119 - Outsourcing Your CMO for Explosive Growth with Anfernee Chansamooth

After about 100 episodes, Gert brings back to the podcast Anfernee Chansamooth, the authentic marketer, who will provide valuable insights on hiring and working with a fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) including considering potential agencies and allocating budget for execution.

In this episode, Gert and Anfernee discussed fractional CMO services for founders and CEOs who want to manage their marketing but don't have the time or expertise. There are benefits of hiring or outsourcing a CMO, without a full-time commitment.

If you want to learn about CMO roles, listen to this episode to the very end.

Podcast Highlights:

00:00 Prologue

00:46 Podcast INTRO

00:56 Welcome back to Anfernee Chansamooth and introduction to the episode topic

02:57 Who needs a full time SEO and how can businesses have enough with a Fractional CMO? (...To whom is Fractional CMO best suited for?)

05:00 Transistioning to the role of a CMO and why is it important to develop the capability to think at a higher level and make strategic decisions?

07:36 Distinctions of CMO roles and responsibilities

13:47 The difference between project managers and CMOs and the importance of  equipping clients for long-term success.

17:56 What are the benefits of hiring a fractional CMO for small businesses?

22:22 How much investment is it to hire a fractional CMO?

24:27 What does the role of a fractional CMO mean for Anfernee?

30:58 Anfernee's insights on what kind of questions to ask a business owner before he comes in as the fractional CMO?

35:21 Where to connect with Anfernee Chansamooth?

36:32 End

Resources: 

How to learn about fractional CMO, go to: https://theauthenticmarketer.com/services/

Past episode with Stevie Brown: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3mPCo77DkgReqBPWXj0tyX

Connect with Anfernee Chansamooth:

Website - https://theauthenticmarketer.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anfconsulting/

Connect with Gert Mellak:

Website: https://seoleverage.com/

Email: [email protected]

Outsourcing Your CMO for Explosive Growth with Anfernee Chansamooth

Every marketing team of small enterprises and any business looks for ways to boost their marketing efforts. Outsourcing a chief marketing officer might be a really exciting opportunity and can also be referred to as a fractional CMO. Digital and conventional marketing are both effective in this function.

Join Gert and Anfernee Chansamooth of The Authentic Marketer to explore:

• Why savvy startups are ditching CMOs for laser-focused marketing expertise
• The secrets to finding the perfect fractional CMO
• Actionable strategies to leverage a fractional CMO for explosive growth

Who Needs a Full-Time SEO?

CMOs are best suited for established small and medium-sized businesses.

Both SMBs typically have a functioning marketing system. They also have one or two dedicated personnel, like a marketing assistant or virtual assistant. Larger teams might even have a marketing manager or coordinator.

However, more than full-time SEO is needed for businesses with the resources to hire a dedicated marketing director or lead. If a company can afford an in-house position with benefits, they wouldn't need a fractional CMO.

Gert agrees on the suitability of smaller companies with existing support staff capable of execution. Businesses often have an agency "marketing person" who collaborates with SEO consultants. If a CMO exists, they align or discuss the strategy.

Why CMOs Must Level Up Their Thinking

CMOs are strategic thinkers, acting as partners to CEOs at the executive level. They paint the vision and steer the company's direction.

An "all-in-one" marketing person, handling execution from content creation to SEO, rarely succeeds. Anfernee shares his own experience, admitting he wouldn't have been ready for CMO responsibilities early in his career. This is due to the necessary shift towards strategic planning.

Moreover, Anfernee added that simply publishing content doesn't guarantee success. Strategic decisions are essential to align actions with the goal of winning in the market. This strategic approach requires moves made in collaboration with the CEO.

How CMOs Shape the Marketing Landscape

There are limitations to relying solely on a virtual assistant for SEO. While effective execution is valuable, strategic and long-term direction are important to success.

Anfernee emphasizes several key functions of a CMO:

• Strategic director. Guiding the marketing team and aligning activities with business goals.
• Accountability partner. Owning results and driving measurable impact.
• Capability builder. Upskilling the marketing team and ensuring smooth succession.
• Business development advisor. Assisting with positioning, target audience definition, and sales funnel optimization.

Moreover, Anfernee shares the gap between initial content creation and expensive long-term engagements. To bridge this gap, they offer affordable pre-engagement audits.

Partnering with a specialized CMO frees CEOs to concentrate on their strengths. This is while benefiting from expert guidance and execution.

Project Managers vs. CMOs

Anfernee highlights these key differences between Project Managers vs. CMOs:

• Engagement duration. Project managers typically handle short-term tasks (e.g., a quarter-long SEO project). CMOs commit to longer engagements (minimum 12 months, up to 2 years).
• Outcome: Ideally, clients experience revenue growth within 1-2 years. This allows them to either extend the CMO engagement or hire a full-time replacement.
• Focus. Project managers execute specific tasks, while CMOs take a strategic approach. This builds marketing capability within the client's team and equips them for long-term success.

Hiring a fractional CMO lowers the entry barrier due to the focus on improvement, team building, and eventual independence. Gert emphasizes the efficiency gained by working with a CMO.

Benefits of Working with Fractional CMO

Anfernee emphasizes key benefits:

• Strategic leadership. CEOs offload marketing strategy and leadership to the CMO. This frees them to focus on other business areas.
• Flexibility and cost-effectiveness. Fractional engagements provide strategic marketing expertise without the full-time salary commitment. This is ideal for smaller businesses.
• Focus and innovation. Defined timeframes for fractional CMOs to incentivize efficient work and creative solutions. This avoids unnecessary busy work.
• Prioritized results. Fractional CMOs focus on delivering measurable value within time constraints. This avoids activity for the sake of activity.
• Faster project delivery. Focused engagement often leads to quicker project completion compared to full-time arrangements.

Gert expands on the value for small businesses:

• Marketing offload. CEOs can delegate lead generation and marketing direction to the CMO. This focuses on their core strengths and strategic work.
• Cost-benefit balance. Small businesses can access top-level marketing expertise without the full-time cost.
• Data-driven decision-making. CMOs provide clear data and reports on marketing performance.
• Investment range inquiry. Gert expresses interest in understanding the typical investment range for fractional CMO services. This allows potential clients to assess cost and determine if it aligns with their budget.

Fractional CMO Rates and ROI Potential

Anfernee shares the cost and potential ROI of hiring a fractional CMO:

• Full-time CMO Cost. Anfernee provides data for Australia, revealing a median annual salary of $195,000 for a full-time CMO.
• Fractional CMO Rates. The cost of a fractional CMO ranges significantly from $3,000 to $10,000 per month. This also depends on factors like experience, expertise, and past results.

Moreover, Gert highlights the potential for CEOs to offset the cost of a fractional CMO. Gert raises the challenge of managing different stakeholder interests.

The Role of a Fractional CMO for Anfernee

Anfernee's passion for the fractional CMO role stems from its ability to optimize the customer experience. Anfernee highlights key aspects of his work:

• Prioritization and focus
• Cross-departmental collaboration
• Customer-centric approach
• External perspective

Both Anfernee and Gert emphasize the potential of a fractional CMO to go beyond marketing execution. Ultimately, this leads to improved customer experience and business success.

What to Ask Before Hiring a Fractional CMO

Here are questions to ask according to Anfernee:

• Does your expertise align with our company's needs? Marketing is diverse, and CMOs have different specialties, like SEO. Identifying and aligning the biggest marketing gaps with the CMO's strengths is crucial.
• Do you have a budget allocation beyond your salary? Execution often requires additional resources like agencies, specialists, or designers. The CMO should provide a game plan with estimated execution costs.
• Do you have communication expectations? This includes the frequency of marketing reports.

Wrap-Up

The Outsourced CMO offers leadership, direction, and assistance at a level the firm may not currently receive. This frees up the CEO or whoever has been filling in for the CMO to concentrate on other aspects of the company. The marketing team increases in capability and capacity thanks to the leadership of the Outsourced CMO.