About us

Two founders, one methodology –
marketing diagnostics for SMBs.

STEP/SEEDS® is a structured diagnostic methodology for small and mid-size businesses. It analyses the entire marketing ecosystem of a business along 16 steps and up to 112 prioritised actions – and hands the full report over to the customer as their property. No dependency, no retainer, no blind spots.

2026

Trademark registered with DPMA

1,500+

hours of methodology work

structured diagnostic steps

112

prioritised actions (SEEDs)

Why STEP/SEEDS® exists

There is a gap between two ends of the marketing market. On one side: agencies and consultancies starting at €2,000–15,000 per month, often with retainer models and fragmented reports. On the other side: SEO tools and analytics platforms starting at €99 per month that deliver a lot of data but no strategic interpretation.

In between sits the typical mid-size business – tradesperson, practice, online shop, service provider – without the time, budget or in-house expertise to connect the two in any meaningful way.

Our thesis: what is missing is a structured diagnosis – comparable to a medical work-up. Not another service provider that has to be retained long term, but a reproducible finding that sets priorities and becomes the property of the business.

STEP/SEEDS® is our attempt to deliver exactly that diagnosis in a methodically transparent way – calibrated to the reality of German SMBs.

The team

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Stanislav Tonkich

Founder & Methodology – accountable for content and reports

Over twelve years of experience in marketing strategy, SEO, web development and digital analysis for small and mid-size businesses across the German-speaking region. Previously worked as a freelancer and agency partner – which is where the core observation came from: customers stay structurally overwhelmed as long as they do not hold their own diagnostic finding.

Over 1,500 hours of development work on the methodology: more than 250 prompt templates, more than 115,000 lines of analysis instructions, nine verification protocols.

Based in Pocking (Bavaria). Content accountable under § 18 (2) MStV (German Media State Treaty).

Daniil Tonkich

Co-Founder & CTO – AI architecture and data pipeline

B.Sc. Computer Science at the University of Passau, with a research focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Responsible for LLM orchestration, the data processing pipeline and the infrastructure of the diagnostic engine.

Builds the systems side, where 16 analysis steps, multiple language models and a quality-verification pipeline turn into a reproducible report – instead of a freehand interpretation.

Trademark and legal status

STEP/SEEDS® is a word mark registered with the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) under Reg. No. 30 2025 261 108 (filed 17 Dec 2025, registered 07 May 2026, Nice classes 35/41/42). All rights to the methodology, the trademark and the 112 structured actions (SEEDs) are reserved.

As a trademark portfolio, STEP/SEEDS® follows an umbrella brand model: the core (STEP/SEEDS®) carries the registration, while function-specific sub-brands such as STEP/SEEDS® Diagnostics, STEP/SEEDS® Tracking, STEP/SEEDS® Framework and STEP/SEEDS® Automation build on top of it.

During the preparation phase, the offering is operated by Stanislav Tonkich (sole proprietor, small-business status under § 19 UStG). Conversion into a UG (limited liability) is planned for late July 2026; the trade registration will follow. Legal details: Legal notice (Impressum, German), Terms (German) and Privacy policy (German). Legally binding versions are in German; English text on this page is provided for convenience.

What we actually deliver

The STEP/SEEDS® diagnosis follows a fixed sequence: 16 structured analysis steps, grouped in three phases – Analysis, Strategy, Practice. Seven marketing areas are examined systematically: SEO, content, social, paid media, email, CRM and operational foundations.

The output is a diagnostic report with up to 112 prioritised actions (SEEDs), seven area reports, a prioritised implementation matrix, a six-day quick-start plan and a six-month roadmap. The customer receives the full report as their property – they can execute it themselves, hand it to a service provider, or split it across several contractors.

Three tiers are available: S (Core) from €199 for a compact diagnosis, M (Pro) from €349 with a strategy part and roadmap, L (Full) from €499 covering all 16 steps including Innovation Radar and risk analysis. An optional Tracking subscription (€39/month) supports implementation. Details: Pricing and tiers.

The methodology is explicitly a consulting and analysis service under §§ 611 ff. of the German Civil Code (Dienstvertrag). It is not a work-for-hire contract under §§ 631 ff. BGB (Werkvertrag), it does not guarantee revenue growth or search rankings, and it does not replace legal, tax or regulatory advice. What it does: reduce the risk of poorly prioritised marketing decisions.

How we use AI

The diagnosis is AI-supported, not AI-driven. Several language models (among others Anthropic Claude, GPT, Perplexity, Gemini) are orchestrated along a fixed prompt sequence; the outputs go through a nine-stage quality verification and an editorial review before release.

AI serves as an analytical tool, never as a decision-making authority. For the full disclosure – which systems, which limits, which complaint mechanisms – see our AI transparency statement under Art. 50 of the EU AI Act.

Roadmap

1
Phase 1 · manually supervised pilot diagnoses (H2 2026)
The founder personally supervises every diagnosis. Goal: a stable case base from which the methodology is refined.
2
Phase 2 · semi-automated pipeline + Tracking dashboard (2027)
Automation of data collection and report generation. Build-out of SEED tracking with monthly prioritisation. UG conversion planned for late July 2026.
3
Phase 3 · full SaaS platform (2028+)
Self-service access to the diagnosis, continuous re-scans, integration into common marketing stacks. DACH scaling and staged EU expansion (EUIPO conversion prepared).

Want to know more?

For questions about the methodology, pricing or a specific diagnosis, reach us by email at info@step-seeds.de. A dedicated page for strategic partners, angel investors and funding institutions is available.

View pricing →For investors Legal notice

This service is a consulting and analysis service under §§ 611 ff. of the German Civil Code. It is expressly not a work-for-hire contract under §§ 631 ff. BGB. Illustrative figures for improvement potential are based on publicly available industry benchmarks; actual outcomes depend on the individual case. Legally binding versions of all legal documents are in German.