Marketing

In my marketing career, I have observed that a high CAC (customer acquisition cost) has more to do with targeting, positioning, and conversion, than with channels. In this guide, I will walk you through the eight most common causes of high CAC in B2B companies, how to diagnose which one is driving yours, and the

I’ve seen more companies make terrible decisions because they trusted ROAS than almost any other metric. ROAS doesn’t tell you if you’re profitable. ROAS doesn’t care about: Cost of goods sold Fulfillment costs Customer service Returns or refunds Any operational costs It only measures revenue divided by ad spend. And revenue isn’t profit. In this video,

Lead generation and pipeline creation are not the same thing.  Many B2B companies get this wrong, and it shows up fast in the numbers. Marketing reports record MQLs, but pipeline and revenue stay flat. In this post, I break down the seven most common reasons leads fail to convert to pipeline. You’ll learn how to

A B2B go-to-market template helps you build a predictable pipeline from scratch. This template comprises six key components, namely, ICP definition, positioning and messaging, channel prioritization, demand generation architecture, sales-marketing alignment, and KPI tracking. This approach comes from fractional CMO Shashank Shalabh’s 22 years of marketing experience, helping 20+ growth-stage companies across SaaS, fintech, e-commerce,

Most SaaS founders walk into board meetings with marketing activity reports and walk out having lost investor confidence.  Boards don’t want to see campaigns, content volume, or MQL counts. They want to know whether marketing is building a capital-efficient growth engine. This guide covers what Series A and B investors actually scrutinize, how to frame

A business should transition from a fractional CMO to a full-time CMO when marketing complexity, team size, and revenue ($30M–$75M) require full-time executive presence. Below that, the fractional model delivers executive capability at a fraction of the cost; above it, growing teams and organizational complexity justify a full-time CMO. Shashank Shalabh helps companies make that

Fractional CMO red flags or warning signs indicate poor strategic fit, lack of executive depth, or misalignment with your business goals.  Hiring the wrong fractional CMO costs time, budget, and growth momentum. The red flags usually appear before the contract is signed, if you know what to look for. Here’s what to watch. The most

B2B marketing attribution is how you connect marketing activity to revenue.  It tells you which channels sourced pipeline, which touchpoints influenced deals, and whether your marketing spend is producing returns.  Most B2B companies either skip attribution entirely or set it up wrong. This post shows you how to do it right; from choosing a model

A fractional CMO contract is the agreement that protects both sides of the engagement.  It defines scope, deliverables, KPIs, pricing, reporting, and exit terms.  A weak contract creates misaligned expectations, scope creep, and disputes over success. A strong contract creates clarity before the engagement starts, so both sides can focus on results instead of renegotiating

Most companies hire the wrong fractional CMO because they evaluate the wrong things.  They check channel experience instead of strategic thinking. They assess tactics instead of systems.  This guide gives you a practical framework for evaluating a fractional CMO before you hire. This will help you bring in the right leader for your growth stage.