On this episode of Oh Frac!, host Adir Ron sits down with Sue Duris—a Silicon Valley CMO turned fractional CX leader and global awards judge—whose customer-centric playbooks have driven 50% revenue lifts, 4× user growth, and even helped steer a CX platform to a ~$20M Cisco exit. Sue explains why empathy + curiosity are the real levers behind retention and advocacy, and why modern CMOs must act as growth architects who align marketing and CX across both the buyer and customer journeys. We get into ICP clarity, product-saturated markets, and how to differentiate on experience (including an unforgettable Amazon Kindle story). Sue also shares a candid “frac’d up” moment from the cloud-storage wars, when chasing PR outpaced product-market fit, and closes with practical advice for anyone eyeing the fractional path. Ideal for CEOs, aspiring fractionals, and VCs.   Key Takeaways:* For founders/CEOs: make your CMO the growth architect connecting CX to pipeline, retention, and advocacy.* Empathy first, curiosity second—understand pains, then co-create solutions with customers.* Align marketing + CX end-to-end: buyer journey → customer journey; kill siloed KPIs.* Nail your ICP early; stop optimizing for investors before customers.* In saturated categories, experience beats features—win on ease, emotion, and trust.* NPS is a datapoint, not CX; use holistic VoC + behavioral signals.* CX must be top-down and bottom-up: exec sponsorship + frontline feedback loops.* Don’t chase misfit clients; protect focus and values to avoid “permanent scramble mode.”* Fractionals: startups are strong entry points; lead with content, referrals, and education.* Do a personal SWOT, specialize, and craft a tight offer to carve your niche.* Build influence by listening in the client’s language; trust precedes change.* Market dynamics (layoffs/redundancies) = tailwinds for quality fractional talent.   Chapters:00:00 Welcome, show intro & who is Sue Duris03:30 Judging global CX awards; the UK “shopping village” case07:00 How the Frac did you get here? From dot-com to fractional CX10:30 Buyer vs customer journey; ICPs, awareness, conversion14:00 CMOs as growth architects; aligning marketing with CX17:30 Product saturation and why experience differentiates21:00 Kindle story: effortless support → lifelong loyalty24:30 Frac’d Up Moment: cloud-storage launch lessons28:00 Trust, influence, and saying no to misfit clients31:30 Quickfire: CX ≠ shiny NPS; toolkit, dream vs nightmare, future of fractionals   Links:Sue Duris’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sueduris/Sue’s Blog: https://m4comm.com/blogAdir’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adir-ron/   Keywords:fractional leadership, customer experience, CX strategy, growth architect, buyer journey, customer journey, ideal customer profile, ICP, NPS vs CX, voice of customer, SaaS growth, retention and advocacy, product differentiation, empathy in business, curiosity, startup go-to-market, founder tips, fractional CMO, CX metrics, loyalty flywheel, diversity of thought, B2B marketing, customer-centric culture