What are Fractional CMO Services

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, companies of all sizes are realizing the value of working with a fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). As opposed to hiring a full-time CMO, fractional CMOs work on a part-time, contracted basis to provide strategic marketing leadership and expertise. This innovative staffing model is gaining popularity among businesses looking to add marketing firepower without taking on the cost and commitment of a permanent hire.

A fractional CMO is an experienced marketing executive who works for your company part-time, contracted, typically 10-20 hours per week. They take on the role and responsibilities of a CMO, overseeing marketing strategy, planning, and execution while leaving day-to-day operations and task execution to your in-house marketing team.

Depending on your needs, fractional CMOs are hired on a short-term or long-term basis. Short-term contracts, such as six months to a year, are ideal for tackling specific initiatives like rebranding, market expansion, or pre-IPO planning. Longer multi-year contracts make sense for providing ongoing marketing leadership and introducing durable improvements to strategy and performance.

Unlike marketing consultants who parachute in for a specific project, fractional CMOs are embedded within your company and team. They bring an outsider’s objectivity and the institutional knowledge needed to drive marketing transformation.

Here are some of the key ways a fractional CMO can benefit your business:

Strategic Leadership – A fractional CMO provides high-level marketing strategy and vision based on proven experience driving growth for other companies. This bird’s eye view of marketing is difficult for in-house teams bogged down in day-to-day tasks.

Specialized Expertise – Fractional CMOs bring specialized expertise in areas like branding, demand generation, digital marketing, market research, and more. They introduce best practices honed at other organizations.

Objective Assessment – As an unbiased outsider, a fractional CMO audits your marketing performance, capabilities, and infrastructure to identify opportunities for improvement.

Expanded Capacity – Fractional CMOs augment your marketing team’s bandwidth, taking over executive-level tasks to free up direct reports for tactical execution.

Flexibility – The part-time structure provides flexibility to ramp marketing leadership up or down as business needs change.

Cost Effectiveness – Fractional CMOs cost a fraction of a full salary, with no overhead spending on benefits, office space, etc. The outsourced structure keeps costs variable rather than fixed.

Fast Ramp Up – Experienced fractional CMOs hit the ground running on day one with an outside perspective, sparing you months of onboarding.

Certain business situations lend themselves particularly well to leveraging a fractional CMO:

Rapid Growth – High-growth companies often outpace their capability to scale marketing. A fractional CMO brings urgently needed leadership bandwidth. They also bring experience managing growth.

New Ventures – An unproven brand or product needs seasoned marketing leadership to craft positioning, messaging, and go-to-market strategy. But they can’t afford a full salary.

Startups – Seed and Series A companies need CMO-level capabilities on a budget. As the company matures, fractional CMOs help prepare for eventual full-time hire.

Small Businesses – SMBs recognize the need for strategy and specialization from a marketing chief but lack budget for a full-time role.

Pre-IPO Planning – Companies preparing for an IPO need to build marketing capabilities and infrastructure quickly. Fractional CMOs have experience getting companies IPO ready.

Turnarounds – Fractional CMOs can come in quickly to lead major rebranding, repositioning, or reinvention efforts and return struggling companies to growth.

Marketing Overhaul – Companies undertaking transformational improvements to marketing strategy, tech stacks, or operations benefit from fractional leadership.

Industry Expertise – Some fractional CMOs specialize in certain verticals, bringing valuable industry experience to the table.

Transition – During transitions between full-time CMOs, fractional CMOs provide continuity.

Special Projects – For discrete initiatives like a rebrand, new product launch, or expansion into a new market, a fractional CMO brings focus.

Global Expansion – For companies expanding into new global markets, fractional CMOs offer geographic experience launching brands abroad.

The concept of fractional executive services took hold in fields like finance and technology before making its way to the marketing arena. But the marketing landscape is embracing the model in a big way. According to Accenture, 78% of marketing executives don’t have someone in a CMO-level role. That creates a major demand for fractional talent.

Fractional CMO placements grew at a compound annual growth rate of 75% from 2015 through 2020, according to the Fractional CMO Council. The service model now accounts for $200 to $300 million in annual spend. Top fractional CMO firms like Chief Outsiders, The Harris Consulting Group, and upstart ActivGrowth have built rosters with hundreds of seasoned CMOs.

More marketing leaders are choosing the fractional route, attracted by the variety of projects, flexible schedule, and lucrative pay compared to permanent positions. On average, fractional CMOs earn $250,000 to $500,000 annually compared to $200,000 to $300,000 for full-time roles. Companies pay a premium for their specialized expertise delivered on an on-demand basis.

Just as the talent pool has grown, so too has executive receptivity. There’s a declining stigma around the fractional model as both parties recognize the benefits. In a recent Chief Outsiders survey, 87% of part-time CMOs said they feel highly valued by the organizations they work with.

For many companies, working with a fractional CMO is a strategic move to fuel growth and build marketing capabilities in a budget-friendly way. Before pursuing this path, audit your current marketing team and assess problem areas. Look for gaps in high-level vision and leadership rather than tactical execution. Also, look for mismatches between existing skill sets and the brand’s needs. Where are specialist capabilities lacking?

If you need a senior-level perspective to provide a unified vision and objective assessment, fractional may fit the bill. The model also works well if you need niche expertise or extra bandwidth to handle growth. Just be sure your internal team can handle day-to-day marketing operations so the fractional CMO can focus on high-value strategic priorities.

With the right expectations and vision, fractional CMO services can deliver tremendous value. As the business landscape evolves, more brands are embracing marketing leadership-as-a-service. The rise of fractional CMOs puts top-tier marketing talent within reach, helping businesses cost-effectively level up their marketing capabilities.

Peter Geisheker, CEO of The Geisheker Group, Inc., offers SaaS fractional CMO services. Peter’s expertise is in building high-volume lead generation programs for B2B companies, and in particular, B2B SaaS companies.

To learn more, click the “contact us” button below.