Marketing initiatives can be long and complex. It can take eight to 12 months to rebrand your company, and a product marketing campaign can take six months to a year to execute. Overhauling your marketing technology can take several months to a year or more. Yet these days, the average tenure for a chief marketing officer (CMO) is only about 40 months, which can cause disruptions like:
If you’re experiencing the pain of a CMO vacancy, don’t despair. The good news is that a different kind of marketing leader is available — one who can step in quickly, deliver results and move on when the job is done. It’s the fractional CMO.
In this article, we’ll dig into whether a fractional CMO may be right for your organization, when they can help you, and the benefits and challenges of finding the right fractional talent.
A fractional CMO is a seasoned executive who steps into an organization on a temporary or part-time basis to provide leadership and expertise. These professionals — sometimes called gig, on-demand or part-time executives — offer the same strategic insight as permanent hires. But they come at a lower cost and with added flexibility.
The trend toward fractional hires began in finance and marketing in the early 2000s. In recent years, the use of fractional leaders has become more common in these areas and in other business functions, such as IT, human resources, compliance and data analytics. The rise of remote work and digital business tools has played a huge role in this shift, allowing fractional leaders to cross geographical boundaries.
The rise of fractional leaders speaks to a broader shift in how businesses think about growth and talent. It’s about getting the right expertise at the right time — and gaining access to experienced talent — without the high overhead.
Traditionally, only large corporations could afford seasoned executives. With the fractional model, even small and mid-sized companies can tap into high-caliber marketing professionals for critical growth phases.
Fractional leadership makes it possible for your organization to access high-level talent without committing to huge salaries and benefits. In recent years, the need for such flexibility and cost savings has intensified. As the gig economy continues to flourish — fueled by advances in remote work and collaboration tools — fractional executives have become a strategic asset.
For example, say your company is a technology startup that’s secured Series A funding. Your team has decades of cumulative engineering experience, but you lack go-to-market expertise. Instead of building a marketing team and hiring a CMO to lead it — which could take months and consume a good chunk of your capital — you can bring in a fractional CMO for three to six months to devise and execute a go-to-market strategy and build your brand presence. Then, you can reassess your marketing needs following the initial launch.
The success of a fractional CMO largely depends on selecting the right leader who can integrate quickly, adapt to your team’s needs and deliver results with minimal friction. But finding the right candidate isn’t always easy. The market is flooded with freelancers, single-shingle consultants, staffing firms, struggling life coaches and unemployed middle managers repackaging themselves as fractional executives.
Once you find the right fractional CMO, they need to be integrated into your organization. Eliminating potential communication gaps — especially when they’re working remotely — is essential to support effective decision-making and collaboration. Additionally, it’s important to align priorities and build trust with your existing, full-time teams, especially in fast-paced environments that require urgent decisions.
But despite these challenges, the cost-efficiency and flexibility advantages of a fractional CMO almost always outweigh the potential pitfalls.
Organizations often think they're ready for a bigger marketing splash when they aren’t. For example, you may think you’re ready for high-profile media coverage or customer acquisition at such-and-such a rate. But your products or services aren’t yet where they need to be for these goals. In this situation, you can still benefit from a fractional CMO.
You just need to be clear about your objectives, priorities and the outcomes you expect. But you also need to be open and flexible if those goals are not viable just yet. A fractional CMO who’s walked your path previously can provide the right guidance about what to do at your stage of growth and development. They can bring in best practices from other organizations and previous engagements.
Another situation tailor-made for a fractional CMO is when your organization doesn’t have a lot of infrastructure or a robust marketing and communications machine. The fractional leader can jump in to help build out your marketing organization. They can also provide the thought leadership and senior strategy your organization needs. You don't have to invest in building a big internal marketing team to make this happen — that's the lift of fractional support.
Or maybe you’re thinking of hiring a full-time CMO, which is a big step for an organization. Bringing in a fractional CMO gives you time to consider your options and can keep things moving during periods when you’re without a permanent marketing leader.
Are you looking to build out your marketing team? Ready to take the next step in your growth and development? Just lost your CMO? Whatever your situation, bringing in the right fractional marketing leader can be a game-changer. And we can make finding a proven professional quick and easy. Explore how our marketing and communications experts can help you get the perfect fractional CMO to fit your unique needs.
Armanino Ignite can fuel your revenue and ROI gains with key sales, marketing and customer strategy capabilities to fill your unique needs. Contact our experts today for a complimentary growth strategy discussion that’s focused on your vision.
