Has your team made marketing objectives for the year? Popular choices seem to be “make more efficient marketing plans” or “track and analyze budgets and results better.” These are all crucial marketing objectives that will assist practically any business. However, marketing goals are only as good as the direction and leadership of the marketing operations.
Now is an excellent time to examine who’s in charge of your marketing processes, such as website and social media audits, campaign strategizing, research, and analyzing results. Is it the CEO or the owner? Some businesses operate this way, while some have the sales department’s manager steering the ship. Alternatively, you may have a full-time CMO who oversees all marketing processes.
Many businesses, however, cannot afford to hire a professional Chief Marketing Officer for a variety of reasons. Yet, this doesn’t detract from the importance of the role. As a result, an increasing number of businesses are turning to a [Fractional CMO] to assist them in reaching their marketing objectives.
The above link goes to: https://megankillion.com/fractional-cmo
WHAT IS A FRACTIONAL CMO?
In theory, practically every company in most industries would benefit from having a full-time Chief Marketing Officer. A CMO contributes to a company’s marketing program experience, skill, and accountability. The job usually comes with a heavy price tag as well.
CMOs in the United States earn between $73,000 and $306,000 a year, according to Glassdoor, with the average CMO earning $174,371. This is a rather broad range and relies on location, industry, expertise, and other considerations. Still, a CMO is a significant investment, no matter where your firm falls on the spectrum.
A fractional CMO is a professional who specializes in duties most CMOs would take care of but is hired as a contractor for as long as required. This option typically costs between $200 and $250 per hour. When you consider a full-time salary with medical benefits, vacation pay, etc., a fractional CMO can result in significant savings for small businesses. It’s an excellent position for clever businesses that understand the value of good marketing but can’t afford to hire a full-time CEO on a six-figure salary.
DO YOU NEED A FRACTIONAL CMO?
Saving money will always be the biggest reason a company hires a fractional CMO. Specifically, the scenarios below help explain how the fractional CMO will impact your organization.
1. BUDGET RESTRAINTS/UNCERTAINTIES
Small businesses have to deal with tight budgets and financial uncertainties regularly. When cash flow is tight and more money is needed, the natural impulse is to cut expenditures. However, investing less in marketing when the need for sales is at its greatest is the polar opposite of what you want to do. Instead, businesses need to ramp up their marketing activities to the maximum extent possible.
Fractional CMOs can help your firm get the most out of its marketing, especially when budgets are tight. An outsourced CMO has no long-term commitment, is less expensive than a full-time CMO, and knows how to stretch your budget as far as possible to generate the best ROI.
The goal should not be to save money but rather to become more efficient in all parts of your firm. A fractional CMO can significantly assist with this. They can build detailed marketing plans, effectively hire and manage marketing teams, and track how well your marketing efforts bring in new business.
2. LIMITED MARKETING RESOURCES
Even if your firm has a solid operational budget and a bright financial future, there will be a limit to the number of resources you can devote to marketing. Every marketing decision your company takes, including the amount you pay to your executive-level marketing personnel, is still a line item in the entire marketing budget.
Employing a fractional CMO rather than a full-time employee will save you a lot of money in the long run. This can be a tremendous help to a firm that wants to get the most bang for its buck when it comes to marketing. You can use the money you save on a marketing executive’s salary in other areas to make your marketing even more powerful and efficient.
The money you save by using a fractional CMO’s services can be used toward various marketing efforts that will have a significantly more direct impact on your marketing’s success. That money may be used to improve your website’s conversion rates due to your digital marketing efforts or to increase the size of your experiential or guerrilla marketing field team. It can be used to create larger and more effective email or postal campaigns and improve local SEO.
Whatever you do with the funds saved by using a fractional CMO, the notion that it goes toward block and tackle marketing campaigns rather than a salary (while still receiving the benefits of any form of CMO) is a considerable gain for businesses.
3. YOUR TEAM NEEDS HIGH-LEVEL GUIDANCE
The indicators that you should engage a fractional CMO aren’t all financial. Hiring an experienced professional in this position has a strategic value. Marketing initiatives are frequently scattered and lack a cohesive structure, especially in small or growing organizations. This is typical when marketing decisions are made by a group or by someone who isn’t entirely responsible for marketing.
Having a full-time or part-time outsourced CMO leading your marketing strategy can make a tremendous difference. Marketing is a distinct subject that necessitates a specific skill set. A fractional CMO will be able to develop a strategy, set a budget, manage marketing personnel, and perform backend work to calculate ROI.
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS TO HIRING A FRACTIONAL CMO
Savvy business owners are learning that a fractional CMO comes with a lot of perks their organization can benefit from, including:
- Supplying a strategy customized to your needs and goal.
- Helping generate ideas and even helping to execute them if necessary.
- The fractional CMO usually comes with vast experiences that an in-house CMO wouldn’t have.
- Marketing teams get the direction they need.
HOW TO HIRE A FRACTIONAL CMO
There are three qualifications you’ll want to focus on when hiring a fractional CMO:
- Their experience, including work done specifically as a fractional CMO.
- Their process, to ensure it will work well with your team.
- Their intake form. This is a questionnaire CMOs use when they start with an organization. Look for thoughtful questions that cause you to examine your business. If the intake form is too generic or only inspires basic answers, likely, they won’t provide you with the results you need.
As you can see, there are several reasons organizations are starting to hire fractional CMOs instead of full-time staff. They can help your business level up while staying within your budget. If you’re interested in learning more about fractional CMOs, [reach out, we’d love to help.]