On Demand CMO

Marketing Expertise, Without the Expense

Strategic marketing consulting services for small businesses looking for growth and profitability.

What is an On Demand CMO?

Simply put, an On Demand CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is an outsourced strategic marketing executive consulting program. At The Five Echelon Group, our program is called the CMO On Demand consulting service. It's a monthly, fixed-price consulting engagement designed to give The Five Echelon Group's clients on-demand access to world-class strategic marketing, branding, and communications expertise, advice, and counsel in addition to hands-on program management and execution, all at a lower cost than a full-time hire.

As an extension of your management team and marketing organization, the Virtual CMO's involvement ensures your organization’s marketing programs are aligned to increase brand awareness, product demand, lead generation, and increased revenue. The On Demand CMO will serve as your marketing lead in driving marketing initiatives, strategies, and execution.

Not All Businesses Have a Chief Marketing Officer

It's important to note in this discussion that not all businesses have the executive role of Chief Marketing Officer. This is especially true of small and midsize companies. In those firms, they might have a VP of Marketing, Director of Marketing or even a Marketing Manager. The title really doesn't matter. The concept of a On Demand CMO is an experienced marketing manager who can help create a comprehensive strategy and manage its execution. No matter what title may or may not exist within your organization, if you're looking to grow, chances are you'll find significant value and should contemplate the decision to hire a On Demand CMO for your business.

What are the Specific Areas of Focus for an On Demand CMO?

A comprehensive marketing plan is an important part of any business strategy. Oftentimes, many small to midsize businesses execute marketing tactics before outlining business objectives and factoring the best marketing strategy to achieve those objectives. By creating a comprehensive marketing plan, you can strategically employ the most effective tactics and avoid wasting time and money. A On Demand CMO would be responsible for the creation and execution of this plan. Hiring someone with expertise in marketing strategy allows your company to quickly create a plan and see that it's implemented successfully.

Focus Areas

Marketing Strategy - At the outset of this engagement, we will thoroughly review your company’s business plan, go-to-market strategy, product positioning, competitive landscape, and services portfolio to understand the company’s current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and target markets. In consultation with your management team, we will outline a variety of strategic marketing initiatives designed to improve performance of current marketing and sales efforts. As part of this process, we will provide consultation and direction to formulate a comprehensive strategic marketing plan for the products and services offered by the company. Working collaboratively with your existing team, your On Demand CMO will manage the company’s overall marketing strategy, campaigns, programs, and tactics.
Branding and Awareness - As a component of the CMO On Demand service, we will provide recommendations related to branding, messaging, and positioning. Working with your team, we will develop or enhance corporate positioning, company boilerplates, and elevator pitches. As a Virtual CMO, we will provide strategic marketing direction and project management as well as creative and art direction. This ensures all marketing deliverables align with the company’s brand standards as well as create positioning that resonates with prospects and customers.
Marketing Communications & Sales Enablement - As an On Demand CMO, we will review existing materials and develop marketing content that can be used across all marketing delivery channels. This includes printed collateral, website content, social media, trade publication outreach, and sales toolkits.
Digital & Search Marketing - As part of the CMO On Demand engagement, we will provide a digital marketing recommendations related to the company’s online presence, including web site design and performance as well as search engine marketing and optimization. We will also provide guidance for improving your company’s web presence that will result in increased organic web traffic, sales leads, engagement, and conversions. To augment exposure, the Virtual CMO can also assist in the creation and management of pay-per-click programs and online advertising to drive paid traffic to the company's web site.
Integrated Marketing Planning, Budget Development & Media Plans - As part of an On Demand CMO engagement, we will conduct a thorough review of previous and current marketing plans, campaigns, and tactics. Based on growth targets, the Virtual CMO will prioritize marketing spend with budgets, align priorities, and media mix to drive awareness, brand recognition, and lead generation for chosen products and services. As necessary, we will recommend alternative integrated online and offline marketing activities to drive growth and sales.
Marketing Systems, Infrastructure & Tools - To scale the growth of the organization, the On Demand CMO can provide evaluation, recommendations, and implementation services related to marketing automation tools, systems, infrastructure, vendors, and personnel. The Virtual CMO will work with IT and sales resources to ensure the systems identified, selected, and implemented are integrated and adopted to ensure maximum effectiveness within the organization.
Executive & Client Meetings - As an On Demand CMO, we are available for adhoc day-to-day interactions, calls, and regularly scheduled weekly meetings to discuss project prioritization, status, and review decision points. The CMO On Demand consulting service is designed so that your outsourced CMO is to be considered a virtual extension of the existing management team and intimately involved in every aspect of the company’s marketing strategy, prioritization, and execution.

What is the difference between a Virtual CMO, Fractional CMO, and On Demand CMO?

The short answer is nothing. All describe an outsourced consulting offering where the CMO provides services to a company on a contract basis. Usually, those services are contracted for 6 to 12 month periods and are based on a fractional time commitment, not a specific number of hours. While in certain cases, it could be a full-time engagement, the cost savings generally come from the CMO being able to work remotely and on a part-time basis.

At The Five Echelon Group, our unique offering is called the CMO On Demand consulting service.

Additional Articles

Fractional CMO For Your Business

What is a CMO On Demand

An Outsourced CMO Service For Your Business

6 Reasons to Add a Virtual CMO to Your Marketing Team

Virtual Chief Marketing Officer to Grow Your Business

Marketing is the engine that drives demand.

Do you have a strategic marketing plan?

Too often, marketing takes a back seat to other priorities. Awareness fails to materialize, demand drops, and sales falter. Don't wait until it's too late to build your brand awareness and demand generation programs.

A strategic marketing consultant can help build out a comprehensive plan and implement specific programs designed to increase awareness and generate demand.

Learn more about our CMO On Demand strategic marketing consulting service and how it can save your company time and money while helping your company grow.

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June 18, 2024