Director of Marketing - Automotive

Recognized as one of Crain's "Best Places to Work in Chicago" as well as a 2024 "Great Places to Work", by the Great Place To Work Institute Inc., Sasser prides itself on supporting an employee-driven, opportunity-based culture that empowers, recognizes, and rewards its employees. From highly competitive benefits to exciting employee events to organic, grassroots philanthropy and volunteerism, Sasser is an awesome place to begin and grow your career. We are a fourth-generation, family-held transportation asset services and management company with roots dating to 1928. Sasser's six subsidiary units are leaders in providing commercial- and industrial-focused rail, automotive, containerized shipping, and aviation transportation equipment solutions including asset leasing, fleet administration management, asset repair and maintenance, and innovative technology services.

Sasser Family Companies includes subsidiaries Chicago Freight Car Leasing, Union Leasing, CF Rail Services, Express 4x4 Truck Rental, Xced Aviation Services, and Falcon Lease. To learn more about what makes Sasser special, visit www.sasser.com.

Established in 1955, Union Leasing provides flexible vehicle lease financing and highly customized fleet management services to corporate and rental customers nationwide.

As a Director of Marketing, Here's What You'll Do

The Director of Marketing will oversee and execute marketing strategies, developing and executing of lead generation strategies, assisting in sales support activities, trade show management, marketing material development, SEO and website strategies, budget management, competitive intelligence, etc. This role is responsible for driving revenue growth, increasing brand awareness, and expanding our customer base by creating and implementing effective sales and marketing campaigns. This role is pivotal in driving growth, building brand awareness, and developing an innovative Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy. This role will have a deep understanding of both the fleet management and commercial vehicle rental industries, strong leadership capabilities, and the ability to craft and execute marketing strategies.

Director of Marketing Role and Responsibilities

• Strategy Development and Execution:
  
  
  
  • Lead the creation and execution of a comprehensive marketing strategy to drive growth and increase market share for both Automotive businesses.
  • Develop and refine the company's Go-To-Market (GTM) strategies for new product launches, market expansions, and competitive positioning.
  • Identify and capitalize on market opportunities, emerging trends, and customer needs to ensure the company's offerings are at the forefront of industry developments.
  • Use insights to inform product positioning, messaging, and campaign strategies, ensuring the company stays ahead of competitors in terms of value proposition and market needs.
  • Establish and manage relationships with external marketing agencies to execute campaigns and initiatives that align with the company's goals.
  • Collaborate between the internal marketing team and external agencies to develop creative assets, digital content, and promotional materials.
  • Regularly evaluate agency performance and ROI, making adjustments to ensure maximum effectiveness of partnerships.
  
  
  
  
• Brand Positioning & Awareness:
  
  
  
  • Drive the company's brand identities, ensuring consistency and differentiation in the marketplace.
  • Build and manage campaigns that elevate Sasser's Automotive brands' presence and resonate with key customer segments such as fleet operators, logistics managers, and transportation companies.
  • Collaborate with internal teams to ensure brand guidelines and messaging are consistent across all marketing materials and communications.
  • Develop industry and trade association marketing and promotional strategy. Lead trade show attendance and promotion activities.
  • Oversee website strategy, content development, and performance optimization to ensure alignment with brand messaging, SEO best practices, and lead generation goals, partnering with internal teams and external developers as needed.
  
  
  
  
• Customer Acquisition & Retention:
  
  
  
  • Work closely with the sales teams to align marketing efforts with lead generation and customer acquisition goals.
  • Responsible for all external leads and qualifications for websites, tradeshows and other avenues.
  • Work with sales teams to create and execute individual prospecting strategies and new business development activity.
  • Implement data-driven marketing campaigns, including digital marketing, content marketing, email marketing, and social media strategies to acquire, engage and retain customers.
  • Create strategies to deepen relationships with existing customers, driving loyalty and fostering long-term partnerships.
  • Conduct regular market research to understand customer pain points and industry trends.
  • In collaboration with field sales teams, conduct regular market research on competitive landscape, staying on top of trends and recommend adjustments to strategy as appropriate.
  • Lead sales enablement strategy in Salesforce, including development and maintenance of content libraries, automated lead scoring, sales journey workflows, and campaign attribution to empower sales teams with timely, actionable insights.
  
  
  
  
• Team Leadership and Development:
  
  
  
  • Lead, mentor, and develop the marketing function to achieve departmental and organizational goals.
  • Foster a collaborative and creative environment, encouraging innovative thinking and continual learning.
  • Work cross-functionally with Sasser Communications department to provide the highest level of service and support.
  • Develop and support marketing strategies in support of both Automotive businesses with unique needs, different sales cycles, and go-to-market strategies.
  
  
  
  
• Performance Tracking, Reporting and Process Improvements:
  
  
  
  • Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of marketing initiatives.
  • Regularly track and analyze campaign performance, adjusting strategies as needed to achieve business objectives.
  • Manage the marketing budget, ensuring efficient allocation of resources across channels and initiatives.
  • Works with Sales teams and IT resources on improvements, adoption and optimization of CRM.
  
  
  
  

Here's What it Will Take to be Successful in this Role

• Strong interpersonal and business partnership skills with the ability to build trust and dependability with internal and external partners.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills in both formal and informal settings.
• Excellent proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.
• Outstanding problem-solving and analytical capability, with superior creativity, attention to detail, and accuracy.
• A curious mind and commitment to ongoing learning with a relentless drive for improvement. Be able to learn and incorporate new and complex concepts quickly and bring outside best practices into the Company.
• Results-oriented approach ("a sense of urgency") with a consistent history of delivering results personally and as a team leader.
• Display effective decision making, ownership, and accountability.
• Be able to handle ambiguity, handle multiple priorities (and potentially competing priorities) and navigate well through stressful situations and pressing deadlines.
• Have a strong focus on stewardship (and always do what's right, with integrity).
• Strong intellectual curiosity, comfortable analyzing large amounts of data and quickly identify nuances.
• Be a disciplined self-starter comfortable in a fast-paced environment, with the ability to independently drive projects to completion, while also functioning effectively in a team environment.
• Capable of managing multiple stakeholder expectations and navigate across business units.
• Ability to partner with all levels of the organization, influence others and communicate effectively with peers, key stakeholders, and executive leadership. Experience in working in collaborative environments to achieve long term strategic objectives.
• Work directly with suppliers to build strategic partnerships and manage negotiations when necessary. Provide coaching and direction cross functionally on strategic partner negotiations and relation

Qualifications and Education Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, or related field. MBA is a plus.
• Minimum of 7-10 years of experience in marketing leadership roles, with a proven track record in the fleet management, logistics, or transportation industries.
• Experience using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software required.
• Proven track record of achieving targets and driving revenue growth.
• Strong leadership skills with experience leading a team.
• In-depth knowledge of digital marketing channels and tools (SEO, PPC, email marketing, marketing automation and social media).

Physical Demands

• While performing the duties of this job it is regularly required to talk and hear.
• Ability to travel 25%+ time for customer meetings, tradeshows, or to other company locations.
• Must have a valid driver's license.

Working Conditions

• This job operates in a an office setting.

Note: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Compensation/Benefits

The hiring range for this role is: $133,000.00 to $172,000.00 USD Annual. This role is classified as exempt for purposes of all applicable wage and hour laws, which means that the individual hired will receive overtime pay for more than 40 hours worked in a workweek. This role is also eligible for an annual incentive bonus based on financial and personal performance throughout the plan year.

Sasser is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. Pay ranges are assigned to a job based on market data according to 3rd party salary benchmarking surveys. Actual base salary is dependent upon factors such as knowledge, skill level, and experience.

This role is also eligible for benefits. Sasser employees enjoy a competitive benefits program that:

• Includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans, including HSA and FSA accounts with employer contributions toward HSA
• Includes a 100% Company-paid disability and life insurance plans
• Includes a 401K plan with company match PLUS additional end-of-year funding
• Provides paid vacation time (tiered based on tenure), as well as personal time, sick days and summer half days for certain roles
• Provides 10 paid holidays annually
• Provides paid parental leave for new parents, as well as a monetary gift towards a 529 education account
• Provides a confidential Employee Assistance Program
• Provides training and tuition reimbursement
• Provides community service opportunities, charity match opportunities, employee recognition programs, and many celebrations!

The Company provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training