A Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is an essential role for a startup. The right CMO knows how to improve brand awareness, create a professional marketing team, and drive sales positively.
To jumpstart a business model, ensure that you’re ready to run campaigns across multiple channels. The CMO (or the so-called “money maestro”) should be an SEM, SEO, CRM, communications, engagement, and business development expert.
In this post, we’ll explore when is the right time to hire a CMO, how to find the best candidate, and choose someone who knows how to structure teams. Let’s go!
When Should Startups Hire a CMO?
As soon as your company’s marketing strategy becomes more complicated, it’s time to take it to the next level. The CEO’s marketing expertise “expires” when:
- You’re a self-starter: you may dive into theoretical knowledge about startups, but if more clients come to you, you’ll need another hand for help.
- The business grows: you’ll notice competitors are pulling ahead, and the marketing becomes more complex. A CMO should step in and revitalize the business growth.
One more sign for a business owner to hire a CMO is when your team needs more leadership. They may ask for more industry expertise and guidance to help move the business forward. When your marketing staff needs a leader, it might be the right call to start interviewing for the CMO position.
If you’re on the other side of the road and want to apply for a CMO position, you’ll need to tailor your resume for a job. Find some great writers at https://skillhub.com/resume-writing-services-houston to help you pick the right skills and create a bot-beating resume!
Business Insights to Hire the Best CMO
Now that you know the red flags when you should start looking for CMO, it’s time to figure out who is the best fit for your company.
Find a list of practical tips below to find the right person:
Think about the kind of CMO you want.
CMO can take care of different marketing aspects. It may be an “all-in-one” person or a specific professional to help you highlight the brand voice.
For example, the storyteller CMO will help you get closer to customers and create a business strategy through content marketing tools.
An analytic CMO, on the contrary, would share expertise in market analysis. This person will track trends and build lead-generation funnels.
Even today, in a completely digitized world, it’s hard to find a professional who is the full package. You’ll have to determine your corporate goals and specify the most pressing marketing gaps before you put on a CMO job posting.
Choose someone who can build teams.
Any kind of CMO should know how to structure the marketing departments. Undergoing a hiring process, make sure you ask applicants how’d they have all the teams work together smoothly. Here are just a few teams that fall under the control of the CMO:
- Content marketing;
- Customer relationships;
- Marketing communications;
- Product marketing.
When the right CMO comes in, they need to structure the groups into a cohesive team that will drastically improve sales.
Make sure to ask for referrals.
Don’t just ask for any CMO: specify this request to your colleagues and partners. Highlight the qualities you’d like to see in a potential marketing officer; the more specific you are now, the more likely you’ll find a perfect match for the upcoming projects.
Get insight from a marketing professional.
Those days when startup owners had to deal with the problems themselves are gone. From one point of view, you can think you know what the company needs, but an unbiased opinion is never the fifth wheel.
Engage a marketing professional you trust to help you find the right CMO. You’ll gain more insights into marketing talents and demands.
Write a top-notch CMO job description.
That’s the first step people will make towards meeting you. The copy-pasted job description is the wrong way to go for any kind of business. Before posting anything, review the document, ask for a third party’s opinion, and please be unique.
Tell about your company and your vision to make it clear for future candidates. If you have concrete areas in mind that need improvement, tell about them. It will significantly help narrow the CMO search, saving you time and effort.
Common Mistakes that Drive Candidates Away
One of the main reasons to hire a CMO is to prevent a high staff turnover. But what should you do to keep the CMO in their position? Why are people disappointed in a workplace, and how can you prevent it?
Poor support from the executive management.
The problem (or a challenge) with newly-hired CMOs is that they need initial support from the CEO. The problem with CEOs is that they rush to handle the responsibilities without guiding into the company’s vision. And they are yet expecting to generate more revenue.
A good marketing campaign increases brand awareness. The more people know about you, the more likely, you’ll generate more profit. But if CEOs don’t see a revenue increase, they tend to misunderstand terms, saying the marketing strategy isn’t working. They should measure brand awareness and help CMOs reinvent their marketing strategy.
Limited trust and authority.
CMO is the same C-suite member as other executive directors. They have a lot on their plates right from the first day they clock in to start a new job. But sometimes newly-hired CMOs feel pressured by micromanagement from CEOs, making it hard to fulfil their corporate ambitions.
Lack of trust is a huge problem that should be addressed on every level. If you’ve already hired a marketing officer, and are confident in their experience and skills, let them show themselves in the process. Don’t micromanage unless you’ll see the marketing strategy doesn’t work.
The Bottom Line
CMO is a team member every business needs. It’s overseeing marketing teams and taking care of the company’s strategy to generate more profit. If you’re looking for a CMO for your project, write a clear job description, specify your goals, and ask a marketing professional for assistance.
