The 90-Day Marketing Playbook: Audits, Alignment, and Actual Wins

Stepping into a new marketing role? Whether you're a new Head of Marketing, a fractional CMO, or taking over demand gen at a new company, the first 90 days set the tone for everything that follows.

Here's the playbook we use at Fractional Demand when we embed with a new client.

Days 1-30: Audit & Listen

Week 1-2: Understand the Business

• Meet with leadership, sales, product, and customer success
• Understand the company's ICP, value proposition, and competitive landscape
• Review the current marketing strategy (or lack thereof)
• Audit the tech stack (CRM, marketing automation, analytics)

Week 3-4: Audit Everything

• Paid media audit: What's running, what's working, what's wasting money
• Content audit: What exists, what's performing, what's missing
• Funnel audit: Where are leads dropping off? What are the conversion rates at each stage?
• Data audit: Is the CRM clean? Is attribution set up? Can you trust the numbers?

Days 31-60: Build & Align

Quick Wins First

Identify 2-3 quick wins you can execute immediately:

• Pause underperforming campaigns
• Fix obvious tracking gaps
• Launch a high-intent search campaign
• Clean up the CRM

Build the Strategy

• Define clear KPIs tied to pipeline and revenue
• Build a channel strategy based on audit findings
• Create a 90-day campaign calendar
• Align with sales on lead definitions, SLAs, and feedback loops

Days 61-90: Execute & Optimize

Launch Campaigns

• Execute the campaign calendar
• Run weekly experiments (creative, audience, offer)
• Build reporting dashboards

Establish Rhythm

• Weekly marketing stand-ups
• Bi-weekly marketing/sales alignment meetings
• Monthly executive reporting

The Key Principle

Don't try to do everything in 90 days. Focus on:

1. Understanding the business deeply
2. Fixing what's broken
3. Launching 2-3 high-impact initiatives
4. Building the systems for long-term success

The best marketing leaders don't come in with a playbook they've used everywhere else. They listen first, then build a strategy tailored to the business.