How Much Does a Fractional CMO Cost?

Written by Nick Stamoulis

When it comes to hiring a Fractional CMO, you may be gravitating towards this option because you’ve heard that it could save your company. Typically, hiring a fractional CMO is less expensive than hiring a full-time employee that will work at the company on salary. The truth is, this may be overkill for you in certain situations, such as if your company is too small to justify the expensive of a full time, salaried employee.

However, not every fractional CMO is created equally, and costs can vary depending on which fractional you are considering. It all depends on how much work they need to do, their experience, and more. Here are some thoughts that can help you know what to expect in terms of cost when hiring a fractional CMO:

Understanding the Role of a Fractional CMO

Before you can even consider how much it will cost, you need to understand what you need the Fractional CMO to do. This won’t be the same for every company, so it is. very difficult to find specific data about what it will cost. Typically, these factors will help decide what the fee is because it will help determine how much time the fractional CMO needs to spend. Here’s a look at what services they can do:

  • Initial Consultation. This takes time and is usually done only after deciding to work with them, as it takes a considerable amount of work. This is the “getting to know you” phase.
  • Strategy Development. From there, the Fractional CMO will develop a strategic plan based on what your needs are. For example, if you need help hiring new employees for the marketing department, that will be on the plan. Also, on the plan will be developing a digital marketing strategy, whether or not to hire contractors, budgeting, etc.
  • Implementation. With the plan in place, it’s time to implement. What this means will vary depending on the company, but in this phase, the Fractional CMO will follow the strategic plan.
  • Monitoring Results. After implementation, it’s time to monitor progress and results. This is where the Fractional CMO will monitor the budget, look at analytics, and more. This is also the phase that might require additional decision-making.

Costs Will Vary Depending on What You Need the Fractional CMO For

Keep in mind that the fractional CMO is trained at giving the big picture of marketing. They do so much more than organizing the digital marketing strategy. They oversee the operations of the entire department, including budgeting, employee hiring, and more. This is why you should have realistic expectations when trying to determine how much it will cost. No one company will have the same needs. You need something that will be tailored to your needs.

As you can see from the above example, Fractional CMO’s run the “big picture” of the marketing strategy. What this means will vary from company to company, and it could change at any time. This is why it is difficult to put a monetary value on what to expect to spend. There are far too many variables to give a concrete answer. Knowing the variables can make a huge difference.

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