Fractional cmo services
hire a strategic marketing partner for a fraction of the cost of a Marketing Director or CMO
you want to grow your business but you’re not yet ready to hire a full time marketing director or cmo…
You’re looking for an effective marketing strategy and ongoing support to bring it to life and make it work
You’re a science/tech-focussed business and need a strategic marketing leader that understands complex markets
You’re investing in marketing already and want to know what’s working, what’s not and where to focus your energies for maximum return
You’re objective driven, ambitious and have a plan for growth, you just need someone to add the marketing piece to the jigsaw
What is a Fractional CMO?
When you want to hire a strategic marketing leader but don’t feel you’re ready to hire someone full-time or you feel you need to invest most of your budget into the marketing itself, then a Fractional CMO or Chief Marketing Officer may be a good way forwards for you.
A Fractional CMO is a strategic marketer with years of experience that you can hire as a consultant or contractor.
Why you need a Fractional CMO?
Very few marketing executives are able to set a strategy, lead it, implement it and report on it effectively. The expectations for marketing graduates and junior marketing execs is typically higher than it should be and if you want to set your team up for success then hiring a Fractional CMO or strategic marketing mentor will help you invest your marketing budget wisely, avoid marketing injuries and grow strategically.
When the leadership team understands the value of marketing and wants to ramp up their lead generation efforts and build their reputation then a Fractional CMO maybe a better investment to get that important momentum moving.
What to expect from a Fractional CMO?
Each Fractional CMO will operate slightly differently however it’s important to align your expectations right from the start (Follow The OTTER)
If you hire me (Charlie) as your Fractional CMO then you can typically expect:
- A strategic review of your current marketing activity to understand what’s working, what’s not working and why.
- A complete marketing strategy and plan that will be executed by the in-house marketing team and/or any outsourced marketing agencies (such as web developers, SEO/PPC agencies, graphic designers, copywriters, VA’s. and more)
- A set of Objectives and KPI’s to work towards including 12-week Marketing Sprints to accelerate results
- Ongoing marketing mentoring for your in-house team to improve performance, keep them accountable, and drive results.
- Monthly and Quarterly reporting against KPI’s
- An ongoing strategic and marketing-focused advisor for your business
If you’d like to discuss how I could add value to your business then book a complimentary and no-obligation call with me here
What to NOT expect from a Fractional CMO?
A Fractional CMO is not going to implement your strategy for you and it’s important you align your expectations right from the start.
To get the most value from a Fractional CMO you will want a decent marketing budget, preferably someone in-house to manage the day-to-day marketing operations of the business and potentially some specialist agencies to execute specific campaigns.
You would not expect them to be writing emails and blogs, scheduling social media posts, editing web content or prospecting.
Most Fractional CMO’s will also be working with more than one client at a time so offer their services on specific days and times during the week – if you want someone that’s on-call 8+ hours a day and 5 days a week then you might want to consider hiring someone in-house on a permanent basis.
How to find the right Fractional CMO for you?
This is a really important thing to consider and if you haven’t already, carrying out personality profiles on the leadership team is a really valuable thing to do. The reason for this is then you can understand what gaps you have on the leadership team and the sort of person you are looking for.
The other thing to consider is the experience and understanding of the type of business you have and the markets you are targeting. For example I have experience across a wide range of markets and sectors both public and private including tech, shipping, geospatial, healthcare, sports, unmanned aircrafts and software. I also started my career by studying engineering so I’m uniquely positioned to really understand the science and tech whilst being able to turn this into marketing that get’s results.
If you have a very specific business and sector then it’s worth looking around to find someone that will complement your leadership team, add value to your current marketing team and be able to hit the ground running.
What's the difference between a Fractional CMO and a marketing consultant?
Typically, marketing consultants can be hired ad-hoc and for specific projects and campaigns and can sometimes be more ‘hands-off’.
A Fractional CMO would typically be a longer-term hire and be more invested in the overall success of your business and be more ‘hands-on’.
a strategic resource I wish I had access to years ago
I spent years winging it and making it up as I went along, firstly as a ‘one person’ marketing team and then as I started to grow and build a team around me. If I’d have had the support of a Fractional CMO and strategic marketing mentor to help guide and challenge me I’d have made fewer mistakes and the business would have grown a lot faster.
Leverage my 10+ years of experience as well as all the grey hairs and learnings I’ve picked up over time.
If you’re looking for a strategic partner that’s worked across marketing, sales, operations and customer experience and you’re on a path to growth then let’s chat to see if we’re a good fit – book a call with me below
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