As a business owner, you know you need leadership and direction in marketing to succeed. It is hard to run a company and oversee marketing operations all at the same time when employees are already involved in day-to-day activities.

Budget constraints make hiring a full-time Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) impractical for most small and medium-sized businesses. Yet, achieving your growth goals is still essential. 

A business owner is left to wonder, “What do I do now?”?

Consider hiring a fractional CMO.

What is a fractional CMO?

The fractional CMO is an individual who divides their time between multiple companies presenting new marketing ideas or changes to existing ones. As the business owner, you receive all of the benefits of an in-house senior marketing professional, but you only pay for a fraction of the CMO’s weekly hours. 

Your business will benefit from high-level marketing leadership, without the burden of high-level costs.

Your fractional CMO will likely work with you between 10-20 hours a week for a minimum of six months, depending on your goals. During the contract, your outsourced CMO will direct and execute a strategy to streamline business growth and increase revenue.

These duties may include online reputation services and professional search engine optimization to increase website traffic and conversion rate optimization strategies.

A fractional CMO provides marketing expertise and a proven track record of success that a freelancer cannot match. A fractional CMO is typically more involved in marketing execution and day-to-day business operations than a consultant is.

If taken advantage of correctly, fractional CMOs can be game-changers for small businesses. 

Consider these eight reasons as a guide for whether or not hiring one might be a wise move for your company:

1. You lack a marketing strategy

You have big plans for your business. It’s time for you to create a marketing roadmap. Right now, your marketing efforts feel fragmented and scattered. Maybe you have a few people handling paid ads or social media, but no one is in charge. 

This is nobody’s fault. 

You’re already busy running your company, and your employees are already running day-to-day operations such as managing your professional search engine optimization company.

Regardless of what you do, an intelligent marketing framework is crucial to your business. An outsourced CMO can assist you with this. 

Using growth marketing strategies to improve your bottom line is what they do. 

What about your employees? 

Having clear, high-level leadership empowers them to deliver better results.

2. You have no idea whether your marketing is actually working

Your website gets decent traffic. You work hard to achieve Ecommerce conversion rate optimization. You have some engagement with your paid social ads. 

Do any of your marketing efforts convert leads into loyal brand advocates? 

Are any of your marketing efforts improving the bottom line? 

Don’t waste time and resources on marketing tactics that don’t work for your business. 

The fractional CMO will define KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and success metrics that align with your objectives. The data will help them quickly determine what works and – perhaps more importantly – what doesn’t. 

This ensures that you are investing in the right marketing tactics. And a fractional CMO will be able to point you in the right direction for finding the right web conversion experts, as an example.

3. A fresh perspective is needed for your business

Innovative ideas can benefit every business. 

Expertise from fractional CMOs can benefit businesses across a range of industries. Because they have experience in diverse industries, they can apply relevant tactics that you or your team might not have considered. A good example of this is search engine optimization in California. A qualified fractional CMO would certainly be able to point you in the right direction.

In addition, a fractional CMO can offer you fresh perspectives on your marketing efforts. Perhaps you have used the same marketing strategy for several years. 

You no longer see the same level of business growth as you once did due to the digital transformation in marketing. An experienced fractional CMO combines cutting-edge marketing strategies with cross-industry expertise for faster business growth.

4. Flexibility is important, but so is long-term growth

A fractional CMO can help you save money, as we’ve already discussed. It bears repeating: if your marketing budget is stretched, hiring a fractional CMO may be the best decision you have ever made. 

Another full-time executive salary and benefits may not be appropriate for your business. 

We understand. 

A fractional CMO reduces your financial risk. A marketing expert still contributes insight and leadership to your company, but without the high cost or long-term risk of hiring a full-time marketing executive.

The right marketing strategy will yield both short and long-term benefits, even in fractional CMO contracts that last only a few months. Thus, your business wins.

5. You’re committed to growing your business

When it comes to your business, you’re not satisfied with “good enough”. Your goals are big, and you’re going to reach them. Unfortunately, you and your team are already too occupied with your current business tasks to develop a high-level marketing strategy. 

It is for this reason that you need an experienced marketing expert by your side. One who knows how to implement an innovative marketing strategy – and is obsessive about analyzing the data and optimizing results as they go. An expert fractional CMO delivers both.

6. You will reap the rewards of executive-level marketing

Nowadays, marketing requires more sophisticated strategies and know-how than pretty much any other function in an organization. 

An effective marketing campaign begins with in-depth consumer research and analysis of consumer data. Regardless of where your core consumer is, you can reach them with a mix of online and offline marketing strategies. 

It is then necessary to allocate money, hire and manage the right people, and determine KPIs. To maximize ROI, it is important to analyze the results once the plan is executed and to continually improve it.

Developing a modern marketing plan for your business requires someone well-experienced in both the art and science of marketing and is able to decide which elements work best for your company.  

7. Teams want to know how to proceed

If your marketing team is missing deadlines, losing opportunities, and generally overwhelmed with work, the issue isn’t staffing or even too much work. Often, the problem is insufficient guidance.

Setting a standard for how and when things get done is a key benefit of fractional CMOs. Management is an important aspect of marketing since unfocused and untargeted marketing just doesn’t work as well as marketing that is precise and tailored. 

Having a fractional CMO sets the standard, direction, and priorities for your marketing so that you can focus on the task at hand.

Perhaps you have heard your team say, “We just want to know what to do!” Work provides meaning for so many people and a lack of clarity on what it takes to be successful results in low morale and low confidence.

With a part-time CMO in your organization, you will give these well-meaning employees and contractors the leadership they’ve been craving. 

As a result, your team will accomplish more work while feeling valued. 

8. Your sales team develops their own marketing materials

You may have a great sales team. As long as they are creating their own presentations, sell sheets, and PDFs, your marketing and brand are likely weak and fragmented. 

Your brand identity extends to the marketing materials you share with customers and clients. Your brand message could be considered scattered or even confusing if your business doesn’t use common marketing materials.

With the help of a fractional CMO, your team can create a cohesive brand image and message that can be communicated effectively through marketing materials that share a common brand identity.

Hiring a fractional CMO

There is a long list of fractional CMOs available on LinkedIn or Google. However, not all outsourced CMOs are the same. Consider the following before hiring someone:

• Experience

Freelancers and fractional CMOs are two different things. It’s not just about delegating a few tasks. You need someone who has proven experience growing businesses online, not just an entry-level marketing expert. Seek out testimonials from former clients.

• Systems

To deliver results to their clients, fractional CMOs should have systems and processes in place. It is important to note that systems are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Marketing strategies, KPIs, and success metrics should be tailored to your business. A fractional CMO should, however, have a system for working with companies and the proven processes that they follow.

Conclusion

An important decision in 2022 may involve selecting a fractional CMO. There could be several reasons for this, including saving money or freeing up resources in another area. 

Your business needs ultimate flexibility for future growth or you want to reap the benefits of a top-tier marketing strategy. No matter the reason, a fractional CMO is a good option for many companies.

A fractional CMO may be a good option for your company if you don’t currently have a full-time marketing executive but believe you can benefit from the expertise.

Are you ready for a fractional CMO to join your team? Contact the experts at Avita Group, the leading agency specializing in digital marketing from Calabasas, California. 

ABOUT AVITA GROUP

Avita Group is a digital marketing firm based in Calabasas, California. We specialize in organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign management, Online Reputation Management (ORM), website creation and conversion optimization. 

The Avita Group team boasts a collective experience of over 25 years in the industry and has worked with a variety of multi-million dollar companies to help them improve their ROI, build better brand awareness, and mitigate negative online reviews and results.

Contact us today for a free consultation.