What Is A Fractional CMO? 

If you are a business owner, you know how important marketing is for your success. Marketing helps you attract, engage, and retain customers, as well as increase your brand awareness, reputation, and revenue. However, you also know how challenging and dynamic marketing is in the digital age.

Marketing requires constant innovation, adaptation, and optimization to keep up with the changing needs and preferences of your target audience and the evolving trends and technologies in the industry

That’s why you need a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) to lead your marketing efforts and ensure they are aligned with your business goals and vision. A CMO is a senior executive who oversees all aspects of marketing, from strategy and planning to execution and measurement.

Can a Fractional CMO Actually Make Your Marketing More Profitable?

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A CMO is responsible for creating and implementing a comprehensive marketing plan that covers everything from branding and positioning to content and campaigns.

A CMO also manages and mentors your marketing team, ensuring they have the skills, resources, and direction they need to succeed.

However, hiring a full-time CMO can be costly and risky for many businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones. According to Glassdoor, the average salary of a CMO in the US is $174,573 per year, not including bonuses, benefits, and other expenses.

Moreover, finding and retaining a qualified CMO can be difficult, as there is a high demand and low supply of experienced marketing leaders in the market.

Additionally, hiring a full-time CMO may not be necessary or feasible for your business if you only need CMO-level expertise on a part-time or project-based basis.

That’s where a Fractional CMO comes in. A Fractional CMO is a marketing expert who works with your business on a fractional or contract basis, providing you with the same level of expertise and leadership as a full-time CMO without the commitment or cost of hiring one.

You get the best of both worlds: a seasoned marketing professional who can help you grow your business, and a flexible agreement that suits your needs and budget.

In this post, we will show you how a Fractional CMO can make your marketing more profitable in 2023 and 2024 by using their expertise and experience to help you with the following:

• Setting SMART marketing goals and objectives
• Developing a realistic and flexible marketing budget
• Choosing the right marketing channels and tools
• Creating a consistent and compelling brand identity
• Providing strategic leadership and guidance for your marketing efforts

Let’s dive in.

Setting SMART marketing goals and objectives

One of the first things that a Fractional CMO can do for you is to help you set SMART marketing goals and objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

A Fractional CMO can help you define what you want to achieve with your marketing, how you will measure your progress and success, what resources and actions you will need to take, how your goals align with your business vision and mission, and when you will accomplish your goals.

By setting SMART marketing goals and objectives, you can have a clear direction and focus for your marketing efforts, as well as a way to track and evaluate your performance.

For example, let’s say you want to increase your website traffic by 50% in 2023. A Fractional CMO can help you break down this goal into SMART objectives such as:

• Increase organic traffic by 30% by optimizing your website for SEO
• Increase social media traffic by 15% by creating engaging content
• Increase email traffic by 5% by building an email list
• Measure your traffic using Google Analytics or other tools
• Allocate your budget according to your priorities
• Implement your plan using a content calendar
• Review your results monthly and adjust accordingly

By setting SMART marketing goals and objectives with the help of a Fractional CMO, you can have a clear roadmap for achieving your desired outcomes.

Developing a realistic and flexible marketing budget

Another thing that a Fractional CMO can do for you is to help you develop a realistic and flexible marketing budget that reflects your marketing goals and objectives, as well as the current market conditions and trends.

A Fractional CMO can help you allocate your marketing budget wisely and efficiently, taking into account factors such as your target audience, your competitors, your industry, your product or service, your value proposition, your branding, your marketing channels and tools, etc.

A Fractional CMO can also help you adjust your marketing budget as needed, depending on the results of your marketing campaigns and the changes in the market.

For example, let’s say you have a total marketing budget of $100,000 for 2023. A Fractional CMO can help you distribute this budget across different categories such as:

• Content marketing: $30,000
• Social media marketing: $20,000
• Email marketing: $10,000
• SEO: $15,000
• PPC: $15,000
• Branding: $5,000
• Miscellaneous: $5,000

A Fractional CMO can also help you monitor your spending and ROI using tools such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Mailchimp, Hubspot, and even get you your own custom Customer Relationship Management software.

That same Fractional CMO can also help you revise your marketing budget as needed, for example, by reallocating funds from low-performing channels to high-performing ones, or by investing in new channels or tools that emerge in the market.

By developing a realistic and flexible marketing budget with the help of a Fractional CMO, you can optimize your marketing spend and ROI.

Choosing the right marketing channels and tools

A third thing that a Fractional CMO can do for you is to help you choose the right marketing channels and tools that suit your marketing goals and objectives, as well as your target audience.

A Fractional CMO can help you select the most effective and efficient marketing channels and tools that will help you reach, engage, and convert your customers.

A Fractional CMO can also help you optimize your marketing channels and tools by using data-driven marketing and analytics to test and improve your marketing campaigns.

Some of the marketing channels and tools that a Fractional CMO can help you with include:

• Content marketing: creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content that attracts and retains your customers. Some of the tools that a Fractional CMO can help you with include WordPress, Medium, HubSpot, etc.
• Social media marketing: using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok etc. to connect with your customers and promote your brand. Some of the tools that a Fractional CMO can help you with include Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, etc.
• Email marketing: using email to communicate with your customers and prospects, build relationships, generate leads, increase sales, etc. Some of the tools that a Fractional CMO can help you with include Mailchimp, Constant Contact, AWeber, etc.
• SEO: optimizing your website and content for search engines such as Google, Bing, etc. to increase your visibility and traffic. Some of the tools that a Fractional CMO can help you with include Moz, SEMrush, Ahrefs, etc.
• PPC: using paid advertising on search engines or social media platforms to drive traffic to your website or landing page. Some of the tools that a Fractional CMO can help you with include Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Bing Ads, etc.

By choosing the right marketing channels and tools with the help of a Fractional CMO, you can maximize your reach and impact.

Creating a consistent and compelling brand identity

A fourth thing that a Fractional CMO can do for you is to help you create a consistent and compelling brand identity that resonates with your customers and differentiates you from your competitors.

A brand identity is the way you present yourself to the world through your name, logo, colors, fonts, voice, tone, personality, values, etc. A Fractional CMO can help you create a brand identity that reflects who you are, what you do, why you do it differently from others, and what benefits you offer to your customers.

A Fractional CMO can also help you communicate your brand identity across all your marketing channels and touch points.

For example, let’s say you are a software company that provides cloud-based solutions for small businesses.

A Fractional CMO can help you create a brand identity that conveys your value proposition of being simple, reliable, and affordable.

A Fractional CMO can help you choose a name that is catchy and memorable, a logo that is simple and elegant, colors that are bright and friendly, fonts that are modern and clean, voice that is clear and concise, tone that is professional and helpful, personality that is friendly and trustworthy, values that are customer-centric and innovative, etc.

A Fractional CMO can also help you apply your brand identity consistently across your website, social media profiles, email newsletters, blog posts, videos, podcasts, webinars, ebooks, case studies, testimonials, etc.

By creating a consistent and compelling brand identity with the help of a Fractional CMO, you can build trust and loyalty with your customers.

Providing strategic leadership and guidance for your marketing efforts

A fifth thing that a Fractional CMO can do for you is to provide strategic leadership and guidance for your marketing efforts. A Fractional CMO can act as a trusted advisor and mentor for you and your marketing team. A Fractional CMO can help you plan, execute, monitor, evaluate, and improve your marketing campaigns. A Fractional CMO can also help you resolve any issues or conflicts that may arise in your marketing processes.

What Does a Fractional CMO Bring to Your Business?

A Fractional CMO, or part-time Chief Marketing Officer, plays a vital role in shaping your marketing strategy and overseeing your marketing department. It's an innovative solution for businesses seeking executive-level marketing guidance without the commitment of a full-time hire.

Why Choose a Fractional CMO?

• Cost-Effective: Fractional CMOs provide expert leadership at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time CMO, who can demand over $200,000 annually.

• Tailored Workload: They're an ideal fit when your business demands CMO-level expertise but doesn't require a full-time executive. You get the skills you need, precisely when you need them.

• Flexibility: Fractional CMOs offer flexibility, adapting to your unique needs and working hours.

Fractional CMO Responsibilities

• Strategic Planning: Develop short-term and long-term marketing strategies tailored to your business.

• Strategy Selection: Choose the most effective marketing strategies for your goals, whether it's SEO, content marketing, paid advertising, or other avenues.

• Problem Solving: Tackle marketing challenges swiftly, finding innovative solutions.

• Team Leadership: Inspire and lead your marketing department, nurturing their growth and success.

• Talent Acquisition: Recruit and build a high-performing team for sustained results.

• Agency Collaboration: Collaborate with external agencies, leveraging their expertise.

Your Fractional CMO should possess a robust track record in marketing and management, along with industry-specific knowledge. They naturally assume the role of a leadership figure within your in-house marketing team.

Beyond leadership, a skilled Fractional CMO serves as your organization's go-to marketing expert at the c-suite level, driving the achievement of your marketing objectives.

At Darling Local, our Fractional CMOs work closely with your c-suite executives, leadership team, and marketing talent, ensuring alignment and a strategic focus. Contact us to explore how a Fractional CMO can elevate your marketing efforts.

Do you think that a Fractional CMO can add to your top line revenue? If so, and you'd like to talk, we're selectively taking on new clients. Reach out to us at hello [at] darlinglocal.com if you'd like to explore if we'd be a fit to work together.

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