A new year. New goals for your business. Perhaps a whole new way of running your business? Enter 2021. The challenges posed in 2020 for businesses paved the way for an evolution to take place in the way we operate and interact with one another, our organizations, and our customers.
Remote work and Zoom meetings are now the norm, making it possible to work with anyone, anywhere. Outsourcing key functions and roles within an organization have become a popular alternative to hiring in-house in order to get the highly experienced resources businesses need, while protecting cash flow and keeping overhead costs down. Generally, business owners and customers have become more creative and resilient.
Savvy and resourceful entrepreneurs and senior management teams see 2021 as an opportunity to hit their organizations’ next level growth goals by realigning their sales and marketing efforts and finding new and innovative ways to reach their customers.
If growth is a priority for your business this year, it’s important to look at how you are carrying out your critical marketing and client experience activities. Do you have a seasoned marketing expert helping you develop and execute your plan? Is marketing something that happens off the side of someone’s desk? Or even worse, doesn’t happen at all? If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. Outsourcing, or fractional marketing services, could be the solution for you.
Outsourcing, or fractional, executives are not a new concept. It’s likely you’ve heard of fractional CFO’s. Fractional CMO’s (Chief Marketing Officers) are key members of an organization’s management team, typically brought in to establish or lead a company’s marketing function on a part-time or short-term basis.
The fractional part means you get a senior marketing leader who’s fully-committed to your team, but not fully-burdened with executive-level costs. Recruiting and hiring resources in-house can be costly and depending on the size of your business…unnecessary. Engaging a fractional CMO means you can plug a highly experienced marketing expert into your organization at key times throughout the year, or year round, depending on what you need.
Three Reasons to Consider a Fractional CMO
Fractional CMOs are basically on-demand executive-level marketers. Just like traditional CMOs, their ultimate goal is to supercharge your current marketing efforts, identify new opportunities for experimentation and growth, and provide leadership to your in-house team.
If you’re at a critical point in your business where you need to grow and you’re not flush with cash, or you want to reduce your risk as you grow, hiring a fractional chief marketing officer will provide to you the insights and security that an executive can bring while reducing your financial burden. If you know that marketing would help drive more revenue in the business, consider hiring a fractional chief marketing officer to ideate campaigns, build your team, and lead them to success.
Consider these three points to determine if a fractional CMO is right for your business:
1) You recognize that you need to delegate.
A company does best when each person in the organization is engaged in the tasks that they are best at. As the CEO, you have a specific skill set and value that you bring to your business. It is likely that you do not have up-to-date knowledge about marketing strategies and tactics. It is also likely that you don’t have the time to learn or to engage with these tasks on a regular basis.
2) You know that your company is not ready for a full-time senior level marketing resource but you know you need help.
A typical salary for a senior level marketing resource is anywhere from $100-$150K per year. This is before benefits, retirement programs and other overhead expenses like cell phone, laptop and office space are factored in. At the current stage of your business there might not be enough for a full-time resource to do to justify the high cost. Hiring in-house, full-time could result in a high cost resource doing low value tasks. These low value tasks are likely better suited for a junior resource. In the end, you could find yourself in the undesirable position of having to let your senior marketing person go. That’s not fun for anyone.
3) You are committed to a lean organization.
Why spend a large chunk of your revenue on something when you don’t have to? With a fractional CMO, you have someone who is there specifically for those essential hours each week and that’s what you pay for. They are subject matter experts who can help your business reach new heights. The remainder of your budget can be directed to revenue generating marketing activities.
If your business is ready to be kicked into high gear but is lacking the marketing strategy and leadership needed to help get there, you could benefit from having a fractional CMO as part of your team.
Contact Marwick Marketing at 250-999-3704 or visit our website to learn more about how our fractional CMOs can help get you results and achieve the business growth you desire.
Marwick Marketing Inc. is a leading digital marketing agency in Canada and the United Kingdom. Ranked 11th fastest growing company in British Columbia in 2020 (Source: Business In Vancouver Magazine) and top 3% of Premier Google Partner Agencies in North America and the United Kingdom.
