John Lyons
- Specialism: Fractional CMO for B2B Professional Services and tech brands.
Brand strategy and positioning based on clear market needs.
Commercially focused marketing to deliver to the bottom line.
Board-level marketing input and business focussed team management. - Track Record: Co-founded and exited two bootstrapped businesses.
Group Sales and Marketing Director at a B2B travel & tech group.
Strategy Lead on The LEGO Group loyalty programme. CMO at a B2B professional services business. Fractional CMO at a TV/online jewellery brand. Fractional CMO at a US B2B professional services agency. Fractional CMO at a B2B Ai technology startup. - Offer: I work with founders and CEOs who need an experienced and commercially astute chief marketing officer on a fractional basis to help make their brand and marketing activities work harder for the business and make more money.
- John says: “No fluff, I design and execute marketing strategies and plans to deliver to the business bottom line.”
- Try me: johnlyons.co.uk
I’ve reached a point in my life and career where I want to focus on what I do best without the distractions of internal politics or having to toe the corporate line. Having spent much of my career working in or running agencies, I also enjoy the variety that comes with not working for a single brand alone, while still seeing the longer-term business results I experienced in senior marketing roles. This approach gives me both, along with the freedom to step away from time to time to spend quality time with my children.
After being made redundant from my last full-time role, despite delivering a record financial year, I took the time to seek advice from the network I’ve built over the years. I was considering a portfolio career alongside returning to agency or brand work, and almost to a person I was told fractional would best suit me, allowing me to focus on doing my best work. From there, I reintroduced myself to my network as a Fractional CMO.
My first clients were short-term projects, but my first real success came when I was recommended to a jewellery brand by a personal contact. They had lost market share and were falling further behind their main direct competitor. Through market research, I identified the root cause of their dip and developed a brand and marketing plan to regain share, calculating the incremental revenue gains they would make as a result of executing a targeted marketing plan.
Along the way, I’ve learned that I enjoy problem solving and delivering financial value to the businesses that hire me. I also enjoy sharing my experience, strategies, and tactics with marketing peers and business owners, and the portfolio executive career makes public speaking, coaching, and mentoring much easier to manage than a permanent role.
I’ve also discovered the enjoyment of marketing myself, developing creative and memorable assets and campaigns that clients appreciate but might not pursue themselves. Most notably, my vodcast, Bin Juice, has expanded into merchandise including fragrances and branded bins, which I bring to events.
It’s working for me now because I have built a professional profile and a pipeline. The flexibility to network, speak on international stages, and attend my children’s school events is invaluable – but without the income stream I’ve carefully developed, it wouldn’t be possible.
Looking ahead, I hope to add one or two long-term clients for sustained fractional work and to develop a product-based offering for brand repositioning with a long-time associate.