A Quick Guide To Fractional CMOs- Why Should You Hire One

More people than ever have ventured into the realm of being self-employed or setting up businesses in the last ten years.

This is great for personal fulfillment, allowing for more flexible working hours and building skills, but, as anyone looking to expand their business will tell you, it comes with its own set of challenges.

One of these areas is marketing. Marketing is a core part of attracting clients to your business or product and will be a necessary part of the expansion of your business. So, it is important that it is done right. If your specialty is your product or website design, handling the multi-faceted hydra that is marketing can seem like a losing battle, especially if you’re not confident that you are doing it right.

This is where seeking out the advice of a fractional chief marketing officer can help. These are professionals who are responsible for ensuring that the marketing area of a company runs properly, as well as putting forward advice on how to adapt marketing tactics and plans.

However, if you are new to the business world, you may not see the value these professionals can bring to your business. This article will explore fractional CMO services in more detail, so read on to learn about the benefits of hiring a fractional CMO.

What Is A Fractional CMO?

Most people have seen the acronym CMO, as it stands for Chief Marketing Officer. As stated, they are responsible for overseeing the marketing department of a company, and typically, they work with other people in the company to develop ideas that can increase sales and build brand recognition.

A fractional CMO is a part-time or temporary marketing executive who will kind of dip in and out of a business’s marketing plans without being a permanent member of staff. Indeed, many fractional CMOs oversee the marketing efforts of many companies at the same time.

In some cases, they may act in a role that is more similar to a consultant, who dedicates a day or so many hours a week or month to working with one business on their marketing plans.

At this point, you may be feeling that it is better for any business to have a permanent CMO. After all, who wants someone helping their business if they aren’t available all the time to do so? Hold on there! It’s worth considering that if you have a smaller business, you may not be able to pay for a full-time CMO, meaning that it may be wiser to invest in fractional CMO services instead. 

Now, onto the key point of the article- why should you hire fractional CMO services? Here’s a quick guide to the benefits.

Cost-Effective

Suppose you have a start-up business, and you only have a few thousand budgeted for building up the marketing. There is no way you are going to be able to hire someone on a permanent basis to help you out. 

In 2023, many roles in the business world are part-time, solely due to the fact that hiring people full-time is costly. So, a core thing to factor into the role of a fractional CMO is their cost to the business. This is not to say that they will only appear once in the role of your company. Many fractional CMOs are able to offer contracts where they dip their head in and out of the business every month or every two months. That way, they will be a consistent part of the business but won’t be paid a full-time wage. 

Leadership

You need the help of a CMO because you have issues with your marketing plan or you are looking to expand your marketing. 

It may seem that hiring someone on a temporary basis is not going to provide much in the way of leadership, but a fractional CMO has leadership in relation to marketing in spades. They will have overseen the marketing of many companies, be aware of current trends, and bring that information and guidance to the table. They will also be able to assess your company’s current marketing goals and base the marketing strategies that they proved with them.

For instance, if you are looking to expand your customer base quickly, they may recommend social media marketing, as well as the use of Google Ads. Or, if you want to expand your demographics into an older group, they may recommend paper-based advertisements and marketing instead. So, in short, they will be able to make the tough decisions about marketing for you so you can focus on the product or skillset that you are selling.

Flexible

Most people who have worked in marketing will tell you that marketing plans and other advertisements are not always needed immediately. Therefore, the last thing you want to do is hire someone full-time when they are only needed by your team a few days each month.

Hiring a fractional CMO allows you to call them in when you need them, leading to more flexibility for both your team and them. You can adjust their workload based on your company’s needs, and if you need them for more extensive periods of time, you simply inform them of that.

As mentioned before, marketing needs to change regularly across all industries, and if you need help with seasonal marketing, such as around the holiday period, this adaptability is useful for your business expenses. You won’t be spending a fortune on marketing bills like research and development, as this is usually a core feature of what CMOs can offer when they start collaborating with your team.

Perspectives

It is safe to say that many start-up companies or companies that are looking to change their demographics may find the marketing that coincides with these things difficult. 

So, one other benefit that can be had from seeking out a CMO is that they can offer you a fresh perspective. You may be using a marketing strategy at the present time that is, frankly, not the best way to advertise your services or product. It’s also worth noting that when it comes to seeking advice from more permanent members of staff, there is a power dynamic that may get in the way of them being more honest about the marketing campaign. This is not to say that you have an office or company full of ‘yes’ people, but getting advice from an external source, such as a CMO, can be a better way to gain a fresh perspective on your company and any issues that may be flying under the radar with your marketing.

A CMO can also put forward new ideas for the marketing aspect that you and your team may not have thought of, allowing you to explore a wider range of options. 

Network Connections

Like most freelancers, CMOs do not work in a vacuum; if they did, they would have no clients, and they would not have the breadth of knowledge that they have.

So, it is worth considering all the other benefits they can bring to your business solely through their networking options. They may be able to set up collaborative efforts and recommend another company that they oversee the marketing of, as well as potentially forward the information to you about other industry experts, such as SEO teams, writers, graphic designers, and so on. This can save you a lot of time and money relating to having to search for these roles online to find someone to suit your needs, and will usually also cut the hiring period down, meaning that you will be able to get all of these roles filled and the jobs ticked off quicker.

Legal Insight

Marketing is an area where copyright law and branding come into play a lot of the time. Ergo, if you are looking to set up a logo or a slogan, you will not want to receive a summons to court relating to the inappropriate use of an image or word. 

A CMO will come with the ability to do research into branding, logo design, and slogans for you, meaning you can avoid legal issues that may come from inadvertently stepping on the toes of another business. They will be able to highlight similarities that may be problematic and suggest alternatives for your business that will not cause any issues. This can save you a lot of money in the long term.

Overall, for most small businesses, it is best to hire staff with intermittent roles on a freelance basis, as this will free up money and time and help you expand your business quicker. tIn marketing, it is worth considering how often your marketing plan will need to change and whether or not you can afford to hire a permanent staff member to oversee this. If not, it is certainly worth exploring CMOs as an option. Just make sure that the CMO you choose comes highly recommended and has a portfolio of previous clients that they have helped.