A fractional marketer provides the expertise your company needs at a fraction of the cost of a full-time professional
Puzzled about SEO? At a loss for fresh content? Clueless in graphic design? There are so many elements to implementing a complete marketing strategy for your company that you may find yourself struggling to put all of the pieces together. A fractional marketer could be the missing piece your company needs to successfully develop and execute its marketing strategy.
What is fractional marketing?
Fractional marketing is outsourcing a part—in other words, a fraction—of your marketing department to part-time specialists. You still may maintain some full-time in-house team members while filling the gaps with part-time professionals. Hiring fractional specialists isn’t a new concept and it’s very much different than just bringing in a graphic artist or content writer from time to time.
In fact, employing aspects of the entire C-suite level—including a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)—has steadily increased in popularity because of the leadership roles they impart to an organization. Unlike a traditional consulting or interim executive, a fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is typically brought in to establish or lead your company’s marketing function on a part-time basis. A CMO develops and ensures execution of your marketing plan, implements best practices and establishes key performance indicators that drive business decisions for revenue and growth.
Essentially, you’re getting an executive level partnership with a senior marketing leader who’s fully committed to your team and knows how to get things done. The key differentiator is that your company benefits from veteran expertise and world-class strategies without experiencing the burden of executive-level costs. Depending on your needs and budget, your fractional marketer could be available to work at your organization from five hours a week to 20 or more.
Why hire a fractional marketer?
Working during the pandemic crisis for the past two years prompted many organizations to consider fractional services. While layoffs may have been initially needed in order to survive, often the services provided by those employees were integral to a company’s continued growth and future success. Hiring a fractional professional rather than full-time employees is safer—much like dipping your toe in the water rather than plunging ahead by adding staff.
Nearly two-thirds of executives say their external workforce is essential for operating at full capacity and meeting demand. For a variety of functions and roles, a fractional solution can offer a way for a business to upgrade talent without breaking the bank. For example, it may not be cost-effective to hire a full-time CFO, yet you need their insight to make sound business decisions.
We’ve been utilizing a fractional CFO at Marketing Direction for many years and have partnered with other quality organizations who offer fractional options in the following areas:
- Sales
- Finance
- Legal
- Human Resources (HR)
- Information Technology (IT)
- Operations
How much is fractional marketing?
First, take a look at salary.com, which shows the median annual salary for a CMO in the Tampa Bay area is $239,590. Second, the US Small Business Administration recommends spending seven to eight percent of your gross revenue for marketing and advertising if you’re doing less than $5 million a year in sales and your net profit margin—after all expenses—is in the 10 percent to 12 percent range.
Now, consider that an entire team of marketing professionals plus your marketing spend can be acquired for about the same cost as hiring a full-time CMO. Keep in mind that a CMO alone cannot possibly carry out all the duties associated with both developing and implementing the marketing plan. You need a team of experts actually working ‘in the weeds’ executing the plan by writing content, managing social media, keeping the website current, designing graphics, sending client communications, managing digital marketing, driving Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and much more.
If your business has some marketing team members in place, but not a seasoned leader, a fractional CMO may work best. A fractional CMO can help you accomplish the same things a traditional CMO would, but in a way that makes more sense for a company of your size and budgetary needs. This is the ideal solution for companies who need an experienced marketing strategist to elevate their company, renew or redefine their brand, launch a new product or meet growth goals.
Find qualified candidates
Whether you are looking for a team of part-time professionals or a fractional CMO be sure to check out their credentials. Marketing is critical to your company’s success so you want a marketer with a minimum 10 years of experience. You also need to determine if the candidate is a good fit for your organization. Be thorough in the vetting process—pose the tough questions and ask for strategic thinking.
If you’re not quite ready to hire your own in-house full-time marketing department, yet you need expert marketing leadership and services to accelerate growth and improve profitability, perhaps fractional marketing is the solution.
