Fractional CMO Services
Senior marketing leadership, without the salary
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing leader who runs your marketing strategy on a part-time, ongoing basis instead of as a full-time hire. You get the experience of a chief marketing officer, covering strategy, budget control, channel decisions and team direction, for a fraction of the salary, because you only pay for the days you need.
Most fractional CMOs are one person. They write you a strategy, sit in your leadership meetings and hand it back, and you still have nobody to build the landing page, write the emails or run the ads. That is where it stalls.
Ours comes attached to the team that does the work. One relationship, one invoice, strategy and execution in the same place.
Here’s what your fractional CMO owns
- Owns the marketing strategy and the order things happen in.
- Controls the budget and what it has to return before it continues.
- Sets the numbers, cost per lead and cost per acquisition.
- Directs your internal marketing people and our specialists.
- Sits in your leadership meetings and reports in business terms.
Fractional CMO, agency or in-house hire
| Full-time CMO | Solo fractional CMO | Our plug-in team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior strategy | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Delivery capacity | Needs a team hired under them | No, you source it | Included |
| Specialist skills | One person’s skill set | One person’s skill set | Media buying, SEO, design, web, content |
| Time to start | Three to six month recruitment | Weeks | Weeks |
| Commitment | Salary, super, leave, recruitment fee | Retainer | Retainer |
| Risk if it is not working | High, it is a termination | Low | Low |
How the engagement works
1
Understand the business
We start with where the business is trying to get to, not with channels. Your goals, your margins, your capacity to deliver.
2
Build the roadmap
A Digital Marketing Roadmap covering what we will do, in what order, and what we are deliberately not doing. Written before any spend.
3
Plug in the team
Media buyers, SEO, design, copy and web. You get the specialists you need, not a generalist stretched across all of it.
4
Run and report
Campaigns go live against agreed numbers. Reporting shows cost per lead, not impressions.
5
Sit at the table
Your fractional CMO stays in your leadership meetings and stays accountable for the result month to month.
Your Questions Answered
A fractional CMO is an experienced marketing executive who works for your business part-time on an ongoing retainer, rather than as a full-time employee. They carry the same responsibility as a full-time CMO, covering strategy, budget, team direction and results, across fewer days per month.
A consultant advises and leaves. A fractional CMO stays, owns the outcome and is accountable for the numbers month to month.
It depends on the size of the business and how much is running. Engagements commonly sit between one and four days a month. We scope it against what the strategy actually requires rather than selling a fixed block of hours.
If you hire a solo fractional CMO, yes, because someone has to execute the plan. With Outsource2Us the delivery team is already attached, so you do not need to appoint a separate agency.
Yes, and it is one of the better setups. Your internal person keeps the day to day and the institutional knowledge. The fractional CMO gives them senior direction and a plan to work to.
It is scoped to the engagement. Get in touch and we will price it against what you actually need.
They overlap, but the seniority differs. An outsourced marketing manager executes and coordinates. A fractional CMO sets the strategy and controls the budget. Some businesses need one, some need both.
Let's talk about your marketing leadership
Tell us where the business is trying to get to and what marketing is doing now. If a fractional CMO is not the right answer, we will say so.