Why “trying” to explain what you do for a living to your mother, is a good thing.
In the early stages of my marketing career, family members often asked me what I did for a living. I’m in marketing, I’d reply. "Yes", they’d say, but “what do you actually do? Do you make ads for TV?” Not quite, I’d reply.
I was proud of my burgeoning career and my early marketing accomplishments, but for my family, I usually focused more on sharing exciting business travel stories.
Like my trips to amazing cities like New York, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Miami—detailing the interesting people I met, the partnerships I helped forge, and the mostly legal shenanigans my colleagues and I got up to.
For the past fifteen years (of my 30-year career), I’ve made a living as a Fractional CMO. My mother asked me one day,
“What the heck is a Fractional CMO?”
A Fractional CMO is a marketing executive that you can hire on a part-time basis- for a “fraction” of time and for a “fraction” of the cost of hiring a full-time CMO.
“What?” my mother replied.
Ok, let me try this another way.
First off, a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is like the head chef in a restaurant. who creates all the recipes, (marketing strategies), is responsible for all the ingredients (marketing resources), how they are put together (marketing plans) to create delicious dishes(products and services), and who makes sure those dishes sound good on the menu (marketing campaigns), are plated beautifully (branded content), and that that they will satisfy customers cravings (consumer needs and wants).
And the Chef is also responsible for managing all marketing costs (budgeting) including kitchen staff (marketing team) to contribute to the overall success (profitability) of the restaurant. They also listen to customer feedback (research and analysis) to improve the dishes. A CMO ensures that the company’s marketing efforts are effective in reaching and engaging customers to generate sales and build a strong brand (a popular restaurant).
“Why don’t they just hire you to do that full-time?”
Good question. Some businesses, like start-up companies, may not yet be able to afford to hire a full-time CMO but still need the expertise. Other organizations don’t want to take on another senior-level executive salary and would rather have a CMO available to them from a variable need and expense standpoint.
Make sense?
“Yes, but what is the name of the restaurant you work for?”
Oh boy!
Seriously, these familial exchanges do force us to get away from industry jargon and use simpler language to describe what we do and the value we offer. Over time, we refine and adjust our language for specific audiences. This is a great exercise to improve how you define what you do and your core value proposition.
DM me after you have this conversation with your own mother or family member. Good luck, et bonne appétit!
Stephen Dorsey is The Fractional CMO. You can reach him at stephen@thefractionalcmo.ca or visit his website at: https://www.thefractionalcmo.ca
#fractionalcmo #strategy #marketing #communications Canadian Marketing Association
