What is a Fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing executive hired to define and lead the strategy and the marketing operations of a company, dedicating a fraction of the time a regular CMO would and receiving a fraction of a full-time pay.
Summary:
This article looks to further introduce you to the concept of a fractional Chief Marketing Officer, the benefits and differences of working with one versus a full-time CMO: what is a fractional CMO, who needs one, what does a fractional CMO do and what are the most common signs that your business might benefit from bringing a fractional CMO on board.
Fractional CMO: top-tier expertise for a fraction of the cost of an FTE (full-time equivalent).
Filling the shoes of a fractional CMO is typically an experienced marketing executive who provides companies with strategic marketing guidance under an hourly and/or fixed-term contractual framework (as a difference to a FTE).
Key Takeaways
A fractional CMO fulfills the function of a chief marketing officer while working on a part-time basis as a difference to a full-time role.
A fractional CMO can be a very good fit for small and medium size businesses, that need an experienced guiding hand to unlock further growth but cannot commit to the cost of a full-time role. Such entities might not have the resources to hire a full-time leader and, many times, neither do they need such commitment (yet!). For the exact same reasons, startups are hiring fractional CMOs to build and scale-up their marketing operations.
Bringing strategic and leadership experience to oversee and manage the marketing operations is essential for a fractional CMO role. Such skills will make a clear difference compared to marketing freelancers who are highly specialized from an operational point of view, but lack the holistic view that an experienced marketing leader has.
The flexibility of a CMO for hire arrangement saves a lot of HR related head-aches. While it ensures securing C-level expertise, it does not come with the C-level price tag, because a fractional CMO works on a part-time basis.
A fractional CMO is sometimes called by different names - CMO for hire, CMO as a service, part-time CMO, part-time marketing lead, fractional marketing director. These are all synonyms highlighting the two essential sides of a fractional CMO function: leadership expertise with extensive operational experience. Cherry on top is a relevant industry experience.
Let’s take a closer look at the definition of a fractional CMO. What are the benefits of hiring such a figure, at a time when your business is ready to grow but it requires an experienced hand to drive such growth from the marketing side of things?
What is a Fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing executive hired to define and lead the strategy and the marketing operations of a company, dedicating a fraction of the time a regular CMO would and receiving a fraction of a full-time pay. In other words, a fractional CMO is a part-time marketing leader who takes ownership for a company’s marketing efforts to drive business growth.
You surely heard of the more common fractional CFO figure, for companies that need the high level guidance and skills of a chief financial officer but don’t require to have a full-time one on their pay-roll? Imagine the same for your marketing function: accessing a top tier marketing executive without paying a top tier C-level price tag: enter fractional CMO.
What Does a Fractional CMO Do?
Long story short, exactly what a regular full-time CMO would do, but in a part-time capacity. A CMO for hire will dedicate less time to your business, but just enough so as to cater to the needs and resources of a smaller or medium-sized company, which needs experienced leaders in all its functions in order to unlock further growth.
Sitting at the table with the rest of the management team, a fractional CMO will discuss and align the marketing strategy to the overall business direction and goals, in order to support the company’s growth. Defining and agreeing on relevant and meaningful KPI for the marketing activities and building collaborative relationships with the other business units, is another hat that a fractional CMO will wear.
Starting with the definition of the marketing and digital strategy, a fractional CMO will break this down into tactical tasks and enlist the right resources for a strong and well-timed execution. Overseeing the marketing operations, a fractional CMO is not only a servant leader but also one inclined to recruit, train and coach a strong marketing team.
Ultimately, the main objective of a fractional CMO is to drive business growth while setting a strong foundation for the marketing processes and teams, so much that when its mission is completed, she or he can easily step-out without any disruption, leaving behind a turn-key setup.
When do you need a fractional CMO?
There are a number of scenarios when having a fractional CMO on board is beneficial but let us start by saying this: not every company needs a CMO, fractional or not, in every stage of its journey and this can be especially true for small businesses.
To delimit the point from which a strategic marketing leader is required, some consultants will use yearly income-driven thresholds, while others will argue that such earnings cannot be reached to begin with, without having your marketing in check.
Every business runs differently and sets its own priorities when it comes to future investments - because a fractional CMO is, at the end of the day, an investment, even when it comes at a fraction of the cost of a FTE. So instead of looking at general scenarios and money-driven yearly earnings rules, let’s focus on the individual context of your business and some of the signs coming from within - “flags” that indicate the presence of a fractional CMO is beneficial going forward.
Missing a marketing strategy, marketing leadership and accountability? A fractional CMO can help with all that for a fraction of the cost of a full-time position.
Signs that your company would benefit from having a fractional CMO on board
The company needs experienced marketing leadership
Your company has a star-team of tactical marketing experts for design, content creation, social media, marketing automation but they lack the holistic leadership to design and drive the direction of their collaborative effort. Or maybe you work with a mix of internal and external resources and lack an experienced t-shaped marketer to function as the one-point of contact driving all marketing decisions, budget investments and results tracking.
Another common scenario, in the absence of a senior marketing leader, is the one where sales or product teams are taking over and driving the marketing direction - or simply design and use their own marketing collateral. An experienced marketing leader is used to cooperate across departments while keeping “the hands on the wheel” .
The company needs a marketing strategy to unlock further growth
Your company needs to step-up your marketing efforts in order to get out of a period of stagnation or maybe to further scale-up. Could be that your marketing team is overwhelmed and/or lacks the energy or skills to design a revamped and comprehensive marketing approach. An eventual shift in the strategy and an increased investment is necessary, hence a trained and well-versed helping , or rather driving hand, is necessary in order to come out at the other end. You need someone who can hit the ground running, someone who can capitalize on a rich past experience while adapting the strategy and the operations to the specific context of your business.
The company needs an overall marketing overhaul
You are planning a marketing overhaul and need experienced guidance, ownership and accountability for it. A fractional CMO, who is a t-shaped marketing professional, will lead the process and have leveled conversations with all partners and stakeholders involved, internal and external. The new strategy doesn’t only need to be designed but also rolled-out, divided into tactical tasks, assigned to the right figures with associated deadlines and goals. Maybe training and new resources are needed in order to support the new direction and you need someone who can manage it all independently.
Your marketing efforts are no longer showing results
It is time to bring in a new perspective, a set of fresh but experienced eyes to have a look at the overall marketing initiatives and whip up a new plan forward. The fact that what used to work no longer works doesn’t mean that your existing team or set-up is wrong, it might just mean that you need a breath of fresh air, usually coming from “the outside” to question the status-quo.
You are building up from scratch your marketing team
Marketing has never been a strength within your team and now you need someone to start building it up from scratch - but it must be a cost effective route. A fractional CMO generally brings a diverse experience and also a network of vetted professionals. After setting a strong foundation (starter team, essential tools and platforms, meaningful reporting), a fractional CMO will keep building upon it in order to further scale up your marketing operations, in line with your company needs and goals.
You do not need or cannot afford a full-time CMO
We left for last the overarching reason behind bringing in a fraction CMO on board. Just like in the case of a fractional CFO, a full-time position might not be required considering the size and the needs of your business, but clearly tapping into that kind of experience to guide your business is a game changer. Alternatively, the business might need a full-time figure to stir your marketing boat but the resources available might not be there yet. Fractional hiring is coming in to address such scenarios - the possibility to flexibly outsource C-level expertise, without having to pay the C-level price tag in its entirety.
If you read the signs, the next step is clear: finding the right fractional CMO for your business.
A rule of thumb here is to start by looking into network, for possible candidates or for meaningful recommendations. If you are interested in learning more about the fractional CMO offering at Journee GmbH, please do get in touch.
About Journee - Digital at Ease
Founded by two digital marketing professionals with extensive international experience, Journee GmbH is a female owned digital marketing and technology boutique consultancy.
Diana and Ana Maria, two fractional CMOs with a strong digital core, are helping companies set up, improve and further grow their marketing operations, always adapted to the company size and goals..
Their combined expertise covers marketing leadership, digital marketing, digital analytics, advertising, marketing technology and overall digital strategy support and mentorship.