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Imagine you’re setting off on a big journey through completely uncharted territory. Annual planning is like drawing a detailed map for the entire trip, while quarterly planning breaks that map into smaller, more manageable sections. By focusing on 90 days at a time, leaders can set clear, short-term goals that serve as stepping stones toward the bigger annual vision, making sure every step contributes to the overall journey.
Quarterly plans are flexible, acting as living documents that can be adapted as needed. This means you can make changes without throwing off your long-term vision, keeping your team agile and ready for anything. Quarterly reviews give you the chance to check in on progress, tackle any roadblocks, and adjust strategies as needed. Whether market trends shift or unexpected challenges pop up, staying adaptable helps keep your company competitive and responsive.
At &Marketing, we run on EOS—which (in our opinion) is the best at helping business leaders define their vision and keep everyone aligned, crucial for both quarterly and annual planning. Keep reading this quarterly planning guide to find out the best ways to plan your quarterly meetings for everyone’s benefit.
As you draft your next quarterly plan, include the following nuggets.
Crafting a solid quarterly plan will keep your team focused and drive results. Use the following checklist to ensure you’ve created a productive, effective quarterly planning session. Each item is a building block to lay the groundwork for a successful next quarter.
Not sure how long quarterly planning should take? A typical quarterly planning session among leadership teams should take a full day, with some flexibility depending on your team’s specific needs. Small to medium companies may also need less (or more) time than global organizations. We’ve included an approximate timeline for each section.
Use this check-in as a transition to help teams debrief from the previous quarter, stay informed, and understand each other’s perspectives. It fosters a sense of shared responsibility and provides a moment to pause and reflect on your company’s current state.
Once these priorities are established, each leadership team member defines their own 3-7 priorities for the next 90 days. This process creates a laser focus for the entire organization until the next quarterly meeting.
If ratings fall below your benchmark, work with the team to understand why and identify areas of improvement for future planning sessions. By your quarterly planning session’s end, your team should feel completely aligned with one another, with clear priorities set for the coming quarter and all key issues resolved (or on their way to resolution).
Is quarterly product planning also on your agenda? Here’s a quick breakdown of the critical steps involved.
Quarterly product planning is an iterative process. You may need to adapt your roadmap based on market feedback, user testing results, or unforeseen challenges. Conduct regular check-ins to monitor progress and course correct as needed.
As you draft your quarterly planning agenda, consider the goals to include. Look at your annual plan — your roadmap — for inspiration. Your destination remains the same, but perhaps your route has changed from Q1 to Q3.
Common goals that appear on some or each quarterly agenda can include:
Quarterly planning empowers you to chart a clear course for your company, one focused quarter at a time. A little thought and planning will help you and all stakeholders, from department heads to executive leadership to team members, navigate the process efficiently and effectively.
While these meetings typically last a few hours to a full day, prioritize focused discussion and avoid information overload. Assign ownership and deadlines to all action items to ensure accountability. A well-defined plan and commitment to execution will position your team to achieve success and reach its goals throughout the quarter.
At &Marketing, a fractional CMO can help run your quarterly planning sessions and great the detailed roadmap you need to spur growth and meet your yearly goals. Download our overview to learn more about our fCMO services and matching process.
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Marketing Director Tracey Colla focuses on ensuring each client’s needs are being met in a timely, productive, and creative way. She is a well-rounded marketer, with a talent for identifying opportunity, product strategy and positioning, go-to-market strategies and launches.
&Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.
As digital marketers, we’re immersed in an area where artificial intelligence (AI) is the driving force behind digital advertising innovation. With its astonishing pace of growth, AI continues to revolutionize how brands engage with consumers, predict trends, and optimize campaigns.
While some may worry about AI ‘taking over the world,’ ignoring its existence and sticking with the old routines will leave companies in the dust. The marketing industry continues to evolve its approaches to incorporating AI and SEO, especially since the tool has shown a remarkable ability to enhance efficiency and performance.
Imagine having a tireless assistant who can analyze mountains of data, identify keyword trends, and suggest content improvements — that’s the magic of AI in SEO. Here’s how this tech is transforming the SEO game.
Not quite. While AI excels at automation and data analysis, SEO will always rely heavily on creativity and human expertise for:
There’s no need to feel threatened by AI. It’s a tool to augment your SEO efforts, not replace your strategic thinking and creativity.
The short answer? Yes. But here’s the caveat: AI excels in creating factual, informative content. It can churn out well-structured articles jam-packed with relevant keywords — a great boon for marketing departments tasked with writing regular basic blog posts or product descriptions.
However (and it’s a big one!), AI sometimes confuses its facts (often called “hallucinations”, and it doesn’t always follow the brief. Think of it as a really smart kindergartener you’ve asked to do a job. You can send said kindergartener off to do her thing, knowing you’ll double-check when she finishes her chore. Or you can supervise more closely. Maybe you hold the bag of dog food open while she scoops out the kibble (and then show her where the dustpan and brush live after she’s spilled half the bag — and teach her how to use those cleaning tools).
AI’s like that, too. “Setting it loose” to do its thing unsupervised can lead to unintended (and negative) results. We’ve all seen the articles decrying the law firm that used AI to write briefs, citing the law cases it invented.
AI also simply can’t keep up with creative storytelling, humor, or in-depth analysis that resonates with readers. Relying solely on AI to generate content without human input and editing won’t consistently produce high-quality, SEO-friendly material.
Search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo constantly update their algorithms to detect and penalize low-quality or spammy content (including AI-generated content that lacks human oversight and editing). However, Google is simultaneously hard-launching (perhaps a little too soon) its own AI Overview in search results. Hopefully not too many folks put glue on their pizza or tried to eat rocks because AI suggested it.
Want a workaround? Use AI as an assistive tool, leveraging its research, ideation, and drafting capabilities. Employ it to create product descriptions or data-driven reports. Then, bring in human experts to review, edit, and refine the content to ensure quality, accuracy, and relevance.
Generative AI (GenAI) can create entirely new content, such as text, audio, or images, and it significantly impacts SEO in several ways. First, if you’re struggling with topics, GenAI can help you brainstorm new content ideas based on the information you feed it about your target audience and industry trends. GenAI also shines by:
A word to the wise: as GenAI tools become more user-friendly and ubiquitous, the risk of bad actors churning out low-quality, duplicate, or even malicious content increases. This probability will create a real headache for search engines trying to filter out the junk. We must stay vigilant and develop strategies to ensure our high-quality, human-edited content provides genuine value and cuts through the AI-generated clutter.
Which of the following is an example of AI use in digital advertising?
All of the above.
The correct answer is D! These strategies rely on AI technologies like machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), and data analysis. AI can analyze mountains of user data, including demographics, interests, and online behavior, to inform hyper-targeted campaigns to reach the target audience most likely interested in a company’s product or service.
Bidding on ad placements is a complicated dance, but AI steps in as a strategic partner, analyzing campaign performance and user behavior in real time. Then, it automatically adjusts your bids for optimal performance and to maximize your ROI.
Want to personalize ad content based on a user’s browsing history, location, and time of day? AI can do that, too, to generate highly relevant, engaging ad experiences more likely to convert. Think of it as crafting ads that speak directly to each user’s needs (and wants), making them feel like you’re reading their mind (in a good way!).
AI improves chatbots’ ability to understand natural language, personalize recommendations with machine learning, maintain context in conversations, and analyze user sentiment. With AI, chatbots have more natural interactions, offer more appropriate suggestions, provide better customer service — and know when to escalate complex issues to a human agent.
AI is revolutionizing digital marketing. It won’t steal your job as long as you’re willing to work with it rather than ignore it. The technology excels at number-crunching, task automation, and insight generation. The human touch remains irreplaceable in crafting strategy, building brands, and understanding human complexities. AI is also going to automate enough tasks that you can expect to be asked to embrace ways to drive efficiency.
Yes, digital marketing will keep getting smarter, and ongoing advancements in AI, particularly in NLP and sentiment analysis, will propel ad strategies beyond what we’ve seen so far. Stay future-proof by learning about emerging technologies and evolving ethical practices in AI. Position yourself to thrive in the digital marketing landscape by embracing the AI revolution. Want to chat with our team about where to lean into AI and where to get our help? Just reach out.
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The C-suite—any organization’s brains and brawn—sets the course for a company’s success, but even these top leaders sometimes stumble over the nitty-gritty of tactical marketing. The question is, why?
There’s often a disconnect between the high-level vision that CEOs and CFOs excel at and the day-to-day realities of customer engagement. C-suite executives are masters of strategy and big-picture thinking. But the constantly evolving world of tactical marketing demands a deep understanding of customer preferences, ever-changing channels, and the delicate balance between data-driven results and emotional connection.
Sometimes, a C-suite doesn’t completely understand these factors or lumps together two different, though related, marketing elements: tactical and strategic. We’ll define and compare each, show how one complements the other, and offer tips for implementing tactical marketing to develop a more robust, successful marketing program.
The main difference between marketing tactics versus strategy? Their objectives.
Strategic marketing—an area where the C-suite excels—takes a big-picture approach. It defines the overall direction of your company’s marketing efforts and considers factors like target audience, brand positioning, and competitive landscape. This long-term vision helps companies build a sustainable competitive advantage.
Tactical marketing, on the other hand, focuses on the specifics of executing that strategy. It involves marketing teams’ day-to-day activities to achieve short-term goals, like increasing website traffic or generating leads for a specific campaign. These tactics should align with your company’s overall strategic plan.
This long-term vision prioritizes understanding market and customer needs, fueling a marketing plan to address those needs effectively. The process includes comprehensively analyzing the business environment and pinpointing a company’s ideal target markets. These insights empower you to tailor a marketing mix aligned with the organization’s goals.
The first step involves conducting market research—gathering data about the market, competition, and customer behavior. Analyzing this data helps uncover trends, opportunities, and potential threats. These insights inform the creation of products and services that resonate with your target audience’s preferences, buying habits, and motivations.
Next: Developing the unique value proposition (UVP). A strong UVP clearly communicates the unique benefits of your product or service—something your competitors simply can’t offer. A well-crafted UVP fosters customer loyalty and lifts you above the competition.
Last: Strategic marketing plan creation. This roadmap outlines the specific strategies and tactics to achieve your marketing objectives and includes your marketing budget, a defined timeline, and clear metrics to gauge your goals’ success.
Suppose you wanted to boost your social media campaign’s click-through rates (CTRs) by 15% on Facebook over 30 days. Your strategic approach might include redefining your target audience and using that info to craft and launch new ads.
While strategic marketing is the blueprint, tactical marketing is the toolbox used to execute the plan. Tactical marketing encompasses specific channels and methods to reach your target audience and goals. Tactics focus on the daily execution of marketing activities, translating strategic information and content into impactful presentations to drive short-term results.
While tactical marketing thrives on immediate results, it shouldn’t operate in isolation but align with your broader strategic initiatives. For example, a company might leverage social marketing to introduce and launch a new product and achieve short-term sales growth. The ultimate goal? Extracting valuable insights from tactical marketing to inform and refine your overall marketing plan and build a sustainable competitive edge.
A well-stocked tactical marketing toolbox overflows with tools and channels: advertising campaigns, promotions, events, and sales techniques designed to deliver a quick boost. You might develop a user-friendly website, strategically place targeted ads on social media, or send informative brochures or newsletters via email drip campaigns. These tactics all serve to get your product or service in front of the right audience at the right time.
Let’s say Happy Cow brand is preparing to introduce a new ice cream flavor—S’mores Explosion—in July (National Ice Cream Month) to boost sales and brand awareness. A tactical marketing campaign might include a pre-launch tease in the weeks leading up to July, with Happy Cow creating a buzz on social media platforms. The marketing team could post teaser images featuring shadowy silhouettes of ingredients or close-up shots of textures to spark conversation. The company could engage its audience with interactive polls asking followers to guess the new flavor and its ingredients or run contests where followers could share their most creative S’mores recipes for a chance to win free pints.
The list of tactical marketing channels is quite varied — and long! Examples include:
Another impactful channel? Tactical advertisements, which are essentially targeted ads designed to achieve specific, short-term marketing goals. They’re the action-oriented component for executing your marketing plan and can include digital advertisements like social media and search engine ads or email marketing campaigns.
Tactical advertising offers measurable results that are easy to track and measure, allowing you to see (and communicate to the C-suite) the immediate impact of your campaign and optimize it for better performance. You can target your ads to very specific audiences based on your ideal customer profile (ICP)’s demographics, interests, and online behavior to maximize the ROI of your ad spend. The short-term nature of tactical ads facilitates flexibility and adaptability in messaging and approaches based on real-time results.
Don’t confuse your tactical marketing strategy with branding strategy as you develop it. Branding strategy outlines how to build and strengthen your brand identity, while tactics are the specific actions that translate the strategy into reality.
Strategic and tactical marketing are two sides of the same coin. Strategic marketing provides the overarching direction and long-term vision, while tactical marketing implements specific actions to achieve more specific short-term goals. Understanding the interplay between these two elements—and keeping the coin in their pocket—empowers C-suite executives to create a more solid, effective marketing program.
Many growing companies need C-Suite person to drive that top-level strategy and ensure the tactical elements get executed but don’t want (or can’t) add a full-time executive. That’s where we come in. Download our overview below to learn about our fractional CMO services.
For many companies, particularly small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), a strong local presence is the lifeblood of their success. These businesses have a unique opportunity to build deep connections within their communities. Customers are more likely to trust and patronize companies to which they feel a personal connection. This is where local marketing has an opportunity to shine.
Businesses can increase brand awareness and build trust and loyalty by implementing targeted strategies. Local SEO marketing helps ensure a company appears prominently in local search results when people look for relevant products or services nearby. This prominence drives more qualified traffic to a business’s website or physical location.
Engaging in local store marketing initiatives fosters a sense of community. Sponsoring local events, partnering with other local businesses, and offering promotions targeted toward local needs contribute to building trust and loyalty within the customer base.
Local marketing empowers SMBs to differentiate themselves from larger, impersonal corporations. By highlighting their local connections, community involvement, and commitment to providing exceptional customer service, SMBs can establish themselves as the trusted, preferred choice for local customers.
SMBs offering unique products, services, or experiences that national chains can’t replicate can leverage local marketing to showcase these one-of-a-kind offerings and attract customers looking for something special and different.
Local marketing strategies are, by nature, hyper-focused. Unlike national campaigns with a broader reach, local efforts target a specific geographic area and its demographics. This strategy allows SMBs to tailor their messaging and offerings to resonate directly with their ideal customers, maximizing the impact of their marketing efforts. Local SEO marketing helps to cultivate that strong local presence, ensuring a business:
Local SMBs that actively engage with community members and invest in local causes foster a sense of loyalty among customers and clients. People appreciate businesses that give back and contribute to the local ecosystem, creating a stronger bond and encouraging repeat business.
Local marketing strategies allow SMBs to focus on a specific area, eliminating wasted ad spend on reaching people outside the target market and maximizing return on investment (ROI) for their marketing budgets. SMBs can also leverage local resources like community publications, local chambers of commerce, and event sponsorships to gain exposure and build brand awareness.
As awareness grows about how supporting local businesses can also boost the local economy, companies continue to take notice. While SMBs have the power to deeply connect with their local communities, capitalizing on this local strength requires a targeted marketing approach. Smaller companies often employ teams tasked with wearing multiple hats. These SMBs may lack the resources to hire a robust, dedicated marketing team. There is another solution.
Fractional CMOs (fCMOs) offer SMBs a strategic edge in the local marketing arena. Unlike traditional CMOs, fCMOs bring a laser focus to local marketing. They understand the nuances of local SEO, the power of community engagement, and the art of crafting messaging that resonates with local demographics. This targeted expertise ensures marketing efforts reach the right people in the right place at the right time.
Budget is often a primary concern for SMBs. A full-time CMO typically requires a significant financial commitment, whereas fCMOs provide a cost-effective alternative. You gain access to high-level marketing expertise on a part-time or project basis, allowing you to invest strategically in local marketing initiatives without breaking the bank.
Fractional CMOs are data wizards, too. They can analyze local market trends, customer demographics, and competitor activity to tailor your marketing campaigns for maximum impact. This data-driven approach ensures you’re not just throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it sticks; you’re making strategic decisions that drive measurable results for your local business.
A strong local presence is about more than advertising. fCMOs understand the power of building brand advocacy within your community. They help you develop local store marketing initiatives designed to cultivate trust and loyalty — everything from sponsoring a local Little League team to partnering with other local businesses.
The beauty of fCMOs lies in their flexibility. They can adjust their involvement based on your specific needs and marketing goals. Need a short-term boost for a local campaign launch? An fCMO can provide the strategic guidance and execution. Looking for ongoing guidance on local SEO and online reputation management? Partner long-term with an fCMO to secure your success.
Fractional CMOs offer a potent combination of expertise, flexibility, and a cost structure perfectly tailored to the budget realities of smaller businesses.
Instead of adding the hefty salary of a full-time CMO to your operating budget, partnering with an fCMO preserves your bottom line while still giving you the benefits of an experienced marketing professional’s knowledge. These affordable A-listers offer high-caliber expertise at a fraction of the cost. Instead of a long-term financial commitment, you gain strategic insights, leadership, and transformative results. When you work with an fCMO, you gain access to wisdom typically reserved for larger companies with bottomless budgets.
Business needs, especially for smaller players, can be as changeable as the wind. An fCMO embodies a chameleon-like ability to adapt and thrive in this environment. Think Swiss Army knife — versatile, resourceful, and completely flexible. They adjust their approach and time commitment based on your evolving goals. Need a marketing blitz for a new product launch or assistance developing a campaign with another local co-sponsoring business? They’re there. Entering a period of stability? They scale back seamlessly. This adaptability ensures you have expert leadership when you need it without the ongoing expense of a full-time executive.
Unlike some marketing tacticians, fCMOs never lose sight of the ultimate objective: driving business growth. This laser focus allows you to concentrate on the big picture — refining your brand message, exploring new markets, and optimizing your digital presence — without bogging down in the daily grind.
Ready to learn more and chat with us about your business’s unique challenges? Download our fCMO overview and complete the form below to talk to our team.
Are you facing challenges of your own in generating leads and meeting your business’s growth goals?
We’d love to learn more about your challenges and how a coordinated marketing approach might help take your organization to the next level.
&Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.
Imagine this scenario: A small start-up SaaS company, Aether, specializes in cloud-based data storage and analytics solutions. It has experienced rapid growth, mainly acquiring customers through its sales team and word-of-mouth referrals. However, as the competition in the SaaS data storage market heats up, Aether recognizes the urgent need for a comprehensive marketing strategy to keep up its growth and boost brand awareness.
The challenge? Aether’s small in-house marketing team lacks the strategic leadership and expertise needed to spearhead a major marketing initiative. While the company isn’t in a position to invest in a full-time chief marketing officer (CMO) to take the reins permanently, they urgently need someone who can step in and set the course right.
Enter the interim CMO: a seasoned marketing leader who joins the team for a transitional period to build a robust marketing strategy, mentor the current team, and lay down a solid foundation for future marketing efforts. This solution offers Aether the strategic guidance it needs without the long-term financial commitment of a full-time executive, making it a practical choice for their current stage and budget constraints.
An interim Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is a highly experienced marketing leader who is brought into a company temporarily to manage and enhance its marketing functions during a period of transition, crisis, or change. This arrangement can be particularly useful in several scenarios, such as:
This role is designed to be temporary, providing immediate, high-impact leadership while the company determines its long-term needs or stabilizes its current situation.
Aether could benefit from working with an interim CMO who brings extensive experience in the SaaS industry and a proven track record in developing and implementing effective marketing strategies. The interim CMO could provide the following advantages:
In this situation, Aether benefitted from working with the interim CMO, who emerged as a strategic ally.
The terms “interim CMO” and “fractional CMO” are often used interchangeably, but there are distinct differences between the two roles.
In our example above, we discussed the benefits of bringing an interim CMO to help our hypothetical company. These marketing professionals are temporary but often full-time executives working exclusively for the organization, filling a vacant CMO position within an organization for a specific period. Their primary goals are to:
Fractional CMOs, on the other hand, are part-time, outsourced executives who provide strategic marketing leadership and guidance to an organization on an ongoing basis. Key characteristics of fractional CMOs include:
Let’s revisit Aether. After its series one funding round, the company hired an interim CMO to set the marketing department (and its strategies) up for success. Leadership decides that a full-time CMO isn’t necessary until the company gets closer to its next funding round and hires a fractional CMO to consult with the marketing team for 20 hours per month.
This arrangement ensures Aether receives ongoing strategic advice and marketing leadership for an extended period until it is ready to add a full-time CMO to its C-suite.
One type of CMO isn’t better than another. If a full-time CMO employee isn’t what your company needs, here are several key factors to evaluate whether an interim or fractional CMO best fits your specific needs and circumstances.
Assess your marketing team’s size, skill sets, and capabilities. A fractional CMO might be the best solution if you’ve got a well-established, experienced marketing team primarily requiring strategic guidance and oversight. An interim CMO could be more suitable if your marketing team is understaffed, lacks expertise, or requires hands-on leadership for day-to-day operations.
Evaluate your company’s growth stage and corresponding market needs. Early-stage or rapidly growing companies pressured to build a comprehensive marketing strategy and infrastructure from the ground up may benefit more from an interim CMO’s full-time focus and operational involvement. Established companies with a well-defined marketing strategy and processes in place could more effectively leverage a fractional CMO’s strategic guidance and oversight.
Consider the company’s budget and resource availability for marketing leadership. Interim CMOs typically command higher compensation because of their full-time commitment, while fractional CMOs offer a more cost-effective solution, especially for smaller or bootstrapped SaaS companies. Evaluate the trade-off between the immediate need for marketing expertise and the long-term financial implications of each option.
Determine the anticipated duration for which the company requires marketing leadership. An interim CMO might be the better choice if the need is temporary, such as a transition period or for a specific project or campaign. If the company foresees an ongoing need for strategic marketing guidance over an extended period, a fractional CMO could provide a more sustainable option.
Clearly define the scope of responsibilities and level of involvement required from the marketing leadership role. If your company needs hands-on execution and management of day-to-day marketing activities, a full-time interim CMO might be more appropriate. If your primary need is strategic planning, oversight, and guidance, a fractional CMO could fulfill that requirement while allowing your in-house marketing team to handle the execution.
Interim (and fractional) CMOs offer a powerful catalyst for transformative growth. With their seasoned expertise and unbiased perspective, these professionals swiftly assess challenges, identify blind spots and chart strategic paths to market dominance.
When integrated into teams, interim CMOs foster collaboration, mentor marketers, and execute high-impact strategies precisely, driving organizations to success. Interim CMOs’ flexible tenure empowers companies to innovate continuously, pivoting approaches to capitalize on emerging trends.
By evaluating the growth stage, team capabilities, budget, and objectives, business leaders can strategically leverage interim CMOs, harnessing their expertise to navigate hurdles, seize opportunities, and establish a formidable market footprint.
Learn more about interim or fractional CMO services with &Marketing and contact us today to discuss what solutions will help your business grow.
Are you facing challenges of your own in generating leads and meeting your business’s growth goals?
We’d love to learn more about your challenges and how a coordinated marketing approach might help take your organization to the next level.
&Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.
You know the numbers—roughly 50% of businesses don’t make it past five years and only 20% make it to 20 years. In today’s competitive business landscape, a strong brand and a clear message are crucial for success. In a business landscape where strategic marketing is a crucial driver of growth, could hiring a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) as a service be the game-changer your company needs? (PS, you can take our 2-minute quiz and find out.)
These professionals are responsible for crafting a comprehensive marketing plan that attracts customers, builds brand awareness, and drives sales. From understanding the target audience, navigating the evolving marketing landscape, creating effective campaigns, and overseeing the marketing budget, a CMO plays a vital role in ensuring a company reaches its full potential. Sometimes, however, companies don’t have the budget or need for a full-time CMO. Fortunately, CMO as a service is an option.
CMOs typically oversee a team of marketing professionals responsible for market research, advertising campaigns, public relations, and product marketing. They collaborate closely with other company executives, such as the CEO, to ensure marketing efforts align with the overall business strategy.
CMOs wear many hats and bring diverse skill sets necessary for their and their company’s success:
CMO as a service offers a solution for companies needing guidance with their marketing efforts but without the commitment of a full-time hire. These marketing veterans provide part-time leadership, stepping in to lead existing teams and refine marketing strategies. Ideal for businesses not quite ready or unable to afford a full-time CMO, a CMOaaS approach provides the strategic guidance and industry insights you’d expect from a top executive at a cost-effective rate.
Fractional CMOs act like integrated members of a company’s marketing team. They typically work part-time directly with existing marketing personnel, providing leadership and guidance. They’ll conduct a deep dive into a specific strategy and help refine it based on their experience. Company leaders have a direct reporting relationship with their fractional CMO, who becomes an extension of that leadership team, providing strategic direction and collaborating with other departments.
An outsourced/fractional CMO might come from a marketing agency or work as an independent consultant. Generally, fractional CMOs charge a set rate for their dedicated time, but their fees might be project-based or depend on their specific services.
Some companies might think they don’t need a CMO because they already have a CEO—especially if they’re a small startup or in its early stages and strapped for cash. The current leadership team might have misconceptions about a CMO’s role, viewing it as solely advertising- and branding-focused. But CMOs bring strategy and analytics to the table, too.
A chief executive officer (CEO) and a CMO occupy different leadership positions within a company, with distinct focus areas. The CEO is the ship’s captain, responsible for the company’s overall vision, strategy, and success. CEOs set long-term goals, oversee all departments, and make high-level decisions about everything from product development to finances. They answer to a board of directors and are accountable for a company’s performance.
CMOs serve as the navigators, charting the course for the marketing department and crafting strategies to achieve the company’s goals. These professionals promote the company’s brand, generate leads, and drive sales through marketing initiatives. They work closely with the CEO to align marketing efforts with the overall business strategy.
The CEO sets the growth targets, and the CMO executes marketing strategies to achieve them. The CMO also develops strategies for customer engagement, feeding directly into the CEO’s goal of recurring revenue. While the CEO has a broad business view, the CMO is the marketing guru with a granular understanding of customer behavior, market trends, and the most effective ways to reach their target audience.
Deciding whether your business could benefit from a CMO as a service can be pivotal to its growth and efficiency. Here are key indicators that suggest this service might be right for you:
Sometimes, an external perspective can be invaluable, especially if your current marketing strategies have become stagnant. A CMO as a service brings fresh eyes and new ideas, which can be crucial for innovative problem-solving and strategy refinement.
[Button]: Take our CMO readiness quiz
SaaS companies need both. Because of their subscription-based nature, they benefit from robust collaboration between the CEO and CMO. The CEO may have a strong marketing background and believe they can handle marketing tasks themselves. But while this approach could work in a company’s initial stages, those responsibilities can quickly become overwhelming as the company scales.
Leading the marketing charge for a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company is the CMO, whose mission is to leverage strategic marketing to fuel the company’s growth by attracting new customers. But unlike traditional marketing, SaaS success also hinges on keeping those customers happy.
Because SaaS is often subscription-based, retaining existing users becomes as critical (if not more so) than acquiring new ones. That’s why SaaS CMOs go beyond building brand awareness. They craft initiatives specifically designed to keep customers engaged and satisfied.
SaaS CMOs have similar responsibilities to other CMOs, whether full-time or fractional. They:
The average churn rate for SaaS CMOs is high. In fact, the average tenure between 2020 and 2022 dropped from 43 to 35 months, and according to one executive recruitment firm, companies will replace 30-40% of their CMOs this year. Finding and hiring the right CMO takes time (and money).
An outsourced or fractional CMO can help bridge the gap for the short- or long-term for SaaS companies in the T2De phase (tripling revenue for two years and doubling it for three more years). These companies have everyday marketing needs and might not require a full-time CMO.
Opting to use a CMO as a service empowers companies to hire someone well-equipped to address high growth expectations, lend marketing expertise to the executive team, and introduce a proven SaaS marketing playbook and a fresh perspective. An outsourced or fractional CMO is faster to hire than a full-time CMO, requires no long-term commitment, and can be held accountable for results while guiding and advising the CEO.
In today’s competitive SaaS landscape, a robust marketing strategy isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. While CEOs are vital in setting the vision and growth trajectory, CMOs translate that vision into actionable strategies to fuel customer acquisition and retention. SaaS companies gain a valuable asset by leveraging a CMO, whether full-time, fractional, or outsourced.
Whether SaaS, healthcare, CPG, or otherwise, if you want a closer look at fractional CMOs and how they might help fill gaps in your marketing, download our fCMO overview. Want to discuss your business’s unique challenges? Fill out the form below and talk to our team.
Are you facing challenges of your own in generating leads and meeting your business’s growth goals?
We’d love to learn more about your challenges and how a coordinated marketing approach might help take your organization to the next level.
&Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.
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