Dan Hughes
CONSULTANT
DAN HUGHES CONSULTING
Your strategy is always on.The department doesn't have to be.
For digital advice, sense-making, definition, storytelling, and validation. Fractionally costed.
The challenge
Strategy starts with a strong push, led by someone who can set a clear direction. Once the plan is underway, considered oversight keeps it on course, with bursts of focused work at key decision points.
Strategy as a Service
For startups, small businesses, agencies, and consultancies, having the right strategic head when it’s needed is invaluable. Without adding headcount, you can bring in an outside sounding board, someone with experience of similar challenges, or a partner to help define the opportunity.
Offer
I deliver digitally enabled strategy that improves commercial outcomes, customer experience, and operational performance. I work with organisations of all sizes, stepping in when they need to test a decision, set a direction, or move work forward.
Still working out what you need? I can help you define it. Drop me a line and we’ll find a time to talk.
Get in ContactAbout me
Approach
Clarity
You have plenty of analysis, but competing priorities make it hard to agree what matters most.
I help you make sense of the evidence and agree where to focus.
Perspective
You know your business well, but when you’re close to the work, it can be hard to spot the assumptions shaping your decisions.
I act as a sounding board, drawing on experience from other organisations to test those assumptions and explore options you may have missed.
Momentum
You know what you want to achieve, but day-to-day demands leave little time to turn that ambition into action.
I help you set out the first steps, get the work underway and decide how to measure progress.
I can help at any stage, from making sense of the problem to getting an initiative underway.
Services
Untangle
You have a challenge, but do not have clear insight as to what’s causing it, how to address it, or where to begin.
Define
You need internal alignment around the vision, where to go, and why.
Mobilise
You know your ambition, but you need a catalyst to start.
Challenge
You need an expert pair of eyes on a problem, idea, solution, or strategy.
Calibrate
You’re already underway and need to review progress, check what’s working, and adjust course.
Every engagement starts with a conversation. We'll talk about where you are, what you're trying to achieve, what's getting in the way, and where I can make the biggest difference.
From there, I'll recommend an approach that fits your needs — whether that's a single session, a focused piece of work, or occasional support along the way.
Before we begin, we'll agree what we're setting out to achieve, what I'll deliver, how we'll work together, and what it will cost. No surprises, unnecessary complexity, or open-ended commitments.
My role is to bring clarity, perspective, and momentum when you need it. Not to create more work, or make myself indispensable.
Get in ContactSubject matter
Customer insights
Understand how customers behave, what they need, and where those needs go unmet. Use evidence to shape your propositions and decisions.
Conversion
Find where customers drop off in buying and self-service journeys. Remove barriers so they can complete the next step with confidence.
Experimentation
Devising hypotheses, testing assumptions, defining success measures, and using evidence to guide investment.
Connected experiences
How products, services, capabilities, and customer touchpoints work together to create value.
Onboarding & activation
Help customers get started, get support, and see value early. Make handovers clear so customers know what happens next.
Workflow automation
Identifying useful moments for automation, blueprinting workflows, and assessing the role of AI for judgement and decision making.
Personalisation
Recognising customer context, tailoring experiences, and utilising capability to drive individualised outcomes at scale.
Service operations
Connecting customer-facing experiences with the people, processes, and technology behind them.
Operating models
Ownership, governance, shared capabilities and responsibilities, and balancing centralised consistency with localised autonomy.
Data foundations
What information needs to be available, connected, and surfaced, to support long-term intelligence and operational excellence, and enable the next generation of technology.
Experience
My work in-house, in consultancies, and as a contractor has shown me how different businesses operate, understand their customers, and define success.
Showing all 17 experiences.
Identified the need for internal tools, defined their requirements, and led their development to improve how consumers experience content.
John Lewis & Partners
Created an end-to-end service blueprint for a customer-facing proposition. It informed the definition and implementation of new enterprise platforms, including CRM and ERP.
Toolstation
Built a year-long strategy for the commerce funnel, turning market opportunities into priorities for delivery.
Led changes to the digital buying journey that increased revenue and improved margins.
Beyond
Led client strategy, pitched for new business, and planned how to grow existing accounts.
BBC
Helped teams across the BBC establish shared ways of working on design.
Created an end-to-end service blueprint to guide the evolution of the design system.
Deckers Brands
Mapped existing business processes from a service design perspective. Used the findings to design internal tools aimed at reducing forecasting errors.
Snap
Helped define and build capabilities to produce customer-facing content at scale for B2B projects. The work included optimisation and experience design.
Flutter
Created a vision for the future customer experience of the UK flagship brand.
Ford
Evolved the digital platform to support local campaign sites for vehicle launches at scale.
WPP
Worked across pitches, grew the retainer for the largest client account, and developed a digital product strategy for the group.
EE
Improved the digital publishing platform so it could scale during periods of high commercial demand.
Led the work on digital experiences for major campaigns, including Black Friday and Christmas.
Ford Money
Helped shape the proposition for new customers and build the digital journey from acquisition through to account management.
Shelter
Developed a business case and roadmap for a digital transformation programme to make the experience more flexible over time for supporters and people seeking advice.
BT
Developed a strategy to help customers find content across BT’s digital estate.
JLR
Developed a data strategy to prepare JLR for the use of AI agents.
Google Store
Analysed competitor threats and reviewed the buying journey to identify near-term improvements.
SEGA
Conducted customer research to inform the direction of the new digital platform.
Experience listed here summarises organisations I have worked with across my career, including as an employee, contractor, or through a third party. They are listed to demonstrate my breadth of experience, and should not be interpreted as endorsements by, or any kind of affiliation with, these brands.
What I can do
Future state vision definition
Pitch and new client strategy
Strategic objectives
OKR definition
Narrative development
Discovery workshops
Stakeholder interviews and synthesis
Roadmapping
Prioritisation
Experience mapping
Service blueprinting
Design systems & strategy
Measurement strategy
Business case documentation
Proposal and alignment decks
Customer research
Engagement models
I work in a flexible way, whatever best suits the needs of your business. I have three main modes of working alongside you and your team.
Fractional
Ongoing ownership. Part-time.
I take ownership of an agreed strategic outcome. I set direction, bring stakeholders into alignment, shape priorities, and review progress. I use that context to challenge decisions and respond as your needs change.
Occasional
Continuity of understanding. Support in key moments.
I stay connected to your business and step back in when you need support with a decision or a new phase. That could mean creating a business case, revising a roadmap based on results, or helping you respond to external challenges.
Focused
A specific outcome. A defined scope.
I take on a one-off project, such as discovery, customer research, new client strategy, or service blueprinting.
Across all three, I help you make decisions, set direction, and align your team. Your team or delivery partners carry the work through.
Let's chat
Tell me a little about your business, what you’re working through, and when you’d be free to talk.
Get in Contact