Fractional CMOs: Revenue-Generation Strategists Who Take Companies Forward

Fractional Marketing and Fractional CMOs have changed the way companies think about their marketing. For decades, CMOs have spearheaded corporate strategies to understand target markets and create means of connecting segments to products or services.

However, as the digital landscape evolves, it’s not a surprise that marketing is changing also. Leaders are turning their focus to outsourced CMO services for strategic leadership and operational efficiency that delivers growth.

And while marketing still requires a clear picture of buyer personas and consumer education with the rise of social media, technology, and saturated markets, CMOs have been called on to move past brand management.

Leaders find themselves in hybridized positions overlapping with, or at the very least coordinating with, sales teams and efforts tied directly to revenue generation. 

Furthermore, metrics and measures have also shifted. Gone are the days where brand recognition or increasing impressions are enough to garner C-level support and funding in marketing teams.

All marketers find themselves in positions with regularly monitored KPIs, most of which derive from lead generation figures that correlate to the sales funnel and, again, revenue generation. 

Related: What’s best for ROMI: In-house CMOs, agencies, or Fractional CMOs?

Leadership Approaches to Marketing That Sells

CMOs face the challenge and opportunity to connect behavior-based and personalized marketing practices with bottom-line impact. How can the CMO of today advocate for consumers and create content that resonates and represents a brand while optimizing revenue outcomes?

Outline Exact Goals

Too often, marketing teams hear that sales figures are down and that something must be done. But to demand more revenue is too imprecise. Marketing today is driven by numbers, and marketing leaders need to collaborate, rather than contend with, sales managers to understand pipeline management and how much volume is required from the start to power a narrowing opportunity funnel. Knowing the number of touchpoints, impressions, or soft leads needed to result in a targeted revenue number supports more fact-based decision-making.

Prioritize Planning

This marketing and sales collaboration can also help fend off some of the panic that comes with the end of the month, quarter, or year quota mayhem. No matter the sense of urgency, taking the time to plan appropriately will cost less in the end. Strategies should tie directly into the goals you have defined, rather than a hurried or haphazard rush to inflate numbers. Increasing quality, not necessarily quantity, with marketing approaches founded on understanding the market, targets, and consumer behavior will have better results in the end. 

Modernize Marketing

Rigidity has no place in an effective marketing team. New platforms, networks, and behaviors emerge constantly, and a CMO needs to be able to evaluate their merit within the larger marketing framework. Leadership must learn how to identify their customers in new spaces and create relationships with them. Sales through marketing engagement can stem from targeted ads, thought leadership resources, social mission campaigns, and personalized offers. 

Limit Your Variables

Change can be a good thing, but changing too much at once in a rush toward revenue can make it difficult to attribute success. Be wary of fragmented media spending and short-term tests that don’t reflect consumer decision timelines or behaviors. Instead, align your goals and planning with a structured change rollout. Work on new social media campaigns or messaging before trying out A/B testing for email engagement. Analyze your PPC performance and optimize content before shifting budgets to live events. You’ll see what works and be able to ramp up more of it over time. 

Define Where Marketing Ends

Whose job is it to generate revenue anyway? One could argue that at the core, revenue generation is the combined effort of all teams that contribute to corporate goals. C-Suite collaboration becomes crucial, with feedback between the bookend of sales and marketing impacting the decisions of research and development. CMOs need to be able to share outcomes for their own work but also indicate where input or processes seem to lag in other areas. Done constructively, demonstrating where marketing ends and where sales or customer retention begins can help identify other operational gaps rather than creating a corporate scapegoat. 

Related article: Three Solutions For Measuring Marketing Success

Implement a Strong Tech Stack

Given the need for metrics and monitoring, many marketers find tech as a given in their daily operations. From Google Analytics and SERPs to email open rates, the basics of marketing management are hopefully in place. CMOs need to look at the bigger picture to ensure that all aspects of a strategy can be monitored accurately, in real-time, and within the context of one another. To do this, business and data intelligence tools are essential to tie everything together. 

Filling the Revenue Gap in the Absence of Strong Marketing Leadership

Just touching on a few of these approaches demonstrates a clear need for strong leadership in the marketing core of an organization. But what if your company lacks a forward-thinking marketing leader or dedicated marketing leadership altogether? 

CMOs are the glue that holds strategy and execution together. Without this, businesses will experience inconsistent marketing efforts, strained resources, campaigns with reduced ROI, and misallocated resources. All of this misdirection and mismanagement will have a direct impact on revenue generation and budgets. Not only will lack of coordination and planning diminish inbound gains but it will also inefficiently allocate on marketing spend and salaries. 

A fractional CMO can address this from several angles. To start with, they can mentor existing team members, from associate-level contributors to directors, and guide increased more efficient and effective decision-making. They are also well versed in assessing skill sets and recommending changes to ensure that companies have the right people in the right positions. 

With a fresh take on marketing and sales operations, a fractional CMO can also evaluate processes with an open mind as a veritable outsider. Having a background that spans a variety of companies, each with its own economics and obstacles, they can more adeptly navigate or test marketing tactics that roll up into an overall strategy. 

All of this will roll up into the organization’s goals with an emphasis on numbers. Fractional CMOs are accustomed to having their own efficacy measured in specific KPIs, so they’ll be most comfortable implementing measures that limit variables, modernize tactics, and delineate departments for the best overall results. 

The place for a Fractional CMO

The idea of onboarding a fractional CMO offers appeal, but identifying one to fill in for your specific needs can be a challenge. yorCMO’s fractional marketing system approach highlights business strategy needs and allocates the right resources for your organization. All engagements include seasoned CMOs that provide a truly holistic approach to revenue generation with defined milestones and accountability.

Contact yorCMO to share your revenue generation needs and discover how a fractional CMO can help fill your revenue gap today.