For the nimble-footed fast-thinking CEO of a new-age SME or startup who dreams of breaking into the big league but can’t afford to hire top-dog marketing talent to turn this into reality, help is now at hand. Bengaluru-based Outsourced CMO (OCMO), a three-year-old marketing venture, is part of a support ecosystem which has evolved in response to the unique needs of newbies.
Taking the concept of co-working spaces into virtual terrain, OCMO shares elite marketing talent with companies in unrelated business verticals enabling them to get the same star managers who typically drive large companies, to champion their growth, at a fraction of the cost. “Simply put, we offer a low-cost virtual CMO and plug-and-play marketing planning, support and implementation services to startups and SMEs,” says Vineet Arya, founder, OCMO. “Why settle for low-level managers when you can hire top-dog CMOs to propel your growth at, say, one-fourth of their normal cost?” he quips.
Adds Sridhar Raman, part of the core team at OCMO, “This is disruptive innovation at its very best, confected specially for a startup driven economy. Over the last three years we have worked shoulder-to-shoulder with several companies, transforming them from small, volatile startups to stable, mid-sized entities on a high-growth trajectory.”
Once hired, the team at OCMO places a vastly experienced marketing stalwart to head the marketing function of the client. Unlike an external agency, OCMO will work with the client just like a full-time employee, helping to evolve and execute a 360-degree growth strategy, oriented to helping it hit its business targets on minimal cash burns. “Armed with his own vast network of battle-ready professionals and vendors across disciplines to execute the plan and capture markets, the OCMO is, in other words, a single hire translates into getting on board an entire team of proven top-notch professionals,” explains Arya.
With over two decades of experience in communications, brand building and 360 degrees marketing, Arya brings to the table a proven track record of having managed the entire marketing bouquet right from brand building and PR to ATL, BTL and digital marketing at some of the most-sought after MNCs, including AMD, SanDisk and Tata Power
Arya himself takes charge as a virtual CMO for multiple startups at a time and helps the whole startup ecosystem by optimising the marketing budgets in the shortest span of time. With this outsourced CMO model, he has successfully helped various startups in the manufacturing, e-commerce, edtech, and service industries.
The Rs 5-million-venture is seen as a low-risk, high-returns option. Created on an investment-light model with “internal family funds”, Arya says he did not seek external funds in the initial stages “as we wanted to make sure our model was acceptable in the market.” With OCMO already establishing its credentials as a profitable venture, he does not rule out the possibility of forging a “a joint venture with like-minded companies or an investor” in the future. “Our outsoured CMO scores over both an employee and an agency by combining the best of both worlds, allowing enterprises to enjoy premium services at bargain basement costs,” he adds.