Instead of spending valuable time, energy and money seeking a traditional CMO for your fast-growing B2B, the outsourced CMO model could be the ideal solution. While that may sound appealing, be careful in choosing your outsourced CMO. Here are a few things to look out for:
Look for a Strategic Thinker With a Proven Track Record
They should start by establishing marketing KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that line up with your growth goals. These KPIs should be assessed against the benchmarks of your industry, as well as existing marketing data, to assure that they’re reachable.
Keep this in mind: Big picture thinking is a very specialized skill that not everyone has. Choose accordingly.
An Outsourced B2B CMO Should Have Experience Working With Other Similar Businesses and Industries
Often, small-to-medium B2B companies hire marketing consultants or agencies based on their portfolios, which are often stacked with B2C and Fortune 500 brands.
In the same way that those businesses offer different products and services than your company, they differ in the way they are marketed. They may lend themselves to highly creative marketing, while yours will need more explanation and rational information.
In addition, some larger marketing budgets can reach into the millions of dollars per year, while yours will probably max out at $250,000. Before hiring, ask yourself these questions.
- Has your selected marketing consultant or agency had successful experiences with other B2B brands?
- Do they understand how to make your product or service seem unique and appeal to your target audiences?
- Will they be able to deliver their strategy and creative concepts effectively on your budget?
An Outsourced CMO Should Come With a Specialized Implementation Team
While your outsourced CMO candidate may bring leadership and strategic thinking to the table, they will also need someone to create your campaign. Otherwise, all of this deep thinking and hard work will be for nothing.
Your implementation team should be an agency or a team of professionals, rather than one person alone. While one marketing professional may be extraordinarily talented, there’s no way that they can possess all of the skills and know-how to do it all on their own.
Here’s an example: A designer will be able to create a visually impressive ad or brochure, but they won’t be able to translate your strategy into the written word. Obviously, you need a copywriter for that. You may also need a content writer or technical writer to create white papers and native content campaigns.
Your outsourced CMO should have a team of experts ready to create every part of your strategy, help you to hire your own internal marketing team or work with your existing group.
For many small-to-medium-sized firms like yours, hiring specialized contractors as needed may be the most cost-effective answer.
However, there’s another option. An outsourced CMO agency brings all of the strategy and research your company needs, along with a team ready to create the final product.
Bold Entity Is an Outsourced CMO Agency Focused on Helping B2B Brands in the Private Space
Bold Entity offers the outsourced CMO services that your company needs, along with the functionality of a full-service marketing agency.
Our outsourced CMO solution can create potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll savings and leverage the skills of our nimble and driven marketing team. Your organization will gain the CMO expertise and strategic mindset you’re looking for, as well as a team of experts ready to execute a breakthrough integrated marketing campaign.
Contact Bold Entity today to learn how our outsourced CMO solution and team of experts, made up of our internal team and specialized contractors, can your company achieve measurable success.
