The Challenge
One of our longstanding clients—a leading consumer debt solutions provider—has been in business for decades and are well established in the marketplace with locations across the GTA and Canada.
This organization has grown organically over the years and their vision is to now take it to the next level—with the goal of tripling its revenue in the next few years. This involved appointing a new CEO, initiating a digital transformation, and overhauling their marketing team to support their goals—including a new VP Marketing and two new Marketing Directors—one focused on digital and the other on brand & communications.
The consumer debt industry is quite unique from a marketing perspective. On the one hand, debt solution companies offer financial relief to millions of Canadians in need. On the other hand, clients aren’t exactly eager to share that they are using their services. That means word-of-mouth marketing is scarce, leads are difficult to obtain, and client testimonials are few and far between. In other words, a marketer’s nightmare.
Our client was also dealing with two other problems. For starters, the debt solutions industry is highly competitive. There are numerous competitors vying for the same attention. Secondly, there were huge demands and pressures on their marketing team to not only deliver quickly in an ever-changing and competitive environment, but to prioritize the flurry of internal changes that come with building a new team.
The Solution
With that in mind, our client reached out to us to help them round out the rest of their marketing team, specifically a Senior Manager of Brand & Communications. This new role would focus on the digital transformation and enhancement of the customer journey—from the initial interaction to the conclusion of the engagement—making sure they were using the right digital channels, tactics, and tools to engage their customers and create an exceptional experience.
The direction we provided was three-fold. For starters, we recommended conducting a thorough search even though the hire was deemed urgent. Next, we suggested sourcing a candidate from a competitor where they would excel in a similar environment. Lastly, it was key to find someone who saw this as a growth opportunity; a candidate who could own the role, take on more responsibility, and help take duties off the Director’s plate.
Once we had a grasp on their needs, we presented them with an exhaustive shortlist—with candidates from varying levels and backgrounds. In the end, they landed on a candidate with a mix of B2C and B2B marketing experience who thrives in a fast-paced environment. This individual also brings the right amount of energy and passion, challenges the status quo, values customer-centricity, and has a penchant for using new tools, technologies, and processes.
The Outcome
Since joining, the new Senior Manager has been a highly visible and impactful addition to this debt solutions organization. They have taken complete ownership of the customer journey—enabling the Director to spend their time focusing on, and creating, a strategic plan and being involved in other projects, including the organization’s rebrand, social media strategy and website rebuild.
The leadership team has been delighted with the new Senior Manager. As promised, the new hire hit the ground running and is challenging the way they communicate to their clients to provide a better customer experience. There has also been an uptick in feedback from clients, an increase in leads, and KPIs show more visibility on the website due to the changes they have made.
The moral of the story? If you want to aggressively scale your business, you need to aggressively hire the right people to make it happen. This ambitious type of growth rarely happens without expanding the team and making sure you have the right skills, drive, and passion to perform in a highly competitive landscape.
Our Contributors
Diane Homer is a Principal in the Executive Search & Interim Management practice at B. Riley Farber. She specializes in providing end-to-end recruitment solutions within the sales, marketing, and digital discipline on an interim or permanent basis across all industry sectors and has a national scope. Diane can be reached at [email protected] or at 437.294.4616
Charlene Bergman is the Managing Director & Partner of the Executive Search & Interim Management practice at B. Riley Farber. Her expertise lies in building long-term relationships by supporting clients to meet their corporate and strategic business goals and candidates by impacting their careers and realizing their aspirations. Charlene can be reached at [email protected] or at 437.294.4609