Victoria Dunsford

I help businesses at a turning point get clear on: direction, customers and where to invest.

Marketing needs a leader, not just more activity.

Without one, it’s hard to know what the next move is, where to invest, or whether the work is delivering. I provide that leadership, without the cost of a full-time CMO.

I'm a fractional CMO and strategic business adviser with more than 15 years' experience helping businesses grow, navigate change and get better results from their marketing, people and resources.

My experience spans global consumer brands, retail, agency, financial services, government, fintech, education, technology, and corporate, across business strategy, marketing, brand, customer experience, conversions optimisation, creative direction and organisational transformation.

Problems I solve

Have you recently found yourself asking one of these questions?

• 1. Growth has slowed, or we don’t know how to start. I find what’s holding growth back and set clear first moves.

• 2. Marketing spend isn’t delivering. I show where the money goes, what it returns and where to invest next.

• 3. The brand isn’t clear, or the creative isn’t landing. I sharpen the position and guide creative to match.

• 4. We want to launch and don’t know where to start. I research, then build the go-to-market plan, from audience to message to measures.

• 5. We don’t really know who our best customer is. I work from customer needs and behaviours, not just company size.

• 6. The team or agencies need direction. I bring leadership and clear priorities, side by side with your people.

• 7. There’s no marketing leader, or not yet a full-time one. I step in as embedded leadership or as an adviser.

• 8. The marketing machine isn’t working. I fix the workflow, reporting and decisions behind it.

If any of these sound familiar, let’s talk.

Planning for FY27? Start with the Marketing Readiness Review. A fixed-scope, 2 to 3 week diagnostic that gives leadership and the marketing team a clear view of where marketing can create the most value, a prioritised action list and quick-start outputs.

How I work

Clear priorities first. Then I work alongside your team to make them happen.

No jargon and no branded frameworks. Just a clear sequence:

• 1. Look under the hood. What is working, what is not, and what is getting in the way.

• 2. Set priorities. Decide what matters most, and what to stop.

• 3. Build the plan. Practical, with owners and timing your team can deliver.

• 4. Review the results. Track what is paying off and adjust.

I take on a small number of clients at a time, so each gets senior attention.

Rate and availability - Taking new clients from November

Engagement options
Adviser: senior guidance and oversight, a few hours a week, for leaders who want a sounding board without handing over the work.

• Fractional CMO: embedded marketing leadership on a monthly retainer, for businesses that need a leader but not a full-time one.

• Project-based: a defined scope, outcome and timeframe, for a specific problem or launch.

What others say about me
“Victoria has a genuine ability to see the bigger picture and connect business objectives with marketing strategy and execution. She quickly builds strong relationships, both with internal teams and external partners, brings people together and identifies opportunities that deliver both immediate impact and long-term value. Her combination of strategic thinking, commercial insight and ability to turn ideas into action enables her to deliver meaningful outcomes for customers and the business.” Jack Stevens, CEO, Edstart

"Victoria sees the whole business, not just the marketing function. Having worked with her at Pandora, I saw how she connected marketing, customer insights, product, brand, digital commerce and operational priorities to make sound commercial decisions. She builds strong relationships across teams, brings different perspectives together and combines strategic thinking with practical execution. Her strength is understanding what the business needs and bringing people together to deliver it." Anita Holman, Senior Product Merchandiser, PANDORA Jewellery

Roles: Fractional CMO, Head of Marketing, Strategic Adviser, Marketing Consultant

Strategy: Marketing Strategy, Go-to-Market Strategy, Growth Strategy, Campaign Strategy, Brand Strategy, Brand Positioning, Value Proposition, Competitive Analysis, Business Transformation

Growth: B2B Marketing, B2C Marketing, DTC, SaaS, Lead Generation, Demand Generation, Sales Pipeline, Sales Cycle, Partnerships, Customer Acquisition, Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Customer Retention, Account Based Marketing

Performance: Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO), ROAS, ROI, Paid Media, PPC (Pay Per Click), Google Ads, Marketing Audit, Marketing Analytics, KPIs, Reporting, Budget Effectiveness

Brand and creative: Brand Audits, Creative Direction, Product Launches, Integrated Campaigns, Campaign Strategy, Content Strategy, Social Media Strategy, Messaging, Content Production, Photo and Video Shoots

Customer: Market Research, Customer Insight, Customer Experience, Segmentation, eCommerce, CRM, Email Marketing, Marketing Automation

Operations and leadership: Marketing Operations, Workflow, Martech, AI (Artificial Intelligence), Agency Management, Team Leadership, Team Building, Hiring, Mentoring, Organisational Change

Tools: HubSpot, Marketo, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Tableau, Hootsuite

Sectors: Consumer Brands, Retail, Agency, Financial Services, Fintech, Technology, Government, Corporate, SaaS, Not-for-Profit, Construction, Arts & Entertainment, Healthcare, Health & Wellness, Transportation, Professional Services