Position Title: Vice President of Marketing
Location: Corporate headquarters are located in Carlsbad, CA.
Position Summary: The Vice President of Marketing is a newly created position that will be a key member of Dealstruck’s executive team and play a critical role in the company’s future growth.
General Duties: The Vice President of Marketing will:
Provide the leadership and vision to strengthen existing client relationships, as well as identify and penetrate new market segments;
Be the steward of the brand(s) and support all marketing efforts across the company, as well as new business initiatives. This will require very close cooperation with the CEO and Chief Strategy Officer;
Work in conjunction with internal operating units, as well as with external agencies and business partners, to lead the development and execution of a substantial number of new programs and products;
Proactively adjust market strategy and make recommendation to modify business strategy to meet changing market conditions;
Use analysis to enhance company-wide marketing competencies, such as thoroughly understanding our customers and brand positions;
Impact and improve organizational structure to achieve marketing goals;
Develop marketing plans with emphasis on implementation,evaluation, feedback and measurement, including key performance metrics, to maximize ROI;
Lead public relations, branding and thought leadership efforts on a national scale;
Be instrumental in positioning Dealstruck as an industry leader in commercial finance services.
Reporting Relationship: The Vice President of Marketing will report to the Chief Executive Officer.
Direct Reports: The Vice President of Marketing will initially manage a PR Consultant and an outside marketing/SEM/SEO agency. New staff will be added as needed.
Key Internal Relationships:
- Chief Technology Officer
- Chief Strategy Officer
- VP of Operations
- Director of Sales
Major Performance Objectives:
1. Existing Marketing Strategy Assessment : Assess the current state of Dealstruck’s marketing capabilities and gain a firm grasp of the competitive landscape.
Review digital and traditional marketing plans
Evaluate use and extension of social media efforts
Evaluate efforts in event, association, affiliate and other marketing
Analyze positioning and value proposition against others.
Enhance business development efforts by understanding the customer and the buying process:
- Investing in market assessment
- Dialogue with current customers
- Refinement of product offerings
2. Inbound Pipeline Management : Achieve origination, revenue, and margin goals through the effective management of people and resources.
Continuation and extension of lead generation strategies, by industry and segment.
Continuance and support of current large-scale marketing activities:
- Oversee and adjust as necessary the company’s efforts to drive traffic to its website;
- Oversee and adjust as necessary the organization’s current advertising and promotional activities;
- Oversee and adjust as necessary the company’s event marketing, such as trade shows, networking events, and public/community relations;
- Oversee and adjust as necessary the company’s strategic partnerships.
3. Staff Management : Extend the reach and establish leadership in the department by:
Reviewing the capabilities of each team member, as well as outside vendors;
Mentoring, coaching, and training the team to achieve personal growth and company success; and
Working directly and cooperatively with peers to help them grow and succeed.
4. Overall Corporate Strategy : Be an integral part of the company’s strategy:
Identify potential new market segments;
Participate in the development of new products;
Find innovative and cost-effective ways to market those segments and products, especially through digital marketing and promotion;
Find opportunities to cross-sell, cross-promote, extend the brands collectively or individually.
Specific Strategic Objectives: Since Dealstruck is an online financial services platform, digital ownership is paramount for this position. Expectations within this element of the role include:
1. SEM / PPC :
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The importance of paid search cannot be overstated for online finance companies. The Vice President of Marketing will be expected to bring focus, discipline, and creativity to this channel. The VP of Marketing will work closely with third party partners to:
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) : The Vice President of Marketing must thoroughly understand:
3. Email Marketing : Currently, there is a significant opportunity to improve Dealstruck’s email marketing efforts through more sophisticated e-mail segmentation by thinking more strategically about how we maintain contact with our customers. The Vice President of Marketing must help the team identify and exploit new opportunities to grow this channel by treating different customers differently. Doing that will require:
Extensive hands-on, “in the trenches” experience in slicing and dicing the database and
Refining the promotional calendar.
4. Web Design / User Experience : Although you won’t be expected to get into the weeds on web design and UX issues, it’s essential that you are snow proofed on issues like:
Wire framing;
User flows;
Interaction models; and
Style guides.
Experience and Abilities:
Experience Desired:
BA/BS in Business and/or Marketing;
5+ years experience in both strategic marketing planning and execution in digital marketing, direct mail and alternative media;
5+ years experience in strategy, branding, and research;
2+ years experience in B-to-B multichannel direct marketing;
Proven experience/exposure to small business services, preferably in the financial services industry, at a national level;
Significant understanding of general digital technologies;
Deep understanding of marketing technologies to review, analyze and improve marketing efforts;
Strong base of brand management experience;
Proven success at project management as it relates to development strategies, tactics and rollout plans for new marketing initiatives, including management of outside vendors.
Desired Abilities:
Able to adapt leadership style to effectively communicate and build consensus across functions that are both highly analytical and highly creative;
Excellent communication skills: Internal and external spokesperson, equally comfortable talking with customers, employees and the executive management team;
“Hands-on” or “Player/coach” entrepreneurial style, one that looks to become involved in all elements of managing their functional responsibility, with high personal standards of commitment and integrity;
Excellent analytic abilities in forecasting and P&L management, business metrics, campaign analysis, segmentation solutions, media evaluation, customer valuation and customer strategy development;
Proven ability to manage change, drive transformation and successful implementation.
Personal Qualities:
Strong leader, builder, self-starter, motivator, highly collaborative team member;
Energetic and enthusiastic business leader with drive and ambition;
Innovative and creative thinker;
Flexible and open to change;
A scientific, experimental and analytical mind set—open to ideas while ensuring proper testing of alternatives.
