What is a Fractional CMO?
Your marketing efforts are one of the primary ways your firm finds new customers and ensures its long-term success, but many people have the wrong idea about what it takes to find a Chief Marketing Officer. Many people think that a CMO must be a full-time position. However, there are other options if you cannot afford a new CMO immediately.
In recent years, one of the most popular terms that have become a significant trend in the marketing industry has been fractional CMO. This article will discuss precisely what a fractional CMO is, what they specifically do, and how hiring a fractional CMO might be the best decision for your business.
Defining a Fractional CMO
The first question on everybody’s minds when they hear the term fractional CMO is to ask what this means. This is somebody that acts as the chief marketing officer for a company but is hired primarily as a consultant, which means that their working hours are different. In some cases, they might actually work for multiple companies at the same time.
As noted by the term “fractional,” these individuals spend a fraction of the time working with your company while they work for others. These people are great resources, and even though they might only devote part-time hours working for your company, these individuals can be a great way to ensure that marketing continues even without a full-time CMO at your firm.
What Can Fractional CMOs Offer a Firm
Many companies—especially smaller companies on a restricted budget—might wonder if this is the best move. Hiring consultants is generally not an expected practice by smaller companies, but it can be increasingly helpful—and cost-effective in this situation!
Fractional CMOs use a portion of their working hours to help your firm improve its marketing or delegate and reorganize the marketing department for optimal efficiency. As a consultant, they actually take care of a lot of different tasks that an ordinary CMO would also do for you.
More specifically, CMOs can:
- Define and translate your market strategy into action and desired results
- Mentor your existing marketing team
- Manage the marketing department
- Drive sales growth for the company
- Work part-time
- Provide a third-party perspective on your marketing efforts
- Create marketing strategies
- Oversee the marketing tech integrations
- Grow your email list and engagement metrics
- Build marketing reports
- Work with other freelancers or a marketing agency
- Manage your digital ads
- Get more leads
- Provide marketing leadership if a firm needs a temporary replacement
As you can see, anything a fractional CMO does, a CMO does, too! But fewer working hours means more value for less of an investment.
In most situations, your fractional CMO can produce even more results because of its unique perspective. For example, one study compiled by Chief Outsiders showed that fractional CMOs deliver 2.5 times the results of an ordinary, full-time CMO!
That makes any firm reconsider its options. Especially smaller companies that need marketing management but might not have the funds to hire someone full-time at the moment.
Why Smaller Companies Should Hire a Fractional CMO
When it comes to marketing decisions for smaller firms, budget is vital. Unfortunately, hiring a CMO can be a considerable expense. Fractional CMOs come at a fraction of the cost (pun intended), but they also come with several benefits that many small firms should see as valuable to their overall goals. Here are the top three reasons a small company should hire a fractional CMO.
Reason #1: To Find an Appropriate Marketing Direction
Many companies struggle to define their marketing direction. With a limited budget and the potential lack of leadership or experience, it can be increasingly challenging to know the best strategy or find it, for that matter!
With a fractional CMO, you’re hiring someone with experience and knowledge that could completely change your perspective on your customers, your marketing initiatives, and more. In most cases, these individuals are the ones that finally discover the right marketing tactics and strategy that could help your firm skyrocket to success.
Reason #2: To Have a Marketing Leader (Even a Part-Time Leader)
Smaller companies, especially start-ups, probably don’t have the budget or the resources to have a proper marketing department. As your firm has expanded over the years, your marketing department has also grown—but potentially without adequate leadership.
Imagine being able to hire a part-time marketing leader that does most of the work of an ordinary CMO—but in a portion of the time. This is a game-changer for most firms, so smaller firms should always consider a fractional CMO. A marketing leader with knowledge and insight can change your firm’s trajectory and allow you to grow within your budgetary constraints.
Reason #3: To Improve Coordination Within the Firm
Finally, one of the most important issues that small firms struggle with: is coordination. Start-ups could be juggling multiple challenges due to having to fulfill various roles. When you hire a fractional CMO, you’re delegating the marketing tasks to someone who knows how to handle it, and you can focus on other concerns.
Improve the coordination of your firm and the collaborative efforts by hiring a fractional CMO. Even if they are only there part-time, they will be able to focus on the marketing efforts so that it is coordinated and strategic rather than rushed or not thoroughly thought out.
Hire a Fractional CMO for Your Company
Hiring a talented freelancer as your fractional CMO can provide you with the needed resources at only a portion of the cost. It is a game changer for most small firms, and hopefully, this article has enlightened you on why you and your company could benefit from this investment!
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