Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
Location: On-site - Detroit/Southfield area
Reports to: Managing Partner / Executive Committee
Direct Reports: Marketing Director, Digital/PPC Manager, Intake/CRM Lead, External Agencies
Role Summary
The Chief Marketing Officer owns end-to-end growth for the firm. This role is responsible for driving qualified case volume, protecting the brand, optimizing marketing spend, and ensuring tight alignment between marketing, intake, and revenue.
This is not a creative-only role. The CMO is a growth operator—data-driven, compliance-aware, and comfortable being held to cost-per-signed-case, ROI, and revenue targets.
Core Responsibilities
Growth & Revenue Accountability
- Own firm-wide marketing strategy tied directly to signed cases and fee revenue
- Set and manage KPIs including:
- Cost per lead (CPL)
- Cost per signed case (CPSC)
- Conversion rates (lead consult signed)
- Channel ROI and attribution
- Forecast case volume and marketing contribution to firm revenue
- Make real-time budget decisions based on performance—not sunk cost or vendor promises
Digital & Performance Marketing
- Oversee all paid and organic channels, including:
- Google Search & Local Services Ads (LSA)
- Meta (Facebook/Instagram)
- YouTube, OTT, and emerging platforms
- SEO and local search optimization
- Ensure disciplined media buying with clear attribution
- Kill underperforming channels quickly and reallocate spend decisively
Brand, Messaging & Market Positioning
- Own the firms brand voice, messaging, and market differentiation
- Ensure consistency across:
- Advertising
- Website and landing pages
- Social media
- PR and community presence
- Balance emotional storytelling with ethical and regulatory compliance
Intake, CRM & Conversion Optimization
- Partner closely with Intake leadership to ensure:
- Speed-to-lead standards
- Call handling quality
- Script adherence and optimization
- CRM data integrity (e.g., Salesforce, Litify, Filevine, HubSpot)
- Use data to identify breakdowns between marketing spend and signed cases
- Treat intake as a revenue function, not admin support
Agency & Vendor Management
- Lead selection, evaluation, and accountability of:
- Digital agencies
- SEO vendors
- Creative partners
- Media buyers
- Hold vendors to clear performance metrics
- Eliminate vendor dependency; maintain internal visibility into all data
Compliance & Risk Management
- Ensure all marketing complies with:
- State bar advertising rules
- Platform policies
- Ethical standards specific to personal injury law
- Serve as the internal authority on advertising risk and reputational exposure
Leadership & Team Development
- Build and lead a high-performance marketing organization
- Set expectations, coach decisively, and remove underperformers
- Create clarity between strategy, execution, and accountability
Required Experience & Qualifications
- 10+ years in marketing leadership, with direct responsibility for revenue outcomes
- Prior experience in personal injury, legal services, or regulated consumer services strongly preferred
- Deep expertise in performance marketing and attribution
- Proven success managing multi-million-dollar ad budgets
- Strong understanding of intake operations and CRM systems
- Comfortable presenting performance data to partners and executives
What Success Looks Like (12–18 Months)
- Marketing spend clearly tied to signed cases and revenue
- Reduced cost per signed case without sacrificing quality
- Strong alignment between marketing, intake, and legal teams
- Vendors held accountable—or replaced
- Brand recognized as credible, trustworthy, and differentiated in the market
This Role Is Not For
- Brand-only marketers with no revenue accountability
- Leaders who rely blindly on agencies
- Anyone uncomfortable being measured by hard numbers