As our team grows, we want to make sure you get to know us: here you can meet our newest member, Alice Charras, Part-Time CMO at iytro.
Can you share a bit about your professional experience before joining iytro as a Part-Time CMO?
I jumped into the corporate world in a sales position in the national team at Groupon. There, I discovered the importance of selecting an attractive offer and the power of the right promotion in the right place. At first, I was so scared of picking up the phone to call new prospects that I tried everything I could to avoid it. By writing outbound emails and using LinkedIn as a prospection tool, I discovered the magic of copywriting in B2B. It opened a vast world of opportunities for me, and I made sure I tried out many of them. I began freelancing while working on the launch of my own coffee shop. Unfortunately, my plans changed with the pandemic, but my passion for food stayed intact. I navigated through B2B companies and SaaS, mostly in the hospitality industry, helping them increase their sales with efficient marketing. After a few years freelancing in marketing & sales, some of my clients asked me to finally handle their marketing strategy. And that is how I became a Part-Time CMO. From CRM, to content, partnerships, outbound strategies, ads, PR: I have learned so much… and of course made many mistakes along the way. A few months ago, I met Marine through a common friend, the kind of meeting you tend to remember. I decided to trust the universe and joined iytro’s team shortly after. Needless to say that I have been loving every second of it so far.
What does a typical day as a Part-Time CMO at iytro look like?
There is no typical day, and this is one of the reasons why I love that job so much! The average Part-Time CMO mission is probably around 6 months, but we also have many requests for short term consulting such as audits or MVM (Minimum VIable Marketing). You need to not only be a marketing but also a time management expert! Also, we never forget to share quality time with the international team. Actually, the only thing that 100% happens every week is the “Funky Friday Frequencies” : we take turns in adding our favorite tunes on a playlist and share our best (boomer) jokes.
Why do you enjoy working with startups?
At early stages, money is a critical issue: you have to be smart and sometimes behave like a (nice) pirate. It’s so much fun to find out new ways to do better with very little. We have room for trial and error, and need to make quick decisions because most of the time the only thing that matters is results. Another thing that I love is our clients. When you work closely with CEOs of start-ups, you have access to their brain and it’s an honor to have such privileged conversations. Sometimes, they may also need someone that is direct and straightforward so we can fill that role for them. I feel deeply involved in every mission I take because I really care about each client and their leaders.
What are some common mistakes you see startups make with their marketing?
It’s so easy to make mistakes when launching a start-up: you can’t be everywhere at the same time, plus you have to be very considerate on where you invest your time and money. But there are actually two common mistakes I’ve seen many start-ups make. The first one is that they don’t communicate enough on their wins and advancements. One LinkedIn post isn’t going to do it all. Content creation is long and expensive, you should recycle every piece of content that you spend time and money creating. The second one is that they launch many marketing campaigns with no specific goal, nor tracking material. There is no use in sending specific content to a specific audience if you can’t analyze the results and iterate on what works best.
Do you have any podcast or book recommendations?
I’m going to recommend those 3 books based on the impact they had on my own life & career:
- Power of Habits, by Charles Duhigg: it’s a very captivating non-fiction book that focuses on how the human brain works when it comes to habits. Hence, how to create them, or to get rid of them. Charles Duhigg explains his theory, and demonstrates it through examples (studies, or even historical events). Incredibly powerful, both in business and in your personal life.
- Trêve de bavardages, by Fanny Auger: simply how to have better conversations, and then more meaningful relationships with humans. I love this book!
- La Théorie de la Veste, by Annabelle Roberts: getting rejected, or “se prendre une veste” in French, happens 95% of the time for a sales representative. Annabelle has a unique way of setting a “vestes” quota so you still reach your objectives while achieving much greater things that you’d only wish for. I can only imagine the impact this book would have had on my self confidence in my early years of SDR, not even mentioning my life.
Hope you’ll like them!
If you're interested in working with one of our part-time CMOs or becoming one, Get in Touch.
