Why Hire a Fractional vs. Full-Time CMO?

There comes a point in the life of any company where hiring a Chief Marketing Officer to oversee all marketing endeavors makes sense. But why hire a fractional versus full-time CMO?

The Cost of Hiring a Full-Time CMO

Like any C-suite executive, a Chief Marketing Officer’s salary is upwards of 150k. Meaning it requires capital to secure somebody good. In addition, finding a qualified full-time CMO takes time. You can guarantee any Chief Marketing Officer worth their weight in salt is currently employed. Therefore, to hire one, you’ll need, not only resources, but time to wait out notice from their former job.

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Hours Worked of a Full-Time vs. Fractional CMO

Typically, a Fractional CMO is a high-level marketer who works in your business for a fixed amount of time. Whereas, a full-time Chief Marketing Officer works for your company on average 40 hours a week. When considering the benefits of a full-time vs. fractional CMO, ask yourself if you have enough work to fill an entire job description for a C-Suite executive. If you’re like most companies who start with a Fractional CMO, they require marketing hours but not enough to justify a full-time employee. 

A Fractional Vs. Full-Time CMO’s Expertise

Both fractional and full-time CMO’s are high-level marketing experts responsible for overseeing your company’s marketing strategy and execution. When considering a fractional vs. full-time marketing executive, ask yourself what support your CMO will need to execute their plan. It is common for Fractional CMO’s to have a team of marketers behind them at no extra cost to you. This is a huge benefit to you when moving your marketing strategy forward.

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When to Consider a Fractional CMO vs. Full-Time CMO?

A Chief Marketing Officer’s job description includes planning, developing, implementing, and monitoring your overall business marketing strategy. Additionally, their role often includes market research, pricing, product marketing, marketing communications, advertising, and public relations. So read, your business needs to be at a stage where you know your current marketing strategy and have plans to improve it.  

By contrast, a Fractional CMO’s job description often includes helping mid-level companies with their pre-marketing conversations as a first step. Then, they help develop well-thought-out marketing strategies to grow your business and take your company to the next stage. If you’re organization is at the stage where you require the development of marketing strategies, a Fractional CMO vs. a full-time CMO might be your best bet.

Things to Consider When Hiring a Fractional vs. Full-Time CMO

Hiring a Chief Marketing Officer means you’re hiring someone to devote full-time hours to your company’s marketing. With that comes everything involved in office dynamics, including office politics. Additionally, over time, your CMO will become a marketing expert in your industry.

By contrast, a Fractional CMO brings a bird’s eye view of marketing strategies across several industries to your organization. Their ongoing work with multiple, mid-level organizations to help them grow means they bring fresh eyes to your team. Additionally, they are able to act as an objective third party opinion when politics come into play around major marketing decisions.

Finally, a few things to consider when hiring a Fractional vs. full-time CMO are:

• Budget
• Time 
• Urgency for action and 
• Amount of work needed

If you’re wondering if you’re better off hiring a fractional CMO or full-time Chief Marketing Officer, reach out to someone on our team.