Fractional CMO: A Marketing Asset Vital to Business Growth

Fractional CMO: A Marketing Asset Vital to Business Growth

To begin it is best to define what a Fractional CMO is. A Chief Marketing Officer who serves businesses on a part-time basis. The Fractional CMO develops and directs the marketing strategy for an organization. Above all, the fractional chief marketing officer leads the entire marketing department.

Fractional CMO Services Explained:

Small Businesses and those without the means of hiring a full-time CMO staff member to serve as a true CMO utilize this type of role to fulfill their needs. CEO’s and business owners are regularly seeking individuals within this role to reduce the cost of labor, gain market leverage and reduce the risk for startups.

This is a win-win scenario for a marketing leader and a small business.

What you can expect from a Fractional CMO?

Developing and executing a go-to market strategy

Deciding and committing to which marketing strategies are best for your business, such as SEO, content marketing, paid advertising, or a podcast, etc.

Leading the marketing department and inspiring others within the organization

Hiring new 3rd party contractors and personally executing marketing strategies

Working with outsourced partners and agencies leaning on their experiences and following

Hiring a Chief Marketing Officer

So why wouldn’t you just hire a full-time CMO? Well, you could, but a lot of small businesses may not be ready to shell out the average salary of $173,000 / year for a CMO. Now that’s some sticker shock!

Let’s also take it down a notch and call this individual a marketing director with similar responsibilities and likely the first step for a business growing an in-house marketing team. The average salary for 1 Marketing Director is $87,000. Still, a lot of money.

A Fractional CMO does no less than many of those within these roles the only difference is time commitment being part-time in nature or billed per month as a retainer.

These retainers should almost always save money vs the average salaries shared and you have yourself a marketing executive with similar if not better experiences.

Fractional CMOs Benefits

Retaining an individual that may represent different clients in different spaces nets some great benefits.

1) Their experiences are wider-reaching. You aren’t the first business they have done work with, and probably not the first within a particular niche as most CMOs specialize in business categories.

2) They enhance your networking opportunities. They may have already worked with and or represented previous clients with great 3rd party vendors or contacts you can use too. Sometimes, this even generates business through mutual contacts!

3) Saves time! Fractional CMOs know the ins and outs of digital marketing platforms and tools. This means you spend less time interviewing contractors and deciding on marketing tools. More time planning the strategy with your CMO.

4) Outside perspective. Some of my best experiences in a business were when colleagues reviewed my work from the outside. What makes sense to you, may not make sense for your audience or even a marketing professional. Using a part-time marketing executive always gives you a fresh outlook on your brand, your product, or service. Not to mention they are experts.

Can’t I Just Hire my own Contractors?

Of course, you can! But hear me out.

In our experience, there is so much out there in the way of marketing it can get confusing! SEO, Google Adwords, Website Development, Social Media Management the list goes on and on.

All of these marketing mediums are so important and you can find agencies that specialize in each niche and they are likely wonderful and effective agencies. The problem is always how it comes together. Today, it’s hard to be perfect in everything and ensure all these pieces work together to close a sale. After all, if it doesn’t generate revenue, what’s the point?

This is the only thing a fractional CMO should ever be focused on and therein lies the advantage. It isn’t just any one of these important categories. It’s about brand management, sales funnel establishment, reputation management, and strategic implementation.

CMO’s are generalists. They may not be the best in the business at any one category, but their knowledge propels small businesses gross revenue by implementing a combination of services under one roof ensuring your strategy creates a marketing web that generates results.

Until you can afford your own marketing executive, let a CMO handle the hassle. At Lane Digital Marketing, this is where we excel. If you are ready to connect with a top CMO agency email cameron@lanedigitalmarketing.com for a free discovery call.