Fractional CMO Is Now Fractional CMO & Marketing
Today marks an important milestone in our firm’s growth. I am excited to announce three new things which are the result of our growth, and the extraordinary acceptance in the marketplace to our ‘fractional’ concept:
- New name (well, kind of)
- New website
- New video
When we launched Fractional CMO a few years ago, we knew we were fulfilling a need many small and medium-sized companies have struggled with for years. There are many companies that need professional marketing leadership and planning, but they could not justify having a full-time Chief Marketing Officer (or Director of Marketing) on their payroll. Those companies ended up either giving up on marketing altogether, or settling for an employee they could justify hiring, knowing he or she did not have the full skillset they really needed.
Fractional CMO was a solution never-before offered to small and medium-sized companies – Highly qualified and experienced marketing leadership on a part-time basis as an outsourced service or ‘marketing as a service’, if you will!
Business owners and managers were delighted at this new concept of ‘Fractional CMO’ and so were we. Over the years, our clients asked us for more than just planning and management of their marketing – they wanted us to help them execute and implement what we have planned for them to do. We gladly obliged.
Our firm evolved from providing only Fractional CMO services to being truly a full-service Fractional Marketing Department. In other words, we became a part-time outsourced Marketing Department for our clients. We handle all marketing services and execute all the marketing efforts for our clients as if they have their own marketing department. Doing so in a fractional fashion is economical, efficient, and extremely effective.
To properly communicate and reflect this evolution, we changed our name from Fractional CMO to Fractional CMO & Marketing. We also launched a new website and created a new video that explains what we are doing and how.
We want to thank our clients for helping us grow and develop, and we would like to invite you to check out the new website and new video, and let us know what you think.
Duke Merhavy, MBA, Ph.D.
President & Chief Marketing Officer
Fractional CMO & Marketing Is Proud to Support Wild At Heart
Wild At Heart is a rescue, rehabilitation and release center for birds of prey. Its primary purpose is to rescue injured owls, hawks, falcons and eagles; rehabilitate them; and, ultimately, release them back into the wild. Its guiding mission is to do what is in the best interest of these magnificent birds.
5 Tips to Choosing a Charity for Your Business to Support
By Anna Kunz, Manager of Marketing Services
When natural disasters occur, businesses immediately feel compelled to donate to relief efforts. You may question whether or not your business should get involved, and if there are resources available to help. Charitable giving is big business, and aligning yourself with the right charity can be very beneficial to your marketing efforts and increase profits. However, selecting an organization that is not compatible, can be harmful. It is important to research and consult with your team to find a charitable endeavor that can help build stronger relationships with your customers, clients, and investors.
Here are 5 tips to help your business choose the right charities to support:
1. Start with your mission statement
When receiving multiple solicitations from a variety of worthy organizations, clarifying your mission statement will help you select charities that complement your company’s values and align with your brand. For example, a radio station might give to music education, while a solar panel manufacturer may have an interest in improving the environment. Consider important factors of the charity such as size, age, and whether or not their donations are distributed locally, nationally or abroad.
2. Consult with your staff
Choose a cause that your company will be enthusiastic about. Your employees are the heart of your company, and if they don’t agree with the cause, it will show in their support of the campaign. Clearly outline the criteria to support a potential charity, and ask team members to suggest organizations they are personally passionate about.
3. Choose a donation you can maintain
Your company’s profits might fluctuate year to year. Therefore, a popular way of giving is to allocate a percentage of your profits to charitable giving. This will allow you to measure your impact, and ensure that funds are being allocated appropriately and effectively for both parties. Bombas socks for example, utilizes the one for one concept by donating a pair of socks to a shelter for every pair that is purchased.
4. Research the charity
A trustworthy charity will define their mission and programs clearly, have measurable goals, and use concrete criteria to describe and measure achievements. Guidestar is a public charity that collects, organizes, and presents information on every IRS-registered non-profit organization in a format that is easy to understand. However, if the charity is not listed on GuideStar, do not be quick to rescind your consideration to donate. Instead, ask to see the company’s letter of determination, which will determine the organization’s qualification for special tax consideration.
5. Be confident in your partnership
If you believe the charitable organization is not transparent or fails to show accountability, there are many honest charities fulfilling similar efforts. Consider donating on a trial basis before committing to a recurring allocation. This will help develop a sense of how your organizations will work together.
We all want to help organizations that positively impact our communities. Giving to charities is beneficial from a marketing perspective, as our donations can resonate with our target audience. By utilizing the above-mentioned tips, you can ensure that your donations will make a positive difference in the world.
Marketing Lingo: Rebranding
Rebranding is a process some organizations engage in to change their name, logo, slogan, and/or other publicly-facing elements. A decision to engage in such activity should not be taken lightly – All pros and cons should be carefully weighed, and a good plan should be put in place for implementation.
Organizations engage in rebranding for a variety of reasons including a need to better reflect what they do (as we have done with our logo and slogan – see above), to address customer preferences, to keep up with modern design trends, to match and acknowledge shifting cultural sensitivities, and more.
‘Marketing Lingo’ is a regular column in which we define, or otherwise explain, terms often used in marketing but not necessarily correctly or properly by some
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