could change the recommendation?

It is reasonable to ask for comparable work. These questions make that request more useful by showing how the agency connects its experience to your project.

At NOT MORE., we use our experience to build a reasoned recommendation.

We start from what we know and check what applies to your situation.

We learn the objective, analyze the information available and talk to people who know the business. We identify what already works, where difficulties arise and what is worth addressing first.

Then we explain what we propose, why, what it involves and how we will assess progress.

A well-defined need may receive a direct solution. An unclear situation requires additional information. The scope of the investigation must be proportionate to the decision.

We owe the same clarity when presenting our work. A case study documents a completed project and verified results. An illustrative example, such as those in How We Would, shows how we would explore a situation, what we would ask and what we might build. The distinction should always be clear.

Experience also shows in the ability to recognize differences.

Experience helps us observe faster, ask better questions and avoid known mistakes.

Understanding your business helps us choose what is worth applying now.

Professionalism means that we can explain what we rely on, what we assume and what we need to check.

The portfolio can be the beginning of the conversation.

The plan is built around your business.

All visual examples

Illustrative examples used for explanation. Illustrated formats do not replace placement specifications.

Stock and delivery

Delivery changes both the promise and the next step.

Location and coverage

The service area affects where we communicate and where we send customers.

Products and customization

Available range changes the information the customer needs.

Quality and evidence

Price alone does not prove quality.

Price and position

How the price is set changes how the offer is presented.

Trade conditions

Clear conditions help the customer understand the commitment.

What experience is relevant to your situation?

Tell us what you are looking for and what you would like to check in a similar project. We can discuss what evidence is relevant and what differences need to be clarified before a proposal is made.

Experience has to become the right work for the project

Once we understand the context, we define what to build and in what order. We can develop the strategy, creative direction, materials and campaigns, or build a website, integration or automation that the customer journey needs. If the obstacle lies in the offer or the way work is organized, the assignment can include business strategy and processes, developed with the people who use them.

When the need is clear, we can begin with the relevant service. When the situation needs investigation, we first define the scope of that analysis. Either way, we explain what we will deliver, what resources we need and how we will check the work. Trust grows through the work itself and through how we use what we learn to make the next decision.

How to evaluate the proposal before committing

Ask how a prospective partner connects an observation about your business to a practical intervention. A proposal should distinguish what is known, what is still a hypothesis and what needs checking. A portfolio example can demonstrate experience; an explanation applied to your situation helps you judge its relevance. At NOT MORE., we want that connection to be clear before you decide which work to entrust to us.