Time to revisit your marketing strategy?

 

Wondering how you're going to get it all done?

 

Ready to make a change?

 

Meet your CCMO.

 

TÆNKE Marketing's services are offered under a Consulting Chief Marketing Officer (CCMO) business model. Firms with limited in-house resources find value in retaining an outside marketing executive to serve as a change agent and bring fresh ideas and innovation to the firm's marketing programs. The CCMO also works to improve operational efficiencies, mentors in-house staff, and provides strategic guidance to the firm's leadership team. The CCMO+ approach adds to the basic CCMO business model by emulating the services of an "agency" and tapping into a Network of Creative Resources (NCR) who are retained and managed under a single master agreement.

Using industry standards as a best practices benchmark, the CCMO evaluates internal processes and tools during the Discovery phase. Key Findings are documented in a proprietary analysis matrix, allowing critical needs to be identified early on. If needed, external market research can supplement the approach. Utilizing traditional and online media sources, analytical tools, interviews, surveys, and focus groups, in-depth data related to current market conditions, competitor behavior and differentiators, and customer sentiments is collected, analyzed, and documented to add value to a firm's long-term planning or a specific initiative.

Strategic planning is a vital tool for any new or growing business. Through a highly inclusive and iterative planning process that leverages information gathered and documented during the Discovery phase, the CCMO develops strategic initiatives specific to each firm's challenges and needs. Allowing both "pain points" and "low-hanging fruit" opportunities to be addressed, a prioritization matrix is used to build consensus among internal stakeholders. Supplementing this process, Go-to-Market Planning is often recommended to ensure strategic initiatives align with market conditions and competitive advantages, always with a goal of achieving measurable results.

For firms with a steady flow of RFQs and RFPs, it is often challenging for in-house marketing teams to raise the bar in presentation quality while managing day-to-day workloads. With a goal of going from "putting out fires" to utilizing a more strategic, proactive, best practices approach, the pursuit process is overhauled under the leadership of a CCMO. From receipt of an RFQ/RFP to go/no-go decision making, proposal development/QAQC, interview/pitch preparation and coaching, and final debrief, the CCMO oversees and guides the entire pursuit process, working with both internal and external resources to improve both the process and product, with a goal of more consistently reaching the shortlist and, ultimately, winning more work.

Communications planning that embraces a consistent approach, cadence, and comprehensive distribution strategy allows a firm to stay "front and center" with their clients. Strategically developed, customized content, including thought leadership, project stories and, when appropriate, promotional content, is critical to a firm's success. Companies are embracing opportunities to align their communications and content strategy across all media and channels. From website and social pages to marketing collateral, broadcast e-campaigns, and visual content (infographics, video), firms can benefit from telling a more cohesive story to their target audiences.

Often times, portions of a typical marketing program, such as social media or communications management, are best handled by an outside consultant with access to resources who can efficiently lead initiatives, while allowing internal resources to stay focused on core responsibilities. In addition to social media and communications management, special projects may include branding initiatives, website development, event planning, content development, nominations/award submittals, video projects, monographs, annual reports, or any type of standalone creative initiative.

"Tamara has been providing Consulting CMO Plus (CCMO+) services to a+c architects since early/mid-2020. She has created a strategic roadmap for our marketing and business development activities, and has expertly led execution of several business development, brand, collateral, and communications initiatives supported by a team of creative experts. Her clear and straightforward approach has helped us to envision the opportunities we have to maximize our exposure, build relationships, and increase market share through a proactive, strategic process with measurable ROI." – Raffi Arzoumanian, Founding Principal, a+c architects

“Tamara was an invaluable resource to AltusWorks in the evaluation of regional markets for our prospective growth. Her strength in articulating key information and developing visuals to communicate intricate data facilitated seamless decision-making. Tamara also led development of a detailed Go-to-Market Strategy that we are actively implementing; and, since Spring of 2020, has provided ongoing Social Media Management services for the firm, bringing a strategic, professional, creative, and story-driven approach to our visual and written content across three social channels.” – Ellen Stoner, Principal, AltusWorks

“As our Consulting CMO, Tamara provided us with a lasting framework to view and conduct our marketing and business development efforts well into the future. Her analysis of our needs and leadership in the implementation of key Strategic Initiatives, including Go-to-Market Planning, Communications Planning, and Social Media Strategy, has elevated our approach to align with industry best practices, and has allowed us to be more competitive in the market. On another occasion, Tamara acted as interim Marketing Director during a leave of absence, including oversight and mentorship of internal creative staff to improve quality and productivity. I’m certain that we will work together again!” – Mike DeRouin, President, FitzGerald Associates Architects

“Tamara successfully led a comprehensive Marketing Assessment effort for Epstein in 2018/2019. Her approach, as well as the resulting deliverables, exceeded my expectations. In late 2019, we re-engaged Tamara to lead a 6-month CRM implementation project, which involved gathering broad stakeholder input; collecting, organizing, and cleansing a large amount of data; coordinating extensively with the software provider; customizing the tool to meet our specific needs / accommodate our unique processes; and overseeing various internal support resources along the way. Tamara seamlessly managed the entire process and expertly launched the CRM database – while pivoting to a virtual delivery model halfway through the engagement. The new tool, originally recommended through an In-house committee in which Tamara played a significant role on, has become our go-to mechanism for managing business development efforts.” – Jim Jirsa, Executive Managing Director

“[As Consulting CMO], Tamara provided a very productive insightful and motivating ‘roadmap’ which has greatly benefited all of us in our thinking, our organization, and our thoughts of implementation.” – Jack Portman^†, Former Chairman & CEO, Portman Architects

"In a short amount of time, Tamara's marketing leadership has a made a significant positive impact on IHSF. Her ability to build consensus with internal stakeholders, and bring a strategic approach to staffing, communications, and event planning, in particular, have benefited the organization exponentially." - Kasia Wereszczynska, Executive Director, In Her Shoes Foundation

“Tamara helped us create and publish a Go-To-Market strategy for NewGround. She had great ideas on how to achieve our goals and keep us on track. The final deliverable was received extremely well by our executive team.” - Bill Wynn, Vice President, Healthcare, NewGround

"With Tamara's help, we developed a new program that will serve as a source of revenue and support for Lekotek's mission. Tamara did a great job of guiding the strategic planning process, and we are on track to meet our goals." - Kathryn Lavin, Executive Director, Lekotek (a division of Anixter Center)

"I'd like to express my gratitude to Tamara for her very valuable work and advice in transforming my marketing collateral." - Genita Robinson, Principal, GCR Consulting LLC.

“Tamara has provided strategic direction for our marketing programs since we opened. With her strong understanding of our audience and her focus on utilizing digital/social media and email campaigns to increase exposure, five years later, we are still going strong, and have quadrupled our following.” – Matt Parkinson, Owner, The Monkey’s Paw

“The CMO position was created with a goal of bringing a more strategic approach to the firm’s marketing efforts. Tamara brought a unique perspective to this challenge by focusing on enhancing go-to-market strategies for each business line, as well as improving hit rates for specific new business pursuits.” – Kevin Purcell, EVP/Chief Operating Officer, MB Real Estate

“I worked closely with Tamara on the roll-out of a new, branded website for Wight & Company, and I could not have asked for a better partner. Tamara led the content and messaging strategy to promote the firm’s new “Design & Delivery” philosophy, while allowing seamless integration with the visual design and user experience elements. The result is an innovative digital showcase of the firm’s new identity and portfolio.” – Michael Lubbers, Former Vice President & Creative Director, Wight & Company

“Tamara’s leadership style is respectful of the entire team, while clearly taking the lead to direct the firm’s marketing efforts and pursuit of work in the marketplace. She thinks strategically with vision, has tremendous relationship-building skills, and is committed to the holistic pursuit of new business.” – Cathy Richter, Former Associate Principal, Market Sector Leader, Perkins+Will

“Tamara is a strong leader and an ambitious teacher. She works through issues - not around them. She is a confident communicator who gracefully shares her knowledge. With her aptitude for technology, she is a manager for today's corporate environment.” – Marilyn Catinella, Former Assistant Office Manager, HOK Chicago

“Tamara is a pleasure to work with. She is adept at bringing together diverse resources to get a job done well. She is an intuitive problem solver with tons of energy.” – Michael McGeady, Former Associate Vice President, RTKL