Strategy consultation for New Zealand business, owners and entrepreneurs.
Focus, stand out, move forward.
When opportunity or challenge arises, I help you decide strategically using evidence and confidence.
When ready, begin with my strategic insight.
A short set of questions to show you the gap, and help me see where to help.
★★★★★
30 years. 300+ businesses. A methodology refined through practice.
✔ Understand what your customers value and why they choose.
✔ Develop an offer that gives a reason to choose your business.
✔ Make informed strategic decisions about your business.
The decisions behind business progress.
Five strategic areas shape every business’s progress:
- Direction: What you want to achieve, and where to focus.
- Positioning: Where you belong, and why customers should choose you.
- Commercial opportunity: Which products, services, markets, and revenue to pursue.
- Alignment: How your brand, people, and activities work together.
- Decision-making: How you challenge assumptions and choose what to do next.
A clear brand direction gives these decisions purpose.
Your offer, ideal customer, market position, communication, and experience all shape how people understand and choose your business.
I help you think strategically about how your business is presented, so the right customer chooses you with confidence.
Before deciding what to change, gain insight
Strategic Insight is a simple first step to see where your business may need attention.
Answer a short set of Yes, No and Maybe questions. You will see the areas that may deserve closer attention. I will see where I can best help you decide what to do next.
No obligation. Just a clearer starting point.
Your business decisions are in place. Your brand needs to carry them.
Meet Dayne Smith. Business consultant, specialising in strategic brand thinking.
I am Dayne Smith, founder of Flying Lizard and a business consultant with more than 35 years’ experience across New Zealand and London. My specialty is helping business owners develop the brand of their business so it clearly supports their commercial strategy, strengthens customer perception and makes the business easier to choose.
Today, I work independently, offering strategic brand thinking rather than a predefined brand strategy. I help owners understand the issues, test the options and make informed decisions about differentiation, customer perception, rising acquisition costs, or a brand that no longer reflects the business it has become.
The objective, to ensure the brand is not a creative side issue, but a business asset that delivers on the business plan.
A career helping enterprise to individuals:
Ogivly One · EDS · Abbey National · Cato · Harrods Marketing · Mainland Poultry · NHNZ · Waitaki Tourisim · University of Otago · Tai Chi Chuan School · Angow Motors · Rainbow Confectionery · Diamond Fusion · Snowlo
Specialist strategic consulting
Work directly with me to examine a business question, challenge or opportunity. We work through the relevant strategic issues and establish a practical direction.
What business owners say about the work
Clearer direction. Stronger positioning. A better basis for decisions.
Business owners and advisers describe the value in practical terms.
★★★★★
Exceptional strategic results that brought innovation and direction
“The results have been exceptional. Dayne brings innovation and clarity to every project.”
Michael Greenslade, Trade Commissioner, NZ Pacific.
★★★★★
Understanding a new business position
“It was a good experience, and the excitement of starting a business becomes even more so, once you see your company brand come to life.“
Liz Williams, Co-Founder, The Pod Rental Company, NZ.
★★★★★
Bringing strategic discipline to the work
“I have worked with Dayne for many years, in my opinion, regardless of size or scope of project, the work is unparalleled.”
Jason Gaskill, Business Advisor, United States.
Strategy in practice
See how my strategic thinking has been applied to business.
Every business is unique, with its own situation, market, and ambitions. To understand your specific business, I begin consulting with a series of straightforward questions I call Strategic Insight. This process allows us to develop and test strategic decisions that address the gap you’re considering.
These are some selected projects, click on the logos to see how strategic thinking has been applied in practice.
Strategic work from New Zealand, Australia and the UK.
FAQs, questions Owners often ask
A few practical answers before you take the next step.
Isn’t this what my marketing agency should already be doing?
Sometimes an agency may include strategic thinking, but its primary role is usually execution such as marketing, content, websites, advertising or design. Flying Lizard provides the independent brand strategy that gives those activities a clear foundation to work from.
What does brand strategy actually mean?
It is a clear understanding of what your business stands for, who it is for, why customers should choose it, and how that understanding should guide the way the business is positioned, communicated and experienced.
Do I need to know my strategy before working with you?
No. That is the point of the Strategic Insight. You do not need to arrive with a polished strategy, a list of values or the right terminology. We start with the reality of your business, your market, your customers and where you want to go.
Do I need to be based in New Zealand?
No. Flying Lizard works online with businesses in New Zealand and internationally. The process is built around structured conversations, evidence, documents and clear strategic outputs.
Flying Lizard | Dayne Smith | Wellington & online worldwide.