Speaker 1: 0:30

My name is Elizabeth Venifro, my company is EAV LLC and I am a fractional.

Speaker 2: 0:36

CMO Awesome. Tell me a little bit about what you do in your business and how you help your clients.

Speaker 1: 0:42

Yep. So as a fractional CMO chief marketing officer, I am helping out multiple clients with their high-level marketing needs the high-level strategy but also getting into the weeds a little bit with the tactics. But really it's a way for companies that may not be ready yet for a full-time CMO to have the experience of somebody that has been a full-time CMO in the past. So I generally work with high growth but smaller, sometimes startup companies that are really looking to take it to the next level, so they bring in someone like me.

Speaker 2: 1:19

Awesome. What is the power of fractional leadership in a scaling business?

Speaker 1: 1:24

With the type of companies I generally work with. They may not have the budget yet, they may be early on and they realize the value of having a strong marketing presence, but they just don't have the budget yet to bring someone on. Or maybe they're just at that stage where they're looking for more just high-level strategy and don't need somebody yet in a full-time capacity. So it's really a win-win situation for them and also for me personally, because what I love most about marketing is just that it's a variety of things you're doing right it's advertising, it's PR, it's social media and I get to work with these individual clients and identify what is going to be most impactful for them and and just come up with a whole different strategy depending on who the client is. So that just it's really a fun experience and, like I said, win-win for both of us. Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 2:20

And now, before I ask you more intricate questions, I'd like to ask you how you got started in your industry. What led you to where you are today?

Speaker 1: 2:26

Yep. So I started out at a startup company. It was a local company here called K2M. I was one of the first 50 employees. I was their first marketing hire. I was with them for nine years, from their startup through the IPO. So I really got to see that full growth mode for a company like that, expanding out the whole marketing team and then finally going public and even staying on a little bit after that point. They have since been acquired.

Speaker 1: 2:59

I actually, once I got to that stage, I found that what I loved was working with the startup and growth stage Once they went public. Yes, there was still a need for me, but it was more of going through the motions and it was a different type of marketing at that point and I realized I wanted to branch off and just work with those high growth earlier stage companies. I didn't quite take the entrepreneurial path yet. I worked with several tech companies, life science and medical companies just because that's where I got my start, and sometimes a combination of the two. I actually worked with a couple AI companies up until moving on to becoming a fractional CMO, and this was before generative AI became such a household thing, right Before chat, gpt and whatnot. So I got a little taste of that.

Speaker 1: 3:57

And then I started having quite a few folks approach me while I was in a full-time role at the time, saying I'd really love for you to come and help me out with this project and this project. And my husband came to me and he's like you should really consider consulting. And I dabbled with it a little bit. You know some side projects here and there. But eventually one day I came home and I said, husband, I quit my job and I'm going to be a full-time consultant. And he's like what? I thought we were just, like, you know, dabbling with that idea. I don't know, you know, I didn't realize you're that serious about it. I was honey. So yeah, I'm kind of the type of person. When I set my mind to it it's like all right, let's just do it.

Speaker 1: 4:39

Rip the bandaid off. So you know, like I said, I did dabble a little bit with it before completely switching over into being a full-time, fractional CMO, but I love it and I don't think I could ever look back. It's been almost three years now and over that time I've actually had several of my clients approach me and say, you know, we're like what you're doing here, we're moving on to that next phase of growth. We'd really like for you to come on full time. And I, you know, I kind of just say that's great, I'm glad that you're at that stage now, I'm glad I was able to help you get to that stage. But you know, this is really my sweet spot and I'll help, you know, find my replacement and find that full-time person for you. But this is really what I enjoy doing, yeah you were like it's my time now.

Speaker 2: 5:28

Yeah, myself, all right. And then how can businesses maximize their marketing efforts on a budget? Give us some examples.

Speaker 1: 5:36

Yeah, sure. So because of the size of companies that I work with, you know they may not have the budget for a full-time CMO. They may not also have a you know, huge budget for these major PR campaigns. Or you know, conferences and these type of things that really cost a big bucks. You know conferences and these type of things that really cost a big bucks.

Speaker 1: 5:55

And there's so much you can do, especially nowadays, with a smaller budget, even no budget at all. I mean things like organic social media, just getting yourself out there, networking, building relationships. You know, if you are going to go to a conference, maybe you don't have the booth with all the swag, but you still attend and you network and you build those relationships. You know, email marketing is a great thing too. It's fairly low cost depending on what tools you're using. And then also, I would just say, developing that referral base. So word of mouth marketing is probably your strongest form of marketing, right? So making sure that you're identifying who your promoters are and reaching out, not being afraid to reach out to them and be like hey, you know, it seems like you're really happy. Would you mind putting in a good word for us or introducing us to some other folks that you think can benefit from what we're offering.

Speaker 2: 6:59

Yeah, absolutely, and I have a question about what you offer. You had mentioned that sometimes it's about getting your face out there. When you have clients who are a bit nervous about that, are you able to find a system where they won't have to be on camera, or do you kind of coach them and help them so they can be on camera? How does that work?

Speaker 1: 7:17

A little bit of both, okay, and it doesn't necessarily have to be on camera, right, so it could be just getting that face time and networking with individuals. Some people are extroverts and really do well online is networking in person events, but then as soon as you put them in front of the camera, they freeze. Yeah, I know several folks like that and, yes, they can be coachable. But I would say, you know, just kind of figuring out what, what is the right balance there and and making it work for them. I have a client right now, actually, who I keep pressing him to. You know, do some video clips or some social media content that I want to put out there, and I said, hey, you know. Another option is let me send you a list of interview questions. You can give me written responses and we'll just put them out there and I can add some animation with. You know, your quote next to it. So it's not him on camera per se, but it's still getting his voice out there, getting his face out there.

Speaker 2: 8:18

Yeah, love it. Thank you, yeah, so I guess it doesn't always have to be putting your face out there, like you said. There's many other ways where you can market yourself getting yourself out there talking to people shaking hands, getting that swag. Gotta have the swag. The swag is great. Yes, I love that. So, yeah, and then what are some trends in business to business marketing to be looking out for in 2025?

Speaker 1: 8:43

Yeah, so one I started to hit on already AI. Obviously it's a big buzzword right now, but it's not just a buzzword. This is really a revolution, not just in businesses and in marketing, but really just in everyday life and how people are searching for content actually. So one thing that I'm stressing with a lot of my clients right now is search engine optimization has been a thing for quite a while, making sure that your company is appearing with people. Go on Google for certain keywords and you're ranking at the top. But now it's a little bit different. That's still important, but you also want to be sure you're optimizing your content for answering the questions that people are asking, because when they're going to chat GPT, for instance now or they're going to Google, they're saying you know, I'm looking for a wonderful photography studio in Leesburg, virginia. I want them to, you know, really be focused on, you know, entrepreneurs or whatever your niche is yeah.

Speaker 1: 9:55

And you want to be showing up, and it's not quite SEO at this point. It's really thinking about what are those questions that people are going to ask and how are you going to show up? People are going now to ChatGPT and saying I want to go on vacation next year. Tell me the top 10 resorts in Aruba. Right, that's got to be big for businesses and you need to be showing up on chat GPT for those answers.

Speaker 2: 10:21

And how do you get on chat GPT? Do you have to talk to the chat GPT?

Speaker 1: 10:24

people, or how does that work? Well, no, not necessarily. Yeah, it's not like Google, where you can pay and have a sponsored ad at the top. It's just a whole new way of thinking about the content that you're putting out there, so that when you're writing a blog, for instance, you're thinking about someone saying what are those top 10 resorts in Aruba? And you're composing that content based on that and that's what's going to get you to rank for it.

Speaker 2: 10:54

Wow Okay, I did not know that that's so cool.

Speaker 1: 10:55

Yes, that's huge in 2025. So I couldn't stress it more.

Speaker 2: 10:59

Everybody's using chat CBT, so I'm sure everybody's like no, I want mine. Like, oh my goodness.

Speaker 1: 11:04

Yes, it's actually. It's called AEO, aeo.

Speaker 2: 11:06

Yes.

Speaker 1: 11:08

Answer engine optimization. Look out for that new buzzword y'all 2025 AEO?

Speaker 2: 11:13

Yeah, it sounds like, but it's not.

Speaker 1: 11:16

I didn't think about it for a second.

Speaker 2: 11:19

And then can there be a balance between AI and human touch in marketing? What are your thoughts on?

Speaker 1: 11:25

that there absolutely has to be. So I've been getting that question a lot lately. Now that there's AI, is there even a need for you anymore? Like are you kidding me? Like that is not even a question. So, yes, you can use AI, obviously, for content generation. You can use it for even generating an outline or a script, or you know, I look at it as a starting point, and then you always have to add that human touch. Yes, people can generally tell if something's generated by AI. Yes, it's okay to start there, but you're going to want to give it that human touch, and that's what people truly relate to.

Speaker 1: 12:06

I think I always kind of refer to AI as my intern. I love it so, especially so in my position right where I don't necessarily have a full team working for me. Yes, I use a couple of freelancers here and there for certain things, but I work out of my house. It's just me most of the day. And no, that's not a human that I can, like you know, bounce ideas off of, but it does help when I have a new idea. You know, saying something or typing something to chat, gpt and and seeing what I get in response, and maybe there are some angles that I didn't think of before, or maybe I just want a second eye pair of eyes, um, on something I wrote, because the proofreading uh capabilities of chat GPT are great as well, yeah.

Speaker 2: 12:54

And you might spark a new idea out of it. Bounce ideas back and forth with it. Yeah, it's cool, I know. Idea out of it. Bounce ideas back and forth with it. Yes, it's cool it is. I know a lot of people are adamant about it sometimes, but it doesn't have to be like oh AI does it all. No, you can totally mix and match. I'm going to change a couple of these things to give it my touch, but you got the basis of it.

Speaker 1: 13:22

The content that you put out. I find at least I try to post on LinkedIn every day and when I insert a personal story, those are the posts that get the most engagement right, and that's not something that you're going to get from chat GPT yeah.

Speaker 2: 13:32

Okay, and you just talked about LinkedIn. Yep, is LinkedIn popping right now? Like what's going on with LinkedIn?

Speaker 1: 13:39

So I talk about it a lot, mainly because my clients are business to business versus business to consumer. I have dabbled a little bit with business to consumer, in which case things like you know Instagram, tiktok are definitely great channels, but LinkedIn for business to business is where I see the most traction for sure, cool.

Speaker 2: 13:59

So you guys heard that here. First, don't forget about your LinkedIn. Important too, absolutely. And then how do you structure your time and manage competing priorities as a consultant?

Speaker 1: 14:11

Yes, so the whole fractional CMO concept or fractional CXO right, so it's not just marketing but other functions, whether it's COO, cfo is fairly new and I mean, depending on who you're talking to, it's really kind of emerged in the last three or four years, started more on the West Coast and now heading to the East, and so some of the companies that I work with a lot of companies I work with have not had a fractional CMO before, anyone fractional, and so it's a little bit of an adjustment for them.

Speaker 1: 14:49

Why aren't you available 24-7 hours to talk to me about and brainstorm with me, and you just have to kind of set those boundaries from the beginning and the expectations from the beginning. In addition to that, it is critical to have some sort of project management tool in place. I did not initially, because I'm usually pretty good about staying on top of things, but when you have multiple clients with multiple competing priorities and just all the tasks associated with each of those, you need something to keep you straight. So I personally use Asana. I know there's a lot of other great tools out there, but I think that's just a critical component to keep in place too.

Speaker 2: 15:33

I'm sorry, you said Asana.

Speaker 1: 15:35

Asana, yeah, a-s-a-n-a.

Speaker 2: 15:37

Oh, okay, okay, I was thinking, you know the sauna where you sit there and like-.

Speaker 1: 15:40

Oh well, that's great too.

Speaker 2: 15:41

Yeah, did I hear that right? Okay, maybe someone else heard that too. Got it. Similar to Monday, you know there's several like project management tools out there that are helpful. Very nice, and would you ever consider having a team with you, or are you happy right now with the way you're automating everything and working?

Speaker 1: 15:59

That's something that I continue to work through. I don't think I would want anyone on as a full-time employee per se just because there are ebbs and flows, and I would never want to put them in a position where I wouldn't be able to give them the right amount of work in their specialized area. I don't want them to have to feel like they have to be exclusive to me, but in the last year I'd say I definitely, with the volume of work and the scalability of my business, I can't do it all. I pride myself in being what I call a player coach. I'm very strategic, but I can also be very hands-on, which is critical.

Speaker 1: 16:40

With startup stage companies, you have to wear many hats. Nothing is beneath me. You know, if I need to be stuffing envelopes at midnight to just get the job done, I'm going to do it. Yeah, but at a certain point, when you have only so many hours in the day, you need to bring in some extra help, and so I'm fortunate enough to have gotten to that stage where I do need the extra help, and I brought on a couple of resources, specifically as it relates to, you know, some graphics work, some web development work, trying to find folks that also complement some areas. Where can I dabble a little in Canva? Yeah, but is that? Did I go to school for graphic design? No, so if I need an expert in that space, I have some folks that I can go to for that?

Speaker 2: 17:29

That's awesome. Yeah, you had mentioned that you do have some freelance workers, so that's where that would come in. So cool, that's awesome. Yeah, hopefully you can learn some tricks from them too, so you can put in your toolkit. That's right. And then any advice for someone looking to transition into a fractional executive role.

Speaker 1: 17:46

Yeah, so I'm actually I mentioned this earlier to you I am putting together an online course, so it's a question that I've gotten a lot lately as folks have gotten to know what I'm doing and, as you know, it's become more of a popular thing and they're not quite sure how to make that transition. I'd say a couple of tips are first, make sure you dabble before you take the dive. Yes, when you've, like, made it up in your mind that you want to make that move, go for it, but try it out a little bit on the side first, to see if freelance or consulting type work is for you. Also, I'd say, identify your fit, so you can't be everything to everybody, right. So is there a certain industry that you prefer working in? Is there a certain size company or stage of company that you really excel in? And making sure that you emphasize that as you're going out and letting people know what you do.

Speaker 1: 18:51

And then, finally, which I talked about earlier also, is that networking is critical. It's all about building those relationships and I'd say about 95% of my work right now is purely referral based. There's little that I do to really market myself. I went for a while without even having a website before, like really posting on social or anything. I was fortunate enough, you know, over the years just to make a great, you know, network of referral base that has continued to to bring business to me.

Speaker 2: 19:27

Sounds like it was like grassroots. You didn't really have to market and stuff You're. You're not going to win. Let me knock with you too.

Speaker 1: 19:33

But but, like you know, back to your question is what can people do is just get your face out there, right? I mean, that's part of the reason I'm here today. You know this is fun and everything, but it's a way of just you know, letting people know what I'm doing and share the skills and knowledge that you have that too, if they're looking for any help or anything like, we've got an expert like literally right here.

Speaker 2: 19:53

Yes, elizabeth, thank you all. And what are some misconceptions that you get in your industry that you've kind of learned to just be like? That is not true. Don't worry, I'm here to help you, whether it's on the client side or on your side.

Speaker 1: 20:06

Yeah, that's actually that's a good question. Um, I would say it is that my goal. So one misconception is that, oh well, you're just doing fractional work in between two full-time gigs and really you're just trying to fill up your time because you want to go back to being full-time. And sometimes I think that, going into these projects with some of my clients, they have that in the back of their head Well, yeah, she'll be part-time now, part-time now, but someday she'll, you know, she'll come on full time. And that's really not my personal end game, right, and they might be for some other fractional folks, but for me personally, this is I. I I don't see myself ever going back.

Speaker 2: 20:54

You know what you want and, sorry, it's not what others want. Right, love it. Stay true to yourself. Where do you see yourself in the next five years, as a person and with your business?

Speaker 1: 21:04

Yeah, so all right. So as a person I actually have. I have two daughters um, one in uh middle school and one in high school. So our world revolves around them. And not to say it won't in five years from now, but it will be very different I'll have at least one in college and probably one as a senior in high school. At that point so close to being an empty nester, starting to think about what we're going to do with free time when we're not driving them around all their activities anymore, thinking about maybe traveling more, maybe downsizing I'm not really sure it's exciting to think about, scary at the same time. It's a whole nother stage in your life. But I don't see myself slowing down at all with work. I really enjoy work. I don't know what I would do with my time Otherwise. I do actually very much enjoy volunteer work. So that's why I told my husband if I ever were to retire I would be a full-time volunteer. I need to keep going. Sorry, go ahead.

Speaker 2: 22:17

Where do you like to volunteer at? I'm just curious.

Speaker 1: 22:18

Yes, so I've gotten very much involved with Tree of Life Ministries recently. They are based out of Percival but they have several Loudoun locations, I believe Leesburg, sterling, maybe Ashburn now as well and there are just so many opportunities there for so many people, some of the things I personally am involved in. They have a thrift store I volunteer at every Friday morning. It's in Percival Love it. All the money goes towards providing for those in need. They also have several food pantries that I help out with as well. They have what are called community dinners, where anybody who wants can come for a free meal In Percival, I believe it's every Thursday night. The one I volunteer with is here in Leesburg every Tuesday night, so I was just there last night. I bring my daughter with me. It's a bonding thing for us and just makes us feel good about giving back to the community.

Speaker 2: 23:20

Absolutely. I love that you get to bond with your daughter and also give back. That's perfect, and you're also showing her look. This can be fun, and you can do it too. Bring your friends along next time, if you want to, yep.

Speaker 1: 23:30

Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 23:31

I love it. Is there anything that I have not touched on that perhaps you would like to share about yourself, whether it's in regards to your business, your industry, yourself? You have the floor.

Speaker 1: 23:43

I guess the only other thing I would say is kind of tacking on to your last question, where I see myself in five years. I do want to continue to scale the business. I don't like to take on too many clients at one time, because that's just not fair to them, right? Even though it's fractional, I still need to give them what they need, and so I do need to start thinking about what's kind of that next step. Is it bringing on, at some point, full-time employees? I just have, know, kind of coming up with those future plans, and that's really what I'm in the process of doing right now. That's awesome.

Speaker 2: 24:22

That's kind of exciting too, cause maybe that could lead to maybe you just having a little boutique or something with an employee and just you know you never know, you never know. That would be cool. Have you ever considered starting a podcast? I feel like you would have so much knowledge and insight to give to people.

Speaker 1: 24:37

I have. Actually, I think it would be a lot of fun. It's more of a time commitment at this point, right, and some of my clients now are asking for their own podcast, so we'll see what happens.

Speaker 2: 24:50

Okay, yeah 2025 is looking exciting. Y'all the future? Yep, all right, absolutely. My final question, and this is one that I like to ask everybody Uh-oh Nervous, don't be Put you on the spot now. No, just kidding. Do you have a quote or a saying, or maybe something that somebody's told you in your career or in your life that has resonated with you, and would you mind sharing that?

Speaker 1: 25:13

Okay.

Speaker 2: 25:14

Give me a second. Hmm, okay, give me a second. Yeah, take your time, maybe it's something that you're always telling your kids.

Speaker 1: 25:24

I think it's, um, not to be repetitive, but it was actually from my first CEO that, uh, when I was talking about that startup that I work for, he's actually based here in Loudoun, still lives in Loudoun and really was my role model. Actually, with one of my first gigs that I parted off from the company with, he was my partner in that, and so he's someone that I've always admired, and one thing that he said to me was that I went to him and said what is my marketing budget? And he said well, it's whatever you want it to be. And I said what do you mean? It's whatever I want it to be? And he said, well, as long as the return is higher than what we're spending, it can be anything right. It can be anything right. So it's all about just making sure that you're looking at the data on the return on investment and knowing that anything's possible, so long as you're being smart in how you're using those dollars and seeing where it goes from there.

Speaker 2: 26:30

Yeah, no, I love that. And you're not repetitive, You're just consistent and you truly believe in what you say and what you do, so I love that. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. We really appreciate you just being here and giving us a lot of insight.

Speaker 1: 26:43

For sure, appreciate you having me again. You're welcome. Thanks so much yeah.