As a result, the fractional salaries of CMOs represent only a fraction of the cost of salaries for marketing managers. Some fractional CMOs offer what we call a “flying and spraying” strategic guide. These fractional CMOs work just a few hours a week with a company and typically divide their time between 5 and 10 clients. They provide guidance, advice, and maybe even advice to members of the revenue and marketing team.
These “overloaded” fractional CMOs are much cheaper than hiring a full-time CMO and can offer considerable wisdom to small businesses. However, they cannot take full responsibility for marketing because their time is limited to a few hours per week and their attention is divided among a large group of customers. A fractional CMO also takes a practical approach with their existing marketing resources to focus on business growth, audience growth, and implementing account-based management strategies. Best of all, using Chief Outsiders' fractional CMO services gives you much more than just a new face in your company.
Working with a fractional CMO may be the best solution for developing a marketing strategy that supports business growth. Six years ago (March 19, 2018), I wrote a blog post about a little known marketing position called fractional CMO. An important distinction to be made in this case is that, compared to an external consultant, a fractional CMO tends to participate in daily operations as if they were an employee, unlike an external project-based consultant, who is often used as someone who comes from and often stays out of key decision-making activities. This is because a fractional CMO usually works with several companies as part of their executive management team.
However, most companies seek assurance that the fractional CMO they hire has the experience, knowledge, background, and cultural aptitude needed to make an impact in their most important marketing position. A fractional CMO is the owner of your marketing function, that is, someone who can be the most senior marketing executive in a company, without needing you to bear a full-time cost. A fractional CMO is a key part of your executive team, prepared with first-class experiences and knowledge that they use to adopt a holistic view of your business. At the strategic level, a fractional CMO can develop marketing plans, lead competitive intelligence initiatives, identify and manage progress towards KPIs; in essence, create a marketing machine that you can trust.
A fractional Chief Outsiders CMO not only strategizes or provides advice, but is also uniquely prepared to report to top management and is often asked to oversee execution and derive results from marketing initiatives. Being a fractional CMO allows me to offer a cost-effective service with high added value to my clients, where I literally operate like one of their employees with aligned objectives. However, an average hourly rate is a good starting point for understanding the cost of a fractional CMO. The benefit of working with a fractional Authentic Brand CMO is more than the dollar-for-dollar cost savings.
