Outsourcing your Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is all the rage among small business leaders these days. And for a good reason – it sounds like an incredibly efficient way to get the help you need without adding a headcount. But does this type of arrangement lead to better business growth?
Let me shed some light on the benefits of outsourcing your CMO and how it can energize business growth. Spoiler alert: It’s not just about the money.
What is an Outsourced CMO?
An outsourced or “fractional” CMO is a Chief Marketing Officer hired on a contractual basis. Businesses that are not yet ready to commit to a full-time, in-house CMO often use this arrangement.
This could be because they do not have the budget for one or simply because their marketing initiatives haven’t taken a central focus. An outsourced CMO can be a great way to get the expertise and guidance you need to take your marketing to the next level without breaking the bank.
Why Are Companies Interested In Outsourced CMOs?
It comes down to cost, access to expertise, and the ability to drive strategic focus. Let’s explore that.
In the last couple of years, there has been a shift in the business landscape. Companies are increasingly outsourcing their marketing functions to external agencies or consultants. This shift has led to a change in the role of the CMO, and thus reason to outsource the role.
The outsourced or fractional CMOs marketing function is now focused on developing marketing strategies and marketing functions, overseeing marketing efforts rather than executing marketing campaigns and recruiting a marketing team.
While this change has increased the responsibilities of the CMO, it has allowed for a greater focus on strategic planning and execution. Let’s quickly explore why an outsourced CMO and marketing team could make sense instead of a fully in-house team.
Cost-Effectiveness
One of the main reasons that companies outsource their marketing team is that it is cost-effective. You save on salaries, benefits, and overhead expenses when you outsource your marketing needs.
Additionally, you have the flexibility to scale your marketing efforts up or down depending on your budget, sales cycles, or market trends.
Quick Access To Expertise
Another reason companies are outsourcing their marketing functions is because they have access to a greater pool of expertise. When you partner with an experienced marketing consultant, you can tap into their wealth of knowledge and experience. This allows you to benefit from their insights and avoid making costly mistakes.
Additionally, they have experience in managing a marketing department. Again, this helps to point one around cost-effectiveness in their ability to bring in other marketing professionals to support marketing strategy.
Strategic Focus
As mentioned earlier, outsourcing your marketing functions allows a CMO to focus on strategic marketing plans and execution. When you outsource your marketing efforts, you free up your CMO’s time so that they can focus on developing long-term plans and strategies that will help grow your business.
But why stop at outsourcing just the marketing department?
Having a full-time Chief Marketing Officer might not make sense for smaller businesses. And given the pandemic’s ability to allow us all to work remotely, it’s very reasonable to bring in fractional CMO services (for example fractional CMO for banking or fractional CMO for Industrial tasks) when they can work from anywhere.
If you’re considering to hire a freelancer: Let me tell you how to hire and onboard digital marketing freelancers for best results.
What Does An Outsourced CMO Do?
For all intents and purposes, an outsourced CMO’s responsibilities are the same as a regular CMO. Given limited time, the difference is that your outsourced CMO will prioritize your marketing strategy and relevant initiatives to fit your business situation.
Benefits Of An Outsourced CMO
When it comes to digital marketing, many businesses feel like they can either do it themselves or outsource it. While both options have many benefits, outsourcing your CMO can be a great way to get the most out of your marketing efforts.
In such a situation, The benefits of an outsourced CMO are vast and can be extremely helpful for businesses of all sizes. Some key benefits include:
1. Objective Viewpoint And Expert Guidance
Having an outsider leading your marketing efforts can be incredibly beneficial. So, They can provide an objective viewpoint and help steer the ship in the right direction. Additionally, their experience and expertise can help you measure, analyze, and improve your marketing efforts more effectively.
2. New Marketing Strategies
Outsourced CMOs are often very creative and have a wealth of experience in developing new marketing strategies. They can help you implement these strategies quickly and efficiently, resulting in more leads and customer acquisition.
3. Improved Operating Procedures
An outsourced CMO can also help you develop more efficient and effective operating procedures for your marketing team or marketing agencies. This can save you time and money in the long run.
4. Increased Customer Engagement And Loyalty
However, an outsourced CMO can help improve your customer engagement and loyalty. They can do this by developing targeted campaigns that resonate with customers, improving customer service, and more.
5. Manage Current Marketing Team
An outsourced CMO can help manage your current marketing team or marketing agency. An outsourced CMO can help a lot if you don’t know how to make the most of your current marketing efforts or if you’re having trouble keeping up with multiple marketing agencies.
6. Improve Customer Engagement
An outsourced CMO can improve your customer engagement and loyalty. According to a study by Forbes Insights, companies that excel at customer engagement grow their revenues at almost five times the rate of those that don’t. An outsourced team can help you create a more engaging customer experience that will keep them coming back for more.
7. New Markets & Audience Research
An outsourced CMO can help you tap into new markets & audiences. No matter how well your business is doing, there’s always room for growth. By conducting market research, they can help you identify potential areas for growth and target your inbound marketing efforts accordingly. An outsourced CMO can help you identify new markets and audiences to target, helping your business expand its reach.
8. Manage Digital Marketing Tools
An outsourced CMO can help you better utilize technology and digital marketing tools. With so many digital and social media marketing tools available today, it’s important to make sure that you’re using the right ones for your business. An outsourced CMO can help you do just that, ensuring that your marketing efforts are as effective as possible.
9. Save Money
An outsourced CMO can help you save money. An outsourced CMO is more cost-effective than hiring a full-time CMO, and they can also help you save money in other ways. For example, an outsourced CMO can help you better utilize online advertising tools, which can be substantially cheaper than traditional advertising methods.
10. Experienced & Organized
An outsourced CMO provides peace of mind knowing that a marketing executive with experience and expertise handles your marketing efforts. When it comes to your business, you need to know that your marketing efforts are in good hands. With an outsourced CMO, you can rest assured that experienced and qualified professionals are handling your marketing strategy and execution.
Popular Outsourced CMO services
What is a CMO service?
A CMO service is a type of marketing service that helps companies to outsource their marketing activities. This can include market research, product development, and advertising. CMO services can be provided by specialist agencies or by freelance consultants.
As discussed, One of the advantages of using a CMO service is that it can help free up companies’ time and resources to focus on their core business activities. It can also be a cost-effective way of accessing expertise and otherwise unavailable insights.
CMO services are tailored to meet the specific needs of each company, making it a flexible and scalable solution for businesses of all sizes.
1. CMOx
CMOx is a company that focuses on helping businesses grow and reach clients’ goals. This company is based in the United States, and they have a team of talented, experienced marketers and communicators who care about the businesses they work with. CMOx strives to help businesses reach their goals through marketing and communication strategies.
2. Chief Outsiders
Chief Outsiders is a Houston-based company that provides growth plans and marketing services to businesses of all sizes. With over 150 CMO professionals on staff, Chief Outsiders is well-equipped to help companies achieve their desired level of growth.
Chief Outsiders has worked with over 1,400 businesses, providing them with the tools they need to succeed. With their vast knowledge and experience, Chief Outsiders is a valuable resource for businesses looking to grow.
Marketing Strategy Implementation, Marketing Coaching Services, Product Marketing, and Digital Marketing Assessment are some of the services that chief outsiders offer.
3. Marketri
Marketri is a unique and innovative marketing consulting company that provides fractional CMO and CGO services to businesses in various industries. Their well-experienced marketing professionals have a wealth of knowledge and experience in creating successful marketing campaigns that generate leads and increase revenue for their clients. Marketri is dedicated to helping businesses achieve their marketing goals and is committed to providing the highest quality services and support possible.
The company’s services include fractional marketing leadership, marketing strategy, marketing plans, marketing transformation, branding strategy and messaging, lead generation, marketing analytics, and fractional marketing services.
4. Techcxo
Many businesses these days are turning to Techcxo for their executive consulting needs. Founded in 2003, this company was one of the pioneers in this field, and they continue to offer their clients the best possible advice and support. Techcxo is a consulting company that provides CTO, CMO, and CSO services.
This company offers on-demand executive marketing talent that performs executive advisory & consulting, executive and team coaching, as well as full outsourcing functions for finance, sales & marketing, and HR.
5. Hawke Media
Hawke Media is a full-service outsourced CMO that provides guidance, planning, and execution to help brands of all sizes grow. Whether you’re looking to launch a new eCommerce business or want to boost the revenue and ROI of an existing one, Hawke Media can help. Their collaborative process, a la carte offering, and month-to-month fee structure ensure consistent results. Hawke has worked with over 400 brands, including Evite, Red Bull, Verizon, and HP.
Hawke Media offers strategy, media buying, Amazon, Branding, email marketing, Content & Social Lifecycle Marketing, Media Buying, Paid Search, Paid Social, Photo & Video, Strategy, and Web Design services.
So, when you need a CMO, it’s best to go with the experts. The companies above provide top professionals in outsourced or fractionalized marketing management services, which can help make your company successful!
FAQs About An Outsourced Chief Marketing Officer
How much does It Cost To Hire a CMO?
Hiring a CMO can be a costly decision for a business. Depending on the level of experience and skills that are needed, the price can range from $100,000 to $1 million per year. As part of my research, found that the average hourly rate of a fractional CMO is between $300 and $485.
What Is A CMO In A Company?
The CMO, or Chief Marketing Officer, is the head of a company’s marketing department. They are responsible for all marketing and advertising operations within the company. This includes developing and executing marketing plans, overseeing marketing research and analytics, and managing customer relationships.
What Services Does A CMO Offer?
A CMO can help a business with several services, including creating marketing plans, developing and executing marketing campaigns, managing customer relationships, and measuring and analyzing marketing performance. These can help your businesses create or improve their branding and identify potential markets and customers.
Read More: How to Hire a Freelancer?
Is a CMO Higher Than A VP?
Yea, CMO is higher than a VP. It depends on the company’s structure and what role the CMO holds within it. Generally speaking, a CMO ranks higher than a VP, but there are always exceptions. In some companies, the CMO may report directly to the CEO, while a VP may report to the CMO. In other companies, the CMO may be a more junior position than a VP.
What Is A Virtual CMO?
A virtual CMO is an individual who oversees marketing operations for a company or organization without having to be physically present.
However, A virtual CMO is a marketer who works remotely, often through the use of technology. This can include using online tools like video conferencing and social media, as well as traditional methods like phone and email. A virtual CMO is responsible for developing and executing marketing plans and analyzing data to optimize campaigns and measure their effectiveness.
Do I Need A Fractional CMO?
You might be wondering if you need a Fractional Chief Marketing Office. The answer is that it depends.
A fractional CMO may be a good option if your company is starting or doesn’t have the budget for a full-time CMO. An outsourced fractional CMO can help you with everything from branding and marketing strategy to execution and measurement.
However, if your company is well-established and has a large marketing budget, you may not need a fractional CMO.
Conclusion: Is An Outsourced CMO Right For You?
The bottom line is that hiring an outsourced CMO is the way to go if you’re looking for a good start and want to turn around your business. An outsourced CMO is a creative and innovative way to breathe new life into your business.
When you’re struggling, it’s time to bring in an experienced marketing leader with a proven track record of success in your industry. It will cost you a lot less to hire the one person who will make the biggest difference in turning your business around than to keep paying the people who helped bring it down in the first place.
Work With Me
My business aims to help companies turn around their businesses and achieve growth. However, I do this by assisting them in hiring experienced marketing leaders with a proven track record of success in their industry. This includes providing marketing consulting, coaching, and branding services, executing marketing plans, and measuring effectiveness.
I hope this article should help you decide if an outsourced CMO is good for your business.
If you need help with anything related to marketing, I’m here to help. Whether you’re just starting or ready to take your marketing to the next level, I can help you achieve your goals. Schedule a free consultation today, and let’s see if we’re a good fit.strategic marketing
