How an Outsourced CMO Enables Business Growth and Builds Brand Power

More than ever, a consistent brand that customers trust is critical to business growth. Whether product or service-based, B2B or B2C, local or global-focused, a strong brand with a great reputation is what enables a company to expand successfully.

Behind every powerful brand, stands an innovative Chief Marketing Officer. An experienced CMO can strategically plan and scale marketing plans during periods of business growth.

But not all companies can afford to hire a full-time CMO on a permanent basis. Many startups and midmarket companies reach a tipping point where they either expand or stagnate. All too often, the rate of business expansion they want to achieve outpaces their available operational resources and time.

“Small business get to a point in time where they have distribution, products, and core end users in place, but now have to focus on growth,” says Jayne Heggen, a marketing executive who has worked with startups to big brands such as Ebay, Harry and David, and United Airlines. “It’s a whole different set of skills and experiences to figure out that structure to grow while protecting and leveraging the legacy of what’s in place.”

Hiring a fractional Chief Marketing Officer who works part-time is a smart option for these organizations that need to scale fast. A part-time or fractional CMO is an interim outsourced executive that can guide companies through business transitions.

A part-time CMO can also begin working quickly while being open to flexible compensation options that are budget-friendly. They also can step in temporarily, and build a business growth strategy that increases customer acquisition and reaches new target audiences.

An interim CMO knows how to promote your brand identity and position your organization quickly as an industry leader. They can also can develop a brand voice that amplifies your company’s unique value proposition to enable rapid growth.

Most outsourced CMOs have led multiple rebranding strategies during acquisitions, mergers, and departmental expansions. They help keep organizational shifts like these smooth, by ensuring brand messaging is consistent internally and externally.

“A CMO role is not just handling a campaign, but understanding the underpinnings of the brand, the product, the interaction with customers and the communications associated with that,” Heggen says. “It’s all about the business process that create the communication flow, and if you are successful in brand applications, campaigns, and so forth, you create relationships. When you create relationships, you create transactions.”

An experienced part-time CMO also brings life-long career experiences across industries. They know how to facilitate market penetration into new industries or customer segments you want to reach.

In collaboration with your CEO, a great interim CMO can also inspire a renewed sense of values, direction, and purpose for your company while telling your compelling story to customers and the marketplace to increase positive brand awareness. As an outsourced CMO, they offer a fresh perspective if your company needs rebranding or brand promotion for new product launches or managed services.

Outsourced CMO’s bring extensive career backgrounds in F500, agencies, or entrepreneurial experience. The common factor is that these specialized CMOs have built multiple successful brands. They also are passionate about bringing that artistry to as many organizations as they can.

Once an interim CMO has set a clear strategy in motion for a company, they are able to hand off the keys to a team that they either mentored and trained. The team which previously did not have marketing acumen, is well positioned to continue to run with the strategy thanks to the fractional CMO’s guidance.

Fractional CMOs enjoy the opportunity to strategically solve problems for a variety of organizations. Companies that hire them benefit from a senior executive with deep experience across multiple industries and customer segments.