If your company needs a marketing makeover, you may be considering a full-time hire of a chief marketing officer (CMO).
However, a new permanent member of the team is not always necessary. The CMO’s role is essential to assess your company’s marketing tactics, implement new strategies and oversee their progress.
In some circumstances, however, a Fractional CMO is a more appropriate choice to fill your company’s needs.
What’s the Difference Between a Fractional and Full-Time CMO?
A fractional CMO differs from a full-time CMO for several reasons, the most obvious being that fractional CMOs are not full-time employees.
They get hired in a temporary capacity to help implement new marketing strategies. Fractional CMOs work part-time, typically on a contract or freelance basis.
Fractional CMOs come from outside your company, which might seem like a dangerous position. You’re supposed to invest in someone from the outside who has no understanding of how your company works? Yes.
In fact, the fractional CMO is specially trained to find out exactly how your company works and what’s going on, and this outsider positioning comes with certain advantages.
A fractional CMO is used to the ways that many different marketing systems and company environments operate. They understand the ins and outs and are there to point out what is most and least effective, and why.
They come with a strong background in many different marketing techniques, as well as the skills to communicate with each new team that they serve. And you don’t end up paying them as much as you would a full-time CMO!
Fractional CMOs also bring with them a fresh point of view. Sometimes looking at a problem too long can make you blind to the solutions, whether obvious or innovative.
The fact that fractional CMOs are coming from the outside means they’re coming in with new eyes and fresh, creative thinking.
Fractional CMOs are better equipped to point out the flaws in a company’s old habits and to show you the benefits in adjusting those habits.
When Do Most Companies Hire a Fractional CMO?
There are two most common instances:
- As a temporary solution for companies looking to hire someone full-time.
- As a fresh perspective for a smaller company.
For Companies Looking for a Full-Time CMO in the Meantime…
Hiring a fractional CMO will bring your company an immediate impact. The decision to hire a fractional CMO can be perfect to tide your company over until you find a permanent replacement.
The hire isn’t meant to be permanent. It gives you time to interview many potential full-time employees instead of forcing you to hire someone quickly.
At a lower cost than a full-time CMO, you’re allowed more time to do adequate research into which potential hire is the perfect fit for your company.
For Smaller Businesses Needing a Fresh Perspective…
The fractional CMO possesses a special skill set that can help you make important, data-driven decisions for the future.
The temporary help can assist you in decisions about what kind of marketing automation software to invest in or your budget allocations for the company’s marketing.
If you’re planning a new campaign, fractional CMOs can provide some much-needed guidance and help you understand which steps to take for the most positive results.
A fractional CMO can set you up for success.
What Else Can a Fractional CMO Do?
For quickly growing companies, the growth can cause rifts in the company’s organizational structure.
Communication might suffer, which could cause serious problems in the marketing efforts and lead to fewer sales and even negative customer experience.
Problems can also occur when the company CEO tries to take care of every issue that comes up, creating more work than there is time to complete it all.
A fractional CMO coming in with experience can assess the resources available and help reorganize and allocate them.
Planning is an important but also time-consuming activity for an already busy CEO.
If the company is drowning without any plans, a fractional CMO can help them put themselves back together with an order they can follow.
The planning skills that a fractional CMO brings to the company can help different employees and branches better coordinate with each other.
A fractional CMO can:
- Look at the communication channels available
- Examine the different ways marketing is being attempted in different branches of the business.
- Find ways to make everything work together smoothly.
If you find yourself in any of these circumstances, hiring a fractional CMO could be exactly the help you need.
You can make the most of this part-time hire and implement some immediate and effective changes for your company’s future.
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