About Last Night
Every time I sit down to write this post, my understanding (trust?) about the state and future of our economy shifts.
Day 1: Welp- guess we had it too good for too long.
Day 2: Ok, it’s not exactly looking good but maybe it won’t be that bad.
Day 3: WTF just happened.
Day 4: Trust no one.
Day 5: I’ll be damned! Things are kinda looking up.
Day 6: LOL, JK… Somehow this “sorta shitty” situation is now a “seriously f-ed.”
Day 7: Damn- Mercury is still messing everything up? (Is it Monday, yet?)
But last night, I walked away from an event hosted by Naturally Bay Area feeling a little more hopeful. We’ll circle back to that in a second.
The Bay Area Bubble
First, I want to preface this post by acknowledging I probably have a skewed perspective. It’s been looking pretty doomsday from my POV in the Bay (and no, I’m not talking about Karl), but because we’re closer to the chaos than most corners of the country.
SVB and First Republic both blew up in our backyard.
The tech layoffs left ~100k of the workforce without jobs.
San Francisco’s downtown looks desolate - retailers are shuttering shops right and left.
Our city’s signature specialty, startups, is finding funding/investments harder to secure than ever thanks to the fraught financial market (see above).
The Economy’s Horrorscope
I’ve read a few recent reports that attempt to predict the likelihood of the possible outcomes from this mess.
I’m typically a fan of guesstimates, but I also think that‘s the exact kind of dart math that led us into this dumpster fire.
So in my relatively uneducated opinion, attributing probability figures to any scenario makes this chaos more complicated than it already is.
Instead of copying and pasting said complex predictions from the economists, I’ll summarize what I’ve seen in layman’s terms:
Option 1: We don’t flunk out (aka no recession) but we just barely skate by through the end of the year and end the year with a GED- “good enough development”- economically speaking. I’ll call it the “C’s get degrees” approach.
Option 2: Inflation refuses to take the hint and instead of slowing down, it speeds up. Like a bad date with zero self-awareness and an inflated (ha!) ego, its reckless behavior is irresponsible but somehow goes unchecked, leaving us all in a terrifically uncomfortable position.
Option 3: It’s straight-up 2008 vibes. Like that babydoll top cinched by an extra-wide Forever 21 belt at your spray-tanned waist, poor decisions were made. But while we’re still reeling with regret (er, recession debt), somehow the skinny jeans are starting to disappear while we brace for full-on flare mode as we barrel back into a recession.
2008 Vibes
(Note: Tube top, wide belt, flared jeans and cardigan shrug with a deep side part)
No matter which door we choose, there may not be any winners at the end of this game show (or shall I say sh*t show). However, with ALL that being said, there might be an upside to this downer situation, at least for some of us marketing folks (especially those who work with consumer goods startups).
Insights from Last Night
The Naturally Bay Area event I attended in Oakland featured a keynote speaker, John Foraker, Co-founder of Once Upon a Farm and former CEO of Annie’s.
He’s a respected powerhouse in the CPG space, so we soaked what he shared.
He noted that tough times, like the one we are in, can force companies, even industries to renovate their current models and innovate new ways of operating. Tougher to do if you're a giant corporation, but this “crunch” we’re in can be a silver lining for fearless startups.
“Fear and tough financing markets suppress competition, allowing you to run and lead. Build a scalable foundation, because now is the time to do it.”
Everyone in the audience was a brand-builder of sorts- from founders to financiers- and naturally, I found a few fellow marketers milling about afterward. We started discussing what it means to adapt to this dynamic, ever-changing landscape and what it means for brands and those who market them.
From my time in this space, I've found that for the most part, newer companies approach their marketing function in one of three conventional ways:
Option 1: Pony up for a full-time leader. They invest in someone with serious skills and experience, but quickly realize their overhead is too high to hire a support team to execute the work. Bottom line: A team with a coach but no players makes for a very short game.
Option 2: Hire young and hungry people. The company hires a green team but with great growth potential…potentially. They may be able to take on a lot, but junior teams need strategic guidance on what to do and how to do it well. Bottom line: Sacrificing quality for quantity is risky.
Option 3: Hand it all over to an agency. Agencies play an incredibly important role in helping to build the brand, but that job is usually a specific one. Founders can fall prey to the shiny object syndrome (great logo, smart packaging, sexy campaign) and fail to recognize the complexities of managing a cross-functional marketing operation and ongoing program implementation. Not only is that remit rarely baked into an agency’s scope, but someone needs to manage the agency. Bottom line: Agencies aren’t the sole solution.
The TLDR? These paths are either cost-prohibitive or end up being costly mistakes.
So, what is a cash-strapped startup supposed to do?
Well, There’s a 4th Option
As I talked to the badass founders who had bravely stood on stage and pitched their brands to a panel of judges, I shared with them why I got into marketing consulting after years in the agency and corporate world.
I saw so many startups struggling to get their brands off the ground because they lacked the resources to invest in an experienced marketing team. Most pre-seed businesses operate on a lean budget - they can’t afford senior-level marketing support. And how could they in these troubling times?!
But they can’t afford NOT to. These are precisely the companies that need experienced leadership to help them scale while they navigate the critical junctures ahead.
Option 4: Make a Half-Time Hire. Invest in senior-level marketing expertise without the high overhead costs of a full-time marketing leader
A Case for Consultants
As I chatted with other marketers who ditched corporate America for the freelancer freedom, we realized there are several reasons brands would want to bring in a consultant or fractional CMO.
Here's the first 5 that came to my mind:
Cost-effective- With a marketing consultant or fractional CMO, a brand gets all the expertise of a full-time veteran without the high price tag (benefits are hella expensive!).
Flexible - A FT hire is a commitment to a long-term relationship. But with a consultant or fractional CMO, the expectations are clear- this is a short-term relationship from the jump.
Fresh Thinking- Because they are temporary, external extensions of a team, a half-time hire can bring an outside perspective to the table, while remaining closely connected to the internal workstreams that impact their work.
Objectivity- It’s a reality check. Founders are so close to their work, that they can’t see the flaws in their marketing strategy or identify missed opportunities. Outsiders provide an objective perspective they simply can’t get when they are too close to it.
Specialized Expertise - Marketing is a broad field and when a company hires a FT marketing leader, they usually bring in a generalist. However, a marketing consultant or fractional CMO can provide specialized expertise. This allows the brand to get the focused support they need, without having to hire multiple employees.
What’s the Diff?
So, what’s the difference between a marketing consultant and a fractional CMO? I turned to our trusted ChatCPT and asked how they’d differentiate the two roles.
While a little cheeky, they weren’t totally off:
A marketing consultant is like a hot date who comes in, wows you with their expertise, and leaves you once the project is done. 🤭
A fractional CMO, on the other hand, is more like a steady, sexy friend with benefits who's always available to help you out when you need it. 😳
Net-net- it depends on whether a brand has a specific marketing project or defined scope of work (consultant) versus a blanket need for someone to diagnose, strategize, craft a plan, and help implement it over a period of time (fractional CMO).
Both consultants and fractional CMOs can be engaged on a per-project or ongoing basis, depending on need. This flexibility allows companies to scale up or down and adapt to changing business conditions, which we all know change day by day.
