Do You Need a CMO or a Fractional CMO?

Hiring a CMO or Director of Marketing can be challenging. These are very important roles that can make or break an organization— especially when you factor in the costs of recruiting, benefits, and the equity you may have to hand over. To invest all this in finding a CMO when there is no guarantee they will be a fit is a massive risk to take on.

‍Fractional work is the new full-time employee. Whether you call it part-time, interim, gig work, virtual, on-demand, contract work, consultant, or fractional, it the concept is the same—growing organizations need expertise and don’t always need it on a full-time basis or with the added costs that come with bringing on an additional employee.

A fractional CMO can save your reputation and increase your revenue. According to Hubspot, it is estimated that a company can save up to 74 percent from hiring a fractional CMO verse a full-time employee. Without the fancy title and all the overhead of a full-time CMO, you can still have the same level of expertise and results.

The idea of scaling companies by hiring fractional executives is not new. The fractional model emerged about 20 years ago as companies learned they could engage finance executives part-time on a contracted basis. Hiring fractional CFOs enabled small, growing businesses to gain true executive leadership in a way they could afford much sooner. As companies realized the value of fractional CFOs, the model expanded into other disciplines like CRO, CEO, COO, and even a CMO. The term “fractional” is a newer term. There may come a time when you actually need a full-time executive, but why take on those added costs until you need to?

Marketing Jobs Have the Highest Turnover Rate

In general, marketing roles have the highest turnover rates of any profession. According to LinkedIn, marketing roles had the highest turnover rate of any job function at 17 percent. The global turnover rate is only 11 percent. According to SpecerStuart, the average CMO tenure is 40 months, while the average CEO tenure is 80 months.

A fractional CMO can bring incredible value to companies that want to be innovative and progressive in their marketing efforts. They can help with building brand awareness, customer acquisition, sales development, company growth, and client experience. Your company gets executive experience without the full-time cost.

How to Know if You Are Ready for a Fractional CMO

If you’re facing decisions about how to approach your next phase of growth and how to structure your marketing function, ask yourself these questions:

• Are you tired of one-size-fits-all marketing that doesn’t adapt and change, and never feels like it works for your business?
• Are your marketing initiatives not driving as many sales opportunities as expected?
• Should we hire in-house employees or find external resources, like agencies and freelancers?
• Will a junior or mid-level marketer suffice, or do we need executive leadership?
• If executive, which marketing leadership model makes the most sense: strategic consultant or fractional CMO?
• If a fractional CMO, which type?
• Are you facing decisions about how to approach your next phase of growth and how to structure your marketing function?

Answering these questions requires thoughtful consideration to determine the best path forward for your business. Omicle helps growing companies like yours stop wasting time and money with random acts of marketing and confidently take the next right step to increase your revenue and build your brand.

So, Do You Need a Fractional CMO or a Full-Time CMO?

A fractional CMO can be hired for short-term projects, go-to-market strategy, or even team building and training sessions. You can scale up their hours at crunch time, and scale them down based on your business needs. Here are the most frequently asked questions we get asked about working with a fractional CMO.

Omicle’s fractional CMO becomes a key part of your executive team. We work with you to develop strategic insights, develop a branding strategy, and oversee your marketing. We embed with your leadership team and seek to understand your business objectives in order to develop fresh and impactful marketing strategies that will drive growth for your organization.  With our experience running the marketing function and developing marketing talent, we can transform your team into a lead machine, drive sales growth and deliver an excellent client experience.

What results do you want to achieve? We’ll get you there.

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Omicle delivers brand clarity, marketing strategy, and operational efficiency to prepare leaders to scale their business. If you are ready to scale your business, contact us today to get started.