“Fractional marketing,” “fractional CMO,” “fractional marketing team”... if you’ve been paying attention to the marketing world even a little bit over the past few years, you’ve probably heard those terms a lot. But what does it all mean, and could fractional marketing be a good fit for your business?
If you’ve asked yourself those questions, or are already looking to hire a fractional CMO or marketing team, this blog is for you!
Read on to learn what a fractional CMO or marketing team does and get tips for choosing the right fractional marketing partner to meet your company’s needs.
To start with, let's take a look at the definition of a fractional CMO:
A fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is an outsourced marketing executive who performs the function of a CMO without the commitment of hiring a full-time, in-house marketing leader.
For many small-to-mid-sized businesses and startups, the cost of hiring a full-time CMO can be prohibitive. A fractional CMO or fractional marketing team (same concept, but with an entire team of marketers to help with implementation) is the ideal solution.
With fractional marketing, you’ll have an experienced marketing professional on hand to guide your company’s marketing strategy. You’ll have all the benefits of their experience, expertise, network, and focus, just as you would with a full-time marketer…but with decided cost savings and flexibility.
Fractional marketing is a nimble marketing solution for growth-focused businesses.
But just as with hiring an in-house marketing expert, it’s important to find a fractional marketing partner who is the right fit for your company. Let’s go over a few things to look for when choosing your fractional marketing partner.
If you’re looking to grow your business, you need a marketing partner who thinks in terms of growth, and who knows how to build a strategy to drive and support that growth. They should be someone who is curious, inquisitive, and eager to solve BIG problems.
Look for more than flashy tactics here. Your ideal marketing partner should be able to provide you with a holistic marketing strategy that can pivot as your needs change…especially if you’re in a fast-moving industry or just getting your business off the ground.
They should have a strong understanding of both long-term brand-building and short-term growth strategies. And they should have a clear, repeatable process for onboarding, strategy, and reporting that sets the stage for measurable results. (Check out Wild Fig’s 5-step fractional marketing process here!)
To foster growth and development, your fractional marketing partner needs to be a strong leader. They should be well-versed in managing teams, having tough conversations, and holding team members accountable. After all, if they’re going to head up your marketing strategy, they need to be able to direct others to implement that strategy and hold them accountable to their tasks.
Look for someone with experience managing others and a reputation for having good rapport with team members, company leadership, clients, and anyone else they work with. You want a people-person who can get your team excited about your new marketing strategy.
Seek out a fractional marketing partner who's worked with businesses similar to yours—especially small and growing businesses or those in your sector. Look for someone with a proven track record either within your industry or with similar business challenges.
This doesn’t mean you should rule out a fractional marketer because they don’t have the exact industry experience you want, though. If they’ve proven themselves to be capable of helping a variety of businesses grow and thrive, there’s a good chance they can do the same for you. Just make sure they’re someone who is willing to put in the work to learn and understand the nuances of your market.
Ask them for case studies, references, or success stories that show measurable outcomes (such as increased conversions, more leads, or a solid ROI).
In addition to industry familiarity, you also, of course, need someone who has strong experience with all the relevant aspects of digital marketing, including social media, email marketing, content marketing, SEO/GEO, and paid advertising, as well as with digital tools like HubSpot.
Communication and collaboration are key to choosing the right fractional marketing partner. The marketer you choose should be easy to communicate with, and working with them should feel as seamless as working with your own team.
Chemistry and communication style matter. Look for someone who is approachable, responsive, and easy to collaborate with, and whose communication style suits your own. They should also mesh with your company culture and core values to ensure your messaging stays on point.
The ideal fractional marketing partner should meet with you regularly, or at least provide regular updates. In their communications, they should report on the KPIs and metrics you set together, as well as their progress on current projects.
Tip: To determine if a fractional marketer is a good fit for your business, start with an exploratory call. This allows you to ask questions, set expectations, and ensure you’re both on the same page before you commit to a partnership.
One of the key factors of a successful fractional marketing partnership is flexibility—you’re no longer stuck in a rigid, long-term contract. The right partner will be able to adapt strategies and scale efforts up or down as your needs shift, ensuring alignment with both short-term needs and long-term goals.
As your company grows, your marketing should grow and change with it. Look for a marketing partner who prioritizes flexibility and has shown the ability to pivot strategies based on changing needs.
A strong fractional marketing partner will have established processes for onboarding, strategy development, marketing execution, and reporting.
They should clearly define goals, timelines, and deliverables up front, and ensure you are aligned on the KPIs they’ll track and the outcomes they should work toward. Make sure to discuss the reporting cadence they provide—whether that’s weekly, monthly, or quarterly—and what methods they use to receive feedback and make adjustments.
A process-driven approach like this can help build trust and confidence in your fractional marketing partner.
Tip: Ask about their processes and what metrics they track and report on. Will they provide you with a clear action plan?
And finally, you need to work with a fractional marketing partner whose pricing works with your budget and whose contract terms meet your needs. Discuss this early on, clarifying pricing models (hourly, retainer, project-based, etc), and ensuring you understand the contract scope, flexibility, and payment terms.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions to ensure you understand what is and is not included in your contract.
Choosing the right fractional marketing professional is about more than comparing price tags—it's about shared values, trust, and open collaboration. Use this step-by-step checklist to guide your decision process and ensure a successful partnership.
And finally, make your choice, sign the contract, and embark on a growth journey with your new fractional marketing partner.
The right fractional partner will bring expertise, agility, and accountability, helping you grow your business with less stress and wasted budget. Taking the time to research and vet potential partners will lead to lasting growth and a true marketing partnership.
If you’d like to explore working with Wild Fig Marketing in a fractional capacity, schedule an exploratory call today. We’d love to partner with you for growth!
Not quite ready to hand off your marketing to an outside agency? Download our free guide, Top 7 Reasons To Outsource Your Marketing, to learn more about the benefits of having an outside partner handle your marketing for you.