Fractional CMO services and bulletproof implementation to help you grow.

tl;dr, a fractional CMO oversees a company's marketing – at a fraction of the time (and cost).

A Fractional CMO should provide the marketing leadership, skills, and expertise you need at a “fraction” of the investment. They will drive your company’s profit and ensure you capture and harness your growth.

Specifically, they will...

• Fill the critical marketing seat at the leadership table
• Align your marketing activities to your company goals
• Develop better teamwork through clarified company-wide objectives
• Train your team to manage daily marketing tasks
• Build a marketing foundation
• Start new staff at full speed through systems and repeatable processes
• Vet and negotiate terms with a network of marketing specialists
• Manage your marketing budget and ensure strategies have positive returns

At Morether, we believe there are four phases to marketing that a fractional CMO leads:

1. Leadership and Strategy
2. Marketing Opps (managing execution)
3. Execution
4. Analysis and Reporting

Our model handles 1, 2, and 4 and utilizes rock-star vendors or members on your team to accomplish #3. 

Find out What is a Fractional CMO?

That depends (you knew that answer was coming!)

The cost of a fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) can vary depending on factors such as...

1. Your Budget: Duh. What can you afford?
2. Your Scope: What specific growth goal do you have, and how fast do you want to get there? Will they prepare and monitor budgets? 
3. Time Requirements: Do you need someone to participate in a call every week? Will you ask them to join quarterly or annual planning sessions? Is travel involved if they are remote?
4. Your Team: Will they manage your marketing team or vendors? Will they vet and provide their list of vendors? 

On average, you’re looking at anywhere between $2,000 to $6,000 monthly for a part-time CMO if you are an organization making $1 million to $15 million annually.

Think of it as paying for the high-powered brain of a marketing expert, but without the full-time commitment (or the full-time price tag). A full-time marketing coordinator, according to Indeed, makes around $50k per year, while a Chief Marketing Officer averages $130k in salary. 

It’s like having the best of both worlds—strategic leadership and insight for your brand's marketing efforts minus the overhead of a full-time salary. So, it's a great way to get high-level guidance while keeping costs under control!

The key is to assess your marketing needs and calculate the cost of leaving them unresolved. Then, consider the potential gains if those needs were addressed.

Let's flip that question: What kind of companies do not benefit from a fractional CMO? 

1. Companies with a CEO who does not see the value in marketing. Your marketing department, sales team, and operations department may want a marketing leader. But if you're CEO isn't sold on it, hiring a marketing leader is doomed to fail. 
2. Companies without a marketing budget. Usually, these companies are led by a CEO or owner who does not see the value in marketing.
3. Companies with poor operations. Hire a fractional COO first. Marketing cannot fix a poorly run company. In fact, it will often amplify it. 
4. Companies with a failing business model. If the problem you solve is not in demand or your industry is failing, a marketing leader isn't the right fit. It's time to find a new problem to get paid to solve.
5. Companies that don't have the time for marketing. Hiring a fractional CMO does not necessarily mean that the company will spend less time on marketing efforts; in fact, the opposite is often true. By bringing in a marketing leader, the company can gain fresh ideas and strategies that involve the leadership and employee base. Effective marketing encompasses the company's culture, requiring energy and time from every department.

Sure! We call them marketing sprints. A marketing sprint solves a specific marketing problem. Some examples are...

• Building a comprehensive marketing strategy
• Writing your core messaging and positioning
• Discovering your ideal customer profile (ICP)
• Figuring out your customer journey
• Building a fresh website,
• Launching killer ad campaigns, and more.

Often, a marketing sprint will uncover other problems that need solving. When that happens, we can run another sprint, or if you like our work, we can jump into Fractional CMO work.

When hiring a fractional CMO, business owners should look for:

1. A curious, adaptable leader: A good fractional CMO is interested in the culture and rhythm of your company. They should integrate seamlessly into your company's values and vision. 
2. Strong industry knowledge: While not every marketing strategist will have 100% knowledge of your industry, they should have a working understanding of the relevant and successful marketing initiatives in your field of work.
3. Expert multitaskers: When hiring a fractional CMO, remember they have other clients (thus, "fractional"). However, most high-caliber marketing leaders have mastered the art of working with several clients simultaneously.
4. Communication bosses: Your fractional CMO plays a crucial role in communicating with you, your management team, and marketing vendors. In addition, they also interact with clients and customers. So, it's important for them to communicate quickly and translate complex marketing concepts into clear language for all stakeholders.
5. Creative yet practical thinking: Marketing leaders should think outside the box and transform those ideas into effective campaigns to achieve growth.
6. Collaborative spirit: Your leadership team, whether comprised of just you or a group of directors, will benefit from the seamless integration of a fractional CMO. They provide a strong strategic voice and a fresh perspective when you need to "read the label from outside the bottle." 
7. Results-oriented approach: Lastly (and possibly most importantly), your fractional CMO should be laser-focused on results. Given the fractional nature of the agreement, these leaders don't have the luxury to waste time. In the start-up world, that's called "results or die." 

Keep in mind that hiring the right fractional CMO is crucial. They should seamlessly integrate into your team, provide trustworthy expertise, and deliver results to grow your business. 

Let's pro/con this question (who doesn't love a great pro/con exercise?).

Fractional CMO

Pros:

1. Operates as if they are part of your team–you get dedicated leadership
2. Provides strategy that's aligned with a wholistic view of your company goals
3. Guides and leads members of your marketing team
4. Is vendor-agnostic. In other words, if your social media person stinks, they have no issue with finding a better fit.

Cons:

1. They do not work in your office, so they aren't available on demand and often miss company culture intricacies. 
2. Their attention is divided given their work with multiple clients. 
3. They may not have the entire suite of collective intelligence that a marketing agency has with multiple strategists and marketing experts.

Marketing Agency

Pros:

1. They have the team and technicians to handle an array of marketing needs, such as digital marketing, graphic design, web development, video and more.
2. They have the capacity to handle larger projects quickly. 
3. Good agencies have the SOPs in place to crank out work on demand. 
4. Agencies have a broader tech stack for research and execution. 

Cons: 

1. If you don't like their graphic designer, too bad. 
2. Agencies that offer strategy plus execution often have a higher retainer cost.
3. Many agencies (particularly industry or niche-specific agencies) offer a cookie-cutter approach to marketing strategy and execution, such as mass content production and distribution. 
4. Agencies do not prioritize company culture or value alignment, thus they often miss the philosophical reason your company exists. 

When the stars align just right, a fractional CMO collaborates seamlessly with marketing agencies (sometimes multiple) and freelancers to determine the optimal mix of strategy and execution for a company.