Many businesses get stuck between needing a hand with marketing and not having the resources to hire a full-fledged marketing department. In these cases, a company will either try to take on marketing without the necessary experience or blow through too much budget hiring a full-time digital marketer or outsourcing their marketing to a third-party digital marketing agency.
Your business may be all too familiar with this conundrum, and you might think your business should resign itself to choosing between a rock and a hard place.
But what if there were another way?
Introducing Part-time CMOs
Fractional CMOs offer experienced marketing leadership to businesses that need a hand getting their marketing strategies in place and their teams oriented on best practices and procedures—without costing those businesses an arm and a leg.
Because fractional CMOs are contractual employees, they only stick around as long as their services are needed. Many businesses use part-time CMOs to get their marketing departments up and running or when transitioning to a different marketing strategy. Others hire fractional CMOs for quarterly check-ins to help keep a business’s marketing strategy on track.
What Are Some of the Responsibilities of Part-Time CMOs?
Fractional CMOs perform all of the duties that would be expected of an in-house corporate officer. Business owners can expect fractional CMOs to help with the following:
- Provide leadership and direction to the marketing team
- Help create an STP marketing strategy to cover your target market
- Help devise product pricing, go-to-market, and launch strategies
- Improve and reshape a business’s online presence through SEO
- Help establish your business’s sales strategy and infrastructure
- Help establish your business’s marketing strategy and infrastructure
- Create, implement, and augment customer loyalty and retention strategies
- Help establish and direct your business’s content marketing strategy
- Make crucial decisions when hiring or restructuring your marketing department
When Are Fractional CMOs Most Useful?
Fractional CMOs are experienced chief marketing officers who are familiar with leading marketing teams at various stages of growth. Different CMOs will boast different achievements and possess experience in different niches, so it’s best to find one that has led marketing teams comparable to your own.
When Is a Good Time To Consider a Fractional CMO?
Part-time CMOs are useful whenever your business needs leadership and direction regarding marketing but you lack the knowledge, time, or desire to be acting CMO while also running the other parts of your business. Consider the following uses of a fractional CMO:
- Do you have a consistently underperforming marketing team?
- Does your business need a fresh, unbiased perspective regarding its marketing practices?
- Is your business in a state of growth or transition, and marketing leadership is necessary for success?
- Do you spend more time acting as CMO rather than CEO?
- Are you spending too much on marketing without seeing results?
Are Fractional CMOs always the right choice?
Fractional CMOs are most valuable when you need boots-on-the-ground leadership, and you need it fast. They provide a specific need—experienced marketing leadership (usually during times of change or growth).
If your business’s growth is stable and your system is working, there isn’t a need for a part-time CMO. However, if you are experiencing turbulence during a transitional period or your business is growing beyond your ability to market it effectively, then you could stand to benefit from their immediate, experienced direction and leadership.
About the Author
Roni Davis is a digital marketer, blogger, and legal assistant operating out of the greater Philadelphia area.
