From outsourced marketing directors to fractional CMOs, the gig economy is on the rise among marketers.
With all the attention on the ‘gig economy’ these days, it’s no surprise to see this trend on the rise among marketers as well. From ‘side hustles’ to full-time consulting and fractional executive roles, more and more marketers are offering their services on-demand. You can see this with the rise of sites like Upwork (formerly Elance), WriterAccess, OnTheBench among others. And for cash-strapped startups and growth-stage companies, this is a huge win.
Access marketing expertise when you need it. When you are trying to grow, every dollar counts, and previously you might need to spend a very large amount to retain a top marketing leader full-time to help you develop and implement effective go-to-market strategies, demand generation activities, and sales materials. By instead choosing to utilize on-demand marketing expertise (like our Monthly Marketing Retainer service), you can get access to this top talent for the amount of time that you need, and only pay for fraction of time you’re using. This is particularly useful for companies who are yet to make their first full-time marketing hire, but recognize they need assistance with marketing.
Perhaps, you have no team, but recognize you need to get your marketing started or have a small team and want to make sure you’re investing your resources wisely. Rather than setting out to immediately hire a full-time CMO to build a large team, which will be costly, you can now get affordable marketing strategy audits to assess your current efforts and help define your direction. Once your path is determined, you can help to implement these strategies on-demand.
Perhaps, you need extra hands to carry out a new marketing initiative quickly but can’t afford to add full-time employees yet. On-demand marketing talent can help again. You only need help a couple days a week or only for a few months. You can now gain access to experts who have experience doing these types of marketing activities, without needing to retain them full time.
This model also has some advantages for the marketers. Acting as an independent contractor means the freedom to schedule their work around their life—to work the hours they are most effective, without being tied to a set 9-5. It means they can be active every working hour, filling in lulls between work for one client with work for another. This also gives the marketer broader and more varied experiences across multiple companies.
Utilize this trend to your advantage. If you’re a small, growing company, embrace the gig economy to help get the most out of your marketing dollars. Gain access to experienced talent on a fractional basis as needed and grow from there. This will help your organization stay agile as it develops and implements its marketing strategies.
