Fractional Leaders feat. Charlotte Lavender

Introducing Charlotte Lavender, a global C-Suite marketer with a background at top agencies like Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy, and roles at brands like Heineken, Amex, and Ford. With expertise in brand positioning, digital integration, and team building, she thrives in driving growth through change management.

As part of our ‘Fractional Leaders‘ series, we dive into Charlotte’s journey and the insights she’s gained along the way.

Can you please introduce yourself and your journey to becoming a Fractional Leader?

I’m Charlotte, I’m a global C Suite marketeer with a passion for driving growth for scale ups through marketing transformation. I started my career at agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy and have held in-house and consultancy roles for brands such as Heineken, JLL tech, Amex and Ford.

I enjoy the range of challenges that my career in change management brings me from developing a new brand positioning to integrating digital, data or AI into marketing operations. I’ve built and developed teams and capabilities and designed and set up inhouse creative models for client. No two businesses are the same which is what makes it exciting, but I’ve three key consistent marketing principles I bring to every role which don’t change.

I find working with SMEs incredibly inspiring which is why I enjoy working as a fractional MD and CMO. Change is easier to implement in an agile, fast moving environment. The impact of a few small tweaks – a closer look at the customer, a more effective redistribution of budget or a stronger value proposition can be business changing. It’s what I love about fractional leadership roles, the impact and variety in a fast paced and entrepreneurial culture!

Let’s talk impact, what achievements are you proud of the most?

I’m a massive believer in data and metrics, not only to measure impact, but as a means to raise the profile of marketing in less marketing centric organisations. Given this I was particularly proud of my development of a new global positioning for a FTSE 500 B2B company which brought their tech and sustainability story to the forefront of the sector and successfully raised brand awareness by 15% and drove an increase in acquisition in 6 months.

For another client I recalibrated their $7 million marketing budget, developing a new value proposition and ensuring that the same messaging flowed through all their social and performance marketing. Avoiding any additional investment, they increased awareness by 33% and acquisition by 50%. The proudest achievements though are when I can see I’ve added value to smaller businesses and made founders lives easier in doing so.

Based on your work with start-ups and scale-ups, do you have any pieces of wisdom you could share with businesses in scale-up mode?

Customer first would be one of my key mantras! Founders are naturally passionate about their products and this works initially but as you scale building your business around the customer is crucial for long term growth. Your customer base is constantly evolving, as are their needs and the market they’re operating in. I advise all my clients to ensure they’ve a client centric strategy that informs their business strategy. Knowing who you’re talking to and what value you offer them, that the competition doesn’t, is key. It also allows you to talk about your business differently as the market evolves. Having this knowledge also shows investors you’re looking at the broader market, understand where your future audiences are and are set to grow!