Fractional Chief Marketing Officer
NOUN
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A fractional chief marketing officer (CMO) is an outsourced marketing executive who performs the function of a CMO without your company having to commit to a full-time, in-house marketing leader.
JOSEPH
HAECKER
Hey there! I'm Joseph Haecker. I’ve helped brands grow from $9 million to $28 million in under three years, and from $30 million to $96 million...
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Avoiding Common Marketing Mistakes: Focus on What Matters Most
Many brands stumble into a few simple but costly mistakes. The first is losing sight of their core strength or offering. The second is hiring marketers who perform typical “marketing things,” following trends blindly. Humans gravitate toward the familiar, but if your brand isn’t growing with your customers, you’ll fall behind. Marketers often replicate others' strategies because it feels safe. However, marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all. Each brand is unique, and what works for one may not work for another. Going viral might boost one brand but could harm another. A perfect example of personalized strategy comes from John Pietro, former head of marketing for Wendy’s. Up until the late '80s, consumers went to fast food places to buy the "burger". Brands struggled to get consumers to purchase a complete meal. If you went to a McDonald's up until the early 90’s, you might remember this phrase: Would you like fries and a soda with that? While other fast-food chains focused their marketing efforts and budgets on attracting new customers and creating advertising to “teach” the consumer how to purchase a complete meal, John realized a simple but effective solution: the "combo meal". John simply placed three sheets of paper on a Chicago menu board that read: Combo A, Combo B and Combo C. He provided the price for the burger, fries, soda, tax and total. He didn't even give consumers a discount. This simple solution changed how customers behaved. By bundling the burger, fries and soda, John Pietro has effectively sold more fries and sodas than any other human being alive. It wasn’t about marketing campaigns; it was about understanding how humans think and behave. Most marketers would have considered this a “function of sales”. But John understood that marketing isn’t just advertising and running campaigns. Marketing is story telling. John told consumers the story of a combo meal. And people got it! This simplicity is what I apply to my marketing philosophy. For instance, when a brand with products in over 500 retail locations nation-wide for over 30 years, called me to say that sales were down and they wanted my help taking them ecommerce, I asked them: What happened to your 500 retailers? Like many businesses, they had been focused on growth and gaining market share. And while this is good, they hadn’t created a “nurture program” to stay in contact, provide ongoing product trainings and engage their established retailer network. The fix was simple, but one that they had not considered. Marketing isn’t hard if you’re willing to challenge the norm and tailor strategies specifically to your brand. You don’t need another brand’s playbook; you need a strategy that works for you. That’s what I do—help brands create and deploy unique, effective marketing strategies. That is what you should expect from a Fractional CMO. Ready to reimagine your approach? Let's talk.
Your Marketing Team should have a "Marketing Philosophy".
Without one, they will be doomed to drift with the latest trends.
A Proven Track Record
$9MM to $28MM in 3-Years
As an employee, I took my first lighting company from $9MM to $28MM, by restructuring and reorganizing their process, focusing on design and outsourcing manufacturing.
$30MM to $96MM in 1-Year
As an employee, I took my second lighting company from $30MM to $96MM, by freeing up redundancy and empowering our in-house project management team,
Changing An Entire Industry
In 2011, Eneref Institute credited me with "changing the daylight tubular skylight industry, with the products I developed for Solatube International.
COVID Response for Trade Shows
As a response to the low numbers at trade shows, I launched "in-booth new reporting", sending news reporters to trade shows to provide in-booth news coverage, winning multiple awards for our trade show coverage.
3 Simple Driving Principles
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In the course of my life, I have been fortunate enough to have been mentored and befriended by many influential people. What I've learned are a few simple principles. The first is to "seek the low hanging fruit", we tend to over complicate things, when the simplest answer tends to be true. Second, focus on community. If your brand can bring people together, you will build a sustainable brand. Community and storytelling should be at the forefront of every brand. If more brands focused on telling the story of their customers, they would never run out of content. And my last principle is a misunderstood concept, but one that is a make-it or break-it concept. I will not touch a company or business unless I can "Turn my customer, into my marketer". Most people think that this means "referrals". And it does not. Brands like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram are platforms. They are right in front of us, yet most people do not understand that these brands have turned every single one of their customers, into their marketers. It's so simple that most people do not understand it...including most marketers.
What I am NOT...
I am NOT a "marketing services provider". Marketing service providers typically offer things like digital advertising, SEO, social media management, or content creation. They often suggest strategies that align with the services they sell, leading to biased recommendations. While they may dabble in strategy, their advice tends to favor their specific service offerings, which will feel like you are doing "something, but ultimately may not suit your business's actual goals.
As a Fractional CMO, my role is to create a tailored marketing strategy, selecting the right mix of marketing services to achieve your objectives. I scale services up or down based on performance, ensuring your strategy remains agile and effective. Trusting a service provider to guide your brand’s entire strategy is a common, costly mistake that businesses make when they lack strategic oversight from a CMO.
Let’s focus on what truly moves your business forward—a smart, adaptable marketing strategy.
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Combo Details and Nutritional Facts
Combo A: Fractional CMO Basic Plan
This plan provides structured, high-impact strategic marketing support tailored to your business. • 1-Hour Weekly Calls: Regular check-ins to guide, refine, and adjust strategies as needed. • 1 Major Marketing Campaign: I’ll lead one significant, results-driven campaign tailored to your business needs. • 10-Hours Monthly Team Calls: I work directly with your team to align efforts and boost productivity. • Marketing Strategy & Setup: Includes initial strategy development and setup to ensure a strong foundation. Rate: $692/week for 52 weeks ($36,000 total). Travel and accommodations not included. Typical Fractional CMO packages include comprehensive marketing strategies, ongoing campaign management, team collaboration, performance reviews, and strategic adaptability. This package is ideal for businesses looking for hands-on leadership to drive impactful marketing efforts without committing to a full-time executive.
Combo B: Fractional CMO Advanced Plan
This plan offers deeper strategic marketing engagement and greater campaign leadership. • 1-Hour Weekly Calls: Ongoing strategic discussions to refine and pivot your marketing approach. • 2 Major Marketing Campaigns: I’ll manage two high-impact, custom campaigns to drive growth. • 20-Hours Monthly Team Calls: Direct team collaboration to align efforts, boost performance, and ensure execution. • Marketing Strategy & Setup: Comprehensive strategy development and implementation to kickstart growth. Rate: $1,154/week for 52 weeks ($60,000 total). Travel and accommodations are not included. Typical Fractional CMO packages also include continuous performance evaluations, scaling services, and in-depth campaign management. This tier is ideal for businesses needing robust campaign oversight and strategic guidance without committing to a full-time CMO.
Combo C: Fractional CMO Premium Plan
Maximize your brand’s potential with a high-level, fully customized marketing strategy and implementation. • 4-Hours Weekly Calls: Extensive strategy sessions to guide your marketing efforts. • 6 Major Marketing Campaigns: Full execution and management of six high-impact campaigns. • 50-Hours Monthly Team Calls: In-depth collaboration with your team to ensure seamless execution. • Marketing Strategy & Setup: Complete marketing strategy creation and initial setup. Rate: $1,924/week for 52 weeks ($100,000 total). Travel and accommodations not included. Typical Fractional CMO services include ongoing strategy adjustments, campaign scaling, performance tracking, and cross-channel marketing alignment, ensuring that all marketing services work cohesively toward your brand’s goals.