My Marketing Leadership Framework

Marketing teams are struggling. Not because they lack effort, talent, or tools, but because no one is steering the ship. How you eliminate random acts of marketing before spending more money on marketing will steer your course for success.

This framework is how I diagnose growth drag before recommending new tools, more spend, or additional hires.

Want a printable copy you can use for your team? Get it here.

Clarify the Growth Objective

The problem

Teams execute marketing objectives without defining what success and growth actually means. 

What to do

  • Define the revenue outcome that matters right now
  • Identify priority service lines, locations, and audiences
  • Align leadership on what success looks like this quarter

Important note

If leadership isn’t aligned here, everything downstream becomes noise. Fix this first and make sure you’re on the same page before moving forward.

Map the Revenue System End to End

The problem

When Marketing is measured in isolation from revenue, it’s not possible to connect the wins and see a full picture of success.

What to do

  • Map demand → conversion → handoff → revenue
  • Identify where leads stall, leak, or die
  • Clarify ownership at each transition point

Important note

Most marketing problems actually live between teams. Find out where your gaps are and you can take steps to remedy them earlier in the process. 

Align Positioning Before Spend

The problem

When you raise the budget for a campaign but you’re not aligned on brand positioning, your campaign will flop. Make sure you know who you’re marketing to, and how your messaging aligns with the core brand philosophies. Not only will this help customers feel consistency, but it will help you talk to customers about their existing pain point. 

What to do

  • Pressure-tests who you are actually for
  • Clarifies why patients, partners, or referrals choose you
  • Ensures messaging matches operational reality

Important note

More money won’t improve a campaign if you’re talking to customers who don’t know there’s a problem. Make sure you know what stage your target audience is in before committing to a new campaign budget.

Establish Ownership & Decision Rights

The problem

Running a business isn’t a democracy. As marketing leader, I’m responsible for the marketing outcomes. Within the team, I need to know who is responsible for what.  

What to do:

  • Define priorities for each marketing team member and vendor
  • Assign ownership to outcomes, not activity so everyone knows how to measure their own success
  • Identify what should stop immediately and where to reallocate efforts

Important Note:

Leading isn’t micromanaging. Give your team the assignment, outline goals and timelines and then let them run with it. Show your team you trust them and they’ll show you just how capable they are.

Build a Repeatable Plan

The problem

Vanity metrics are so familiar, even high-schoolers use them to decide if their content was visible enough. Instead of looking at views, and engagement metrics, focus on the metrics that tie to revenue and use that success to create a repeatable method for success. 

What to do

  • Reduce KPIs to those tied directly to revenue
  • Establish a cadence for review and decision-making (I like a 2 week sprint)
  • Create clear guidelines for how you will keep, kill, or test ongoing campaign success

Important note

This is where teams and agencies finally move in the same direction. When everyone is aligned on the same metrics and the same outcomes, marketing can move faster and make better decisions.

Final Thoughts

An animated woman with an anxious expression stands among floating sticky notes in an office setting, emphasizing the challenges a fractional CMO might face, surrounded by green plants.

These steps are often missed in healthcare and multi-office organizations. Especially when business is growing fast and we’re all watching the numbers go up.  

When we achieve clarity on what works, when we can see the plan take shape and move the needle, that’s when we can add full-time marketing staff. That’s when we can make better decisions early instead of during a crisis. That’s when growth stops being random and becomes intentional again. 

Not sure if a fractional CMO is right for your company? Check out my guide on why you should hire a fractional CMO to learn what it looks like, or reach out to chat.

A woman with glasses and long hair, wearing a plaid jacket and white shirt, looks down while seated near a silver laptop.

Written by:

Taylor Desens

Taylor Desens is a fractional CMO for healthcare MSOs focused on Women’s Health. She specializes in fixing the 90-day post-acquisition inconsistencies that quietly hide revenue leaks.

She is also the Big Giant Head over at Desens Digital, and runs Klaxon Themes when there’s a minute to spare.