Design
Build vs. Buy Advisory
A vendor-neutral assessment of whether the right answer is a Customer Success platform, better use of your existing stack, a lightweight internal build, or a delay until process is fixed.
The problem
- Leadership is evaluating Gainsight, ChurnZero, Vitally, a Salesforce build-out, or an AI tool, and the business case is being built on vendor demos rather than an assessment of your own readiness.
- Nobody has tested whether the real constraint is a software gap or a data and process gap that software will not fix.
- The last platform purchase is underused, and leadership wants to avoid repeating that outcome.
When it's appropriate
- You are actively evaluating a CS platform purchase or major Salesforce/HubSpot build-out.
- You want an independent recommendation before a vendor conversation, not during one.
- You suspect - or hope - that the honest answer is 'not yet' or 'improve what you have first.'
What's included
- Assessment of data quality, process maturity, and organizational readiness for a platform
- Total cost analysis covering license, implementation, administration, and adoption - not just sticker price
- Comparison of buy, build, improve, and hybrid paths against your specific constraints
- A vendor-neutral recommendation with the reasoning shown, not just the conclusion
What's not included
- Vendor selection scoring across a named shortlist of products (available as a scoped add-on)
- Contract negotiation or procurement
- Implementation of the selected path (see Transformation Leadership)
Typical outputs
- Build-vs-buy scorecard against your data, process, and organizational readiness
- Total cost of ownership analysis
- A specific recommendation: buy, build, improve, hybrid, or delay
Likely timeline
Typically 2 to 3 weeks as a standalone engagement, or bundled into the Blueprint.
Next step
Get an independent read before you buy
Bring your current evaluation and I'll tell you what the data supports.
Next step
Not sure this is the right service?
Most engagements start with a short conversation about what's actually happening, not a service selection.