Object purchased
What does the buyer believe they are buying?
The model
The LAKA marketing grid
Eight variables describe any offer; four change levels describe how far a positioning move departs from the category baseline. Position an offer by writing one cell per variable, then read the row of the deepest level you claimed — that row is the promise the funnel must deliver.
This material is a methodology and reference set. It is not an advertising service, a performance guarantee, or legal or financial advice. The HouseSmart material is a worked case study demonstrating the method — no market results are claimed for it.
8
Variables
4
Change levels
32
Grid cells
1
Deepest level claimed sets the burden
The change levels
- Baseline
- The default the market already expects. Competing here means competing on price and availability.
- Minor change
- An incremental improvement inside the existing category. Buyers compare it feature by feature against the baseline.
- Major change
- A substantial re-bundling of the offer that changes how buyers evaluate it, while staying inside the recognized category.
- Category shift
- A repositioning that changes what is actually being bought. The funnel must teach the new category before it can sell within it.
The grid
| Variable | Baseline | Minor change | Major change | Category shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Object purchased | A commodity product or standard service unit | A bundled or upgraded version of the standard unit | An integrated system replacing several separate purchases | A planned outcome or architecture — a different thing than the category sells |
| Condition | A single felt want or convenience | A vendor or intermediary adds the offer to an existing purchase | Multiple existing pieces need to work together | Decisions must hold across people, contexts, third parties, risk and time |
| Action | Buy and use | Connect or configure what was bought | Program and customize the assembled system | Discover, model, specify, coordinate, verify and evolve |
| Tools | Off-the-shelf consumer tools | A vendor platform | Specialist equipment and automation | A proprietary decision framework, requirements model and coordination plan |
| Resources | The buyer's own budget and effort | One hired specialist | A contracted trade or implementation team | An independent advisor coordinating multiple specialists |
| Outcome | A working product | Convenience — fewer steps, one interface | Automated routines that run without attention | A system that adapts over time without trapping the owner in avoidable complexity |
| Buyer | An individual end consumer | A premium consumer | A professional intermediary buying on the end user's behalf | Every party with a stake — end users, intermediaries, professionals and institutions |
| Success | The product functions | The pieces connect | The routines run as programmed | People achieve outcomes reliably, privately and simply — measured, not assumed |
The eight questions
Condition
What situation makes the buyer act?
Action
What does the buyer (or seller) actually do?
Tools
What instruments does the offer put to work?
Resources
Whose capacity and money are committed?
Outcome
What state does the buyer end up in?
Buyer
Who is actually making the decision?
Success
How does everyone know it worked?
Reading rules
- Write one cell per variable before writing any funnel copy; the grid is the position, the funnel is its delivery.
- The deepest level claimed across the eight variables sets the education burden of the funnel: a category shift must be taught before it can be sold.
- Never claim a level in copy that the offer does not operationally deliver — the grid is a promise inventory, not a slogan generator.
- When two variables sit at different levels, the funnel leads with the deepest one and supports it with the others.