The C-Suite Shuffle: Temporary vs Fractional CMOs
If you need senior marketing leadership but don’t require or can’t afford a full-time CMO, interim CMO models like temporary or fractional chief marketing officers offer flexible solutions. But what’s the difference between these flexible CMO options and how do you know which is the best fit for your company? We break it down.
Bring In A Temporary CMO For Short Term Needs
Temporary CMOs, or interim CMOs, are contracted to tackle a specific project or lead the marketing function for a predetermined period of time, usually around 3-12 months. They step into the traditional CMO role to fill an immediate and urgent gap created by the departure or between permanent CMOs.
Some common situations where a temporary CMO can prove useful include:
Leadership Transitions: If your longtime CMO resigns abruptly, bringing in an interim CMO quickly keeps marketing running smoothly during the executive search for a permanent hire. They ensure key programs, campaigns, and projects stay on track while providing the marketing team guidance and leadership.
Special Projects: Temporary CMOs are handy for one-off martech platform implementations, major branding revamps, new market expansions, or product launches. They spearhead the intensive project and then hand back marketing oversight once deliverables are met.
Maternity Leave Coverage: A temporary CMO provides maternity or family leave coverage so marketing doesn’t take a backseat while your CMO is out of office.
By parachuting in to hold down the fort short term, temporary CMOs let companies buy time to run a thoughtful CMO search or handle large projects requiring experienced marketing leadership.
Go Fractional For Ongoing Flexible Support
Fractional CMOs provide ongoing, regular monthly support instead of a short, one-and-done stint. They work part-time – usually 10, 20, or 30 hours a month – to supplement the existing marketing staff. Think of them like consultants embedded within your company.
Some scenarios where opting for a part-time fractional CMO makes sense:
Marketing Strategy Guidance: Fractional CMOs provide unbiased expertise to help startups develop marketing roadmaps or improve channel spending and performance across the customer lifecycle. They work directly with founders or business heads as fractional advisors.
Specialized Capabilities: Growing midsize companies can leverage fractional CMOs to access senior-level capabilities their current team lacks. A fractional CMO might drive awareness growth, rebuild branding and positioning, improve sales enablement, or overhaul martech stacks. They strategically fill competency gaps.
Interim Leadership: During longer CMO searches or internal role shifts, fractional CMOs keep marketing humming along by overseeing teams and campaigns part-time while companies find the ideal permanent hire.
Hands-On Support: Instead of fully offloading marketing oversight to a fractional CMO, lean teams can leverage them for flexible, hands-on support. A fractional CMO might manage a specific channel while training junior marketers or running campaigns while internal staff focuses on daily tasks.
Summary
Choosing temporary vs fractional boils down to agenda, timeframe, and scope of responsibilities. Temporary CMOs provide complete oversight for urgent yet time-bound needs.
Fractional CMOs give ongoing strategic or specialized support. Leveraging interim marketing leadership not only gives startups and midsize companies CMO-caliber guidance their budgets may not allow full-time but also grants flexibility to pivot marketing needs.
If You Need Fractional CMO Services, We Can Help
If your company needs a SaaS Fractional CMO consider working with Peter Geisheker, CEO of The Geisheker Group. Peter has been providing SaaS Fractional CMO services for over 20 years. His specialty is B2B lead generation for B2B SaaS companies.