Business owners are very much aware of how valuable marketing is for their brand’s growth & success. But there are many people who cannot work with a full-time marketing executive or what we call a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), so they look out for an outsourced CMO, who can help their brand to grow.
But what is a Chief Marketing Officer? A CMO is a C-level corporate executive responsible for activities in an organization, which includes creating, communicating & delivering brand offerings that have value for customers, clients or business partners.
Here is a Q&A with Manoj Chandra, the founder of Insperme Consulting, a unique firm that offers outsourced CMO & marketing consulting services to small & medium organizations, who is an expert on the topic as well as has first-hand knowledge on why outsourced CMOs are becoming more common.
Q: What is exactly a outsourced, part-time, or outsourced CMO?
A outsourced or outsourced Chief Marketing Officer is a marketing leader who becomes a part-time addition to the C-suite or executive leadership team of a company. He gets his title of CMO through years of experience in the leadership & management of the marketing function with an organization. He brings his expertise on the market to crystallize the business strategy and manage the implementation of growth.
However, unlike full-time employees, the outsourced CMO works part-time and often commutes from a different location or state for key meetings. The outsourced CMO often provides a better quality of service as well. He will be able to handle a specific task with his specialized skill to better use, creating a better quality product that will benefit you and your brand.
Q: What benefit a company can get if they choose to hire an outsourced CMO?
According to the studies & my personal experience, outsourced CMOs are mostly fit for mid-market organizations or startups that don’t need or can’t afford a permanent marketing leader but would benefit from the knowledge and strategic leadership of an experienced and accomplished CMO could bring to the company.
Beyond serving as a part-time addition to the C-suite, outsourced CMOs usually offer other services to their clients, such as functioning as a full-time interim executive during the search for a permanent CMO, provide unbiased and experienced assistance with strategic planning, conducting strategy workshops, coaching/mentoring lower-level marketing staffers, and conducting marketing audits.
Also, hiring an outsourced CMO gives the CEO the ability to “rent instead of hire” with no long-term commitment, and it saves recruiting costs, shortens delays, eliminates interviews and relocations, etc. Simply, having an unbiased, outside perspective can act as a boon for your organization.
Q. What led you to start Insperme Consulting?
I became an entrepreneur after I left my corporate career in 2011 to set up my own venture. Stepping into the startup industry, I took up a project helping a startup and started getting requests for mentorship and advice. Starting from a single project, I soon became an ‘outsourced CMO for many.
After working for many companies, I realised that the marketing requirements of a small business were different from that of a large organisation. However, they often lacked the knowledge or resources. Thus, instead of just being a consultant, I decided to go into execution too. From being just an outsourced CMO, I then set up my firm Insperme Consulting, where me and my team, became like an outsourced marketing department to a business, providing the complete set of marketing startegy and servcies that a brand needs to grow.
Q. How does Insperme help a business?
Our mission is to help our clients grow faster with our expertise.
Right from conceptualising the brand and creating the brand identity, to working with an existing business, to refine its brand positioning, repositioning it in the market, and putting on a new marketing focus, at Insperme, we work on relooking at the business model, product market fit, target customer segments, packaging and promotion to craete a well rounded business and brand strategy. With that in place, we work on the marketing plan which is then ably executed by the Insperme Team.
We offer all the services that today’s marketing system needs, we offer a wide range of services such as brand identity creation, brand colaterals, go to market, advertising and promotions, digital and social media, customer engagement and retention.
In addition, because of the experience I bring, many business owners also find a mentor in me. After all, small businesses need help in finding the right talent. Most of them also do not have the skill to hire, since they have no experience with recruitment. Often, they also need help with finance, cash flows, and balance sheets.
On the other hand, there are also business people who are not tech savvy. In such cases, Insperme offers them technology support to help them develop a product or a website, ERP, CRM, and, lead management systems, or e-commerce platforms.
Our single objective is that whatever the challenges you face in building an organisation and entrepreneurial setup, we become kind of ingrained with the organisation to help you grow. We become part of the organisation, my team becomes their team, and we work hand-in-hand.
Q. What are the costs involved for a Business?
Our business model is developed at giving the client amazing value. At the cost of just one marketing person, they can avail the services of an experienced team of 8 to 10 people, who will manage all the facets of marketing, branding, and communication for them; that too, at a fraction of the cost of what would cost if they did it themselves.
