While the business world can rarely be called stagnant, change across all industries is accelerating at lightning speed. Explosive technological growth paired with internet-savvy consumers and industry innovation make the ever-evolving requirements for company growth more dynamic than ever. Whether you’re a fledgling startup or an established firm, reaching the next level always seems to present the same frustrating loop: you need investments for growth, but you need growth to establish the capital required for the investment. In other words, you need money to make money.
Marketing is the basic delivery system for company growth, but successful marketing is more challenging than ever when consumers spend a mere 17% of the customer journey interacting with sales reps. Some companies turn to a chief marketing officer (CMO) to address the challenges of modern marketing, but most small or medium businesses don’t have the budget for a full-time CMO. This is where a fractional CMO can help. A fractional CMO can provide you with many benefits that you can’t achieve with typical outsourced marketing options at a much more accessible price point than an in-house CMO.
What Is a Fractional CMO?
A CMO is a marketing leader with the education and experience to combine the business knowledge of the C-suite with the finesse of complex modern marketing techniques. They can be a game-changer for companies in any industry and earn a commanding salary (averaging around $178,000 a year) for such an important role.
A fractional CMO is a trained and experienced CMO who works with businesses on a part-time or temporary basis. They perform the same job as a CMO, but only work for a specific number of hours each month or fulfill a contract for a short period of time. In this capacity, a fractional CMO functions as an employee for the company and provides services customized to your business’ needs. While the fractional role may seem to resemble an advisory position, fractional work goes beyond the services of a marketing consultant who delivers strategy without execution, or a marketing agency that delivers generic advertising services.
How Can a Fractional CMO Help You Navigate the Changes and Disruptions in Your Industry?
You may have never considered the services of a CMO. This isn’t necessarily surprising as most small and growing businesses don’t have the adequate workload for a full-time CMO. However, during certain periods of growth or adjustment, temporary or part-time services provided by a CMO can deliver critical assistance to support your business. Here are five reasons for hiring a fractional CMO to help you navigate industry disruptions and internal periods of growth or change.
1. Your Marketing Team Needs Direction or Upskilling
Your company’s marketing team designs and creates marketing campaigns that establish your brand and connect you with your ideal customers. They are enthusiastic and talented, but may not be optimally effective or seasoned enough to understand all the levers to pull to drive sustained growth. Reinforcing a marketing plan with clear direction for short- and long-term strategies or leveling-up your team’s marketing skills can enrich your marketers and empower them to continue building your brand.
A CMO has the professional education and experience to provide this guidance. They can build strategy and work with your team to enhance their skills. Once the groundwork for your marketing plan is put in place, your existing marketing team will have the knowledge and confidence to take the reins and follow through. This is an excellent example of why a CMO can be more suitable in a temporary or contract role.
2. Fractional CMOs Don’t Require Commitment
Hiring an in-house CMO is a huge commitment that requires significant time, money and consideration. This individual will command a high salary and impact the inner workings of your company. You may have to restructure your org chart before hiring and must certainly plan for a long-term relationship. As such, hiring a CMO is not a decision you should make during a period of industry disruption or a time of uncertainty.
A fractional CMO is someone you can bring in swiftly to address existing situations and offer informed solutions. Instead of focusing on hiring plans or long-term business decisions, a CMO will help you work toward assessing and achieving immediate marketing goals. Once you’ve accomplished your intended growth, stability or other objective, a primary benefit of a fractional CMO is that there is no commitment to continue the relationship. Your company can now hire a full-time CMO or may be able to take on marketing oversight with in-house personnel.
3. Your Company Needs Fresh Perspective
You may have heard the phrase “can’t see the forest for the trees.” Yet, it rarely resonates until you’re in the position yourself. When you’re facing a seemingly insurmountable business situation, your team may not be able to get an objective view of the big picture. This can make it challenging to make informed or effective decisions.
A fractional CMO can provide a fresh viewpoint backed by relevant education and experience. Whether your company is facing stagnant growth, a financial issue or poor marketing outcomes, a professional CMO can act as an advisor to offer customized solutions that get your business where you want it to be.
4. Fractional CMOs Can Addresses Urgent Issues
Uncertainty has become the business buzzword that just won’t go away. Whether or not businesses are still experiencing “unprecedented times” is up for debate, but we now know just how instantly the impact of new or ongoing predicaments can alter the position of your business. If your business is facing a PR disaster or losing revenue, you need to address the situation promptly. HIgh-impact situations don’t provide a time out for vetting new C-suite professionals or making major company decisions. A fractional CMO can step in immediately to help you identify the root of problems and set you on a course for success.
5. You Need Someone With Trusted Experience During a Big Transition
Transitional periods often require professional experience that falls outside of the scope of routine business and marketing activities. If you’re in the process of attracting investors, planning to sell or entering a partnership, you need a marketing professional who can help position your business to gain value with the change. A professional marketing plan around your business transition requires a different strategy than consumer-focused marketing.
A fractional CMO has professional experience working with businesses during times of change. This makes them the perfect resource for navigating a temporary period of transition such as an IPO, merger, acquisition or funding announcement.
During times of change, businesses need strategies and strategists that can help them adapt quickly and address dynamic issues. Driving growth or avoiding financial losses during uncertain economic times can be a challenge, and hiring C-level professionals isn’t always an option. When you have specific goals that can be reached with part-time or temporary professional assistance, a fractional CMO can be a great resource. Businesses are experiencing more changes than ever, creating many situations where a fractional CMO is just the right choice.
