The Benefits of Hiring a Fractional CMO

If you are the owner of a successful, growing business, you have probably considered hiring an executive who can take the lead on the marketing and promotion of your company.

While you may have a small marketing department with skilled professionals who are managing the day-to-day operations of your company’s marketing, there are people out there who are experts in the field of optimizing a company’s revenue growth.

You’ve probably heard of them. Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are highly trained experts and know everything that there is to know about marketing and business growth. That means that they’re also expensive to keep on staff.

Have you heard of a Fractional CMO? Read on as we explain what a fractional CMO is and what they can do to help grow your business without the long-term commitment.

What Exactly Is a Fractional CMO?

The difference between a traditional CMO and a fractional CMO is that the latter works contractually rather than as a full-time part of a company’s staff. When you hire a fractional CMO, they will sign on to your team for a predetermined period of time. This means that, in the long run, a fractional CMO will end up costing you far less than a permanent CMO.

What Will a Fractional CMO Bring to My Company?                                                

A fractional CMO has so much to offer any growing business. In the short time they are with your company, they can have lasting impact. Here are a few of the top benefits of a Fractional CMO:

Marketing Expertise

A fractional CMO is going to bring the same marketing expertise to the table that an in-house CMO would. These are highly educated and trained professionals who know the best marketing methods, techniques, and leadership that any successful business needs.

Experience

By bringing in a fractional CMO, you will have a seasoned marketing expert at the helm of your team providing direction and guidance on the best way to grow your business. It would benefit your company to take advantage of the time your fractional CMO will be working on your marketing strategy by having them work closely with your existing marketing team will help them create an organized and streamlined plan.

Budget Optimization

When you think about hiring and paying another person, you are probably not thinking about how it can save you money. You need to consider the bigger picture in this instance. Part of what a fractional CMO will do is to work with your marketing department to streamline and optimize your working budget during the time that they are with you so that things continue to grow once they’ve left.

Deliberate Marketing

Many businesses will fall into the trap of throwing whatever they can at all sorts of marketing tactics. When you bring a fractional CMO into the business, the marketing plan and practices that they employ will be specific, deliberate, and targeted to your company’s demographic. Once your in-house marketing team learns the best ways to optimize their efforts, you will see better results. The experience that a fractional CMO brings to the table is key in finding success.

Effective Communication

Few things are as important to a business being successful as ensuring that the team is always on the same page. Communication is a critical factor in your marketing department, and a fractional CMO will be a leader who can instill effective communications practices in your company. The lasting benefits of good communication practices will keep your team functioning smoothly to move you forward in the right direction.

How Much Will a Fractional CMO Take Out of My Budget?

Whether we are talking about a traditional in-house CMO or a temporary fractional CMO, these are experts in their field who will bring your company long-term value that you can’t put a price tag on.

Typically, you can expect that a fractional CMO will charge $200-$300 per hour. When we look at that a little more closely, we come up with a rather palatable figure. If your fractional CMO works 20 hours a month, that works out to approximately $5,000 per month, or $60,000 per year.

With the contracted nature of a fractional CMO, that’s a temporary figure to budget for with an immeasurable, lasting impact on your business. One of the benefits of a fractional CMO is that they go on vacation, you do not have to pay them. You only pay them for the amount of time they work.

Is a CMO Right for Your Company?

As we mentioned above, you simply cannot place enough importance on the role of your marketing department in the success of your business. While you may have people on your team working on specific marketing practices, a professional CMO can take your company to the next level.

When you bring in a CMO, they will invest time in researching your company’s history, status, and long-term goals. This will allow them to help your in-house marketing team develop and grow long term strategies for your company’s continued growth without the long-term commitment of hiring a traditional CMO.

Where Can I Find a Strong Fractional CMO?

The best way to find any employee to bring into your company is to ask around for referrals. If you put out the word that you are looking for a fractional CMO for your company, colleagues and friends will most likely come through with suggestions for who to hire, and in some instances, who not to hire.

You can also post your job opening online. Many of these professionals will be looking online for job postings as they are in business for themselves. If you put the job on platforms like LinkedIn, you should quickly get a response.

Once you have a few potential CMOs ready for the interview process, be sure to ask the right questions to make sure they will make a good addition to your business. Ask them about their experience in your industry and how they intend to grow your business.

What Are the Key Differences Between a Fractional CMO and a Chief Marketing Officer?

At the end of the day, the only difference between the two is the cost of hiring them into your company.

A traditional CMO is a full-time executive member of your staff that will be paid about $170,000 annually plus benefits. A fractional CMO is a temporary, part time contract employee who only works specified hours each month. Even though they charge about the same amount for their services, a fractional CMO costs your business far less money.

Call Conversion Pipeline Today to Take Your Marketing Department to the Next Level

When you’ve made the decision to give a fractional CMO a try, you need to work with Conversion Pipeline. We staff fractional CMOs who are results-driven and ready to take your business to the next level. Call us at 877-877-0542 or contact us online by clicking here.