Fractional Marketing vs Digital Agency
This article was published on April 8, 2020
Categorized in: Digital Marketing
B2Bs these days often need marketing help but they may not have a large enough marketing department to accommodate growing marketing needs. As the business grows, so should the marketing. In fact, marketing needs to grow in order for the business to actually grow. We often see this in midsize B2Bs who are looking to tale their businesses to the next level. How do you facilitate this growth?
The answer usually lies in the marketing department because it’s how businesses attract the people who will eventually become paying buyers. If you never grow your marketing, you will never grow how you want. Not having a well-stocked marketing department also isn’t an excuse. There are ways to overcome it. You can either work with a digital agency or think about some fractional marketing options. Here’s a look at the difference between them:
Strategy vs Implementation
One of the things you should consider before deciding on one or the other is if you need help with strategy or just implementation. Fractional marketers are the whole package. They have a lot of industry experience, which means that they tend to focus on strategic development. Some of them may also know how to implement, but for them, that simply makes them more powerful strategists.
Digital agencies purely focus in implementation. Ultimately, strategic development and decision making is handled by in-house leadership. Digital agencies are experts at implementation, but they don’t tend to focus on the strategic side of things. They could make recommendations, but that isn’t their focus, not in the way that it is for a fractional marketer.
Role with the Business
Another important distinction between the two is the role they play within a B2Bs organizational structure. Typically, it is the marketing department that tends to hire the digital agency. They do so because they need help implementing their existing marketing strategy. For example, if they know they needs some help with their content marketing, they might hire an agency to advice on process and to take on some of the work.
For Fractional Marketers, their relationship in the organization is much different. They tend to be hired by people who are higher up in the company, such as the executives, and they may be brought in to solve a specific business issue. As a result of this, they tend to maintain closer relationships with the executives in the company, simply because they have a more strategic focus.
Which to Hire?
So, you know you need help for the marketing. Ultimately, you need to decide which is right for your B2B. In general, a digital agency is the one to choose if you need a lot of help implementing. Remember that you can also draw on their expertise for strategic concerns, but this isn’t their main function. A Fractional Marketer, by contrast, doesn’t really implement. They will know how to do it so they can advise you how best to get the work done, but their main function is that they are strategically focused.
Knowing the differences between the two can help you decide which is a better fit for your B2B and your unique situation.
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About the Author: Brick Marketing President, Nick Stamoulis
Nick Stamoulis is a digital marketing expert and President of Brick Marketing. With 25+ years experience, he specializes in solving complex digital marketing challenges through SEO, content marketing, social media, PPC, email marketing, SEO for AI (GEO) and conversion optimization.
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