Stop Chasing Unicorns: How to Hire Your First Marketer the Right Way

Every small business owner or founder dreams of the perfect marketing hire. You know the one: a social media wizard who can also run paid ads, write award-winning copy, design a killer logo, crank out an SEO strategy, plan events, and serve as a part-time data scientist. In the job description, they are called a “full-stack marketer.” In real life, they are called a unicorn.

The problem? Unicorns do not exist. And even if you stumble across someone who looks the part, the odds of them staying long enough to make an impact without burning out are slim.

Why so many companies chase unicorns

There is a reason this trap is so common.

Budgets are tight.

Marketing spend has slipped to an average of 7.7% of company revenue, down from 9.1% in 2020, according to Gartner’s 2024 CMO Spend Survey. Leaders are under pressure to deliver more with less, and a “Swiss Army knife” hire feels like a bargain. But as we shared in “Is Your Marketing Team Built for Growth or Maintenance?”, how you structure the team matters as much as the dollars you allocate.

Marketing is misunderstood.

Many entrepreneurs view “marketing” as a single, broad category. To them, running Google Ads, designing the website, and building a content strategy are all the same discipline. To seasoned marketers, those are entirely different careers.

The ROI pressure is relentless.

CEOs and owners want fast results, but meaningful brand awareness or pipeline growth rarely happens overnight. When expectations are sky high and resources are slim, companies look for someone who can “do it all.”

Unfortunately, this approach almost guarantees disappointment. The 2024 Mentally Healthy Survey found that 70% of marketing, media, and creative professionals experienced burnout in the past year, compared to 53% across the general workforce. High turnover costs small businesses dearly. Leaders face their own pressure too, as we outlined in Under Pressure: How Leaders Can Stay Resilient in Uncertain Times.

The reality check

Hiring one person to cover every marketing function is like asking your CFO to also run IT, HR, and Facilities “until we grow.” Technically possible? Maybe. Sustainable? Not a chance.

When leaders overload their first marketing hire, a few things typically happen:

• Strategy gets sidelined in favor of “urgent” execution

• Strengths and weaknesses show quickly. Your so-called unicorn might be great at campaigns, but struggles with brand or content.

• Progress slows because no one can do ten jobs well at once

The end result is frustration on both sides. The business does not see the return it expected, and the marketer leaves.

What to do instead

The smarter play is to treat your first marketing hire as a specialist-leaning generalist. That means someone with breadth, yes, but also a clear anchor discipline that matches your company’s most pressing need.

Here are three archetypes that actually work:

1. The Brand and Positioning Lead

If your product is strong but your story is muddled, start here. A positioning-oriented marketer can refine your message, sharpen your sales pitch, and ensure that everyone, from the website to the pitch deck, tells the same story.

2. The Demand Generation Builder

If you know who you sell to and why you win, but the pipeline is light, you need a growth-oriented marketer. This hire focuses on campaigns, paid ads, email sequences, and the mechanics of turning awareness into qualified leads.

3. The Content Engine Owner

If your sales team is starving for case studies or your website hasn’t seen a new blog post since 2022, start with a content strategist. This hire can build a repeatable editorial calendar, improve SEO, and create material that fuels both sales and marketing.

Pick one. Maybe two. But do not ask for all three in a single hire. As we remind clients in Hunter, Farmer, Builder, Closer: Know Who You’re Really Hiring in Sales, expecting one person to be everything almost always backfires.

Filling the gaps

Here is the good news. You do not need to do everything in-house on day one. Many small companies succeed with a hybrid model: a first marketing hire supported by contractors, agencies, or fractional leaders who bring targeted expertise.

Need polished design work? Hire a freelance designer for the project.

Need PR around a product launch? Hire an agency for a short-term project.

Need senior guidance? A fractional CMO can provide strategy while your first hire executes.

This approach not only protects your new marketer from drowning but also gives you flexibility as your needs evolve. It is one reason fractional marketing leadership has surged in adoption, with CEOs citing cost effectiveness, specialized expertise, and flexibility as key drivers. We see the same dynamic with executive roles in The Talent Imperative: Recruiting Leaders for High-Pressure PE Environments.

Setting your first marketer up for success

Even the best hire will fail if the role is scoped poorly. A few guidelines can help:

• Write the job description around outcomes, not a wish list. Define the one or two business goals this person will drive.

• Give them a real budget. Even the most resourceful marketer cannot conjure leads without tools and some test-and-learn dollars.

• Set realistic KPIs. Do not hold a content strategist accountable for the pipeline in month two, or a demand gen lead responsible for a full rebrand by quarter-end

• Protect against burnout. One boss, clear priorities, and a reasonable workload matter more than clever job titles

As Anka Twum-Baah, Area Managing Partner & CMO at Chief Outsiders, puts it:

“In my experience, what separates the marketing hires that work out from the ones that flame out? Realistic expectations. I’ve seen this time and again — incredible marketers burn out because they were asked to single-handedly transform a business in 90 days with no budget and unclear goals. Give someone clear priorities, reasonable resources, and time to make an impact. That’s when the magic happens.”

Companies that follow these rules see their first marketing hire add lasting value because they have built the foundation for growth, not just a fantasy role.

Building the Right Foundation

Your first marketing hire is not about finding someone superhuman. It is about putting the right building block in place, an anchor in brand, demand, or content, so the rest of your growth strategy has room to stand.

When you focus on outcomes rather than myths, you protect your investment and set your team up for long-term success. Growth becomes the product of good decisions, not wishful thinking.

Ultimately, what your business needs is not a unicorn. It is a marketer who is set up to win. If you are ready to take that step, connect with us or download our Compensation & Hiring Guide to see what top marketing talent costs in today’s market.