What is Fractional Marketing?

Digital marketing success rests on how your business shows up online. It’s becoming increasingly challenging to grow your brand and hit new sales goals without having some kind of an online presence.

In today’s world, sales are often driven first by digital engagement. This makes mastery of the online world a critical endeavor for all businesses. 

If you don't have the time, skills, or patience to master your marketing, the next best thing is to hire a skilled marketing team. A team of experts can help you improve your campaigns and achieve your marketing goals. You can grow your brand, product line, and service offerings, and regularly work to stay ahead of your competitors.

But what if you’re not in a position to lead your marketing team, or what if you’re a small business and lack the resources to hire a marketing team in the first place? 

Small businesses and startups can’t afford to overlook marketing, no matter their budget. In cases like these, the next best option is fractional marketing. 

Now, if you already have a marketing team, you may find it useful to hire an expert to support and lead your team for you. 

In either case, you may find that bringing on a fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) makes the most sense for your business. Let’s dive a bit deeper into fractional marketing and fractional CMO’s to help you determine if this approach is right for you.

Wondering what a Fractional CMO can do for your business? Watch this video below.

Fractional Marketing Defined

Just like the name suggests, Fractional Marketing is about outsourcing a portion (or a “fraction”) of your marketing work to project-based experts. 

With this approach, you can hire a marketing specialist to help you with a short-term project or arrange to have an expert help you manage a longer-term campaign on a part-time basis. 

Allowing you to access all of the benefits of expert marketing support at a fraction of the cost. 

What is a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

A Fractional CMO can serve as an important asset to your business. On top of the flexibility we already addressed, you’re also getting access to all of the expertise and experience of a true Chief Marketing Officer, without the cost. 

They can help you manage marketing teams and even develop strategic roadmaps aligned with your unique business goals and objectives. 

Think of a fractional CMO as a jack of all (marketing-related) trades. This is someone who's an expert on all things marketing. 

They can handle things like: 

• Leading market research projects 
• Defining your target market 
• Campaign development, analysis, and optimization 
• Strategic direction 
• Leading your marketing team
• Brand positioning and messaging 

The list goes on and on… 

Expect a fractional CMO to work like a manager who will look at your overall marketing campaign. They are not someone who will pitch in for an underperforming team member or work on the areas that your team can't.

A fractional CMO is versatile and able to perform a wide array of marketing tasks. This makes them uniquely equipped to manage a marketing team across all aspects of your campaigns. 

Above all, a great fractional CMO excels at the high-level management and strategic direction of all of your marketing efforts. They do not work on lower-level tasks like creating social media posts or designing your landing pages. 

Instead, they act as a director of all of these efforts, ensuring each one is aligned with your business goals while being as efficient and effective as possible. They exist to help you create consistent, measurable results through your marketing. 

Qualities of a Great Fractional CMO

Just like hiring any employee, it’s helpful to consider the qualities you’re looking for in a fractional CMO before you bring one on. When reviewing applications or researching companies, keep the following in mind: 

     1. Versatile Leader with a Tactical Mind

A good fractional CMO has the mind of a strategist. They understand how to take your business goals, objectives, and target market and use them to define a unique marketing strategy designed around those core elements. They’ll be well-versed on the latest marketing trends at techniques, yet will only engage those that are relevant to your situation. 

They are versatile as they can easily adapt their strategies according to data insights around performance. 

A good sign that a fractional CMO is versatile is when you see evidence of success across different niches and different kinds of businesses in their portfolio. 

You’ll also want to make sure that the fractional CMO is able to provide you with a concrete plan of action to improve your ROI. Ask for some samples of their previous work (or case studies) to get a good idea of how they can help to improve your results over time.

     2. Impressive Leadership Capabilities

A Fractional CMO must possess exceptional leadership skills. They’re not just there to bark orders and boss everyone around. They’re there to delegate, support, and hone the skills of your team. They make sure that everyone is working in harmony to achieve your business goals.

A great fractional CMO knows how to build trust and rapport within your team, as well as with other stakeholders and clients. 

Why Hire a Local Fractional Marketing Expert

A local fractional marketing expert knows your customers, the local market, and how best to position your business for success. This allows them to develop more effective marketing strategies that provide you with a leg up in your industry. 

If your focus is in the San Diego area, you might benefit from working with an experienced San Diego marketing agency with fractional marketing experience.  

You’ll find that a local fractional CMO is far more than a part-time employee or contractor. They become your partner in digital marketing success. Your fractional CMO will save you time, effort, and money as you traverse the digital landscape together.

Final Words

A local agency (like a San Diego Digital Agency) can help you with fractional marketing as well as traditional marketing. Yet, fractional marketing is the answer if you need clear strategic direction or an expert’s opinion on your current efforts.

If you're struggling with your marketing and you want to make sense of the local market, a local fractional CMO helps you formulate effective strategies and steers you towards marketing success.