A practical breakdown of 12 leading AI strategy reports and what they miss. Plus what actually works for modern SEO, AEO, and AI discovery.

When performance drops, it’s easy to blame the agency. Sometimes that’s fair. But often the real issue is data, strategy, or expectations. This article gives you a simple agency scorecard, five checks to run before you fire anyone, and a checklist of what to prepare if you do decide to switch—plus how to know if your next move should be a new agency, a fractional CMO, or an in-house hire.

When revenue stalls or CAC creeps up, most teams blame campaigns, creatives, or agencies. But often the real issue isn’t marketing at all — it’s data. This article walks through the clearest signs your “marketing problem” is actually a data problem, and what to fix in your tracking and reporting before you touch budgets or strategy.

Most brands try to scale paid media by doubling budgets and hoping CAC behaves. This guide walks through a different approach: fix the economics first, build a real creative and testing system, then increase spend with clear guardrails so you can grow without blowing up your acquisition costs.

Stuck between hiring a full-time CMO, keeping your agencies, or bringing in a fractional CMO? If you’re in the $5–$20M range, here’s how to decide which model actually works—and the red flags that tell you it’s time to change your setup.

When your customers search for help, they won’t politely Google your brand name. They’ll tell an AI assistant, “I run a DTC brand. Growth has stalled. Our data is messy. Who can actually fix this without hiring a full-time CMO?” The assistant won’t return ten blue links. It will give an answer. This post is about making sure your brand is the one it confidently recommends.

Reality check: Nearly 60% of Google searches end without a click, and when AI Overviews appear, clicks to top results drop ~35%. Meanwhile, AI chat/search tools already capture ~5–6% of U.S. desktop search—and growing. If your pages aren’t answer-ready (AEO)—one page per question, concrete sentences, and a small piece of proof—they’re invisible on the queries where users get the answer without visiting a site.

McKinsey’s 7-S framework aligns Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared Values, Skills, Style, and Staff. While comprehensive and globally credible, it’s rigid, costly, generic, and overly internal. Without tailored analytics and actionable insights, implementation suffers. Carefully consider its limits.

Are you stuck in endless cycles of costly A/B tests and digital marketing guesswork? You're not alone. Many startups and healthcare companies skip traditional marketing research—like interviews, surveys, and concept tests—to save time, only to later burn through $50,000 or more fixing avoidable mistakes. Discover why investing upfront in foundational market research can save your budget, sharpen your strategy, and position your brand for lasting success.

Hiring freelancers gives small businesses cost-effective access to top marketing talent—but managing them effectively can be challenging. This comprehensive guide details common freelance marketing roles, average hourly costs, expert evaluation tips, and shows how a Fractional CMO from Orr Consulting can strategically align and optimize your freelance investments for maximum business impact.

Customer Churn: How to Calculate It — and Stop 48% of Your Customers from Walking Out the Door to Unlock Growth

Unlock Your Business Potential with Expert Customer Segmentation Strategies

Strategic marketing investment fuels growth. Balance ads, content, automation & talent to maximize ROI. Spend smarter, not just less!

Master marketing by understanding key distinctions: branding vs. design, SEO vs. SEM, strategy vs. tactics, and more. Clarity drives success

Most teams rely on dashboards, not analytics. Dig deeper to uncover insights, drive ROI, and move beyond vanity metrics. Here's how!

Learn how predictive customer journey modeling boosts revenue by 21% and margins by 15%. Discover key strategies for growth.

Discover how to harness customer insights for personalized experiences, integrate cutting-edge content with growth tactics, and utilize soci

Compare the pros and cons of hiring a fractional CMO vs. a full-time CMO to find the best fit for your business's marketing needs and budget

In today's digital age, advertising is a cornerstone of reaching and engaging with your target audience. However, understanding how much...

Navigate the digital shift: Embrace innovative, privacy-focused marketing in a post-cookie world with our expert help.