Fractional CMO Services can help drive explosive growth for organizations that have ambitious goals. Unfortunately, for many start-ups and small businesses, budget is a limiting factor to leveraging the best marketing tools. Fractional CMO services provide a more affordable alternative to filling a full-time chief marketing officer role, so you can get the benefits without the prohibitive costs.
In this blog, we cover the essentials of fractional CMO services, benefits, and costs so you know what to look for when searching for the “best fractional CMO near me.”
What Does a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer Do?
CMOs and fractional CMOs share the same goal of growing your organization’s revenue. Fractional CMOs work closely with the leadership team to ensure marketing strategies align with business objectives. To do so, both positions work to optimize marketing strategies, advertising, and sales initiatives to support organizational goals. With access to executive-level leadership, your marketing team can make strides toward:
- Improving campaign performance and ROI
- Optimizing roles within the marketing department
- Finding growth opportunities in new or existing markets
- Navigating more beneficial relationships with third-party service providers
What size company needs a CMO? For startups and other small and mid-sized businesses, fractional marketing executives offer a key advantage over full-time options: flexibility. This difference is critical for your organization if you have a few CMO functions that are of the highest priority. For example, your marketing department could already be fully developed for the growth stage you’re in. With a fractional CMO, you can invest more resources into initiatives you’re actively pursuing, such as breaking into a new market.
Ready to begin your search for the best fractional CMO for hire? Contact us to get started.
What Is a Fractional CMO Service?
Fractional CMO services are the á la carte alternative to filling a traditional CMO position. Rather than needing to commit to a full-time executive (and the salary and benefits package that comes with one), your organization can focus on what matters most.
In addition to flexibility, one of the other key benefits of fractional CMO services is that they give direction to your marketing efforts. For many small businesses and startups, essential marketing roles fall onto employees who don’t have additional capacity or on those who aren’t even specialized in marketing. To consolidate the responsibilities of your organization’s marketing efforts, fractional CMO services can include the following:
- Developing a comprehensive marketing strategy to meet organizational goals
- Coordinating marketing initiatives with other departments, such as finance
- Determining the need for additional marketing roles within the team
With a fractional CMO on your side, the rest of your team can get back to what they do best. For your marketing team members, they can focus on their individual roles—such as crafting campaigns or enticing emails—rather than overarching strategy. For other leaders in your business, they can invest more energy into their department instead of overextending themselves to take on certain marketing roles.
Contact us today to see how fractional CMO services could transform your business.
What Is a Fractional CMO for a Startup?
A fractional CMO can be the difference between success and stagnation for a startup. Marketing is the key to growth because if you can’t build a strong relationship with your customers, they’ll go to your competition instead.
However, those who operate in the startup space know all too well that budgets are tight—often too tight to justify hiring a full-time CMO. But that doesn’t mean your organization has to go without executive-level marketing leadership. Fractional CMO services allow you to benefit from the guidance of an experienced marketing professional without breaking your budget.
Here are a few reasons why your startup should consider fractional CMO services to level up your marketing performance:
- 5.5 million new business applications were filed in 2023 (according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce). That’s a lot of new players in an already crowded market space.
- Only 10% to 20% of new startups find long-term success, and the most common reason for failure is misunderstanding market fit and conditions (according to GilPress). Understanding who your customers are and how to connect with them is essential to success.
- Quality market research is the key to finding real problems that people want a solution for. According to Forbes, many new startups make the error of investing in an idea for a product or service before performing the due diligence to see if it’s actually viable or not.
- On average, startups don’t turn a profit until their second or third year of operation (according to TechReport), which means these organizations need to rely on funding from investors or lenders. With ineffective marketing, this timeline could be even longer, and lenders and investors may be more likely to pull back.
With a fractional CMO, you can meet the above challenges head-on. Ready to put your best foot forward when it comes to attracting and retaining paying customers? Get in touch to learn more about fractional CMO services.
Who Needs a Fractional CMO?
The two most common signs that your organization needs a fractional CMO are:
- Your organization is growth-oriented and wants to develop and maintain a competitive edge with the guidance of a marketing leader.
- Your organization can’t tie up a significant amount of resources in a full-time CMO.
If you checked off either (or both) of the above boxes, it’s time to explore what fractional CMO services could do for your business. Give us a call to get started.
What Is the Highest Salary for a CMO?
The highest salary for a CMO in the US in 2023 was $1,789,830 (according to Comparably). This salary is prohibitive for most startups and small businesses, but it’s also far above average. In fact, Salary.com reports the average CMO salary to be $357,747 per year.
An annual cost of well over $300,000 is still a heavy investment. But what if your organization could leverage the most important functions of a CMO at a fraction of the cost? That’s exactly what a fractional chief marketing officer provides. Not only can you still access the marketing executive functions you need most, but you can also benefit from data-driven decision-making and streamlined processes, leading to significant time and cost savings. You can reinvest the savings back into your business.
For more on how to access C-suite level leadership while keeping your resources agile, contact our experts.
What is the Average Rate for a Fractional CMO?
The average fractional CMO hourly rate ranges from $200 to $300 (as reported by LinkedIn). To give context to this rate, it’s also important to consider the different agreements you could have with a fractional CMO. When determining pay structure, you’ll choose between the following options:
- Hourly: In this type of structure, you’ll pay your fractional CMO by their hourly rate, and they’ll typically work a set amount of hours per week. For example, you could hire a fractional CMO to work 10 hours per week at a rate of $200. This would require a yearly investment of about $104,000, which is over $200,000 less than the average yearly salary of a full-time CMO.
- Monthly Retainer: In this type of structure, you’ll pay your fractional CMO a set monthly rate to handle a determined scope of responsibilities. For example, you could hire a fractional CMO to oversee a three-month-long market research project. Monthly retainers can be an effective model for initiatives that don’t always need direct involvement from an executive but can benefit from their insight.
- Per Project: In this type of structure, you’ll pay your fractional CMO based on outcomes rather than hours worked. At the start of the agreement, you’ll determine a set rate for the project, and the agreement will be fulfilled once the project is completed. This type of structure is beneficial for organizations who have specific initiatives they want to see through with executive-level leadership to make sure they have the most impact.
Engaging a fractional CMO can be more beneficial than relying solely on a marketing agency. While a marketing agency can provide valuable services, a fractional CMO offers strategic leadership and aligns efforts with your business goals, ensuring more effective growth and overcoming obstacles.
Get in touch to learn more about how much your organization should expect to invest in a fractional CMO to meet your goals.
Is a Fractional CMO Worth It?
A fractional CMO is often worth it for businesses that stand a lot to gain from transforming their marketing performance.
Startups are a prime example of the type of organization that can benefit from fractional CMO services. These businesses need to prove to investors that there’s a demand for their product or service to secure funding and remain in operation. Fractional CMO services allow startups to optimize their marketing efforts to increase ROI without tying up too many resources that are needed elsewhere in the organization, such as product development or customer support.
However, startups aren’t the only organizations that can benefit from fractional CMO services. Small and mid-sized businesses that want to scale and connect with a wider audience can also benefit from affordable executive-level marketing leadership. Fractional CMO services provide access to top marketing talent without the need for a full-time hire, ensuring that businesses can navigate the complex landscape of marketing effectively.
Contact us to learn more about how fractional CMO services can benefit your business.
When Should I Hire a Fractional CMO?
Fractional CMOs are essential for startups, small businesses, and mid-sized businesses during periods of change. They play a crucial role in building and supporting strong marketing teams that are aligned with sales and business goals. If your organization is planning to accomplish any of the following, fractional CMO services could be a powerful tool:
- Changing the size or scope of your marketing department
- Breaking into a new market
- Finding and leveraging a new competitive edge in an existing market
- Setting new KPIs to better reflect market conditions
Changes are pivotal moments for businesses. With a fractional CMO, you can take hold of the opportunities that come with change instead of letting them pass by. Contact us to learn more about how and when to hire a fractional CMO.
Contact Us To Learn More About How Fractional CMO Services Can Transform Your Marketing Strategy
If you’re searching for the best way to “hire a fractional CMO near me,” start your search with SMB. Our experts are ready to guide you through each step of the process, from evaluating your needs to matching you with the right executive to make a positive and lasting impact on your organization.
Or, if you have experience driving impressive results as a CMO or marketing director, you may be looking for a career change. The next step after searching “fractional CMO near me hiring” is to check out our career page. We’re always interested in meeting high performers who are ready to cause a stir! Contact Bohu Digital Today!
