Maren Holt
Fractional CMO
CASE STUDY
Now
Now
Northbeam
Let go of the agency and moved the budget into partners.
Let go of the agency and moved the budget into partners.
Fintech
Series B, 60 people
Jun 2025 – now
Cost per new customer, 2025
When I joined
Result
Result
−33%
cost per new customer
Before
Before
An agency spending $40k a month on ads nobody could tie to revenue.
After
After
Three partner channels with clear payback, and a CFO who trusts the numbers.
My role
My role
Fractional CMO, one day a week. Plan, team, leadership meeting.
Where they were
Northbeam was spending $40k a month with a performance agency. The dashboards looked busy, but nobody could connect the spend to revenue, and the CFO had stopped believing the numbers.
What I did
Weeks one to four: follow the money
I rebuilt attribution from the CRM up, tagging every closed deal by its real first touch. Paid search was mostly capturing people who would have found Northbeam anyway. Three partner relationships were quietly producing the best customers.
Months two to four: move the budget
We gave the agency notice and moved the money into co‑marketing with those three partners: joint webinars, referral terms and a shared onboarding offer. Cost per new customer started falling within a quarter.
Where it stands
It’s still a live engagement. Cost per new customer is down by a third, and the board pack now has a marketing section the CFO is happy to put his name to.
“
The board asked who wrote the marketing section. I said she did.
The board asked who wrote the marketing section. I said she did.
Tom Becker
CFO, Northbeam
Maren Holt
Fractional CMO
CASE STUDY
Now
Now
Northbeam
Let go of the agency and moved the budget into partners.
Let go of the agency and moved the budget into partners.
Fintech
Series B, 60 people
Jun 2025 – now
Cost per new customer, 2025
When I joined
Result
Result
−33%
cost per new customer
Before
Before
An agency spending $40k a month on ads nobody could tie to revenue.
After
After
Three partner channels with clear payback, and a CFO who trusts the numbers.
My role
My role
Fractional CMO, one day a week. Plan, team, leadership meeting.
Where they were
Northbeam was spending $40k a month with a performance agency. The dashboards looked busy, but nobody could connect the spend to revenue, and the CFO had stopped believing the numbers.
What I did
Weeks one to four: follow the money
I rebuilt attribution from the CRM up, tagging every closed deal by its real first touch. Paid search was mostly capturing people who would have found Northbeam anyway. Three partner relationships were quietly producing the best customers.
Months two to four: move the budget
We gave the agency notice and moved the money into co‑marketing with those three partners: joint webinars, referral terms and a shared onboarding offer. Cost per new customer started falling within a quarter.
Where it stands
It’s still a live engagement. Cost per new customer is down by a third, and the board pack now has a marketing section the CFO is happy to put his name to.
“
The board asked who wrote the marketing section. I said she did.
The board asked who wrote the marketing section. I said she did.
Tom Becker
CFO, Northbeam
Maren Holt
Fractional CMO
CASE STUDY
Now
Now
Northbeam
Let go of the agency and moved the budget into partners.
Let go of the agency and moved the budget into partners.
Fintech
Series B, 60 people
Jun 2025 – now
Cost per new customer, 2025
When I joined
Result
Result
−33%
cost per new customer
Before
Before
An agency spending $40k a month on ads nobody could tie to revenue.
After
After
Three partner channels with clear payback, and a CFO who trusts the numbers.
My role
My role
Fractional CMO, one day a week. Plan, team, leadership meeting.
Where they were
Northbeam was spending $40k a month with a performance agency. The dashboards looked busy, but nobody could connect the spend to revenue, and the CFO had stopped believing the numbers.
What I did
Weeks one to four: follow the money
I rebuilt attribution from the CRM up, tagging every closed deal by its real first touch. Paid search was mostly capturing people who would have found Northbeam anyway. Three partner relationships were quietly producing the best customers.
Months two to four: move the budget
We gave the agency notice and moved the money into co‑marketing with those three partners: joint webinars, referral terms and a shared onboarding offer. Cost per new customer started falling within a quarter.
Where it stands
It’s still a live engagement. Cost per new customer is down by a third, and the board pack now has a marketing section the CFO is happy to put his name to.
“
The board asked who wrote the marketing section. I said she did.
The board asked who wrote the marketing section. I said she did.
Tom Becker
CFO, Northbeam