Fractional CMO · Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Senior marketing leadership that also does the work.
I’m Ryan Bickett. I help B2B and professional services companies build a clear marketing plan, and then I help carry it out. You get 20+ years of experience and someone who still writes, designs and builds.
Now taking on new clients across the US.
20+ years
Leading marketing and doing the work
$100M+ a year
Approximate acquisition media budget I helped direct
2 teams built
In-house marketing teams at Questar and Glympse
B2B and B2C
Software, education, healthcare, publishing and retail
Experience includes Target, UnitedHealthcare, PLATO Learning, Lerner Publishing Group, Questar Assessment and Glympse.
Sound familiar?
Your marketing shouldn’t depend on the founder’s spare time.
Most growing companies hit the same wall. Sales are good, but marketing is a patchwork of good intentions.
- No one owns the plan. Marketing happens in bursts, when someone has time.
- Your agency or junior marketer needs direction, and you don’t have time to give it.
- You spend money on marketing but can’t tell what is working.
- Sales wants better leads, and no one is sure how to get them.
Ways to work together
Start small, or bring me onto your team.
Every option has a clear scope and a clear price. No long proposals to decode.
Ongoing partner
Fractional CMO
$5,000 a month
Your senior marketing lead, about one day a week. I set the plan, guide your team and vendors, and do hands-on work to keep it moving.
- A 90-day plan in your first month
- Weekly check-ins and a monthly scorecard
- Direction for your team, agency and freelancers
- Hands-on copy, landing pages, emails and campaigns
First 90 days, then month to month.
A clear starting point
90-Day Marketing Plan
$2,500 one time
A written plan for your next 90 days, built from a real review of your marketing.
- A kickoff call to learn your goals
- Review of your website, message and channels
- Priorities, owners, budget and measures
- A walkthrough of the plan with your team
About two weeks from kickoff.
Expert advice, fast
Strategy Session
$495
Ninety focused minutes on your biggest marketing question, with written next steps.
- I review your materials first
- A 90-minute video call
- Written next steps in 2 business days
- Fee credited if you hire me within 30 days
Pay online and pick a time.
Agencies and in-house teams. Need senior help for a launch, a leave or extra work? I can step in by the day or the month, under your brand if you like. From $1,200 a day.
How it works
Simple to start. Steady from there.
01 Talk
A free 20-minute call
We talk about where you are, what you’ve tried and what you need next.
02 Plan
Agree on the plan
We set priorities, owners and the few numbers we’ll use to measure progress.
03 Do
Do the work
I lead the work and do a good share of it myself. Your team and vendors know what to do.
04 Review
Review and adjust
Each month we look at what moved, keep what works and fix what doesn’t.
Selected work
Work I’ve led and helped build.
A few examples from my corporate roles. The skills are what I bring to your team.
Media planning · Testing · Acquisition
Making a large media budget work harder
Member acquisition, UnitedHealthcare, 2011 to 2014
I helped direct an integrated acquisition media program of roughly $110M to $165M a year across TV, paid search, email and direct response. I built a modular email and landing page system that expanded our A/B and multivariate testing. Member growth averaged about 9% a year during that time.
Positioning · ABM · Demand generation
Repositioning a B2B technology brand
Head of Marketing, Glympse, 2020 to 2023
I moved the brand from a consumer location app to a B2B location intelligence platform for logistics and field service. I built account-based marketing programs and sales materials for enterprise deals, ran pre-launch beta sign-ups and built a small team.
Product launch · Rebrand · Team leadership
Launching a platform and a new brand
Director of Marketing, Questar Assessment, 2014 to 2019
I led the launch of Nextera, a digital testing platform, and a company-wide rebrand. State-level account-based work helped win new state education clients. I built and led a team of five and directed our outside agencies.
Kind words
What people I’ve worked with say
“One of the most well-rounded marketing leaders I’ve partnered with.”
Deana Valorose
Sr. Account Executive, HERE Technologies
“Excellent marketing professional and people leader.”
Mary Texer
Helping organizations thrive by developing people and teams
“A pleasure to work with and always set the bar high.”
Eric Rohy
Retired EdTech executive, business strategy consultant and coach
“Highly creative and innovative marketing and design expert.”
Teresa Manzella, CF APMP
Author, speaker and senior proposal operations manager
About me
Hi, I’m Ryan.
I started in art and design, grew into marketing leadership, and never stopped making things. I’ve led teams and big budgets at large companies, and I run small businesses of my own. That mix means I care about the strategy and the details that make it work.
Notes from Ryan
One useful marketing idea a month.
Short, practical notes from 20+ years of doing the work. One idea, one real example and one useful link. Unsubscribe anytime.
Next step
Let’s talk about where your marketing is stuck.
Tell me a little about your company. If it looks like a fit, we’ll set up a free 20-minute call.