Baron Belalov and Alan Gonsenhauser | Fractional CMOs & The 90-Day Win
This video is a podcast interview with Baron Belalov and Alan Gonsenhauser discussing the role and strategies of fractional Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) in achieving significant business wins within the first 90 days of engagement.
Conclusion
Fractional CMOs focus on understanding business goals, evaluating value propositions, and leveraging data to drive growth. They emphasize the importance of clear communication, consistent messaging, and integrating effectively into the team to ensure success.
Key points
🔍 Value Proposition: Ensuring the company’s value proposition is clear and effectively communicated, particularly on the website.
📊 Data Utilization: Leveraging data to understand the current state of the business and make informed decisions.
🗣️ Consistent Messaging: Maintaining clear and consistent messaging across all channels to build a strong brand presence and avoid confusion.
📈 Early Wins: Focusing on quick, impactful wins to demonstrate value and build trust with clients.
💡 Customer Insights: Conducting thorough customer research to understand their needs and how they perceive the brand.
🤝 Team Collaboration: Working closely with internal stakeholders to align strategies and improve overall effectiveness.
🚀 Execution and Resources: Developing realistic and executable marketing plans with measurable goals and ensuring the necessary resources are in place.
👥 Stakeholder Engagement: Engaging key stakeholders early on to ensure alignment with the company’s vision and strategy.
🧠 Marketing Education: Educating clients on the importance of strategic marketing and the iterative nature of positioning.
📋 Long-term Objectives: Establishing both short-term and long-term goals to guide marketing efforts and ensure accountability.
Summary
- Introduction: The podcast introduces the topic of fractional CMOs and their impact within the first 90 days.
- Alan’s Background: Alan shares his experience as a fractional and interim CMO, focusing on SAS software and health IT companies.
- First Problem: Alan highlights the importance of a clear value proposition and matching the website’s creative to the business’s domain and industry.
- Infrastructure Assessment: Alan explains the need to evaluate the company’s infrastructure, including people, process, technology, data, and analytics.
- Baron’s Background: Baron discusses his decade-long experience in marketing, working with over 100 clients in various industries.
- Holistic Understanding: Baron emphasizes the importance of asking the right questions to get a holistic understanding of the business, including sales cycles, team resources, and vendor relationships.
- Autonomy and Context: Baron stresses the importance of giving fractional CMOs autonomy and equipping them with all the context they need to make informed decisions.
- Strategic Partner: Alan advises fractional CMOs to come in as strategic partners on the SE suite and take time to understand the environment and people.
- Team Strengths: Baron discusses the value of identifying and leveraging the strengths of the existing marketing team to maximize productivity and effectiveness.
- Relationships and Integration: Alan highlights the importance of developing relationships early on and integrating effectively into the team to ensure a smooth transition and successful outcomes.
Quotes - 00:35: “I’m a fractional interim CMO and also a CMO executive adviser primarily for SAS software and health IT companies.” – Alan Gonsenhauser
- 00:67: “The first thing I look at is what’s their value proposition. Is it clear when you go to their website do you know what they do?” – Alan Gonsenhauser
- 01:19: “I think the value proposition, how they articulate it and the creative on the website needs to match what business they’re in, what domain and industry they’re in.” – Alan Gonsenhauser
- 01:39: “I look at five things: people, process, technology, data, and analytics.” – Alan Gonsenhauser
- 02:15: “Typically what I like to do is develop a questionnaire that gives me a very holistic understanding about a business.” – Baron Belalov
- 02:39: “By asking the right questions holistically, it helps me understand if marketing is going well maybe the problem’s not there.” – Baron Belalov
- 03:32: “The biggest mistake I see CEOs make is that they actually don’t give the fractional CMO enough autonomy or trust with their methodology or input.” – Baron Belalov
- 04:15: “Context is really important because it equips us fractional CMOs with the information we need to make well-informed decisions.” – Baron Belalov
- 05:09: “Don’t come in as an implementer, come in as a strategic partner on the SE suite.” – Alan Gonsenhauser
- 06:12: “Look at the marketing team, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and see how we can leverage those strengths to get more output.” – Baron Belalov
- 13:45: “When I start an engagement, the first thing I look at is what’s their value proposition.” – Alan Gonsenhauser
- 14:20: “I look at infrastructure, which includes people, process, technology, data, and analytics.” – Alan Gonsenhauser
- 15:55: “The biggest mistake I see CEOs make is not giving the fractional CMO enough autonomy.” – Baron Belalov
- 16:40: “Context is crucial for making well-informed decisions as a fractional CMO.” – Baron Belalov