As an entrepreneur who helps other entrepreneurs, I’ve spoken with a LOT of CEOs and business owners, and just about every single one of them – at one time or another – has fallen into the trap of thinking: “I’m the only one who can do this.”
Maybe you’ve thought this, too? Perhaps, of day-to-day operations, high-level customer service, or marketing decisions.
But, usually, if we take a step back, we see that’s not actually true. There is a wealth of expertise available out there – and possibly for not a lot of wealth.
As the experts in their fields, Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are responsible for growing brand awareness, driving demand for the company’s products and services, and ensuring that company initiatives are executed across all departments.
But you think, “As much as I’d love to have a dedicated marketing executive or agency —there’s no room in the budget for another full-time employee right now.”
CMOs On Demand provide a solution. When you hire a CMO as a fractional partner on the C-suite, they provide you with the high-level marketing expertise you need while you get back to what you do best more quickly – all for a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time employee.
Let’s take a closer look at what a CMO On Demand can do for your business.
First things, first. What is a CMO On Demand anyway?
Around here, we call them Fractional CMOs, and all of our CMOs have 20+ years of experience working in various industries.
As a fiduciary partner, a CMO On Demand will integrate part-time into your business to identify and rectify internal issues or marketing inefficiencies. By using this fractional model, the CMO will be able to operate more efficiently and focus on activities that have the greatest value.
When working with a CMO On Demand, you want to ensure that they will take time to:
- understand your target customers and specific marketplace in-depth
- create an appropriate, targeted strategy that aligns with your goals
- stick around to make sure that strategy is carried out
- focus on priority-setting and ensure your business growth is on track
Because, at the end of the day, their ultimate goal is not just to develop a comprehensive, strategic marketing plan for your company. It’s to actually work hands-on with your team to ensure it gets executed in a way that brings continued business growth.
Now, let’s look at some things, you can expect a Fractional CMO to handle:
Strategy: Decide Where You’re Going
The first step to getting where you want to go is figuring out exactly where that is. To create the right marketing strategy for your business, the CMO will use their years of experience, detailed data they’ve gathered, and professional insight.
This marketing plan includes:
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- creating an initial outline of the strategy and goals
- including details (your target audiences, messaging, etc.)
- determining budgets and allocating resources
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The marketing strategy should also include a schedule with milestones and due dates for key activities such as research, creating a product roadmap, and launching an ad campaign. A good
CMO will then outline how the marketing will drive sales growth and rely on a proven process to help the team members achieve this goal.
Research: Understand Your Buyer
Marketing isn’t just about getting creative and building brand awareness. Marketing leaders spend a huge amount of time looking for data about their customers and the market. Because part of developing a comprehensive marketing strategy is learning why your ideal clients/customers do or don’t yet do business with you.
You want to be able to make calculated decisions based on what your customers want and need. In order to make these decisions, you need to be able to understand your target audience as well as possible. A Fractional CMO will be there to ask the questions that will help your company grow and make the most of its resources.
A CMO On Demand can help you determine:
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- What types of research do you need to execute?
- How will you source participants?
- How will you analyze and interpret the results?
- How will you use these findings to inform your decisions?
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A good CMO will find and interpret data from across your business, including things like:
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- sales figures
- website analytics
- social media engagement rates
- surveys
- focus groups
- competitor analysis
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The best CMOs can:
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- see connections between different data points
- synthesize information from many sources
- find insights that will help you make better business decisions.
- apply those insights to a strategy crafted for success.
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Data analysis not only helps you understand your customers and what they value better, but it can also help you find areas for improvement within your company.
Messaging: Position Your Offer
Once you understand the needs of your customer, you can use messaging and content to properly position your products and services.
Messaging is marketing terminology for the tone of voice and language you use to communicate with your audience. Deciding on your messaging is a critical part of creating any marketing strategy.
Because your messaging is the foundation for, well, everything.
It will be used in emails, social media posts, or landing pages – just to name a few. But without proper and intentional messaging, your product or service will have a tough time connecting with your customers.
CMOs are well-versed in the importance of messaging to suit your audience and they will guide the way in ensuring you plan a message and style that will connect and resonate.
Alignment: Match Your Strategy To Your Goals
Now, this is a big one. As CMO, it’s their responsibility to ensure operational efficiency and sales growth. That means they’ve got to make sure your marketing strategy matches your business goals.
The benefit of having expert eyes ensure this alignment cannot be overstated. Before any campaigns are launched, a good CMO will test different advertising strategies to determine which has the highest likelihood of success.
This testing might include A/B testing, focus groups, and/or surveys. Then – once the ads are ready to launch – the CMO will stay involved, tracking their effectiveness and measuring the return on investment (ROI). Then they’ll use that information to lead decision-making for future campaigns.
Cadence: Define Accountability For Your Team
A strong marketing plan is one supported by consistency and defined accountability. Your marketing plan should be the result of a team effort from start to finish. That’s only possible with a defined goal and timeline along with measurable and achievable KPIs.
While it’s important to set clear goals and metrics, so you can stay on track, it’s perhaps even more important to set up a mechanism for feedback and communication within your team. If everyone isn’t on the same page and working toward the same goal, progress will be difficult, to say the least.
To start, create a shared understanding of each member’s role in the process and what success looks like for each of them. Once this has been established, it will be easier to track progress and reinforce accountability. This approach ensures that everyone is contributing to the overall goal of bringing in new customers and generating sales.
Then it’s the CMO’s job to measure performance and determine if you’re making progress toward those goals. By keeping these principles in mind, a good CMO creates a successful marketing plan that will boost sales and lead to greater business success.
Processes: Make The Right Moves
The world is full of one-and-done marketing activities, but that’s not how fractional CMOs work. We don’t sell tactical services such as design, websites, email, direct mail, or media planning & buying. We work as your fiduciary partner.
In short, a CMO On Demand takes on the responsibility of making the moves that will give you the optimal return on your marketing investment.
Your CMO will help you understand where your customers are spending time online and structure campaigns to meet their needs. They’ll find the right talent to create content, such as blog posts, videos, and social media posts, so you can better reach your customers and build your brand. They do all this…and more.
Because your bottom line is their bottom line.
I get it. Right now, you may be asking, “Can an expert CMO like this ever really be cost-effective?”
The answer is yes. Through innovation, our Fractional Model provides the unique solution you’ve been looking for: affordable expertise.
Let’s face it, you already have a lot on your plate. Adding a fractional CMO to your team is a smart way to get the key expertise, know-how, and management experience that are critical for growth.
That’s why we offer the most cost-effective marketing services you can get from top-seasoned marketing professionals.
As you can see, there are a lot of different responsibilities that go into the role of a Chief Marketing Officer. Fortunately, hiring a CMO on-demand allows you to outsource as many of these tasks as you’d like so that you have more time to focus on other areas of your business.
Once you’ve added yorCMO to the team, you’ll have access to all of their tools, expertise, and experience without having to hire and manage a full-time employee.
There’s a wealth of expertise available – and for not a lot of money. From awareness to initiatives, CMOs On Demand are worth their weight in gold. Schedule a 30-minute consultation with our team to see if a CMO on demand is right for your business.