TMI #48: 2023: The Year of the Fractional

The gig economy is all the rage in 2023.

It always is when an economy is in trouble, as freelancers and small businesses with niche expertise can get the work done without the overhead big businesses fear.

February’s TMI 3 in 10 guest Mark Evans, Principal of Marketing Spark is a fractional CMO — a chief marketing officer that brings years of experience and marketing wisdom to your business for a short stint.

Located in Toronto, Mark hones his craft for B2B SaaS companies with less than $5 million in annual revenue. As Mark says: “the riches are in the niches.” We couldn’t agree more. 😉

Mark and I talked fractional work, brand positioning, AI writing tools and more.

For my full 10-minute interview with Mark, take a listen here. [BONUS: In the last few minutes, Mark shares which AI tools he uses for what tasks.]

Just seeking Mark’s 3 marketing trends for 2023? The Cliff Notes are here.👇

1. The rise of fractional work. Fractional sales, HR professionals, operations, CFOs, CMOs and more help small companies get a bang for their buck. Without hiring a full-time, dedicated resource with a really large salary, you can still get really good, niche talent.

With a fractional team member, you get expertise when you need it for as long as you need it. You can have a fractional for as short as three months, or someone long-term that gets to know your company over time. With today’s economic uncertainty, no one wants to lock themselves into full-time employment right now. I believe fractional will be red hot in 2023.

2. Positioning is king. In every single category and vertical there are dozens, if not hundreds of companies that do the same thing you do. Their products may have the same benefits, features and price point. So, how do you differentiate yourself as unique, better and tell a customer story that resonates?

In an ultra-competitive marketplace like SaaS, you have to find something that makes you different than everybody else. Something your company can rally around. Is it hard to do? Yes, but I think every company does something unique, whether it’s pricing, customer service, a feature, how user-friendly the product is. You can find it if you talk to your customers, employees and do an analysis. If you haven’t refreshed your positioning or even looked at it in a long time, now is the time to do it.

3. Content marketing + AI. With the emergence of ChatGPT and other tools, the whole content landscape has been turned upside down. I’m not one of those people that thinks writers will disappear, but I do think there’s a lot of commodity content that can be generated by ChatGPT, like ad copy, copy for webinar emails.

And this means the bar will rise for companies to create better, more quality, creative content. Content that’s focused on meeting the needs, interests of customers both strategically and tactically will break through. That’s content that is a value-add — a must-read for your audience.

I think content will remain an integral part of marketing. It’s just going to get more challenging, and companies are going to have to spend a little more time, effort and possibly money, to make that happen.

Thank you, Mark for your expert advice!

Are you a marketing ⭐️? If so, I’d love to feature you in a future TMI 3 in 10 episode. Reply to this email and tell me about your specialty marketing focus and what you’d like to talk about.

All the best,
Mindi 😊