The world is full of secret recipes.
Whether it’s the secret formula to Coca Cola, the Colonel’s secret blend of eleven herbs and spices, Chick-fil-A sauce (it’s honey mustard and barbeque), or your neighbor Betsy’s spaghetti — the special elements that make a product awesome are often closely guarded.
At 8 SIGNAL, we believe we know the right ingredients for fantastic fractional marketing. And we’re not stingy with the recipe either (I’m looking at you, Betsy!).
What’s the secret sauce for great fractional marketing?
When it comes to successful fractional marketing, it’s not about one secret ingredient — it’s more of a special blend!
Just like an amazing recipe, it’s (usually) not just one ingredient that makes the dish — it’s how the elements all work together. Ingredients might taste fine individually, but the flavor becomes something exceptional combined.
The same is true for fractional CMO (chief marketing officer) services.
What are FCMO services, and how can they spice up your business’s effectiveness?
A fractional CMO (FCMO) is a marketing leader who joins your leadership team on a part-time basis to develop and implement the strategy your business needs to achieve its goals. These experienced executives take ongoing accountability for the major functions of your business’s marketing — working with you on a customized level.
FCMOs often use technology to meet with teams, so we aren’t limited by location. As outside members of the leadership team, we are able to bring valuable perspective, best practices, and measurable results — “top-shelf” service at a fraction of the cost of a full-time CMO.
Qualities of a successful FCMO
There are multiple qualities that an FCMO needs in order to produce results, and these elements build on (and amplify) each other. Here are some of the most important “ingredients in the sauce” for a successful FCMO.
Time Management
Time is valuable — to your business and to your FCMO. And because a business and FCMO contract limited hours a week with each of their clients, effective time management is essential!
But how do you know if an FCMO is managing their (and YOUR) time well?
An effective FCMO communicates:
- What they’re working on for your business this week
- Their priorities for next week
- Their marketing goals for your company (along with dates to evaluate progress!)
Knowledge
As a business owner, you want your marketing leader to have the knowledge and expertise needed to generate results! Fractional executive team members bring the huge benefit of insight from past experiences and best practices gained across industries. A knowledgeable FCMO should bring innovative ideas to the table based on past success.
At 8 SIGNAL, we’re passionate about using our marketing expertise to help businesses succeed. We have experience across many sectors and industries and love using our knowledge to make a positive impact in companies, teams, and communities.
Leadership
A successful fractional CMO should have the leadership experience and ability to guide and train their team. FCMOs aren’t just consultants that give advice and leave it to you to implement — we’re leaders hired by a company to oversee strategy and meet goals.
This isn’t a “first rodeo” position — it’s a job for someone who has a track record of leading successfully and effectively. Often, FCMOs are former CMOs who choose the challenge and flexibility of fractional services. However (unlike being a CMO of a large company), an FCMO must have the skills to build a business’s marketing from the ground up. As an FCMO, you can’t call in for back-up — you ARE the back-up! Successful fractional marketers lead their clients’ teams as if they are running multiple departments or business locations (which requires good time management!).
How can you assess whether an FCMO has the skills to lead your marketing team?
- Have they led teams before?
- Are they willing to “roll up their sleeves” and do what’s needed when there isn’t a trained team?
- Can they foster collaboration within the team?
- How well do they delegate tasks?
- Does your FCMO listen to the team’s needs and get them the required tools and training?
- Can your FCMO respectfully challenge (or say “no”) to ideas?
- Do they know how to create goals, metrics, and accountability to ensure the team is on track?
Flexibility
Flexibility is a major ingredient in the recipe for a successful FCMO.
Fractional marketers (like 8 SIGNAL) must be ready and available to do what it takes to help a business meet their goals — whether that’s creating a marketing strategy from scratch or leading and training a team. And as strategies develop and cadences evolve, we’ve got to be able to adapt, evaluate effectiveness, and make changes as needed.
Because FCMOs work with multiple clients at a time (all with different challenges and needs) — we need the agility to shift gears quickly. And even though FCMOs have a variety of “irons in the fire,” successful FCMOs need to be “on” and accessible for our clients.
A recipe for success
So what makes a great fractional CMO? It’s a combination of experience, skill, and passion.
And like an amazing sauce, all of these elements layer together to make something that makes a BIG impact! At 8 SIGNAL, we’ve seen the difference that a successful FCMO can make for a business. Schedule a short call to find out if 8 SIGNAL can help your business generate growth and achieve your goals.
