keymodels
MOSAIC
How can mosaic support strategic choice or positioning?
Contents
Set objectives for current and potential opportunities and how to reach them.
Many business plans begin with three questions: where are we now, where are we going and how will we get there? MOSAIC turns those questions into an end-to-end planning cycle.
When to use it
- To set objectives for a current problem or opportunity and translate them into controlled action.
- To structure market-research recommendations, marketing plans and broader change initiatives.
Origins
B2B International developed MOSAIC in 1996 to help convert market research into action. Around the same period, marketing consultant Paul Smith developed SOSTAC®, a related planning framework:
- Situation
- where are we now?
- Objectives
- where do we want to be?
- Strategy
- how do we get there?
- Tactics
- how exactly will we proceed?
- Action
- what will be done?
- Control
- did the plan achieve its purpose?
The two frameworks use different labels but share a discipline of diagnosis, direction, execution and feedback.
What it is
MOSAIC stands for mapping, objectives, strategy, action, implementation and controls.
Mapping.
Assessment of the market, future trends, the competition and your position in the market
Objectives.
These should be SMART: specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely
Strategy.
The long-term, high-level means by which you will achieve the goals
Action.
The detailed ways you will achieve the strategy and respond to competitive pressures
Implementation.
Who will do what, by when and with what resources
Controls.
The measures you will put in place to make sure that you achieve your goals
Mapping
Map the relevant system: market size and growth, customers and unmet needs, competition, channels, pricing, regulation, capabilities and constraints. Match depth to the stakes. Stop when additional research is unlikely to change the decision, and record important unknowns rather than delaying indefinitely.
Objectives
Convert the opportunity into specific, meaningful, measurable, achievable, agreed, relevant and time-bound outcomes. Include guardrails so hitting a target does not damage customers, employees, safety or long-term value.
Strategy
State the coherent choices that will achieve the objectives: target audience, value proposition, advantage, trade-offs and resource focus. Keep strategy clear enough to guide day-to-day decisions, and define contingency triggers rather than maintaining a ceremonial Plan B.
Action
Break strategy into work, owners, dependencies, resources, milestones and dates. Anticipate likely obstacles and specify who can resolve them.
Implementation
Execute in manageable increments, protect operating capacity and surface deviations early. Plans routinely take longer or cost more than optimistic estimates, so use evidence-based contingencies and support accountable owners.
Controls
Define leading and lagging measures, review cadence, thresholds and corrective authority before launch. Control means learning and adapting, not punishing people for reporting reality.
Developments of the model
MOSAIC and SOSTAC® are containers for other tools. PEST and SWOT can support mapping; causal analysis can test relationships; and an impact-versus-difficulty view can prioritise actions.
| Strategic wins | Must do / Quick hits |
| Why do? | Infrastructure items |
Why do? impact items
Use the prioritisation grid as a conversation aid. Difficulty and impact estimates are uncertain and can hide distributional effects, prerequisites or compliance work.
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