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success story

Fractional CMO for Stratus IT

How we built a complete marketing system for an established IT company and now run it as their fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer).
stratus it marketing

Client

Stratus IT — managed IT services for professional services firms

Engagement

Marketing Strategy & Brand Messaging (Aug 2025) → Fractional CMO retainer (Oct 2025–present)

What we run

Marketing strategy & brand messaging, website optimisation, and lead generation across content, paid media and AEO/SEO

Where it's at

Building the awareness and consideration layer of a structured marketing system

marketing for it company
The brief

What they needed

Stratus IT came to us for a marketing strategy. The plan was straightforward: get the strategy, hire one internal marketer to run it, and keep us on to steer that person. Looking at the foundation, it was clear a single marketing generalist couldn’t deliver what their goals needed.
Stratus IT has clear business goals on a defined timeline, and the marketing has to keep pace. What they actually needed was a strategic lead with a team of specialists behind it, without building that team in-house.
The challenge

A strong business with no marketing foundation

Stratus IT is an established IT provider serving accountants, law firms, financial advisers and similar professional services firms. The technical reputation was strong; the marketing foundation to grow wasn’t there yet, so growth stayed tied to referrals rather than something they could scale.
stratus it team
1

The message was generic

It described what Stratus IT does without speaking to the IT challenges their clients face in their specific industries, and it sounded like every other IT company.

2

The website gave no reason to act.

Weak CTAs, no clear path to enquire, and no story to pull the right prospect in.

3

There was no system.

Nothing was structured to attract the right prospects, capture them, and convert them to customers.

brandheart marketing approach
The approach

Build the foundation first, in the right order

We started as the strategy and messaging partner in August 2025, then stepped into the fractional CMO role in October once the plan was set. Rather than switch everything on at once, we mapped what to build and in what order, so each layer sits on a solid foundation.
Charlene is on site with Stratus IT’s leadership team every week. That keeps the work pointed at what matters to the business, and surfaces the insight we need to create content that answers real customer questions, and realign the plan as the business and the landscape evolves.
BrandHeart acts as the strategic lead and execution team; Stratus IT leadership sets direction and signs off.
The work

One marketing system, built in order

Foundation: strategy and message

Stratus IT was clear on their ICP; our job was to make the marketing align to it. We rebuilt the message on the StoryBrand framework, making the customer the hero and Stratus IT the guide, so it breaks from the usual way IT companies talk about IT and speaks to the problems each industry actually faces.

The website: built to generate leads

We built the new website against the same framework we use to diagnose one, weighing every layer that turns a visitor into an enquiry:
  • Messaging & presentation. Does the site clearly communicate the problem Stratus IT solves, who they help, and why a prospect should choose them.
  • Lead capture & conversion. Clear CTAs, an obvious path to enquire, and the forms, navigation and user experience that move the right visitor to act.
  • Technical set-up & tracking. GA4 and conversion tracking, form-submission tracking and lead attribution, so every enquiry is measured and every rand of spend is accountable.
  • Nurture & visibility. HubSpot CRM integration and a meeting scheduler, plus a lead magnet that triggers an automated email nurture series on download.

Lead generation: bringing the right prospects in

Content, paid media and AEO/SEO work together as one lead generation engine. We’re in the awareness phase, building an audience through Google Ads, LinkedIn, an ongoing blog and SEO. As that audience grows, we’re developing the campaigns and assets that move them through consideration and decision.
The results

A system taking shape

Stratus IT now has a marketing engine rather than a set of disconnected tactics, built in deliberate sequence. We’re in the awareness phase, focused on drawing the right firms into the funnel, with the consideration and decision assets being developed as that audience builds.
The point this proves: a strategic lead can stand up a complete marketing function, in the right order, and run it.

"BrandHeart helped us move beyond disconnected marketing activity and generic IT messaging to clarify what Stratus IT really stands for: accountable IT leadership for growing businesses. Charlene brought the strategy, structure and execution to turn that message into a marketing system built around how we actually deliver value — through ownership, confidence, reliability, security and strategic direction. Just as importantly, she keeps the work focused, moving and accountable."

stratus it logo

Jason King

Managing Director, Stratus IT

Want a marketing system, no more tactics?
If your growth is leaning on referrals and you want a marketing system built and run by a strategic lead rather than stitched together across freelancers, that’s the work we do.
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