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Guide

What is a fractional CMO?

A fractional CMO is a senior marketing and growth leader who works in your business part-time, usually one or two days a week. You get executive-level judgment without the cost of a full-time hire. The value isn't more activity. It's better decisions about where growth comes from.

What does a fractional CMO do?

A good one does what a full-time CMO does, in fewer days:

  • Sets the growth strategy and decides where the money goes, and where it stops.
  • Links marketing activity to pipeline and revenue, so the numbers mean something.
  • Gets marketing, sales and service working to one plan instead of three.
  • Manages agencies and freelancers so you're buying outcomes, not hours.
  • Builds the team and capability to keep going once they step back.

Fractional CMO vs agency vs full-time hire.

Agency

Good at doing: campaigns, content, media, design.

Paid for activity, so the answer is usually more of it. Rarely owns the commercial result.

Full-time CMO

Full ownership and full-time focus.

A big fixed cost and a long hire. Often more seniority than a scale-up needs five days a week.

Fractional CMO

Senior judgment one or two days a week, sitting in your leadership team.

Only works if they look beyond marketing to where growth is actually breaking.

When does it make sense?

  • You're spending on marketing but can't say what it's returning.
  • Leads come in but don't turn into revenue.
  • You need senior growth leadership, but not a full-time executive yet.
  • Your team is capable but needs direction and someone to back their calls.

Judgment over activity.

The risk with a fractional CMO is that they live inside one department and optimise marketing on its own. Growth rarely breaks in one place. It breaks in between: between marketing and sales, between the first sale and the second. That's why our in-business option, Make it last, puts one of us in your leadership team one to two days a week, across the whole customer journey, building your team's capability as we go.

See all three ways to work with us →

Not sure if you need one?

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