What is a fractional CMO?

In a nutshell, a fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is a fancy term to describe a senior marketer who works for your business on a part-time/contract basis.

Smaller companies often don’t have the budget to hire a full-time marketer or simply don’t have enough work to warrant a permanent employee.

That’s where a fractional CMO or marketing director comes in. You can hire them for a set number of hours per week or on a more ad-hoc basis. Whilst they are fully committed to your business, they are able to work on this basis because they also work for other clients.

A fractional CMO or fractional marketing manager is called such because they come at the fraction of the cost of a full-time employee as they only work a fraction of the time.

What are the benefits of hiring a fractional CMO?

• A fractional CMO is more than just a contractor. We are part of your business and therefore become a trusted advisor.

• We can run your marketing operation and manage all aspects of marketing working with your team and preferred suppliers.

• We can operate at both a strategic and a tactical level. For example, I can create a marketing strategy for you and then execute it using your inhouse resources, agencies, or other business partners as required.

• Often, for the more permanent cost of a junior marketer, you get the expertise of a senior marketer but without the commitment of paying a salary. You also don’t have to fork out all the perks and benefits of a salaried team member and, as many work remotely, you don’t even need to provide us with a desk!

• Hours can be scaled up and down based on the changing need of your business. For example, if you have a specific project or launch that needs to be done, the hours can be scaled up to accommodate that and then reduced after as needed.

• You see immediate results from our work as we can jump in, get to know a company very quickly, and hit the ground running. No long induction period or training necessary!

• Fractional marketers are generally multi-skilled. For example, I don’t just specialise in one area of marketing. I can work with any sized business, in any industry, and manage activities as broad as developing a marketing or campaign plan, public relations, digital marketing, content development, and organic social media.

• A fractional marketing manager also reduces any risk that you get around permanent hires. If the relationship is not working out it is easy to end it without any long notice periods or performance management required.

• Most importantly, stuff gets done! Because we are not bogged down by the day-to-day operational matters, like a full-time employee often is, we achieve a lot more.

Want to learn more or know how I can fit into your business? Drop me a line for a no obligation chat.

A fractional CMO or marketing manager works for your business a fraction of the time.