Earnest marketing teams and executives know this statement is true – and it terrifies them. Without clarity about what is truly working, how can you possibly replicate it? If you do not know what is not working, how can you avoid doing more of it?

A Marketing Sanity Check, and More

Whether it is an innovative marketing tactic you are about to invest in or a new strategy someone convinced you would double or triple your business, making wise marketing decisions can be challenging. How do you know it will work? Will this new tack turn into a huge waste of time and money?

Marketing can feel a whole lot like throwing spaghetti at a wall to see what will stick, and most marketers will admit that their work feels a bit like a crap shoot. Not only is it hard to know what has truly worked in the past, it is even harder to know what else you should try. It can feel nearly impossible to see clearly when you are right in the middle of your business – you are just too close and have too much weighing on the outcome.

It is easy to limit your marketing efforts to what you have always done, or to take unjustifiable risks trying tactics that may be completely inappropriate for your business. That is why many companies now turn to fractional Chief Marketing Officer's for help.

Bounce Ideas Around, Get Insight

If your company does not have a full-time Chief Marketing Officer, it may be a good idea to engage a fractional CMO as an Advisor to help guide you from time to time. This way, you maintain full control of your marketing and avoid the expense associated with an in-house C-level executive, but you benefit from an objective expert’s knowledge and experience.

It is not unusual to feel stuck, stymied, and scattered as you try to market your business. You know your entire sales pipeline depends on getting your products and services in front of the right people – but who are they, really? What do you need to do to get their attention? What do they need to know about your products, services, and company before they will make a buying decision?

Now is both the best of times and the worst of times for marketers. There are so many marketing tactics available that you can reach your ideal customers more easily than ever… but there are SO many marketing tactics available that it is overwhelming and hard to know what will work. There will be times when nothing clicks, and you are at a standstill. 

A fractional CMO offers a new perspective

They are not bound by your company’s historical views, so they can see things differently, often in ways you may not have considered. A good time to hire a fractional CMO is when you notice your old strategy is not working as efficiently as it has in the past. When you need to make changes to your marketing plan, having a fractional CMO on hand will help you rebuild your strategy and make sure that it has what it needs to be successful.

Fractional CMO's can also help when you acquire a new company or need to rebuild your marketing strategy from the ground up. There are times when altering the marketing plan may not be enough. You need to take the company in a new direction. A fractional CMO can look at where you have been as well as where you want to go and find a happy medium that will push your company forward. With the right marketing strategy and the resources to support it, you will have everything you need to re-establish your business and draw in the ideal customers that are best suited for your business.

Yours for the Duration of Your Marketing Project

The benefits of a fractional Chief Marketing Officer are limitless when you consider the potential impact on your business. Because they are not full-time staff, there is no need to worry about budgeting for their ongoing salary. Keeping money set aside for when they are needed allows you the opportunity to use an advisor whenever necessary.

Projects typically last 3 to 6 months, and we are available whenever you have a question, in addition to our scheduled online meetings. Communication is fast, efficient, and convenient for everyone involved. Email follow-up can easily relay information and keep people up to speed between meetings. It would be almost impossible to hire one person full-time that could accomplish everything a fractional Chief Marketing Officer can offer.

Ray L. Perry offers the CMO - Marketing Advisor Program that helps your company become more efficient and produce marketing strategies that can be used to boost your brand and improve your outreach. We have an abundance of tools and resources to help guide your team into getting the most out of the skills they possess, transforming your marketing team into a veritable gold mine of efficiency and productivity.