What to look for in an interim marketeer 

A true team player on a mission, elevated and comforted by a strong support network 

Interim management for marketeers faces unique challenges, especially amidst today’s competitive talent landscape. Stephanie Tang and Killian Lebailly from The House of Marketing shed light on how to attract, retain and provide top marketing consultants.  A story of specific mindsets and icebergs.  

When a company is looking for a marketeer today, they increasingly aim for very specific marketing profiles. Not surprising when considering the diversity in domains currently categorized under marketing: strategy, branding, innovation, performance, marketing automation, etc. 

At The House of Marketing, Stephanie Tang and Killian Lebailly are in daily contact with companies facing the need to find interim marketing talents. And while some would expect their marketeer to take on multiple roles, it is near impossible to combine the vast, complex and varied sub-disciplines of marketing into one person. So how to answer both the very specific and the more generalist demands?  

How to win the war for talent

According to Stephanie and Killian having the best people with the right mindset is critical. A high recruitment standard is part of it, but there’s more. “Finding and retaining strong specialists is a challenge for everyone in this current war on talent. The solid reputation that The House of Marketing has built over the past 30 years helps attracting talent out there. But having just a name is not enough. To retain our marketing consultants, we provide them with a supportive work environment, an infinite learning curve, a vast network of like-minded colleagues and various personal development opportunities.”   

Expert with a hotline to a 100 more

“Of course, we cannot always deliver on the promise to bring that one marketing consultant who can do it all as the role of a marketeer can nowadays encompass so many fields of expertise ” says Killian Lebailly, “but we provide our clients one consultant who is supported by a whole network of experts in diverse fields who can help him or her when there’s a specific need”.  

This is what The House of Marketing calls “the iceberg”. “Our clients see the tip, being our marketing consultant, but behind that visible part there are more than a hundred other marketing specialists, ready to share best practices, to recommend tools, to brainstorm and to cheer up.  

“A win-win” states Stephanie, “the client gets access to a broad range of knowledge, and it provides a level of comfort for the consultant. Knowledge sharing is strongly embedded in our culture”. Stephanie considers this one of the strengths of The House of Marketing’s interim offering. We have a motto here: A THoMer never walks alone”. 

Understanding the gap guarantees a better fit

This does not imply that just any marketeer can be put on any assignment. Stephanie and Killian try to challenge each client to make them truly understand the need. This proves crucial when considering the perfect fit.  

“Sometimes there’s the more obvious resource gap. Other times it’s an expertise gap and it’s up to us to fill that gap” says Stephanie. She adds “but we try to do more. We see interim management as providing someone who does not do just the job, but also goes that extra mile. To not just do what was done before, but to add an extra layer to it. To make sure that the company moves forward and that the level of marketing goes up.”