Hiring a Marketing Manager Won’t Fix a Broken Strategy

Many business leaders reach a point where marketing just isn’t delivering.

You’re not seeing enough leads. The campaigns feel scattered. The results don’t stack up.
So the obvious next move? Hire a Marketing Manager to sort it out.

It feels like progress — someone who can bring order to the chaos, execute the plan, and generate growth.
But here’s the problem: if the strategy’s broken, no hire will fix it.

You can’t solve a strategic gap with an executional hire.

Why This Keeps Happening

In many B2B SMEs, marketing is built from the ground up. It starts with hiring a few people who are good at getting things done — writing emails, posting on social media, and building decks. Over time, the business expects more. “We need better leads. We need marketing to drive growth.”

So they hire a Marketing Manager — often someone capable, driven, and creative.
But they’re expected to do more than their job allows. They’re meant to generate leads, align with sales, produce campaigns, report on performance, and somehow tie it all back to revenue.

And yet no one’s clearly articulated what success looks like, how marketing supports the business strategy, or what the priorities really are.
It’s no wonder the results fall short.

The Hidden Cost of Skipping Strategy

When there’s no strategic leadership in marketing, a few predictable things happen:

• Sales and marketing aren’t aligned. Messaging is inconsistent. Campaigns don’t reflect what sales actually needs.

• The team becomes reactive. Constant requests for one-pagers, last-minute email pushes, or social posts with no clear objective.

• Performance is measured in vanity metrics. Impressions, likes, and clicks — but no clear line to revenue.

• The team gets frustrated. Good marketers become overwhelmed and disillusioned. Some leave.

• Marketing is seen as a cost centre. It’s hard to make the case for more budget when no one can see the value.

All of this stems from one issue: there’s no one translating business objectives into a focused, measurable marketing strategy.

What Marketing Managers Need to Succeed

Marketing Managers play a critical role in the success of any business — but they can’t lead the strategy and execute it alone.
To thrive, they need:

• Clear direction: What are the business goals? How does marketing support them?

• Alignment with sales: Are both teams working toward the same outcomes?

• A strategic roadmap: Not just a list of activities — a plan that leads somewhere.

• Leadership: Someone senior who can guide, challenge, and support them.

Without this, even the most capable marketers will struggle to deliver meaningful results.

Fix Strategy First — Then Hire

If your marketing team isn’t delivering what you need, pause before hiring again.
Ask yourself:

• Is our marketing aligned to the growth strategy?

• Do we have a clear plan — or just a list of tactics?

• Are we measuring marketing in terms the business actually values?

If the answer to these is “no,” then hiring another marketer likely won’t solve the problem.
What you need is someone who can build the strategic foundation that your team can execute against.

Enter the Fractional CMO

A Fractional CMO gives you access to senior marketing leadership — without the full-time cost.

They work with you and your existing team to:

• Build a marketing strategy that supports your commercial goals.

• Align sales and marketing into one revenue-generating team.

• Focus the team on outcomes, not just outputs.

• Empower your Marketing Manager to succeed — rather than setting them up to fail.

This is how you “level up” your marketing function. Not by hiring more people, but by giving the team direction, clarity, and leadership.

Conclusion: Set the Team Up for Success

Hiring a Marketing Manager can be the right move — but only when you’ve got a strategy in place that they can run with.

If your marketing hasn’t been delivering, the solution probably isn’t another hire.
It’s leadership. Strategy. Alignment.

Fix that first — then watch your team (and your results) transform.

If you're considering hiring a Marketing Manager, or wondering why your current setup isn’t working, let’s talk.

I help businesses turn marketing from a cost into a revenue-generating function.