Fractional services provide the expertise your company needs at a fraction of the cost of a full-time professional.
The economic crisis of 2020 propelled many businesses into new territory in order to survive. Some discovered dynamic ways to host trade shows while others got creative with their product offerings. And yes, there were business leaders who found it necessary to restructure personnel and/or cut budgets, particularly in the marketing sector.
Now, as we approach the end of the first quarter in a new year with a new administration and a proposed new set of tax guidelines, uncertainty continues to surround us. Yet, organizations can no longer afford a ‘wait and see’ attitude. Action must be taken and decisions must be made for businesses to remain operational.
One thing is for certain: marketing is critical to not only surviving these challenging times, but also to ensure a more sustainable future for your business. Queue the fractional marketing team.
What is a fractional marketing team?
Different from a traditional in-house marketing team, a fractional team means you get all of the horsepower and expertise at a fraction of the cost. For example, a fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is typically hired to establish or lead your company’s marketing function on a part-time basis. The “fractional” part means you get a senior marketing leader who’s fully committed to your team, without being fully burdened with executive-level expenses. The “CMO” part means you get deep marketing knowledge, an executive-level partnership and an experienced leader who knows how to get things done.
With a whole fractional marketing team, you get a CMO, a project manager, copywriters, graphic designers, PR specialists, SEO specialists, digital specialists and more. Hire the whole team for what it may take to hire a full-time, in-house CMO.
Why go fractional?
When there’s uncertainty—such as that coming with a pandemic or a new administration—the use of fractional services tends to increase. It’s safer, like dipping your toe in the water rather than plunging right in by adding full-time employees. While layoffs may have been necessary for survival, often the services provided by those employees were integral to a company’s future success; now that they’re gone and the work is not getting done, your business is suffering. Even if you were fortunate enough to have had a profitable 2020, you may still want to be cautious growing your team in 2021 due to uncertainty.
The concept of fractional service providers has flourished in their breadth and depth of service offerings in the middle market. “Fractional HR allows organizations to receive a customized HR solution that fits their unique needs,” explains Stephanie Lacy, Founder, hrEdge Consulting. “The organization gains an experienced HR leader at a reduced cost until they truly need to invest in a full-time resource. We are typically about 20-40% of the cost of a full-time experience VP of HR with full benefits. So they are saving over half!”
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 Chief Financial Officer (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
- Executive Assistants
“Our clients get the experience and expertise of a team they couldn’t otherwise afford on a full-time basis,” explains Greg Weaver, Founder & CEO of Cobalt Sales Management.
How much is fractional?
First, take a look at salary.com, which states the median annual salary for a CMO in the Tampa Bay area is $234,090. Second, the US Small Business Administration recommends spending 7 to 8 percent of your gross revenue for marketing and advertising if you have less than $5 million a year in sales and your net profit margin—after all expenses—is in the 10 to 12 percent range.
Now, consider that an entire team of marketing professionals plus your marketing spend can be acquired in a fractional environment for about the same cost as hiring just one full-time CMO.
Wait. What?
Yes, it’s true. You can have the best of both worlds: marketing expertise and affordability, when you decide a fractional CMO and/or marketing team will work for you.
Consider that there is no CMO who is great at all of the elements of marketing, i.e., brand strategy, communication, content writing, graphic design, social media, research, digital, etc. And consider that entry- or even mid-level marketing managers, who cost less, aren’t great at all of those things, either, and may not strategic-level thinking or experience. Working with fractional service providers ensures you receive top-level work by professionals with the skillset needed in each aspect of marketing.
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, fractional services may be the answer you’re looking for.
