Many growing businesses reach a point where they need senior-level marketing leadership, but a full-time Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is expensive. That’s where a fractional CMO comes in. You get high-level strategic guidance at a manageable cost.
Are you a rapidly growing scale-up or startup? A fractional CMO might be a more viable option for you.
What is a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer [CMO]?
A fractional CMO is a seasoned marketing executive. This person works with your company on a part-time or contract basis.
Think of them as an interim addition to your leadership team. They bring years of experience and strategic vision.
Key Roles and Responsibilities
A fractional CMO takes ownership of your marketing strategy and execution. They lead your in-house team (if you have one) or outside partners.
Their duties often include developing marketing plans, creating campaigns, overseeing budgets, and improving customer retention strategies. They will measure campaign success and share these metrics with relevant people in your business.
Developing Comprehensive Marketing Strategies
The fractional CMO develops custom marketing plans for you. The plans should align with goals, audience, and where your industry is at.
They pick marketing channels and campaigns. Then, they set up timelines and track their effectiveness.
Leading Digital Efforts
A fractional CMO can oversee website improvements, social media, content marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO). This helps expand your reach to new customers.
They guide teams through implementing automation tools. They know digital platforms well and will make things flow smoothly.
Managing Marketing Budgets
A Fractional Chief Marketing Officer will manage resources across your marketing initiatives.
They track performance to deliver a return on your marketing investment. For example, they might negotiate with vendors to keep spending down.
Brand Management and Messaging
The consistency of your brand is important. Fractional CMOs can refine your brand’s voice.
They find how you best fit in your market. A Fractional CMO will help position your brand apart from the competition.
Data Insights and Tracking Performance
Markets and consumers change, and your business needs to as well. A fractional CMO looks at market data and conducts research.
They understand trends and consumer behaviors to stay one step ahead. These skills guide marketing efforts to improve your overall results.
Why Work With a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer?
There are clear benefits to this model for companies that are facing challenges.
Cost Savings
A full-time CMO’s salary can be around $150,000 per year. With a fractional CMO, you pay a fraction of that cost.
Expertise and Experience
Fractional CMOs bring lots of marketing knowledge. Many times, this means executive-level insight across different sectors.
They use innovative ways to deal with industry challenges. This allows your marketing strategy to pivot around potential roadblocks.
Scalable
Many companies want this expert marketing guidance without a full-time role. You only pay for the Fractional Chief Marketing Officer services for the period you need them.
It allows them to adapt as marketing leadership needs go up or down. This can happen from growing pains or seasonal changes within a company.
Fresh Thinking
Fractional CMOs often see things you don’t. Their objective viewpoint will improve campaigns and processes.
Better Than Agencies?
A marketing agency might help execute specific tactics. But the fractional CMO will align with company-wide strategies.
A fractional CMO offers hands-on leadership to bring ideas to life. They aren’t involved with the day-to-day, and this improves focus on strategy and execution.
Speed and Efficiency
Fractional Chief Marketing Officers act fast because they already have a set framework to put into play. So they can assess a company’s needs.
They come with proven methodologies. These plans will set up a business for long-term growth.
Skill Set of a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer
Here’s a glimpse at some core competencies you want from your Fractional CMO.
| Skill | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Strategic Planning | Creates roadmaps for overall marketing that reflect bigger company goals. |
| Data Analysis | Knows core SaaS metrics (CAC, LTV, ARR, churn, etc.) to maximize results. |
| Team Leadership | Guides the current team. If a company is just growing, they will support building a great in-house marketing team. |
When to Bring in a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer
Consider hiring a fractional CMO for these scenarios:
- You need a marketing strategy. You can’t pay the costs that a full-time person would.
- Marketing projects aren’t coordinated with the rest of your company.
- You need a plan for investors to understand.
Making the Most of a Fractional CMO Relationship
Like Beverley Caldwell mentions, they need to be included.
She spent a couple of years as a fractional CMO for Proxi. It is important to treat the contractor as an employee, which could mean providing access to all parts of your business and including the Fractional CMO in emails and team updates.
Beverley goes on to add, the new marketing hire needs a space on your senior leadership team. Doing the little things helps speed up integration. If they start working on a win right away, it helps improve momentum.
Set Clear Objectives and Reporting
Define what success looks like and communicate it early. Review results with your Fractional Chief Marketing Officer so all things get measured.
Ask what key performance indicators they need access to, for example. That helps set your focus as well.
Building Trust With The Fractional Chief Marketing Officer
Like anything else, you want the Fractional CMO to care about your company. Feedback can be good for this because you get ideas outside your normal circles.
Share company notes openly. Have a method to delegate next steps, and make team members clear on what they need to do.
Long-Term Outlook
Fractional CMOs improve skills on your existing team. Some bring methodologies with the hope that internal people will manage this. You want things to go smoothly even after the CMO leaves.
Think about internal training and skill gaps during their time with you.
Finding The Ideal Fractional Chief Marketing Officer For You
The term “Fractional CMO” increased 600%, from 284 in 2018 to over 2,000 in 2022.
Verta Marketing
They offer guidance from digital marketing to experiential strategies. Verta is much more than a normal agency. Verta began as Stud Monkey Media in 2017, then it moved to evolve with client growth in 2020.
Growth.cx
The company has an understanding of software because they focus on SaaS brands. They can also provide you with direct access to leadership.
Marketri
The firm brings well-established experience because they formed in 2004. You also get leadership help to execute digital marketing for your sales needs. They cover a lot of marketing strategies, like digital ads and planning efforts.
Kalungi
Stijn Hendrikse and Fadi George have improved customer growth for many marketing efforts in their past. They set up the business this way to also improve the marketing space for customers too. Kalungi helps in scaling different CMO plans and functions of SaaS brands.
FAQs about Fractional Chief Marketing Officers
What is a fractional CMO?
A Fractional CMO provides marketing help on a part-time basis. They act just as any other CMO would to your business, but for much less cost.
How much does a fractional CMO make?
It depends; a full-time role would cost around $150,000 annually. Whereas a fractional role is flexible based on your scope, their talent level, and experience.
Is a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer worth it?
If the budget is a big challenge, then yes, a fractional role makes a lot of sense. Also, if things aren’t aligned within marketing at the moment, then you might need outside insights to grow properly.
What is the difference between a fractional CMO and a consultant?
A fractional CMO performs roles that benefit marketing strategies. A marketing consultant is hired for advice, maybe specific feedback, or they are used for research instead.
Conclusion
Many see a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer role is like any other contracting position. It allows them to test the person out before making a leap for a full-time commitment.
In marketing, you want quick successes. You will need management approval on these small projects to validate quick changes. A fractional Fractional Chief Marketing Officer might offer guidance your current people may not bring.
Are you considering one for your business? Listen to my B2B podcast for support on this and any marketing things you want help with.
