Did you know there are over half a million tech companies in the United States? Many of them are competing for the same customers. But only the ones that can most effectively communicate their unique value propositions will come out on top.
With the increasing complexity of products, some companies do better than others in showing end-users why their products and services are better than alternatives from other businesses.
A chief marketing officer can help. However, not all companies have a CMO in their C-level suites. Some tech businesses get staff members in other departments to contribute to marketing efforts — on top of their other duties. But stretching workers too thin won’t cut it. Marketing is too important. You need a dedicated marketing department spearheaded by an experienced CMO.
One source notes that many Fortune 500 companies are eliminating CMOs from their ranks of C-level executives. According to the source, one reason for this is that few CEOs have marketing backgrounds. So, some may undervalue the importance of marketing.
No business — tech company or otherwise — should undervalue the role of a CMO. It’s the only way to ensure marketing is purposeful, effective, and results-driven.
If the cost of adding a full-time CMO to the payroll is an issue, consider retaining a fractional CMO. It’s an option if you want to outsource marketing to a qualified and skilled marketing executive on an hour-by-hour basis. That way, you won’t have to commit to shouldering the salary of a full-time CMO — something you might not be able to afford or want to commit to.
Here are three ways your tech business can benefit by hiring a fractional CMO.
- Find Someone With Tech Experience
Hiring a fractional CMO has its benefits. One of these benefits is finding a marketing executive with demonstrable and proven experience working with tech companies.
You can find someone who understands what companies like yours must do to market more effectively to a target audience. You can leverage strategies, processes, insights, and new ways of doing things. The help fractional CMOs can offer tech companies, especially smaller ones that lack in-house expertise, can be game-changing in its impact.
- Reduce the Workload on Other Employees
Does your tech company currently need workers in other departments to pitch in on marketing? That can, as was mentioned previously, stretch workers too thin. The last thing you need is for employees to get stressed out or suffer burnout that negatively impacts their health and productivity. And, of course, your tech business’ marketing won’t be as effective as it could be.
A fractional CMO can take on tasks so employees can concentrate on their other responsibilities rather than divide their time between their core duties and marketing obligations. Retaining the services of a marketing executive to spearhead your tech company’s marketing strategy is best. You’ll get better results when marketing is led by a professional in that area.
- Communicate Your Unique Value Proposition
A fractional CMO can also help communicate your tech company’s unique value proposition. Before doing so, you need to understand your target demographic. The fractional CMO will take time to find out who already buys your products or services, where they live, how old they are, what they do for a living, what their interests are, and other vital details.
After learning about the target demographic, the next step is to find their pain points. That’s a crucial step before developing a unique value proposition that explains to consumers how what you sell can help solve their problems — and why they should patronize your tech company. You can count on a fractional CMO to do all the above and develop effective marketing strategies.
- Drive Revenue Growth
The tech industry is a competitive one. With so many businesses chasing the same customers, you’ll have to do more than the bare minimum of show why you’re better than the competition. A fractional CMO can help your tech business drive customer acquisition and retention. They’ll accomplish this through extensive marketing strategies that drive revenue growth and improve the return on investment on marketing spend. You can get these results with a marketing executive with experience and expertise helping tech businesses like yours achieve goals.
According to one source, acquiring a new client can cost up to seven times more than retaining an existing client. Some tech companies pull out all the stops to generate leads, pursue those leads, and convert them into paying customers. But focusing on retention is vital as well. You can count on your fractional CMO to devise effective marketing campaigns that do just that.
Tech companies that don’t grow will stagnate, which is the wrong direction for any enterprising tech company. Investing in a fractional CMO is like investing in your tech company’s success.
- Develop Talent
Another benefit of retaining the services of a fractional CMO is that the marketing executive can spearhead talent development in your tech company’s marketing department. If the fractional CMO spearheads marketing strategies without building a strong marketing team and mentoring talent, that’s a lost opportunity. You need a marketing department that can function without being hand-held by the chief marketing executive at the helm.
A fractional CMO will create a team and even pursue cross-department collaboration so that marketing, product development, and sales work together. Don’t underestimate the importance of cross-functional collaboration. Pursuing this will ensure people from different departments are involved in project communications. As each department shares its expertise and works toward common goals, the results will be stronger and more impactful.
It’s Worth Hiring a CMO
If your tech business doesn’t already have a CMO, now’s the time to consider hiring one. While many companies forego adding a CMO to their C-level suite, that’s a shortsighted move. If cost is a concern, remember that you don’t have to hire a full-time CMO.
Retaining the services of a fractional CMO will give your tech company the executive marketing experience and expertise required at a more affordable cost.
