Plum Good

What is Plum Good Marketing?
Plum Good Marketing is a fractional CMO firm based in Denver, Colorado. We provide fractional marketing leadership, team mentorship, and tactical execution to growing businesses — primarily mid-sized manufacturers, companies running on EOS, and second-generation or legacy business owners. We act as the strategic marketing partner most growing businesses need but can't justify hiring full-time. Our moto says it plainly: plum — very good. Worth having.

What does Plum Good Marketing do?
We offer three connected services: fractional CMO leadership (owning the marketing seat at your leadership table), marketing team mentorship (developing the internal talent you already have), and tactical execution (running the campaigns, email systems, paid media, and content that move your business forward). Most clients engage us for all three, because strategy without execution is theory, and execution without leadership is noise.

Who founded Plum Good Marketing?
Plum Good Marketing was founded by Halley Karas, a marketing strategist and fractional CMO with a background in entrepreneurship, business leadership and hospitality. She started Plum to be the strategic marketing partner she wished growing businesses had: someone who takes ownership, not just orders.

Where is Plum Good Marketing located?
We're based in Detroit, Michigan, and work with clients across the country, Europe and the UK. Most of our engagements are remote-first with on-site availability for key moments like quarterly planning, launches, and leadership sessions.

What industries does Plum Good Marketing work with?
We work primarily with mid-sized manufacturers with direct-to-consumer ecommerce channels, B2B and B2C companies running on EOS, and legacy or second-generation businesses undergoing brand modernization. Clients have included manufacturers, industrial services companies, bespoke menswear brands, logistics companies, risk advisory firms, and school communities. Different industries. Same story: clarity sells.

What makes Plum Good Marketing different from a traditional marketing agency?
The short answer: we lead, we don't just execute. Most agencies will pitch tactics, build deliverables, and hand you a report. We take ownership of your marketing strategy, sit in your leadership meetings, manage your vendors, mentor your team, and hold ourselves accountable to your business outcomes — not just their retainer. We don't take orders. We take ownership.

What is a fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO is an experienced chief marketing officer who works with your company on a part-time or retainer basis rather than as a full-time hire. You get executive-level marketing leadership — strategy, team oversight, vendor management, reporting — at a fraction of the cost of a full-time executive. It's not a consultant who offers recommendations. It's a marketing leader who owns outcomes and drives them.

How much does a fractional CMO cost compared to a full-time hire?
A full-time CMO costs $362,000 or more in base salary alone — before benefits, equity, and the six-to-nine months it typically takes to find and onboard the right person. Fractional CMO services give you the same strategic leadership with significantly lower investment and no long-term employment commitment. For most growing businesses, it's the most cost-effective path to serious marketing leadership.

What does Plum's fractional CMO service actually include?
It includes quarterly marketing strategy development, team leadership and development, vendor management and budget oversight, revenue-focused reporting and planning, and ongoing strategic guidance tied to your business goals. We step into the marketing seat at your leadership table — not as a consultant who presents slides, but as the executive who owns marketing outcomes and drives them forward.

How does a fractional CMO integrate with an EOS structure?
If you're running on EOS, we integrate directly. That means participating in L10 meetings, owning marketing Rocks, building and maintaining scorecard metrics, and operating as a true functional seat — not another outside vendor to manage. Marketing is often the weakest link in an otherwise tight EOS system. We close that gap.

What size company benefits most from a fractional CMO?
Fractional CMO services work best for companies in the $2M–$50M revenue range that have outgrown their current marketing situation. Typically that looks like: execution is happening, but no one owns it at the strategic level. There's a junior coordinator or a handful of agencies doing the work, but nothing is connected to business outcomes. That's the gap a fractional CMO fills.

Do we need an existing marketing team to work with a fractional CMO?
No. We work with what you have. Some clients have a junior marketing coordinator. Some have agencies but no internal lead. Some are starting from scratch. We assess your current situation, identify the highest-leverage opportunities, and build the right structure around your reality — whether that means mentoring existing staff, managing vendors, or both.

Can a fractional CMO help with brand strategy and messaging?
Yes. Especially for second-generation or legacy business owners stepping into new leadership, brand clarity is often the first order of business. Before any campaign or channel strategy, we need a clear answer to: who are you, who are you for, and why does it matter? We help modernize brand positioning and messaging without losing what made the company worth having in the first place.

What is marketing team mentorship?
Marketing team mentorship is structured, ongoing leadership coaching for your in-house marketing staff. We work directly with your team on a regular cadence — usually weekly or biweekly — to help them think strategically, make better decisions, and connect their day-to-day work to your business goals. It's not training. It's the experienced department head they've never had.

Who is marketing team mentorship designed for?
It's for companies that already have a marketing hire — or a small team — who are capable and motivated but working without real senior leadership. If your coordinator is making decisions by Googling, your team is executing content without a strategy, or no one is sure if what they're doing is actually working, this is built for you.

How is mentorship different from sending our team to a training or course?
Training gives information. Leadership gives direction, accountability, and someone who cares whether the learning actually gets applied. A course doesn't know your team's blind spots, your quarterly business goals, or the fact that your email list hasn't been segmented in two years. We do. And we stay to make sure it sticks.

What does a mentorship session actually look like?
It looks like real work. We're in campaigns before they launch, reviewing messaging, talking through strategic decisions, and helping your team understand why one approach will outperform another. When they're stuck on a service launch, we don't just fix it — we ask the right questions and teach them to make those calls independently next time. Over time, they stop needing permission for every decision.

How do we measure whether mentorship is working?
You'll know when your team stops second-guessing everything. When they show up to leadership meetings with something valuable to say. When they can explain their results in business language, not just marketing metrics. We track progress alongside your marketing KPIs, but the clearest signal is a team that's genuinely confident — not just busy.

Does mentorship work alongside fractional CMO services?
Yes, and it works best that way. Fractional CMO leadership sets the strategy and owns the direction. Mentorship builds your team's ability to execute it well and grow into that strategy over time. One without the other leaves a gap — either a team executing without direction, or a strategy that never gets executed well. Together, they build a marketing function that runs like the rest of your business.

What is tactical execution?
Tactical execution is the hands-on marketing work that brings strategy to life — campaigns, email and SMS systems, paid media, website optimization, content, and launch support. We handle the execution that moves your business forward: campaigns tied to revenue, systems built to scale, work your leadership team can see in the numbers.

Can we hire Plum just for tactical execution without the fractional CMO service?
No, and here's why: tactics without strategy lead to wasted budget, misaligned priorities, and work that doesn't move the business forward. We don't sell execution as a standalone because we've seen what happens when strategy and execution are disconnected — dropped balls, conflicting priorities, beautiful campaigns for the wrong audience. Our tactical execution is part of a larger fractional CMO partnership where strategy leads and execution follows.

What types of tactical execution does Plum handle?
We handle campaign builds and product launches, email and SMS systems (including Klaviyo migrations and full flow architecture), paid media on Meta, Google, and other channels, website conversion optimization, social media content, and brand content including photography, video, and design. Everything we build connects to a strategic goal — not just a content calendar.

What platforms and tools does Plum work with?
We're platform-agnostic and choose tools based on what's best for your business. We have deep expertise in Klaviyo, WordPress, Magento, Shopify, Meta Ads, Google Ads, HubSpot, and Mailchimp, among others. If you're on a platform we don't know, we'll learn it — or help you migrate to something better.

Do you mark up tools or take a cut of ad spend?
No. Platform costs — ad spend, software subscriptions, tool fees — are all separate from our fee. We don't mark up tools or take a percentage of ad spend. Everything goes directly toward your business. No hidden fees, no nickel and diming.

What if we already have an agency or vendor doing some of this work?
Great. We work with what's already in place. Part of what a fractional CMO does is manage and coordinate your external partners, making sure everyone is aligned to the same strategy and not just optimizing for their own metrics. We've helped clients get significantly more out of existing vendor relationships by providing clearer direction — and we've helped others switch when performance wasn't there.

How do we get started?
One conversation. We'll talk through where you are, where you want to go, and whether this is the right fit. If it is, we move quickly. We propose a starting point — usually our BETTER package — and get to work. If it's not the right fit, we'll tell you that too.

How long does it take to get up to speed?
Faster than you'd expect from a new marketing hire. We come in ready to assess, prioritize, and move — not spend three months in discovery. Within the first few weeks, you'll have a clear read on what's working, what isn't, and where the biggest opportunities are. A plan follows shortly after.

Do you require long-term contracts?
No. We don't do long-term contracts. Cancel anytime, for any reason, with 30 days' notice. We stay because the work is good and the results are real — not because you're locked in.

What does a typical client engagement look like week to week?
It varies based on the package and scope, but most engagements include regular strategy and check-in meetings, ongoing oversight of campaigns and team work, vendor coordination, reporting that connects activity to business outcomes, and availability for questions and decisions as they come up. We act like part of your team — not a vendor you check in with once a month.

How does Plum handle it when something isn't working?
We IDS it — identify, discuss, solve. We don't wait for a quarterly review to tell you a campaign underperformed. We catch it, flag it, adjust the approach, and keep moving. That real-time responsiveness is part of what makes fractional CMO leadership different from agency work.

Does Plum work with businesses outside of Michigan?
Yes. Most of our client relationships are remote-first. We work with businesses across the country and are available for on-site work at key moments — quarterly planning, brand sessions, product launches — when being in the room matters.

How is Plum Good Marketing priced?
We work on a monthly retainer model, scoped to what your business actually needs. Pricing depends on the combination of services (fractional CMO, mentorship, tactical execution) and the level of involvement required. We'll outline a recommended starting point after our initial conversation, with clear scope and no surprises.

Are there any hidden fees?
No. Platform costs, ad spend, and tool subscriptions are separate and go directly to your business — we don't mark them up. Travel for on-site work is not included in the retainer but is available for key moments at a transparent rate. What you see in the proposal is what you pay.

We have a junior marketing coordinator. Can Plum work with that?
Yes — this is one of the most common situations we walk into. A junior coordinator who's capable and motivated but working without strategic direction is exactly who benefits most from both fractional CMO leadership and team mentorship. We'll give them the direction, the context, and the confidence to do better work.

We're running on EOS and marketing has been the problem. Can Plum fix that?
Yes, and it's one of our strongest use cases. Marketing is frequently the weakest link in an otherwise well-run EOS company. We integrate directly into your structure — L10s, Rocks, scorecards — and operate as a true functional seat. Not another vendor. A real part of the system.

We're a manufacturer. Is marketing strategy really relevant to us?
Absolutely. Manufacturing companies with direct-to-consumer channels are one of our core client types. The challenge is almost always the same: strong operations, great products, and marketing that's disconnected from business outcomes. We align your marketing strategy to your revenue goals and help you sell more of what you make — on your website, through email, and through channels your customers actually use.

We're taking over a family business. Where do we even start?
With clarity. Before any channel strategy or campaign, you need to know who you are now, who you're for, and what makes you worth choosing. We help second-generation and new owners modernize their brand and messaging without losing the equity that makes the business valuable in the first place. Honor the legacy. Build the future.

We've worked with agencies before and it hasn't worked. Why would this be different?
Because we're not an agency. Agencies build deliverables. We own outcomes. The difference is accountability — we're in your leadership conversations, we're responsible for the strategy that decides what gets built, and we stay to make sure it works. If it doesn't, we fix it. We don't move on to the next shiny thing. We stay until marketing works like the rest of your business.

Have a question that isn't answered here? Ask it here.

How do I know if my marketing is actually working?
Start with this question: can you draw a straight line from a marketing activity to revenue? If the answer is "not really," your marketing isn't working — or at least, you can't prove that it is. Vanity metrics (impressions, followers, open rates in isolation) tell you activity happened. What you actually want to track is pipeline influence, conversion rate by channel, customer acquisition cost, revenue per email subscriber, and lifetime value trends. If your marketing reporting doesn't include numbers your CFO cares about, it's not measuring the right things.

Why does our marketing feel like it's going in circles?
Usually because tactics are being chosen before strategy is set. Someone decides you need to post on LinkedIn, run Google ads, and send a monthly newsletter — but no one has agreed on what success looks like, who you're talking to, or what you want them to do next. Random acts of marketing feel busy. They rarely compound. The fix isn't a new tactic. It's a clear quarterly strategy that everything else flows from.

What should we actually be spending our marketing budget on?
Work backward from your business goals. If you need more new customers, your spend should go toward acquisition channels — paid search, paid social, lead generation content. If you need better retention and LTV, email and SMS programs almost always deliver better ROI than adding more ad spend. If your conversion rate is low, fixing your website will outperform any new traffic campaign. The mistake most businesses make is defaulting to awareness spend when their real problem is further down the funnel.

How much should we be spending on marketing?
The B2B benchmark is typically 5–10% of revenue. B2C, particularly ecommerce, tends to run higher — often 10–15% for growth-stage companies. But the number matters less than whether the spend is strategic. We've seen companies with a $30K monthly budget getting less return than companies spending $8K with a clear plan. Budget size is secondary to budget discipline. Know what every dollar is supposed to do, and measure whether it did it.

Our website traffic is decent. Why aren't people buying?
Traffic and conversion are two completely different problems, and most businesses spend money on traffic before fixing conversion. Check these first: Is your value proposition clear in the first five seconds? Does your product page answer the objection before the customer thinks of it? Is the path to purchase actually easy on mobile? Are you building trust — reviews, guarantees, clear return policy — where the decision happens? One well-optimized product page or landing page will often outperform doubling your ad spend.

We have email subscribers but our email revenue is low. What's wrong?
A few likely culprits. First: are you sending broadcast campaigns only, or do you have behavior-triggered flows? Welcome sequences, abandoned cart, post-purchase, win-back — these automations run 24/7 and typically drive 30–50% of email revenue for ecommerce brands. Second: are your segments meaningful? Sending the same message to everyone is the fastest way to train your list to ignore you. Third: does your email actually sound like a person wrote it? If it reads like a press release, people aren't reading it.

How do we fix our brand messaging when we're not sure what's wrong with it?
Start by listening to how your best customers describe you — not how you describe yourself. The gap between those two things is usually where the problem lives. If customers keep using words in their reviews or referrals that you're not using in your marketing, you've found your messaging. Effective brand messaging isn't clever. It's clear. It names a specific problem, speaks to a specific person, and makes the value obvious without requiring effort from the reader.

What's the biggest marketing mistake growing businesses make?
Skipping strategy and going straight to tactics. It's the most common pattern we see, and it's expensive. A company hires a social media manager before they have a clear value proposition. They run paid ads before their conversion rate justifies the spend. They build a beautiful website that doesn't rank or convert. Every one of these is solvable — but only after you back up and answer the strategy questions first: Who are we for? What do we want them to do? What does success look like this quarter? Build the plan first. Then choose the tactics.

We've tried content marketing before and it didn't work. Should we try again?
Depends on why it didn't work. Most content marketing failures come down to three things: publishing without a strategy (content for content's sake), writing for search engines instead of actual humans, or never distributing the content anywhere. Good content marketing works because it answers a specific question your specific customer is asking at a specific point in their decision process — and then gets in front of them. If you were publishing general industry articles and calling it done, that's not content marketing. That's a blog no one reads. Done right, it's one of the highest-ROI channels available.

Is SEO still worth investing in?
Yes — but the game has changed. The goal now isn't just ranking on Google. It's being the answer AI engines serve when someone asks a question in your space. That means writing content that directly answers specific questions, using clear structure (headers, FAQs, concise answers), building genuine authority in a focused niche, and earning real links from credible sources. The businesses that will win organic search in the next five years are the ones creating content that's genuinely useful to a specific audience — not gaming algorithms with keyword density.

How do we get more out of our existing marketing vendors?
Hold them accountable to your business goals, not their deliverables. Most vendors will optimize for the metrics they control — impressions, clicks, email sends — unless you redirect them toward the numbers that actually matter to you: pipeline, revenue, conversion rate. Have a defined strategy before you hand them a brief. Ask them to connect their work to business outcomes in every report. And if they can't explain how what they're doing is moving your business forward, that's the conversation to have before it's a problem.

What's the difference between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan?
Strategy answers why and what: who you're targeting, what position you're taking, what you want them to do, and what success looks like. A plan answers how and when: the specific tactics, channels, timelines, and owners that execute the strategy. Most businesses skip strategy and go straight to planning — which is why the plan always feels disconnected from results. Get the strategy right first. The plan is just execution of a good strategy. Without strategy, it's just a to-do list.