How APEX Helped Buildfire Hire
Their 1st Remote VP of Marketing
SITUATION
Buildfire is a mobile app builder that creates apps for iOS and Android.
More than 10,000 mobile apps have been developed on the Buildfire platform. Historically, the company has driven the majority of its growth through inbound marketing.
Recently, the company has expanded to add a sales team. Due to a recent staffing change, the company President was personally managing the company’s marketing. As a consequence, the President had limited capacity to pursue other initiatives.
To solve this problem, Buildfire needed to recruit a new marketing leader to fuel the company’s growth.
Defining The VP of Marketing Role
Buildfire sought a new Vice President of Marketing to develop and execute the company’s marketing strategy. In discussion with Apex, Buildfire clarified its talent needs as follows.
Act as the “CEO of the website” and drive demand generation for the company
Past experience driving sales leads at a software as a service (SaaS) company with less than 100 employees.
Confidence and expertise to teach digital marketing within the company. Specifically, the successful candidate will need to know how to discuss trade-offs and the consequences of pursuing different campaigns.
Balance between strategy and execution: the successful hire
needed to develop marketing campaigns and manage them closely on a daily basis.
Drive higher search engine optimization (SEO) leads.
Manage five figure monthly advertising campaigns on
Facebook and Google. Competent at managing a
team of three independent contractors: a graphic
designer, a content writer and a developer.
In addition, the role may be accountable to
hire and manage additional marketing employees
in the future.
SOLUTION
Buildfire ultimately found a successful marketing leader to join the organization with Apex’s guidance.
Director of Marketing Experience Profile
Apex identified several critical needs based on a review of the company’s needs and observations on past employees. First, the successful hire would need to be capable of interacting directly with the Head of Sales and President of the company regularly. In addition, Buildfire was interested in marketing leaders who had built impressive, high traffic websites.
Partnership During The Recruiting Process
Thee company needed to offer a competitive compensation package to attract the right candidate. Ultimately, the compensation offer needed to be updated to reflect current market conditions. By recruiting outside the company’s home state of California, APEX found additional candidates interested in the opportunity.
RESULTS
Buildfire was able to find an ideal marketing candidate by interviewing a handful of candidates.
Multi-Round Hiring Process
To confirm the right fit, Buildfire used a three step interview process. Each candidate met with the President, chief operating officer (COO) and Head of Sales. In particular, the successful candidate needed to develop a successful partnership with the Head of Sales. The Buildfire team made the most of their limited recruiting by interviewing only four highly qualified candidates.
Remote Hiring Success
Buildfire is open to hiring great talent in different locations. In addition to California, the company interviewed four candidates from multiple states. The successful candidate was based in Arizona. The successful hire was hired on a remote work arrangement with occasional travel to the company head office in California. The remote work hiring strategy meant Buildfire saved time and money on business travel.
Enhance Buildfire Executive Productivity
By hiring a marketing expert, the President of Buildfire can now focus on other goals. In addition, the new candidate is increasing the company’s overall level of marketing expertise by answering questions. As a result, the Buildfire executive team is no longer overstretched and can focus on their areas of strength.
Interested In Growing Your Marketing Team?
Finding a VP of marketing or chief marketing officer (CMO) who can balance strategy and execution can be challenging. Contact Apex today to discuss your marketing talent needs. We can help you find marketing leaders and marketing professionals to drive demand for your company.
Once you have a new marketing leader join your organization, what should they focus on? Your new hire will probably have some good ideas. However, it is also helpful to provide guidance about your company’s marketing needs. To help get your new marketing hire up to speed, look at our article – 7 priorities of a new CMO. You’ll find out how to onboard your new CMO quickly and help them make the most of their first 90 days.
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