A FULL TIME CMO // THE MODERN MYTH OF SISYPHUS

03.04.24 | MOLLY MCDERMOTT WALSH

Yes, I said it: corporate expectations around marketing leaders are insane.

Here’s the common scenario - brand has a great product, but it’s not selling out immediately. So they need help. The hope is that by bringing in a powerhouse marketer, there will be an immediate hockey stick across all performance metrics.

Meanwhile, the CMO needs to build relationships with the team (exec, board, and their own direct reports), while learning the brand, sifting through the recent activities, and divining the new path forward. Within the first 90 days.

At that magic 90 day mark, some of the ideas they present are going to piss people off. Or highlight other areas of the business that need improvements. Or show that in order to do it right, they first need to do these three other things. And fire this person. And promote that one. And bring in a new blank.

But businesses don’t want to hear that. They want a trusted expert to know what to do, near instantaneously, and to then go do that.

They want fast results. They want a guarantee.

So FT CMOs try their best, but start on shaky footing, and spend 18 months trying to get buy-in from up and down and sideways - and never get much actually done. So they leave. (I know, I know - #notall - but enough of you are nodding along.)

Insane, right?

After nearly twenty years in house as a marketing leader, I can confidently say that the old way is broken and leads to upset for both the company and the CMO. And that after three years as a fractional CMO & COO, I have confirmed that there is a better way.

Since going out on my own as a fractional CMO & COO, I have driven broader impact, built stronger teams and achieved more success than I did at even my most established in-house roles.

How?

Because while I may only be fractional to each client, I myself am fully engaged with staying up to date on trends, engaging with various industries, and learning from other fractional experts, like my peers in THE BOARD.

When I was in-house, I was an expert on that given industry (talk to me about color - any color) - because that is all I read about, talked about, networked with. But now, I am satisfying my own personal curiosity around the WHY and HOW CAN WE DO THIS BETTER and WHO EVEN CARES ABOUT THIS, and bringing these trends back to my clients. Who, like former me, are micro-focused on their brand and their day-to-day challenges. As they should be!

Meanwhile, the knowledge I bring, from my other clients and members of The Board, often translate across my varied clients.

For example, the person shopping for Scandinavian flooring has a lot in common with the person who is excited about a gluten free, quinoa beer that is actually delicious (and female owned!). So when I build personas and craft strategies, those insights make for richer plans all around. And when it’s time to execute, I’m up to date on all the new marketing tech, content trends and have access to top creatives who make it all come to life. Again, see The Board.

And while agencies and straight-up consultants can brag about this same exciting bag of knowledge, it’s likely that most of them have never actually implemented the strategies they’ve presented. Or sold ideas into a critical sales team or a pessimistic operations team. Or managed the team members who were then responsible for doing the work.

By hiring a former full time in-house turned fractional, you’re also getting the trusted ear of someone who has done all of the above - and their strategy will be created with these nuances - and instructions - in mind.

After nearly two decades of playing this game, I can understand the fear around change for management and for teams. I can also understand the pressure to perform while delivering results. What I don’t understand, then, is a refusal to try new ways of doing things. Or - back to my Sisyphus reference - why do companies talk about a changing consumer landscape and then refuse to adapt their marketing and creative approach?!

Insane.

So as some executives debate the need for a CMO at all, The Board and I are happily taking meetings with true visionaries who are ready to get some seriously dope stuff done. Let’s talk - the more colorful, the better.

#wearetheboard #fractionalexecutive #communityovercompetition #fractionalCMO #futureofwork #brandstrategy