Stepico’s Post

🌟📈 To stay competitive in digital marketing, hiring a cause-driven fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) can be a game-changer for companies looking to blend purpose with profit. A fractional CMO offers a senior marketing leader's expertise and strategic vision without the full-time commitment, making it an ideal solution for businesses aiming to align their marketing efforts with their core values and social missions. The purpose of a cause-driven fractional CMO is multifaceted. They bring a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective to your marketing strategy, ensuring that your brand not only stands out in a crowded market but also resonates deeply with your audience on a values-based level. By focusing on cause-driven initiatives, they help in crafting campaigns that genuinely reflect your company’s commitment to making a positive impact on society. Moreover, a fractional CMO like Cory, with his expertise in cause marketing, can guide your team in integrating social causes into your business model to engage your customers authentically and strengthen your brand. Cory's insights can be invaluable in navigating the complexities of cause marketing, helping you to identify the right causes, build meaningful partnerships, and communicate your efforts effectively. Take a strategic step toward a successful, purposeful business by hiring a cause-driven fractional CMO.

This is spot on. Marketing doesn't exist simply to send out bad emails, post self-serving company news on LinkedIn, and create sales collateral/decks (sorry to disappoint, but there isn't a magic sales sheet that will close deals). Marketing is about strategy, smart brand execution, and project management. If marketing is done well, sales teams perform better, customers are happier, and the market understands your product's value - all this is foundational to long-term success. Of course, the other option is to double down on the next big buzzword and hope that results in growth. I see you AI (and I don't mean Allen Iverson - yes that's a Philly reference).

“We’re hiring a head of marketing!” Sure, that’s what they say. But what they really mean is… 👉 “We’re hiring a head of promotion” Someone to… – Execute our tactics. – Run the ads. – Send the emails. – Create the promo codes. – Get the word out. That’s what many people think of as marketing. Yes, promotion should always be part of a coherent strategy. But it’s a different set of skills and activities altogether. It’s not going to move the needle on its own. Today, marketing has its fingers in everything. 1) The Strategy – The important work of research, positioning, segmentation, and targeting. The story. The network effects. The user experience. Being choiceful about all of these things. And to validate the market fit. 2) The Design – The logo. The look and feel. The endless debates. The arguments. The consensus. 3) The Support – Figuring out how to make sales easier. Getting into the weeds of how people in the market buy today. Their perceptions + what helps them get to where they want to be, faster. That’s (very) different from a traditional brand role. 4) The Project Management – The leadership on show. Management of time, money, effort, and resources. Everyday, there are more decisions to be made. More moving parts to juggle. More reasons to say “no”. More things to ship, to validate, and to communicate. Truth is, not much is going to happen with promotion alone. It requires all of the above and more. In fact, the only thing that usually happens is REHIRING for this position every 12 months, when things don’t work out. Because marketing is the easy scapegoat for a missed opportunity. Listen. It’s easy to be confused about the HoM role because it’s never for one person. It’s requires a marketing leader armed with the team, trust, and resources to LEAD + DO marketing. Today's smart founders view marketing as the LEADERSHIP function it (truly) is. And not a wave of random ads. #marketing #b2bmarketing PS. Good luck. It's the toughest job to fill today.

“We’re hiring a head of marketing!” Sure, that’s what they say. But what they really mean is… 👉 “We’re hiring a head of promotion” Someone to… – Execute our tactics. – Run the ads. – Send the emails. – Create the promo codes. – Get the word out. That’s what many people think of as marketing. Yes, promotion should always be part of a coherent strategy. But it’s a different set of skills and activities altogether. It’s not going to move the needle on its own. Today, marketing has its fingers in everything. 1) The Strategy – The important work of research, positioning, segmentation, and targeting. The story. The network effects. The user experience. Being choiceful about all of these things. And to validate the market fit. 2) The Design – The logo. The look and feel. The endless debates. The arguments. The consensus. 3) The Support – Figuring out how to make sales easier. Getting into the weeds of how people in the market buy today. Their perceptions + what helps them get to where they want to be, faster. That’s (very) different from a traditional brand role. 4) The Project Management – The leadership on show. Management of time, money, effort, and resources. Everyday, there are more decisions to be made. More moving parts to juggle. More reasons to say “no”. More things to ship, to validate, and to communicate. Truth is, not much is going to happen with promotion alone. It requires all of the above and more. In fact, the only thing that usually happens is REHIRING for this position every 12 months, when things don’t work out. Because marketing is the easy scapegoat for a missed opportunity. Listen. It’s easy to be confused about the HoM role because it’s never for one person. It’s requires a marketing leader armed with the team, trust, and resources to LEAD + DO marketing. Today's smart founders view marketing as the LEADERSHIP function it (truly) is. And not a wave of random ads. #saas #marketing PS. Good luck. It's the toughest job to fill today.

Marketing creates curiosity. It's done behind the curtain, and hardly anyone sees or cares about what went into the process. Promotion intensifies curiosity. It happens in front of the curtain. It gets the credit because it gets our attention. But... Try promoting something that nobody knows or cares about. Try selling it. We often dismiss the importance of what we don't witness. Promotion is the star, and marketing is the proud mother peeking out from behind the curtain. There's no getting around what had to come first.

Over the past few months, I've been wrapping up our last branding and web design projects in my role as a Creative Director at Minty Made, while making the full transition to serving clients in a Fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) capacity. This has been a natural evolution for me, as I've spent most of the last decade in marketing leadership and strategy roles, building global teams, and helping brands launch and execute successful go-to-market plans. As a fractional CMO, I'm a part-time executive with full responsibility. I'm focused on owning and crafting strategies, building out the right team, and managing it all. I'm just not in the trenches and doing all of the execution full-time. The Fractional CMO role is beneficial for impact-focused B2C brands for a few key reasons: 1. You don't need to invest to a full-time CMO and I get to focus on what I'm best at: Helping you reach your goals with an effective and sustainable marketing strategy that actually moves the needle. 2. Experienced leaders and marketing teams can benefit from an external perspective and specialized expertise in their niche. 3. I've seen first-hand how brands can benefit from additional strategic support to maximize their efforts to ensure their investments are paying off. I’m not here to replace your team, I’m here to help them be more successful. I currently have an opening for one more client, as I only work with 2-3 brands at a given time. If you have a business or brand in mind that is in need of guidance and leadership in their marketing, I would very much appreciate the introduction / connection. You can about my specific offerings on my website (linked in the comments) Thank you all for the continued support in this exciting transition! 🙂 #fractionalcmo #marketingstrategy #impactfocusedbrands

How to figure out if you need to hire a fractional CMO vs an agency or marketer? I get asked this a lot and it’s a REALLY good question. If you have people on your team that can execute marketing strategy but can’t develop marketing strategy, you need a fractional cmo. If you need someone to create and post content across channels, you need an agency or a marketer. And to be as clear as possible, one is not better than the other. The need for a fractional cmo stems from not having someone to lead your marketing thinking and execution while the need for a marketer or a marketing agency stems from not having someone to execute the marketing strategy that SOMEONE has developed. Caveats. Fractional cmo’s CAN and often SHOULD help with content creation and execution. They can model, help design SOPs, and support as needed. And marketers and agencies CAN and often SHOULD help with developing your marketing strategy. BUT Hiring a fractional cmo when what you actually need is a marketing manager is a miss (for a bunch of reasons). Hiring a marketer when what you really need is a leader CAN be a miss (or can be part of the hiring process) What’s the point? Whether you’re engaging with a fractional cmo OR and agency, talk to them about this. Get clear on where you are and what you need so that you’re not trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. And if you’re a marketer or a FCMO and feel differently, I’d love to hear why.

Start-up senior marketers' jobs have doubled in size ‼ Head of Marketing? Well, now you're Marketing Manager + Head of Marketing. “I am doing my new job, but also doing the job I used to do”.  I am hearing this a lot. Tough economic climate has reduced the number of mid level roles.  Senior roles used to have big teams supporting. Today, there might be an Exec, but also big operational responsibilities. What does it mean? 🔎 For people in these big jobs…  You’ve got to prioritise ruthlessly and manage up to set expectations. 🔎 For Founders and MDs… You’ve got to recognise the added pressure.  Maybe fractional teams make more sense, if you’re really stretched. 🔎 For mid level marketers?  It is a challenging time. Right now, a job might be better than THE job that helps you take a step up. 😆 Committed to sharing honest advice. 

For many research agencies and platforms, the idea of hiring a full-time marketing team may seem daunting or financially unfeasible. What if there was a flexible, cost-effective solution to drive revenue growth, enhance brand awareness, and ensure a consistent brand image? There is--it's called a fractional CMO! Read how that could propel your insight company: https://lnkd.in/daFb33NB #MRX #InsightsCommunity #ContentMarketing #BrandBuilding #B2BMarketing