Decade as a Fractional CMO: Here’s the Marketing Wisdom No One Tells You.
15 Startups
15 Lessons
1️⃣ One Size Fits Never: Forget about the cookie-cutter approaches. Your marketing strategy should be as unique as your brand.
2️⃣ The 4 Rs: Brand awareness is all about delivering the Right message, to the Right audience, on the Right channel, at the Right time. Simple, not easy.
3️⃣ Vision ≠ Skill: Founders? Bless their hearts—they’re the dream weavers, the soul stirrers. But a visionary does not a business leader make, usually.
4️⃣ Too Fast, Too Furious: Growth spurts aren’t just awkward for teenagers. Speeding through milestones can crash and burn your brand.
5️⃣ Content is Queen: If you aren’t producing content, you’re invisible. Full stop.
6️⃣ PR ≠ Press Releases: Public Relations isn’t just slapping a release on a wire. It’s about relationships, people!
7️⃣ PESO in Your Pocket: Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned—the multifaceted gem of a successful marketing strategy.
8️⃣ Organic Isn’t Just for Veggies: Even if you’re not splurging on ads, organic growth is legitimate, darling.
9️⃣ Channel Your Energy: Being mediocre on multiple social platforms gets you nowhere. Pick 1-2 and be fabulous.
1️⃣0️⃣ Test or Bust: If you’re not A/B testing, you’re just guessing.
1️⃣1️⃣ ROI Isn’t a Buzzword: Marketing isn’t an expense; it’s an investment. And yes, you can and should measure its ROI.
1️⃣2️⃣ High Risk, High Reward: No guts, no glory. Marketing is all about experimenting. Try something new. Explore!
1️⃣3️⃣ The Swiss Army Knife: In a budget crunch? A kick-ass marketing strategist can rival an entire department.
1️⃣4️⃣ KPIs ≠ Goals: Know the difference, it’s not just semantics.
1️⃣5️⃣ Roundtable Realness: Marketing shouldn’t be in a silo. We need to vibe with Customer Experience, Sales, Finance, Product, IT—the whole shebang.
So, there it is.
Almost a decade of experience with Start-ups, distilled.