Part-time role with full-time results: discover the benefits of hiring a fractional CMO

Get strategic marketing guidance without steep costs. A fractional Chief Marketing Officer delivers results on demand.

Fractional CMO – How Can They Help Me?

Home » How Does a Fractional CMO Work?

If your company is growing fast and you need a marketing leader to scale, but you don’t have the budget to hire a full-time Chief Marketing Officer, stop worrying. You don’t have to lose out on precious opportunities.

fractional Chief Marketing Officer is a part-time, contract executive who specialises in marketing and helps you develop a strategy to acquire more customers and grow your business. They’re a strong leader ready to take charge of your marketing strategy and ensure you get the results your company deserves.

Tap Into Executive Talent with an experienced part-time Chief Marketing Office

Salaries for experienced full-time CMOs are often in the upper tiers of six figures. The fractional CMO arrangement allows you to tap into the same talent at a fraction of the cost. You can start by contracting their services for as few hours weekly as you need, and scale as you grow.

Roadmap to Success (and the driver, too!)

Freelancers and agencies aren’t fully invested in your success. A fractional CMO is. They’ll take ownership of your marketing efforts. They won’t just prepare a marketing strategy; they’ll also make sure everything is operating efficiently to provide the business results you want.

Key Fractional CMO Responsibilities

Developing your marketing strategy, positioning, and messaging
Co-creating and monitoring your go-to-market strategy
Creating and managing processes
Developing your branding strategy
Solving your marketing and growth challenges
Hiring and scaling a marketing team (if needed)
Spearheading your advertising and marketing efforts
Providing a direction that aligns with your company goals
Overseeing and reporting on objectives, implementation, and metrics

What Are the Benefits of Hiring a Fractional CMO?

A Fractional CMO Structures and Executes on Your Goals

A fractional CMO steps in, shapes your strategy and delivers results. If you’re CEO of a small company or have been doing everything yourself, a CMO will lift the weight and ensure your plans are consistent with your goals.

Fractional Chief Marketing Officers Bring Perspective and Expertise

A fractional CMO will assess your existing marketing efforts with a fresh perspective and extensive experience. They’ll identify your unique growth potential and create a strategy to drive your marketing efforts.

You don’t have to be a marketing expert. Your fractional Chief Marketing Officer will be.

Full-Time vs Fractional CMO Costs – what’s the difference?

If you hire a fractional CMO instead of a full-time executive, you’ll save as much as 50% while being able to recruit top talent. Let your new hire reallocate the funds to marketing initiatives that will generate even more sales!

Leadership from an experienced marketing professional

Instead of scattering your efforts across no-results-guaranteed initiatives, your fractional CMO will make data-driven decisions.

If you have a bigger team with an executive level, a fractional Chief Marketing Officer will share insights and collaborate with them effectively.

Industry Knowledge

No two businesses are alike, but industries have similarities. The best fractional Chief Marketing Officers have experience in your particular niche and understand your unique challenges.

Lacking knowledge in specific marketing departments? Hire a fractional CMO who specialises in them.For example, if you’re inexperienced at paid advertising but it’s the best way to grow your business, hire a fractional CMO who knows the ins and outs of it.

Processes

Processes guarantee predictable results, so a fractional Chief Marketing Officer will set up processes to streamline your marketing efforts. This results in significant time and cost savings down the line, making every hour even more valuable. After all, they’ve been in your shoes before, and they know exactly what to do.

KPIs

If your marketing strategy is feeling disjointed or you don’t have the buy-in from your entire team, a fractional CMO will create a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) framework to ensure everyone is focused on contributing to company goals through marketing efforts.

Reporting

As the CEO, you’re tackling so many things at once. Who can blame you for not looking closely at every marketing metric? Fortunately, a fractional CMO has the privilege of focusing on one area and understanding how the shift of one metric affects your business health.

People Management

Unlike freelancers or consultants, a fractional CMO is happy to manage immediate and broader team members. A fractional CMO can also spearhead hiring efforts for the marketing department.

Get Value out of Every Hour

In full-time positions, CMOs’ efforts often dissipate between office politics and meetings. A fractional CMO recognises the value of every hour. They’re almost exclusively focused on results, making the arrangement more cost-effective.

You Need a Fractional CMO If…

If the following challenges sound familiar, it’s time to bring in an expert:

You Don’t Have a Marketing Strategy

Your business is off to a good start, but you can’t think straight from all the different priorities. You’re doing your best to read up on marketing, but you can’t differentiate between SEO and SEM for the life of you. (And, as the CEO, maybe you shouldn’t even be doing that in the first place.)

Your marketing efforts may be successful, but they need to be a part of your marketing strategy.

A fractional CMO will prepare a marketing strategy and, if needed, pivot based on new insights. After all, they’re an expert with enough time to give your marketing the attention it deserves.

Your Marketing Feels Random

All your marketing initiatives feel like they’ve been chosen randomly from one campaign to another. They don’t feed into an overarching strategy. It’s tough to replicate and attribute results.

A fractional CMO will ensure you’re not wasting your budget on random campaigns. They’ll analyse your audience, business, and the market so they can focus your marketing on the right initiatives.

You Don’t Have a Predictable Sales Funnel

What happens if you allocate more budget to a campaign? Will your profits grow? Predictability and scalability are your CMO’s focal points. You’ll always know just what to do next to get more sales.

You’re Not Ready for a Full-Time CMO

If your company is still too small for a full-time Chief Marketing Officer (for example, you have two people in the marketing department who do their jobs well but don’t have the executive-level vision), a fractional CMO is a good solution. If your team is fantastic, provide them with more guidance in the form of a fractional CMO.

You Need More Time to Hire a Good Full-Time CMO

Hiring a good marketing executive takes time (and money). All the while, your marketing team will go undirected, and your executives won’t get the marketing insights they need. Hire a fractional CMO to continue providing leadership! Who knows? You may never look back.

Other Teams Need Support

If your sales team creates their pitch decks and goes above and beyond to figure out the minutiae of Facebook ads, you need a fractional CMO. The marketing team is the first to communicate with customers and possesses invaluable insights. If you’re not supporting your team with a strong marketing leader, you’re missing out.

A Marketing Agency Isn’t Enough

A marketing agency won’t be enough if you need a strategy with implementation and full attention. If you’re increasingly stumbling on obstacles while trying to grow your business, it’s time for a change. A fractional CMO will come directly into your team and orchestrate your efforts while keeping your business goals in mind.

Fractional CMO vs Other Options

Unlike a freelance marketer, a fractional CMO has years of experience under their belt. A PPC consultant would be happy to schedule a call with your team, but a fractional CMO is ready to dive deep into the everyday operations of your marketing department.

Fractional CMO


From £5,000 per month, no benefits needed

  • Marketing Strategy Included
  • Implementation and Team project management Included
  • In-depth analyses and insights Included
  • Establishing and Managing process included
  • Executive Experience included

Full-time CMO


From £10,000 per month + benefits

  • Marketing Strategy Included
  • Implementation and Team project management Included
  • In-depth analyses and insights Included
  • Establishing and Managing process included
  • Executive Experience included

Agencies & Freelancers


From £150 per hour

  • Additional Charge for Marketing Strategy
  • No in-house Team Management or Implementation
  • No In-depth analyses and insights
  • Establishing and Managing process not included
  • Executive Experience not included

How to Hire a Fractional CMO for Your Business

01.

Step 1. Understand Your Needs

Are you hiring a fractional CMO because you need knowledge of a specific area in marketing? Is your business not ready for a full-time Chief Marketing Officer just yet? What do you want to improve? List all the challenges you need a fractional CMO to solve.

02.

Step 2. Schedule a Call

Schedule a call with a fractional CMO who specialises in the challenges you want to overcome. For example, as a fractional CMO, I bring decades of experience with paid advertising and creating profitable sales funnels to your marketing team. Get in touch, and we’ll discuss how I can help grow your business.

03.

Step 3. Let’s Make a Plan

Before I get into the thick of your day-to-day operations, we’ll align on the deliverables. This way, you’ll know what to expect throughout the process.

04.

Step 4. Quick-Start Onboarding

Unlike a traditional executive hire, a fractional CMO like me is ready to start working in a matter of days. Introduce us to your team, and we’ll be good to go!

05.

Step 5. Long-Term Engagement

We can create a powerful short-term marketing strategy to drive results while building the foundations of your long-term success in the background. Companies often choose to work with fractional CMOs for years and years, and I’ve had clients who never looked back.

Since 2008, I’ve helped thousands of business owners through training, workshops, one-on-one consultations, and direct implementation with their paid advertising.

Are you…

Wasting Time Managing Your Marketing Mix?

If you’re doing it all on your own, managing different channels in your strategy can be like having too many cooks in the kitchen. I’ll step in and make sure all parts of your marketing stack play nicely with one another, from Google Ads to LinkedIn.

Dealing with Poor ROI?

If you’re spending your budget on campaigns and initiatives you feel should do better, allow me to help. I’ll analyse and optimise your existing efforts, and if something isn’t a good fit for your business, we’ll pivot quickly.

It’s time to…

Increase Your Profits

Marketing doesn’t have to feel like pulling teeth. You get access to over ten years of experience in marketing and paid advertising with me. Let’s leverage it to drive better results for your business!

Educate Your Team

I have extensive experience working with teams and business owners to build predictable sales funnels. If your team needs a system that keeps your profits growing, count on me to assist as your Chief Marketing Officer. I’m bringing 100% of my know-how to the table, and I’m ready to make you grow!