Fractional CMO firm demonstrates staying power; in exclusive 3% group

(Warning: We’ll be tooting our horn a bit here, but hope our learnings are transferable)

What does it take to get listed on the Inc 5000 (Inc Magazine’s list of the Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies in the US) six years in a row?

It’s not a trick question. And yes, our firm has made the Inc 5000 every year it’s been eligible to apply. In two words, it takes consistent growth. So, what’s the secret to consistent growth? Truthfully, there’s no one secret. But there is a repeatable process!

Start Your Business During a Major Recession
Chief Outsiders was founded in 2009. It was a great time to start a business to help other businesses because so many needed help. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, it forced us to approach every investment very carefully. It also helped us shape a business model for fractional CMOs that didn’t exist, or at least at any scale.

We set out with a very heady mission: To be the firm where the world’s best marketers come to do the best marketing of their careers, surrounded by peers they love to learn from. The risks and rewards for our growth is shared by all our CMOs (70% of which are already Partners in the firm). This reduces our requirement for capital and allows us to swing with economic shifts and market demands. As a result, it’s enabled us to grow.

Approach Growth Intentionally
It’s surprising to us how many companies (and we’ve worked with more than 800) don’t have specific goals for their growth. We often help a CEO more clearly define achievable goals that the whole company can rally around, then we set off together to reach them.

We always have growth goals – for the long-term, mid-term and current year. And while we’re compelled to adjust them regularly, knowing where we stand relative to our objectives is hugely powerful.

Culture First
After working for companies of all sizes and styles, we recognized that our potentially greatest competitive weapon would be—and has become—our culture. Culture is not fluffy. It’s sticky. It binds your people to a common cause, and it becomes the core reason to come and stay.

Our fractional CMOs find themselves with a level of freedom (they are not told how to do their work, we only hire rock stars) and support (from the company’s back office, but mostly from each other) that is unprecedented in a management consulting company. What’s most rewarding to witness is how our CMOs appreciate and support each other. For example, our CMOs share family photos at the beginning of each staff meeting and send up “Smoke Signals” to recognize one another for assistance. When a new engagement is announced, the CMOs and Managing Partners congratulate each other with “virtual high-fives.” As a company with employees all over the U.S., these practices are crucial to maintaining value alignment and a team mentality.

Forbes magazine recognized our firm as one of the top 25 small businesses in the country for 2019, largely for putting our purpose ahead of profits (oh, and we are profitable!).

Measure What Matters
All Chief Outsider CMOs came from large companies where everything is measured. We’ve learned that one key to efficient management is limiting measurements to what really matters. A metric tracked and reported should inform decisions: Is that investment paying off? Did we make the right hire? Are our gross margins improving? Are our people under-deployed or should we be hiring?

Perhaps our most encouraging measurement is client happiness, using the Net Promoter Score approach (score ranges from -100 to +100). We’ve seen data that shows the average B2B consulting firm NPS score at +22. A national benchmark revealed one of the Big Three firms as -1. Since we began measuring 3 years ago, we’ve been pleased to see our overall score at around 58. This year, however, our NPS is running at 76 (that’s higher than Disney or Apple). So, we’re highly encouraged that we are delivering remarkable client value.

Operationalize Your Approach to Growth
We’ve learned that there is a repeatable process to help ensure topline growth. We call it The Growth Gears (yes, we wrote a book on it) and it’s all about staying aligned with the markets you serve, to keep your strategy relevant and your marketing programs efficient. It’s not hard. But it does take intentionality.

Each year, businesses should invest in research to improve insight into their marketplace. They should be striving to better understand their customers (especially why they buy), their competitors and their ecosystem, along with getting a better handle on how the company views itself. This discipline allows the company to refresh its strategic assumptions on everything from its products and services, to pricing, positioning, even routes to market. With this information, the company is best prepared to avoid any “random acts of marketing” and ensure their go-to-market investments are grounded in a strategically sound market reality.

What Lies Beyond the Lists
We find it encouraging to have made the Inc 5000 list for our 6^th year. Since we’re a firm that promotes growth in our client companies, it’s nice to walk the talk. It’s a clear demonstration to our clients and our fractional CMOs that growth—and repeatable growth—is attainable and requires discipline. So, in the end it’s not about a list. It’s a benchmark that helps us keep on track. We hope it is for you, too.