A Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (or Fractional CMO) is a part-time or project-based marketing executive. Organizations hire these roles on a freelance / contract basis when they don’t need a full-time marketing officer or they want to augment already existing marketing teams.
Simply put, a Fractional CMO is a freelance marketing executive. Just like you might hire a graphic designer or a videographer for a specific job, a Fractional CMO does the same but at a level which involves strategy, decision-making, and often working with freelancers who answer to them.
One of the big advantage to hiring a Fractional CMO is the cost. Instead of paying a full salary and benefits, you’re hiring someone for much less (and they go through your contractor process instead of your full onboarding process – no need for them to get wrapped up in retirement and insurance).
The obvious downside is that it’s easier for someone who’s fractional to flake out (though we’ve all been stuck with full-time coworkers who we wish would). The whole setup is more flexible, for better or for worse, and it is cheaper, and sometimes just as effective at getting your organization to meet its goals.
Fractional CMO vs Marketing Consultant
A marketing consultant and a fractional CMO aren’t the same thing. A fractional CMO should be able to consult, but will be hired as a decision-maker instead of simply an analyst who makes recommendations.
In a general sense, the Fractional CMO should have as much general marketing knowledge as a consultant does (though consultants will tend to be more specialized), since they need said knowledge to steward the trust they are given.
When leadership decides to hire a Fractional CMO, they’re deciding to reduce their own mental load and decision fatigue. A consultant analyzes from the outside and presents their findings and recommendations; a Fractional CMO will do all of that and execute on a plan.
Why hire a Fractional CMO?
Depending on the size of your organization, you may not need a full-time marketing executive. An ongoing contract and relationship with a Fractional CMO may be the right fit for the scope of your marketing goals.
Or you may have a full-time chief marketing officer and he or she has identified a subset of marketing operations that need to be hired out, including some strategic and decision-making responsibilities. As long as the expectations are clear, this can be an excellent way to expand a team’s capacity for critical marketing operations.
Zach, why are you a Fractional CMO?
The most important reason is that I have the privilege of being a full-time dad. The flexibility provided by being a Fractional CMO is huge; there are not numbers big enough for the price tag on the time I get to spend with my child.
The flexibility in how my time is spent, and what clients I work with, is a large part of the reason why I’ve structured my services through this lens. Yes, there are many more fluctuations than in an office job, and any entrepreneur can tell you it’s exhausting to have ownership of every challenge that comes your way; but in some ways, it’s more secure, since I’m the only one who can fire me.
In addition to the practical work / life fit it provides, it has been rewarding to find a niche with mission-driven organizations (and mission-minded individuals, too), especially those here in Georgia like the Athens Film Festival, Athens Achieves, and Horizons Atlanta.
Where to hear from Zach
One look at my professional social media accounts will tell you just how consistent I’ve been there. The best place to stay in touch with me is through my newsletter; I welcome any and all comments and questions in response.
Join my email list and send me the marketing, storytelling, and brand topics you want to hear about – it’s a win-win when you do that, because your questions gets answered pro bono and I get a topic to write about.