Marketing Archives - Canopy Advisory Group

Hiring an executive? Here are the top four scenarios where fractional makes sense.

Canopy Team — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000

The biggest business risk in 2025, as identified by leaders? “Hiring and retaining talent.” It would be a lot more surprising if this risk didn’t top the list.

A great hire can push a team to unprecedented levels of success, while a poor one can cause problems well beyond sunk costs. And the stakes are even higher at the executive level. There’s more money, more responsibility, bigger expectations and often, a greater need. Most organizations can’t afford to get these hires wrong.

By now, you’re well aware of the fractional trend sweeping through the U.S., in which organizations are choosing to bring on high-level, high-skill talent on a part-time and project basis in a range of different C-Suite roles. Organizations can save money while getting access to a leader they could not afford otherwise, while also de-risking the hiring process through contract lengths and the ability to turn support on and off based on their needs.

But like any other type of working arrangement, a fractional executive will work extremely well in some situations and be less effective in others. While every organization is different and every situation has its own nuances and complexities, the following scenarios were identified by Canopy’s own experts as those in which a fractional executive would be the ideal choice.

Unlimited ambitions, limited budgets

Cost effectiveness is routinely listed as the top benefit for organizations in bringing on a fractional hire versus their full-time equivalent. Whether or not you agree where that benefit belongs on the list, our community of experts agrees that it should be a factor you consider in approaching any executive hire.

It’s well-documented that hiring a fractional expert, especially at the executive level, can save organizations a bundle. When you factor in the timebound nature of the work and the fact that most fractional experts will not receive health insurance or other benefits, the savings can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the case of a financial executive, assuming an average per hour rate of $350 per hour and a year-long contract, hiring a Fractional Chief Financial Officer (CFO) might cost an organization close to $168,000, while total annual pay for a full-time CFO might run an average of $742,011.

If you have large projects on the horizon or you have critical needs that can’t be filled with your internal team, and you’re limited on budget, it makes economic and strategic sense to consider a fractional expert first.

“Even for organizations with a lot of resources and reserves, it can take months or even years to recover from a bad hire. The ability to de-risk an executive hire, even slightly, continues to be a powerful selling point for fractional experts,” said Griffen O’Shaughnessy, founder and CEO of Canopy Advisory Group. “Significant cost savings aside, fractional hiring offers a way to access expert, executive-level talent without locking you in if things go sideways.”

Executive leader transitions

An executive-level hire is a big deal in any organization. Even if these hires don’t work out as planned, there’s a ton of pressure on founders and CEOs to “make it work,” at least for a certain period of time. On the flip side, when the new leader performs extremely well, founders and CEOs need to worry about how to retain an individual who will be in high demand.

Regardless of how an executive leaves the business, the hole they leave in the organizational structure presents both opportunities and challenges. From the perspective of the founder, CEO and Board of Directors, the opportunity is to bring in new skill sets and new thinking. The challenge is to minimize the disruption and, in the case of losing someone valuable, limit the damage from their departure.

The situation is often extremely suitable for a fractional hire given the need to bring someone into the business quickly, the strategic nature of the position in a period of transition and the level of experience required to navigate a potentially difficult situation (including the possibility of preparing for a full-time hire in the role within the next year).

“When you lose a high-level executive who was important to the business, there’s often no clear direction, and the team may not know where to turn,” said Canopy Marketing Expert Kate W. “A fractional executive immediate senior-level expertise without the full-time cost, no annual salary, no benefits overhead. They can step in quickly, stabilize the team, assess the landscape, and drive strategic action.

Periods of rapid growth

Early on, much of the messaging around fractional hiring centered on the use of fractional experts as stop-gap measures in transition periods. While many organizations continue to use fractional hires to bridge these gaps, a growing number are discovering the value of fractional experts in accelerating growth plans.

Whereas the first two scenarios are clearly tailored more toward hiring a fractional expert than a full-time resource, the growth stage is a situation where you’re making more of a strategic choice. Regardless of the discipline for the role (e.g., CFO, COO, CRO, CMO, etc.), a full-time hire can certainly prove to be an excellent choice, especially if the individual ends up being a longer-tenured member of the organization and is a leader that the founder and CEO wants to grow a team around.

Reasons a founder or CEO may wish to go with a fractional expert in a growth scenario include:

An interest in keeping costs down while maximizing impact
The need for speed-to-impact, including areas like faster onboarding and truncated time-to-result
A desire to bring in an executive leader with very specific situational experience
A market or organizational situation that prioritizes agility and the ability to react and adjust quickly

Navigating large-scale change

While the departure of a leader or leaders certainly qualifies as change, these are far from the only situations where fractional executive hires can be instrumental in helping an organization withstand turbulent times. And unlike a situation where a single leader leaves an organization and the founder, CEO and Board are forced to move quickly to replace them, a large-scale adjustment to the direction, model or structure of an organization can (paradoxically) provide a bit more breathing room for leadership to approach the problem more strategically.

Similar to the rapid growth scenario, founders, CEO and Boards have the potential to be successful in this situation with either a full-time or fractional hire. In this case specifically, the choice can be largely dependent on the strength and clarity of the organization’s business plan. Clarity on direction often brings with it an understanding of the team that’s likely to be able to fulfill the long-term vision, and in these instances, leaders tend to lean toward full-time hires who can grow with the organization. While fractional experts can perform quite well in this scenario, organizations may choose to skip a bridge option and move straight to a longer-term hire.

Conversely, for all of the reasons fractional experts thrive in any organization, founders, CEOs and Boards may choose to bring in an experienced expert to help them build the future direction of the organization. In this case, they can also provide recommendations on who to hire to build a full-time team, and when it makes the most sense to hire those roles.

We have also seen leaders set a new direction and then compile a group of the best fractional experts available to drive the plan forward. Whether or not this is a longer-term solution, it invariably helps the organization gain the traction and foothold necessary for a new direction to get off the ground.

Canopy Nonprofit Expert Meg G. described what a fractional expert engagement can look like during a major organizational change: “Sometimes during the life of a nonprofit, the Board of Trustees may find that a total restructuring of staff and mission is required. I went through this for a magazine, during which I was called in to supervise the restructuring and to shepherd how the magazine approached production, management, marketing, fulfillment and more. The process took approximately nine months.”

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Thank you for reading! If you’re interested in hearing more from our experts on when and how to hire fractional executives, check out our guide, Demystifying Fractional Executive Hiring.

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Great Brands Have Gravity

Mission Bay Media — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:05:45 +0000

Canopy Expert Advisor Rachael Shayne discusses why she believes great brands have gravity, and how organizations can look at building brands that have that quality.

Marketing leader and branding expert Rachael Shayne has a proven track record in B2B marketing, helping brands stand up and stand out for accelerated growth. In her career, Rachel has successfully led transformative initiatives at Project Canary, LongPath Technologies, Alibaba.com, Zayo, Manna Tree, Axon, Risilience and BeZero. Rachel’s experience ranges from aligning marketing strategies with sales to generating demand and guiding brands through the complexities of growth, capital raises, reputational risks, hiring sprees and turnarounds. She has a knack for building strategic marketing frameworks that align with business growth objectives and is an invaluable resource for growth-stage companies looking to strengthen their brand and market position.

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The Value of an Outside Expert

Mission Bay Media — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:04:37 +0000

In this video, Canopy Expert Advisor Rachael Shayne discusses why a fractional expert coming in from the outside can bring value to organizations in ways that in-house leaders often cannot.

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The “Aha” Moment for Fractional CMO Clients

Mission Bay Media — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:03:40 +0000

Canopy Expert Advisor Rachael Shayne shares the biggest “Aha” moment for her fractional CMO clients: when they realize they have been talking about themselves too much in their marketing, sales and other communications.

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Confidence Comes from Clarity

Mission Bay Media — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:02:43 +0000

In this video, Canopy Expert Advisor Rachael Shayne outlines how clarity has become one of the most important elements in setting companies and brands apart, and how organizations that find ways to be as clear as possible can win in an increasingly crowded market.

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My Process as a Fractional CMO

Mission Bay Media — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:01:49 +0000

Canopy Expert Advisor Rachael Shayne walks through the process she takes to support organizations as a fractional CMO. Much like an MRI for the body, Rachael’s process assesses and evaluates where a company is and where it needs to go, resulting in a concise and executable plan to get there.

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Why Marketing Is About Much More Than Prospecting

Mission Bay Media — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:00:51 +0000

Marketing is a critical tool to help bring in and close new business, but that’s far from the only value it can and should provide in organizations. In this video, Canopy Expert Advisor Rachael Shayne shares how and why marketing as a function should attract capital, employees and customers.

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Why A Strong Narrative Matters

Mission Bay Media — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 21:59:57 +0000

Canopy Expert Advisor Rachael Shayne explains why a strong narrative is much more than a sales tool and how, in fact, it should be the heartbeat of an organization. A narrative is what tells the world why a company exists beyond profit.

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Don’t Discount Storytelling Because It Sounds Squishy

Mission Bay Media — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 21:59:09 +0000

Storytelling is often undervalued, partially because the concept can sound too squishy. In this video, Canopy Expert Advisor Rachael Shayne reminds business owners and leaders why they can’t afford to overlook the power and importance of storytelling within their organizations.

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Why Fractional Works for Me

Mission Bay Media — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 21:58:13 +0000

In this episode of Canopy’s “Why Fractional Works for Me” series, Canopy Expert Advisor Rachael Shayne shares what she loves most about the fractional role and how fractional work benefits both clients and outside experts.

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The Canopy Difference

Mission Bay Media — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 21:57:12 +0000

Canopy Expert Advisor Rachael Shayne shares her perspective on the value of a strong fractional community like Canopy for growth and on what sets Canopy Advisory Group from the other communities available.

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Talk About Your Customers, Not Yourself

Mission Bay Media — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 21:56:06 +0000

In this video, Canopy Expert Advisor Rachael Shayne discusses one of the most common areas for improvement in marketing and communications programs: talking too much about yourself and not enough about your customers.

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Introducing Rachael Shayne

Mission Bay Media — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 21:53:31 +0000

Meet Canopy Expert Advisor Rachael Shayne, an experienced marketing leader and branding expert offering fractional CMO and marketing services to Canopy clients.

Rachael has a proven track record in B2B marketing, helping brands stand up and stand out for accelerated growth. In her career, she has successfully led transformative initiatives at Project Canary, LongPath Technologies, Alibaba.com, Zayo, Manna Tree, Axon, Risilience and BeZero. Rachael’s experience ranges from aligning marketing strategies with sales to generating demand and guiding brands through the complexities of growth, capital raises, reputational risks, hiring sprees and turnarounds. She has a knack for building strategic marketing frameworks that align with business growth objectives and is an invaluable resource for growth-stage companies looking to strengthen their brand and market position.

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How to Evaluate Your Digital Marketing Program

Lucas Rohm — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 13:31:00 +0000

Marketing, and especially digital marketing, can be frustrating for business owners and leaders due to its “black box” nature. For those who are not marketing experts, while it’s often clear whether marketing as a whole is “working” or “not working,” it’s less clear why that might be the case.

There are a wide range of factors that could be contributing to why a marketing program might be struggling to produce results. One of the challenges with modern marketing is that the discipline has become so complicated that you often have to dig through mountains of data to get to the core workings of the marketing engine. Because of this, my first inclination when I begin an evaluation is almost always to look to simplify.

In my eyes, assessing a marketing program can be consolidated down to three distinct areas: people, processes and platform. Sure, there are always nuances, and every program is fundamentally different in its own unique way. Still, the 3 Ps framework is almost always a good place to start in an objective assessment of a marketing program.

Goal Setting

Before we get into the framework itself, we need to start by setting goals for the evaluation process, including answering some form of the following questions:

Why are we performing a thorough evaluation of the program in the first place?
What do we want and need to do with the findings after we’ve completed our assessment?
What business metrics need to be impacted by marketing and what expectations are we putting on marketing to achieve (as we make adjustments based on the evaluation)?
What rubrics are we using to define what’s working and what’s not working?

Beyond allowing you to set parameters around the work and assisting you in measuring the results of the evaluation process and the work that comes after, goal setting can also help you with objectivity. There are areas of marketing that you and your team can measure down to the nth degree and there are others that will always be more ethereal and subjective. The most effective assessments will be those where you can remove as much of your own biases as possible. The decisions you make as a result of the evaluation will naturally include some subjectivity; you will almost always be better served by making those calls after looking at data gathered from a more objective evaluation.

Once you’ve identified your goals, you’re ready to dive into your assessment.

Step 1: People

Understanding the people behind your digital marketing program is the first step because, if you don’t have the right people, no amount of processes and platforms will make your program successful.

When assessing people, I’ve found it valuable to start with the positives. What are the key strengths of each person on the team and how do those strengths align with the goals of the marketing program and the organization as a whole? Beyond getting a solid picture of each person and their contributions, this also helps uncover a bigger picture of the areas of strength and skill gaps for the program as a whole. For example, you may find that you’re very strong in marketing operations but very light in content expertise.

As you dig deeper, shift your focus from the person to the role. What is the impact of each role and where are gaps and struggles relative to marketing and company goals? Taken together, insights into each person and the impact of their current roles can help you build a roadmap to get back to growth. I’ve often found that organizations have the right people, but that they’re in the wrong roles or don’t have the required training. It’s a lot easier to make these adjustments than to realize you have the wrong person and need to replace them, although that’s one possible outcome of the evaluation process.

I also recommend looking at the individual goals and incentive programs you have in place to see how these align with and motivate people. You may only require a few tweaks in these programs to make the entire team more effective.

One oft-overlooked element of the people evaluation process is a review of the external groups that are working with your marketing team. Take the time to understand what these groups – agencies, vendors, freelancers and other contractors – are being paid, what projects they are undertaking and roles they are filling, how they are incentivized, and their goals relative to the goals of the business. I’ve often found that these external partners bring more specialization and expertise at a more affordable cost, and that the work they are doing is critical work that the in-house team would not have access to otherwise. I’ve also found, in many cases, a lack of defined goals and metrics, a lack of alignment with the broader goals of the marketing team and organization, and a lack of clear communication between the partners and the team.

If that’s the case in your organization, it’s vitally important to close those gaps and create crystal clear alignment to ensure every partnership is as effective as it can possibly be.

Step 2: Process

When created and implemented well, processes help give clear direction and structure, and allow for continual improvements.

I’m a firm believer in avoiding over-processing marketing, and I’ve seen many organizations where this adds unnecessary complexity and slows work to a crawl. That said, it’s extremely important to implement a framework for certain processes to avoid massive inefficiencies in your marketing.

The first frameworks I recommend are often in the production of marketing content and collateral and on the handoff between marketing and sales in terms of how leads come into the system and how they’re managed by both teams. I won’t spend a lot of time there in this post, however, as I want to focus on one of the more technical process areas: campaign structure.

My rationale is that, if you’re running campaigns, you’re spending at least some money on advertising. Very few businesses can afford any level of waste within their advertising spend, and I’ve seen preventable inefficiencies in campaign structure far too often in my assessments.

When you’re setting up your campaigns, start with the intended goals and objectives of the campaign, and importantly, how each subset of the campaign ladders up to your business goals and objectives. It’s surprisingly easy to overcomplicate your campaign structure. That means having too many campaigns running at the same time, too many subsets within each campaign, and spreading yourself too thin so that your campaigns aren’t able to gather enough data or generate enough impact within the budget you’ve allocated. On the flip side, I’ve also seen a number of clients running too few campaigns, with not enough of the segmentation of audiences that’s required for truly targeted marketing. Structuring campaigns is a delicate balance that can benefit from an expert viewpoint.

Assessing campaign structure can be done by reviewing each element of your overall marketing approach: audience, geography, audience splits, time of day, day of week, device types, etc. Then, apply this data to campaigns and subsets of campaigns, including ad creative. It can be a tedious process and can also be extremely worth your time. I’ve seen clients save anywhere from 25 percent to 52 percent year-over-year in their campaigns based on these efficiencies alone.

Step 3: Technology

Anyone who has spent any time working in marketing knows that technology can be a blessing, a curse, and everything in between. And that’s precisely why technology is the third step in our assessment: it’s critical that marketing teams are only using technology in a way that’s making them more efficient and effective.

This evaluation starts with a review of the key needs of the client, including those that may or may not be covered with technology. Once that list has been identified (or created if it didn’t exist before), you will map current technology to each need. In my experience, you’ll likely find at least some lack of alignment here, and potentially quite a few discrepancies between the problems you’re trying to solve and the technology you’ve purchased and put into place.

The most common situation I see is overbuying. Organizations have too many platforms, some of which have features and benefits that overlap, and they’re not using most of them effectively. With employee turnover and shifts in strategy over time, it’s remarkably easy to find yourself in this situation. I also see the other end of the spectrum: an incomplete tech stack. These organizations have so little from a technology perspective that most of the work in their businesses is completed manually, creating ongoing inefficiencies that could be eliminated with technology.

After identifying the gaps between what the organization has and what it needs, the next step is to create a strategic plan on how to refine and use the tech stack moving forward. I’ve found this is best done in a phased approach, starting with small achievable goals and working toward longer-term efficiency wins. If you have the right processes and people but not the right technology, you may

After we access what is needed then we work to come up with a strategic plan on how to best utilize the technology stack. We start out with small, achievable goals and work towards longer-term efficiency wins. Making sure that the right technology is in place is critical, as is ensuring that each platform can communicate with the others, and that employees are trained on each platform and accountable for using each to its fullest extent.

Simplifying Your Evaluation to People, Processes and Platforms

If creating a marketing program that seamlessly runs on all cylinders and drives exceptional outcomes for the business was easy, everyone would already be doing it.

It’s natural to struggle with it and even to be overwhelmed by it. If it’s feeling like a gargantuan effort, try simplifying your approach to the 3 Ps. And if that doesn’t work, consider hiring an expert to help.

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Key Factors for a Successful Digital Transformation in an Ever-Changing World

Serena Robinson — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 23:08:24 +0000

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Canopy Virtual Event: Numbers Scare Me & Other Excuses

Lucas Rohm — Sat, 02 Dec 2023 02:08:32 +0000

Watch the video recording of Josh Greenbaum’s virtual event as part of the Canopy Advisory expert webinar series.

Please join us for a for a finance-focused webinar to learn the fundamentals and practices everyday business owners should follow to confidently make decisions and increase impact to your bottom line. Learn to lead with confidence, bolster your financial literacy to effectively manage your team.

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Denver Art Museum

Helder B — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 23:45:15 +0000

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What Types of Services Do Fractional CFOs Provide?

Kyle Carney — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 20:43:58 +0000

Figuring out the financial strategy for a growing business might be a daunting task for a business owner. Bringing on a full time Chief Financial Officer (CFO) might be out of a company’s budget in those early stages of growth, but there are other options to help get the right footing.

Fractional or part-time CFOs have extensive experience, but are generally brought in by startups to help on a temporary basis. A fractional CFO in Denver can deliver a range of financial services and strategic guidance for growing organizations through this part-time offering, helping businesses stay on track without breaking the bank.

Fit Your Strategy to Your Goals

Fractional CFOs offer a wide scope of financial expertise, and delivering the right financial strategy is one of their most important areas of knowledge. They can help develop and refine the financial strategies to fit with the organization’s goals through guidance on everything from budgeting, to forecasting and giving analysis to support decision-making. They can also ensure accurate and timely financial reporting by interpreting financial data to identify opportunities, risks, and trends for better insight into financial management.

Creating a streamlined financial process is imperative for any business, and fractional CFOs can act as strategic partners – offering financial advice and guidance on an array of critical business decisions. Helping create and write business plans that fit in everything from financial risk assessment to creating the right funding strategy. Many business owners don’t start a business with these tools, and a fractional CFO can help bridge the gap to make sure that you’re on the right track.

Tackle Today’s Shifting Market

Making sure your financial systems keep up with your particular market is critical – particularly in the growing stages of your business. Fractional CFOs can evaluate and enhance your financial systems and process to bolster accuracy, efficiency, and compliance. This can involve implementing the right accounting software, establishing policies and streamlining financial workflows. Some of this comes down to getting the right bookkeeping and accounting, but the fractional CFO can assist with all of that as well as delivering the right financial data analysis.

Analyzing costs and profitability to identify areas of for cost reduction or revenue enhancement is another area fractional CFOs can assist. Organizing cash-flow statements and conducting a cost-benefit analysis can help improve operational efficiency. They can also help assess the financial viability of potential mergers and acquisitions (M&A), as well as offering support in the negotiation and integration processes. Getting the correct business valuation in the current market is also something the fractional CFO will be able to assist with.

It’s important to understand that the specific services provided by fractional CFOs may vary based on the needs and size of the organization. For more information on how a fractional CFO in Denver might be right in helping your business, reach out to the experts at Canopy Advisory Group today.

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What are the Benefits of On-Demand Consulting?

Kyle Carney — Tue, 30 May 2023 20:39:39 +0000

When customers decide to take advantage of on-demand consulting, they receive expert advice on organizational challenges, without the additional costs that come with hiring FTEs.

Why On-Demand Consulting?

Customers can benefit from on-demand consulting through a wide range of services, including strategic decision making, leadership development, and refining workflows and processes, to name a few. Companies that use on-demand consultants typically already have several full-time staff members, but still require specialized solutions to complex problems, answers to executive-level questions or knowledge of best practices. Additionally, customers use on-demand consulting for complete end-to-end implementation of the identified solutions from your engagement. On-demand consultants are accessible anytime for one-on-one support, regardless of how small or big the challenge may be.

Client Services

On-demand consulting through Canopy Advisory Group provides the expertise, proven skills, and industry knowledge that fulfills our clients’ needs. Our client services include:

Vetting top-tier consultants from a wide range of industries.
Identifying what clients value and devising unique strategies to serve every client’s needs.
Selecting the best consultants that fit each client’s company culture
Offering access to our team of thought partners and experts
Being proactive, pinpointing possible problems before they happen
Developing a process to ensure that each engagement runs smoothly

Resource Support

With on-demand consulting, you’re leveraging the power of years of experience in multiple industries and situations. Every on-demand consultant has an unparalleled depth of expertise and knowledge in their field and is available to address your needs as they arise. Because we familiarize ourselves with your business model, any consultant assigned to you can quickly hit the ground running. We remain connected during the project to make sure the on-demand consultant is providing value and satisfying your expectations.

Top On-Demand Consulting in Denver, CO

Our on-demand consulting services focus on a clear-cut premise: to offer you skilled resources that are thoroughly vetted and selected to meet your timeframe and requirements.

Hundreds of clients have relied on our on-demand consultants because our experts bring vast, deep knowledge to any situation. Contact us today if you’d like to learn more about us and our network of top-tier on-demand consultants.

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How Can a Marketing Consultant Help My Business?

Kyle Carney — Sat, 20 May 2023 20:35:19 +0000

In the competitive business landscape, it is critical for companies to adopt effective marketing strategies to stay ahead of the curve. However, the marketing landscape is constantly evolving, as well, leading to missed opportunities and stagnant growth. By finding the right marketing consultant in Denver, it can up your branding presence and be a game-changer to help ensure your branding message changes with the landscape.

A marketing consultant can help bring your branding into focus, and help generate more solid and consistent leads for your business. By getting all of your messaging on the same page to target the right clients, they can help create a strategy to set your business apart from the competition. The right marketing can accelerate your business in a fast-paced market like Denver, and it can also establish your brand to keep you ahead of the competition in the long run.

Getting Everything Together

One of the biggest issues many businesses face with their marketing is inconsistent messaging and honing the right value proposition. Trying to use one-size-fits-all campaigns will often deliver mediocre results. Making sure the messaging is consistent is the tip of the iceberg, as consultants can streamline this message by leveraging marketing research and data analytics along with customer insights. This will guide your message to personalized strategies that address the specific needs and preferences of your target audience.

To help reach the audience that needs your services, a marketing consultant will set up key performance indicators to track the success of your marketing initiatives. Analyzing this data will help provide actionable insights through continuous marketing of your campaigns. My monitoring these campaigns, it will ensure that you’re putting your resources into the most effective strategies and channels, getting you a higher return on your marketing investment.

Bring Everything Into Focus

Marketing consultants can help establish a strong brand identity, which is crucial for long-term success. By helping to develop a compelling story, the consultant will refine your brand positioning and create a consistent, identifiable message across all of your marketing channels. Because the consultant comes from outside your business, they can also bring in a fresh perspective and give you an objective evaluation. This experience and insight is invaluable, as a marketing consultant will bring a wealth of knowledge to the table.

They’ll also be properly able to use metrics and analytics to help bring this into focus, which will allow for more directed targeted campaigns. Many marketing campaigns lack clear goals and objectives, and waste time and money targeting the wrong audience. Nearly as important as finding the right message, finding the right channels is also imperative. Marketing consultants can identify all of these things. By zeroing in on the right audience, you’ll be able to eliminate practices that aren’t profitable, allowing for your marketing dollars to be stretched further.

Partnering with a marking consultant can positively alter the trajectory of your business. Their expertise, insights and fresh perspective can help you overcome marketing challenges and identify new growth opportunities. The feeling like your marketing isn’t doing anything is a common one amongst business owners, but it doesn’t have to be. For more information, reach out to the experts at Canopy Advisory Group today.

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Canopy Virtual Event: A Marketing Revolution: ChatGPT, AI and the Future of Digital

Lucas Rohm — Fri, 19 May 2023 01:13:02 +0000

Watch the video recording of Thomas Young’s Virtual Event as part of the Canopy Advisory expert webinar series.

Join us for a webinar with leading Expert in AI and ChatGPT & CEO, Intuitive Websites Thomas Young. ChatGPT is the fastest growing technology in history with over 100 million users and growing. Get ahead of the curve and start using AI chat tools like ChatGPT to grow your company. This exciting webinar is for business owners, leaders and marketing pros looking to stay on the cutting edge of marketing with AI content.

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EQ: The Magic Leadership Ingredient

Serena Robinson — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 20:46:46 +0000

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A Marketing Revolution: ChatGPT, AI and the Future of Digital

Serena Robinson — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 18:19:57 +0000

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Canopy Virtual Event: Presentation Masterclass

Lucas Rohm — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 01:32:32 +0000

Watch the video recording of Laurie Gilbertson’s Presentation Masterclass as part of the Canopy Advisory expert webinar series.

What secrets do experienced trial lawyers and the masters of media appearances know that make their presentations so impactful? In this fun and interactive presentation, Laurie will share what she learned as a New York City sex crimes and organized crime prosecutor and television legal analyst and lay out her “Top 10” tips and techniques for effective public speaking and presenting. Learn how to pair good content with strong delivery to create and deliver engaging and persuasive presentations.

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Presentation Masterclass with Laurie Gilbertson

Lucas Rohm — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 02:41:58 +0000

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What’s a Facebook Block List? You May Want One.

Canopy Team — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 06:00:00 +0000

If you run ads through Facebook Ads Manager, you may not realize that opting into the Audience Network means that your ads could be running on sites that aren’t in line with your brand’s values—eg. Breitbart.

The simplest fix is to opt out of third-party sites by selecting “Edit Placements” in the ad set and then deselecting “Audience Network.” However, if you don’t want to miss out on the Audience Network’s access to sites like BuzzFeed, HuffPost, and CNN, you can upload a “Block List” that will prevent ads from running on specific sites.

If you prefer the latter option, the actual Audience Network list is quite lengthy, so we recommend finding out where your ads HAVE run. To see that info, in your business settings, navigate to ➞ Brand Safety ➞ Block Lists ➞ Manage ➞ See Where Ads Have Appeared.

Once you download those lists, we suggest focusing on the channels with the most impressions and adding the no-gos to your Block List.

Ready to start engaging influencers? Here’s the plan.

1. Redefine “Influencers”
Instead of thinking about people as “influencers,” we suggest viewing them as potential “friends” of your brand. You want to build long-term relationships, not a list of one-and-dones.

2. Find Friends with Influence
Next, scout for your new friends. Look for a variety of people who have different spheres of influence. Some of them may have already tagged your brand in social media or reached out via email. Visit those archives!

3. Rank Character
Look for people who share values with your brand, then assess and rank their worth. We like letter grades: A+, A, B, C. What to consider: engagement, followers, frequency, experience.

4. Make Contact
Contact your potential new friends with an offer, which can be tailored to each group: C = free product/service; B = C + repost; A = B + C + payment; A+ = A + B + C + an experience (pictured).

5. Build a CRM
Once you have your first group of influencers on board, confirm your agreements (contracts are always wise) and then load everyone’s info—social handles, agreement terms, signed docs, etc.—into a CRM tool like Capsule.

6. Review. Revise. Repeat.
After your influencers post their media, capture the results and review the experience of working with each one. Use your CRM to log the info…and then plan your next wave with even more friends!

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Embracing the Power of PowerPoint

Canopy Team — Wed, 01 May 2019 06:00:00 +0000

I hold a pretty controversial business view: I love Microsoft PowerPoint and believe it has the potential to convert skeptics into believers. A solid design, the right balance of confident storytelling and on-screen text, and thoughtful video or graphics can make my heart flutter. I understand, though, why there are many detractors: Some of the templates have been used ad nauseum, many of us never received formal training on what makes a good presentation, and a few of the features (I’m looking at you, WordArt and pinwheel animation.) could have been retired a while back. And we have likely all had a colleague attempt to test the limits of our eyesight and patience by drafting a short novel on one slide.

So why am I advocating for PowerPoint? A well-constructed presentation can reinforce – or better yet, enhance – the story you’re verbally telling. Its format also allows it to live on after the presentation ends; disseminating slides after conferences or meetings is common practice among many of my clients. PowerPoint has also advanced its embedding tools in the past five years, allowing presenters to more seamlessly add multimedia elements. Lastly, it’s a widely accessible tool. PowerPoint has been around since 1987, and much of the current workforce uses it – or attempts to, at least.

If you’re ready to unlock the power of PowerPoint to make your presentation more memorable, here are a few foundational tips:

Unique templates, plentiful formats

Have you seen the same generic template over and over again? Or is your staff using whatever theme strikes their fancy on a given day? Investing in the creation of a branded template with your organization’s colors, fonts, images, and logo embedded into the master theme is worth it. With one template, the whole team will present a cohesive look to the world and ensure your brand’s integrity. I also try adding interest by creating slides with both light and dark background colors, varying text alignment, and including agenda progression slides that serve as a roadmap for the audience to keep them engaged.

Heavy on visuals, light on text

If you’ve ever watched a TED Talk, you know that presenters frequently use PowerPoint (or Keynote, a similar but less widespread program) to help drive their message home. Often, the slides contain just a single image, word, or sentence. While I’m not recommending you remove all text from all slides, consider the words you want your audience to remember, and include just those. Consider these points to be the ones your audience will write down and what you hope will stick with them after your presentation ends.

When it comes to visuals, photos are a striking way to help you tell your story, but remember to give credit to the photographer. Sites such as Unsplash and Pexels can provide you with a wealth of free-use photos, searchable by subject. Including branded infographics, simple graphs/charts and icons (the modern take on clip art) can draw an audience in, as well. Just make sure everyone can easily read all of the text and numbers you’re planning to include or want to highlight. PowerPoint comes with a helpful SmartArt feature to make content more appealing for items such as lists and processes, but don’t attempt to use it as smoke and mirrors to distract from a lack of clear message.

No matter your combination of text and graphics, ask a strong editor for a second set of eyes – a capable proofreader can ensure error-free content. Seeing a typo projected on a large screen can erode credibility and detract from the presenter’s story.

Know your work, know your room

Public speaking incites fear in many – including me, a communicator by trade! However, using the content on PowerPoint slides or your notes section as a “read-aloud” limits your ability to connect with your audience. Know your content well, and practice as many times as needed to really own your presentation. Reading text verbatim may lead to a memorable experience for the wrong reasons. Always be ready to speak to any slide you present with confidence and competence.

It may seem minor, but position yourself for success by learning about the room long before you enter. Having a sense of the answers to the following questions helps calm my jitters:

Will my presentation be projected in standard or widescreen format?
How is the room set up?
Where will I be standing in relation to the screen?
Is someone available to help with my A/V needs, such as connecting to the projector and playing video?

Embracing the power

Consider hiring a consultant who is well-versed in turning drab presentations into compelling tools to incite curiosity or move audiences to act. With a few adjustments, you, too, can more fully embrace the power of PowerPoint.

Gretchen is a marketing and PR consultant specializing in integrated communications campaigns for nonprofits, small businesses, and local government.

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Creating an Affordable Social Media Program

Canopy Team — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Now more than ever, donors expect nonprofits to be transparent, impactful, and relatable on a human level. Changes in our society’s day-to-day habits have prepared supporters to make quick, visual, and emotional connections with your organization. The question is – Do you have a clearly defined social media strategy and are you posting relevant content, consistently? For nonprofits that rely heavily on donors to give for emotional reasons, this is even more critical. For those of you saying “we just don’t have the resources”, we want to suggest a new approach.

Why – Social Proof
Social proof is the psychological phenomenon which proves that if individuals think ‘everyone else’ is acting in a certain way, they are likely to act that way too. Importantly for nonprofits, it means if people see others engaged with an organization, they are far more likely to do so themselves.
Remember the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?

Resources
Time, staff, funding – are all competing for resources in a nonprofit. At Nonprofit Garden, we believe you can accomplish this affordably with a solid team – an internal thought leader and a young nonprofit professional. The thought leadership, content ideas, and messaging can be driven from a seasoned and well-respected institutional leader, then implemented by a tech-savvy young nonprofit professional. This should take no more than 10 hours a week. Obviously, not a full-time job but one you can either outsource to a service provider or add to an internal resource. This provides not only a mentoring opportunity but an opportunity for both individuals to look at their organization with new eyes. Quality content curated for your specific mission and delivered in a timely, relatable manner.

Automate!
There are all sorts of inexpensive automation tools your organization can use to reduce staff time on social media. A few of our favorites include Loomly, Hootsuite, and Lightful. The key to using any of these will be:
• Schedule content in advance with a well-defined strategy
• Prioritize your messaging and ensure it is supported across platforms
• Use the right tools for the right audience.

Results
Donors are more likely to remain loyal donors, if they are engaged more frequently. Harvey McKinnon said it best “The key to donor loyalty is being loyal to your donor”[1]. Strategic use of social media makes your ‘brand’ easily accessible and increases visibility to your audience without encroaching or asking them to take an action. Instead, take your content where the people are and they will follow. Online followers will become engaged with your website, and your mission only after trust has been built. Posting good content regularly is an inexpensive way to multiply outreach quickly and maintain frequent ‘touches’ with your audience.

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Advisor Spotlight: Julie Ennis, Marketing and PR Consultant

Canopy Team — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 07:00:00 +0000

What was the most impactful marketing strategy implemented during your corporate career?

At General Mills, I was working on a business that had been steadily declining (along with the rest of the category). I led a six-month project to explore multiple hypotheses on what was driving the decline, including doing some fascinating consumer immersion work. The result of the project was a new messaging strategy that increased advertising ROI by 41% and stemmed the declines we’d been seeing in the business.

How do you use your passions to drive success in the workplace?

The reason I went out on my own to do brand and marketing strategy consulting was because I love the challenge of jumping into entirely new situations, learning about new brands and organizations, and helping provide a fresh perspective.

What makes your consulting techniques unique and effective?

I don’t start a consulting engagement assuming I know all the answers – I really enjoy learning a new business and team and then working alongside them to tackle tough problems. I also customize everything for each client – I don’t believe in off-the-shelf project plans or solutions.

How has your past work experience allowed you to grow?

I’ve been really fortunate to have had a broad mix of experiences over the years, from working in marketing research, to management, to retail marketing; and I’ve also had some great opportunities to tackle “non-traditional” roles like working cross-functionally within an R&D organization. Learning to adapt to different organizational cultures, business situations, and functional roles has given me a much better appreciation for the many factors and perspectives I need to consider in my consulting work.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

My two boys, ages 6 and 8, keep me pretty busy…but they’re also getting to the age where they can join me in some of my favorite things to do – like running, hiking, and cross-country skiing!

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Advisor Spotlight: Sam Bugg, Marketing and PR consultant

Canopy Team — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 07:00:00 +0000

What work did you complete for the American Cancer Society?
I was a community liaison and fundraiser at the American Cancer Society (ACS). As Senior Manager, I led a team to raise $1 million annually through 25 grassroots fundraising events called Relay For Life. Funds went to ACS research, education, advocacy, and patient services.

How do you use your uniques interests in science and technology to differentiate yourself from others working in your field?
I approach everything I do with a scientific mind. This makes me curious, consider information objectively, and to strive to always improve. I differentiate myself as I’m trained in both science and communications, being able to serve as a translator between the two fields. I can take complex, technical information and translate it to easy-to-understand formats for various audiences.

What are some of your favorite trends in content development today?
Visual / video = The use of video has already seen an intense expansion in telling stories. The next step will be Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) techniques to further involve audiences in the story.
User Generated Content (UGC) = giving people the opportunity to tell their own stories and perspectives.
No matter what trends appear, I’ll always be a fan of a good story and the tried and true adage of “know your audience”.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Exploring the Colorado outdoors with my wife and two dogs. On my free time, I can usually be found hiking, biking, camping, skiing, or fly fishing. I also love wildlife and volunteer at the Denver Zoo.

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