What is a Fractional CMO and When Are You Ready for One?
You might have heard of this new trend, fractional excutives. It was started in the finance, tech and operations spaces with the trend of hiring a fractional CFO, CTO, or COO.
This concept has now moved to the marketing side of business and I believe it fills a big and necessary gap.
How to get real Marketing Strategy & Leadership to scale without investing in a full-time employee. Smaller businesses have smaller needs and this can be accomplished beautifully with a fractional, project-based CMO.
Understanding the Fractional CMO Role
In big corporations the CMO is the highest level Marketer in charge of setting marketing strategy and leading the team that brings that vision to life.
A fractional CMO is the same role on a scaled back, part-time basis. Meaning no matter if you have a small 5 person team, or are a solopreneuer with a team of freelancers the same marketing strategy is needed and the fractional CMO can fill this role.
They are the big picture Marketing professional that helps define and set the roadmap for future growth. Their role is to identify opportunities, fix gaps in the business and hold the bigger vision. A fractional CMO does this on a part-time contract basis for a few clients. This saves on budget and often is because smaller companies only need help for a project or sprint inside their business.
Essentially, we help connect the dots of your marketing to keep it strategic and produce better results so you can grow and scale efficiently.
A key point to remember is the execution and delivery of the strategy is not the role of the CMO. They can advise, review and provide input but don't actually implement the marketing work. This should be left to subject matter experts including designers, ad specialists, copywriters or a marketing technician on staff. Most fractional CMOs also have an extensive network of specialist vendors that they can pull in to cover your exact needs, essentially becoming the outsourced marketing department you need, at exactly the right level of engagement.
When Might Your Business Be Ready for a Fractional CMO?
When you are stuck in the day-to-day running of the business and can't get clarity on what is working, what to do next or how to scale to the next level. In short, you and your team are too close to it and start chasing quick fixes or trends and don't have a bigger picture perspective or plan.
Here are clear signs that indicate your business could benefit from fractional CMO services:
Your Current Marketing Team Needs Leadership
You're likely doing all your own marketing with perhaps some help from a virtual assistant, or you have different marketing professionals but no one is leading them. This means you probably aren't sure if your marketing efforts are truly cohesive or even working because no one is monitoring all of it for you.
A fractional CMO monitors overall performance and guides your team on necessary changes, making them more effective in executing marketing campaigns. We can also help with talent recruitment by providing recommendations for different marketing specialists you may need to meet your goals.
You Want to Push Past a Plateau
You've done everything you know how to do with your marketing but feel like you're still leaving money on the table. A fractional CMO can help identify a path forward by auditing your existing marketing efforts and suggesting new opportunities in marketing channels business models or target audiences.
You Need a Fresh Perspective
Sometimes, you and your team are too close to the business to see marketing challenges and opportunities objectively. A fractional CMO brings an outside perspective, offering fresh insights and innovative strategies to drive your marketing efforts in new directions.
We play an objective role in your business and can often see things that you may have overlooked or noticed but didn't know what to do with.
You Want to Stay Agile
Small businesses need to be agile and flexible in their marketing efforts, quickly adjusting to market changes and customer preferences. A fractional CMO can help you adapt and pivot when necessary, ensuring your marketing strategies remain effective.
What is the Investment?
A fractional CMO can range in fees from a few thousand a month up to double digits. It really depends on the niche, skillset and other variables.
For those looking for 3-6 month strategy support relationship it would be typical to budget $1,500-$6,000 month depending on the CMO and business complexity.
The benefit is this short-term investment can and should result in ROI through leads, systems savings, sales or other relevant KPI's.
Not to mention savings by not spending time and energy on strategies and marketing ideas that don't fit the business model or the owner end goals. Identifying and/or preventing wasted ad spend on the wrong audience or channel is a common place a fCMO can bring real ROI.
The Value a Fractional CMO Brings
The CMO brings big picture vision, clarity, deep analysis of data and past industry knowledge.
They tie all recommendations, and tests back to the bigger goal.
A CMO also brings leadership to the marketing team, and the founder or CEO of the business, by bringing them back to question and evaluate the bigger strategy.
What Can a Fractional CMO Do For You?
Your Fractional CMO can:
Evaluate and identify opportunity in your business model
Lead and mentor a marketing team while you focus on other priorities
Crystallize messaging, product strategy or go-to-market plans
Advise an existing marketing team about best practices
Audit or do a needs analysis to focus efforts on highest-return activities
Deliver industry and competitive insight
Identify and evaluate your target customer true buyer motivations
Measurable Results
A fractional CMO not only helps you set clear KPIs but we monitor and track the effectiveness of campaigns and then cross-reference those KPIs across the board to get a very clear picture of how your entire marketing strategy is working. Using this information, we help you and your team implement data-driven approaches, ensuring that your marketing strategies are optimized for the best possible ROI.
Your fCMO should have the skills to think big, solve problems, ask a lot of unexpected but insightful questions and help you see the business differently with a plan that the team can follow and execute. Measurable results round out the role.
Is It Time for a Strategic Move?
If you're trying to decide what type of marketing support you need, first ask yourself: Do you need someone to execute your existing strategy, or do you need help making sure it's working and continues to work? If you answered the latter, a fractional CMO might be the perfect fit for your business.
A fractional CMO can be a valuable asset for businesses looking to supercharge their marketing efforts without breaking the bank. With budgets tighter than ever, having the ability to ramp up a marketing department without investing full-time resources might be exactly what your growth curve needs.
Getting the Right Fit
Personality also has a huge part in this. You need to feel as comfortable with your fractional CMO as you would if this was a full-time member of your team. Making sure the chemistry and the 'vibe' are right for both you and your team members will be vital to success.
Like all consulting arrangements, make sure the terms of engagement are clear and then set regular touch-points to keep up with progress.
It might just be the strategic move you need to achieve long-term success and sustainability for your business.
Ready to Give a fractional CMO engagement a test drive?
I offer 1-hour “If I Were Your CMO” exploratory calls. You come away with clarity on a burning question and an action plan with 2-3 strategic actions you can take to see growth in your business.
Learn more and book your call here.