Startups often struggle with marketing. Despite this, they have numerous objectives, which they need to achieve, but still, have limited resources. Some organizations employ a marketing manager expecting the issues to be solved in the process. However, in the absence of strategic guidance aimed towards marketing activities, the overall marketing appears to be fragmented and unproductive.
When they decided to appoint a fractional CMO all this changed. And within a year, their revenue rose to triple the levels it was originally at when they started anywhere from 3 to 5 years ago. It is quite clear that their business delineation of the marketing strategy became strong and efficient.
As this case illustrates, this startup proved that a fractional CMO can help start its growth, and so, can yours.
The Challenge: Stalled Growth and Unclear Marketing Direction
This startup was working in the business-to-business software as a service, or simply the B2B SaaS industry. They had a strong team and the product proved to receive a lot of attention from consumers initially. But their market strategy was not properly helping them attract more customers regularly.
The main issues were:
- Lack of market strategy: The products were marketed in different orientations without any specific direction or goal.
- Little overall engagement: The marketing efforts in question had low returns as they were not able to produce enough revenue.
- Marketing and sales departments synchronization issue: The two departments were not well coordinated.
The Solution: Hiring a Fractional CMO
Rather than directly employ a CMO for full-time service, they opted for the fractional CMO from CMO’vate. This enabled them to acquire marketing leadership at a high level while, not having to hire a full-time executive.
The new fractional CMO soon realized what was required to be done. They decided on the following three sub-topics:
- Creating a data-driven marketing strategy
- Synchronizing marketing to boost the conversion rate of leads
- The knowledge acquired facilitated our company to effectively identify correlations between marketing and budget, towards achieving the biggest returns on our investment.
Indeed, the right leadership ensured that it shifted from random marketing efforts to a growth marketing strategy.
Step 1: Building a Clear Marketing Strategy
The first one was to set out the strategy of the marketing map. To get out of this schedule and avoid the merry-go-round of one campaign to the next, the startup needed a strategy.
The fractional CMO helped them:
- Identify their ideal customer profile
- Refine their brand messaging
- The third model is to develop a clear and viable lead generation strategy.
With this particular strategy, the marketing approaches can be aligned and implemented in a manner that is focused on achieving specific objectives.
Step 2: Improving Lead Generation and Sales Alignment
Before this, the respect marketing organization and sales organization were not in harmony.
The fractional CMO introduced:
- Some of the elements of a startup’s lead generation strategy may include a structured lead scoring system that delivers well-qualified leads.
- Marketing initiatives that would correspond directly to selling objectives
The problems that were solved as a result of this alignment were improved lead conversion and driving up sales revenues.
Step 3: Making Marketing Spend More Effective
What used to work before for the startup was the placing of ads and campaigns that did not offer any return on investment.
The fractional CMO analyzed:
- To what extent were which marketing channels the most effective
- Where money was being wasted
- Ways of budgeting to obtain a higher return on investment
The costs of marketing were reduced by eliminating unnecessary expenses and the focus was made on efficient tactics and strategies.
The Results: 3X Revenue Growth in One Year
In the course of fourteen weeks, the startup successfully gave the right focus to its sales, aligned itself to its goal of generating more revenues, and achieved an optimal spending rate:
- Revenue tripled within 12 months
- Marketing-generated leads increased by 150%
- Customer acquisition costs decreased by 40%
The decision to hire a fractional CMO was beneficial to the growth of the startup as it was achieved with higher efficiency and in a shorter time.
Why a Fractional CMO Was the Right Choice
Most startups believe that they require the services of a full-time CMO. But recruiting and employing full-time executives is a costly affair.
A fractional CMO provided:
- Executive-level expertise at a fraction of the cost
- One can say that it is semi-committed and is mostly planned according to the needs of the two partners.
- Immediate impact without long hiring delays
What is the reasoning behind this is that for startups, this remains the best development model.
Final Thoughts
Fractional CMO is not just a marketing guru but comes with many more qualities. They provide strategists, leaders, and those able to make decisions in line with the growth of the business.
CMO’vate can provide the necessary support for any struggling startup that is seeking to grow to the next level. When you want fractional CMOs to work as your marketing experts and give you the positive business impact that you need, then get one for your business.
Ready to accelerate your growth? Contact CMO’vate today.
