For small businesses, the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is the most important person in the company. CMOs are responsible for ensuring that your business is achieving its goals and reaching its maximum potential.
However, CMOs can be hard to find and very expensive to hire on a full-time basis!
Luckily, there is a new C-level executive position in the marketing world that’s been gaining momentum in recent years – Fractional CMO.
Fractional CMO has all the benefits of a full-time CMO without your company having to commit to one full-time. A Fractional CMO will help grow your company with proven marketing strategies while saving you money in salary costs!
This article will discuss fractional CMOs and their differences from full-time CMOs, their responsibilities, and why they are perfect for any small business.
Fractional CMO vs. Full-Time CMO – Side-By-Side Comparison
The key difference between a fractional CMO and a full-time CMO has to do with their availability. A full-time CMO will always be there for you (but at a higher cost), while fractional CMOs will come to you when your company needs them (at a lower cost).
Here are the main differences between fractional CMO vs. full-time CMO.
Fractional CMO
- Part-time employment with variable cost
- Less expensive (or on an as-needed basis)
- Best suited for small to medium-sized companies
- Strong growth and earnings in a shorter period of time
- Less-risky hire
- Easier to terminate the agreement
Full-time CMO
- Full-time employment with a fixed salary cost
- More expensive (long time commitment)
- More suited for large organizations
- A slower rate of growth in an extended period of time
- High-risk hire
- Letting go can be a costly and challenging process
Responsibilities Of A Good Fractional CMO – What Do They Do?
Fractional CMOs are responsible for ensuring that your small business is achieving its goals and reaching maximum potential in a shorter time (a couple of months). They need to develop effective marketing strategies and show progress towards those strategies.
A Fractional CMO will take over these responsibilities with relevant industry knowledge without taking up an employer’s time or money required for training or ‘learning on the job.’
Fractional CMOs are usually responsible for the following:
- Strategy development and planning.
- Leading and managing marketing team members.
- Building solid relationships with customers, partners, and prospects.
- Designing effective marketing campaigns to drive traffic, leads, or sales.
- Reporting on key metrics such as budget spending, revenue generated, etc.
- Creating onboarding processes for potential clients.
- Building customer retention programs.
- Designing advanced sales and marketing automation.
- Digital PR and branding strategies.
- Content marketing, PPC, SEO, and email strategies.
- Preparing marketing collateral for the current and next fiscal quarter.
Why Your Small Business Need Fractional CMO – 5 Main Reasons
Fractional CMO can significantly impact your small business, especially if you need help getting more clients and customers.
Here are the top five reasons why your small business needs Fractional CMO:
- You have a limited budget for hiring a full-time marketing executive
- Your team need a reliable marketing leader for high-level guidance
- Your business needs a fresh perspective
- You need help creating marketing collateral
- You need more organization and flexibility
Let’s take a look at each one of them.
You have a limited budget for hiring a full-time marketing executive
A tight budget is the most common reason why small businesses are reluctant to hire CMOs on a full-time basis. Fractional CMO can be hired with minimum investment and maximum results for your business which is more efficient than hiring CMO full time.
Not only Fractional CMOs are cheaper than a full-time CMO, but also they have the know-how to stretch your marketing budget to the maximum for generating the best ROI possible.
Your team need a reliable marketing leader for high-level guidance
Fractional CMOs are great at leading your team to success. They will bring their experience of working with several small businesses and help you reach your goals faster, making them an invaluable resource for any company looking forward.
Fractional CMOs will give meaning to your marketers’ jobs by providing a clear understanding of what they need to do. By doing so, your team will do more work, and they will feel more confident and valued in what they do.
Your business needs a fresh perspective
Fractional CMOs are usually well-versed in their respective field with years of experience and extensive industry knowledge. They can bring a new perspective and approach to the table, which will help you gain a competitive advantage over others.
By providing a new fresh perspective, fractional CMOs can help your team reach new heights and boost the effectiveness of your small business, resulting in more leads and sales.
You need help creating marketing collateral
A fractional CMO can help you build new marketing collateral for your business. They have the knowledge and tools to create compelling content that will drive leads, sales or increase brand awareness on social media platforms or search engines.
A fractional CMO can help your team develop a unified message by creating presentations, PDFs, templates, images, and more marketing materials in a highly effective way for exceptional customer experience.
You need more organization and flexibility
A fractional CMO will help you get organized and bring structure to your marketing efforts. They can take over the tasks of a full-time CMO and implement specific strategies for each department to boost productivity and efficiency across the board.
Fractional CMOs are also flexible, so they can adjust their work according to changing business needs without hiring a full-time CMO. They will have a clear idea of what works best for your company. So you won’t need to invest in their training because they already have the relevant skillsets under their belt.
Final Words
If you’re not ready to make the commitment of a full-time CMO but still want access to somebody who can take your company by storm as it grows and learn from them, too, then we have just what you need.
CMO Masters is proud that our Fractional CMOs work with clients on an ongoing basis rather than for one project at a time. This means you will be able to grow and evolve your business with our proven marketing strategies while saving money on salary costs.
If this sounds like something you may need, let us get in touch!
Contact CMO Masters to see how we can help grow your company through our expert knowledge of digital marketing and strategy.
