When it comes to hiring marketing talent, sometimes you know exactly what you need. But what if your situation is more dynamic—as in, you’re a tech startup company with a fantastic product, but limited marketing infrastructure to support it? Here’s the good news: with a few connections and a willingness to think outside the box, it’s possible to find marketing resources that are flexible enough to grow along with your organization.
That’s exactly what happened for Ostra Cybersecurity. Launched in 2018, Ostra is a next-generation MSSP (managed security service provider) that created a breakthrough solution in the tech space. Ostra found a way to combine best-in-class cybersecurity tools, proprietary technology and exceptional talent to simplify cybersecurity for businesses of all sizes.
Exploring the options
When Ostra first approached Marcomm in late 2020, They didn’t have an in-house marketing department, and knew their growth strategy would require marketing guidance and consistent project execution. Ostra hoped Marcomm could help them find a part-time marketing project manager to join their team on a contract basis.
Marcomm worked with Ostra’s leadership to further define the gaps they were hoping to fill with this new hire. After weighing their options, Ostra decided that Marcomm’s “fractional” approach would provide both the marketing expertise and flexibility that their growth-oriented company needed.
Priscilla Koeckeritz, Marcomm CMO, explains: “The fractional model provides a way for Marcomm clients to leverage the skills of our experienced, in-house marketing professionals—even if it’s only for a few hours each week or month.” Koeckeritz adds that Marcomm’s Fractional Marketing Team members are each assigned to client-specific pods, where they can collaborate closely to execute clients’ marketing priorities most efficiently. “Many of our teams have three or more marketing professionals working fractionally to support a client with their specific exptertise—at a cost that is a close equivalent to one full time hire.”
At Marcomm, fractional marketing teams are always anchored by a marketing project manager, but they pull in specialists as needed. For example: in a given week, a client’s project scope might require a marketing project manager, a copywriter, a web developer, a graphic designer and consulting from our fractional CMO for half the amount of time of a full-time employee. The following week’s deliverables might include video work, social media expertise and analytics. Month to month, Marcomm’s fractional teams deliver the same level of expertise that clients might expect from a typical marketing agency, but at a fraction of the cost.
The right match
To meet Ostra’s needs, Marcomm tapped Stacey Kusnier as the Senior Marketing Project Manager for Ostra. Stacey had a strong background in digital strategy, B2B marketing execution and marketing automation in the tech space. In addition, her knack for big-picture thinking while managing the tactical details of various marketing initiatives was a good fit for what Ostra was trying to accomplish. Stacey started working with Ostra in January 2021.
“With 30 years of marketing recruiting experience under our belt, Marcomm knows how to find the right resources for our clients,” stated Ben Clark, Co-Founder and President at Marcomm. “In Ostra’s case, we leveraged that experience to build an ideal Fractional Marketing Team to serve this growing company’s unique needs.”
One of Stacey’s first initiatives was to help Ostra become more focused and strategic with its marketing efforts. She worked closely with Ostra leaders including Michael Kennedy (Founder), Joe Johnson (President) and Paul Dobbins (Chief Growth Officer) as they carved out marketing priorities and establish timelines. Stacey also helped Ostra set up automation and project management tools, such as CoSchedule and Marketing Planner, to improve efficiency, project visibility and collaboration.
Refocusing content
As a growing company, Ostra needed to focus on building its sales pipeline and gaining the attention of prospective end users as well as Channel Partners. Over the next several months, Marcomm helped Ostra clearly define its audience in the tech/cybersecurity space through Voice of the Customer (VOC) research. This enabled Ostra’s team to confidently pivot their business in the right direction with data-driven insights into their value-proposition and customer needs.
Marcomm facilitated a whiteboarding session with Ostra leaders to dig deeper into the company’s unique capabilities and purpose. The insights from this session, paired with the VOC survey takeaways, helped shape how Ostra talked about its service offerings.
Next, Marcomm began creating blogs, vlogs and social content for Ostra that aligned with the VOC. Around the same time, Marcomm was tasked with refreshing Ostra’s website to better attract and support their Channel Partners. Marcomm’s fractional marketing team collaborated with business development leaders at Ostra to build a Channel Partner page as well as a Partner Portal for the new website.
“Marcomm’s Fractional Marketing Team fits well within the Ostra culture and has essentially become an extension of our own team,” stated Paul Dobbins. “They are attentive to our fast-paced, growth environment and have done an outstanding job prioritizing work and, most importantly, streamlining communication. From strategic marketing planning to project management and content creation, Marcomm provides the right mix of resources we need to maximize the impact of our budget.”
A continuing partnership
In the first three months of working with Marcomm, Ostra’s refocused marketing content resulted in:
154% increase in Ostra’s website traffic
158% increase in new website visitors
565% increase in social media referral traffic to the website
473% increase in LinkedIn referral traffic to website
Marcomm continues to work with Ostra to apply the new content strategy to sales and marketing collateral, investor materials, and ongoing web/social posts. Marcomm helps Ostra achieve greater consistency in its visual branding across all channels.
Joe Foley, Founder/CEO at Marcomm, summarizes: “Ostra went from looking for a part-time resource to utilizing an entire Fractional Marketing Department to support them on a monthly basis.” He adds, “Marcomm loves being able to provide Ostra with the marketing expertise they need to thrive, on flexible terms that don’t choke their growth goals.”
Are you curious about the flexibility that a marketing staffing partner like Marcomm can offer? Contact us today to start a conversation.
About Marcomm
Marcomm currently supports clients with four pillars of service:
Whether you want to engage a full-time employee, a contract employee, a contract-to-hire, or our Fractional Marketing Team, Marcomm connects companies to marketing solutions.
About Ostra Cybersecurity
Ostra Cybersecurity combines best-in-class tools, proprietary technology and exceptional talent to deliver Fortune 100-level protection for businesses of all sizes. Visit ostra.net to learn more.
