Executive thinking from day one.
Your part-time CMO brings years of leading strategy, budgets and teams, and applies it to your business in the first weeks, not the first year.
Hire a Fractional CMO for Startups, SMBs & Founder-Led Brands
Take marketing off the founder’s desk. Your part-time CMO sets a clear growth strategy, leads your team and agencies, and ties every campaign to revenue, without the cost of a full-time chief marketing officer.
- Senior CMO experience
- Part-time, flexible engagement
- Strategy and execution
- Startups and SMBs worldwide
PART-TIME CMO. FULL ACCOUNTABILITY.
See the benefits ↓
01 / SENIOR MARKETING LEADERSHIP, ON DEMAND
A proven CMO in your leadership team,
A proven CMO in your leadership team,
without the full-time cost.
A fractional chief marketing officer gives your business the experience of a seasoned marketing executive for the share of time you actually need, so you get senior direction now instead of after a long, expensive hire.
Pay for the leadership you use.
Get the strategic value of a chief marketing officer for a monthly fee, with no recruitment costs, equity or long-term executive contract.
Ownership, not just advice.
Unlike a consultant, your fractional CMO joins leadership meetings, sets priorities and is accountable for pipeline, revenue and customer growth.
Leadership that scales with you.
Increase time for a launch or fundraise, reduce it once your team is running. Outsourced CMO support that flexes with your stage of growth.
| Fractional CMO | Full-time CMO | Marketing agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Role | Senior leader who owns strategy and results | Senior leader who owns strategy and results | Delivers campaigns and channel work |
| Commitment | Part-time, flexible, scales with you | Full-time, permanent hire | Retainer or project scope |
| Cost | A fraction of a full-time salary | Full salary, benefits, equity and hiring fees | Fees for delivery, not leadership |
| Time to start | Weeks | Often months of recruitment | Weeks |
| Best for | Startups and SMBs ready to scale marketing | Larger companies with a big marketing function | Execution once strategy is clear |
02 / FRACTIONAL CMO SERVICES
Turn marketing activity
Turn marketing activity
into predictable growth.
Our fractional CMO services cover the full scope of marketing leadership, from strategy and positioning to the team and numbers behind it.
Know exactly where to focus.
Replace scattered tactics with a marketing strategy tied to revenue goals, with a clear plan, budget and priorities for the quarter and year ahead.
Become the obvious choice.
Define your ideal customer, sharpen your value proposition and give sales and marketing one story that explains why buyers should choose you.
Launch with confidence.
Plan product launches, new markets and channel mix with a go-to-market strategy that aligns marketing and sales before you spend.
Build a pipeline you can predict.
Create steady demand across paid, organic, content, partnerships and customer marketing, and grow retention and lifetime value.
Get more from your team and agencies.
Lead and develop your marketers, hire the right roles, direct agencies and freelancers, and make every marketing budget accountable.
See what is working, and what is not.
Track the metrics that matter, from customer acquisition cost to marketing-sourced revenue, and report them clearly to founders and investors.
03 / BUILT FOR GROWING BUSINESSES
Ready for senior marketing,
Ready for senior marketing,
not a full-time hire?
Startups, small businesses and B2B companies bring in a fractional CMO when marketing becomes critical to growth and they need experienced leadership quickly.
- Turn early traction into repeatable growth. You have found customers who love the product and need a reliable way to find more.
- Free the founder from running marketing. Hand marketing to a senior leader so you can focus on product, customers and the business.
- Give your team a leader to follow. Your marketers and agencies get clear direction, priorities and someone who owns the results.
- Launch and expand without guesswork. Enter a new market, launch a product or reposition the brand with an experienced hand.
- Make every marketing dollar count. Connect growing spend on ads, content and agencies to pipeline and revenue.
- Keep momentum through change. Cover a gap between CMOs or build a credible growth story ahead of a fundraise.
04 / WHY FRACTIONALHQ
Leadership accountable
Leadership accountable
for growth, not just advice.
FractionalHQ brings fractional marketing leadership that plugs into your business quickly and stays focused on outcomes.
Experienced marketing leaders.
Work with a marketing executive who has led strategy, teams and budgets, not a junior account manager learning on your business.
Marketing connected to the whole business.
Our CMOs work alongside fractional CFOs and COOs, so marketing plans line up with your finances and operations from day one.
Clear reporting, every month.
Regular reporting on pipeline, spend and results, so you always know what your marketing is delivering.
Plans your team can run.
Every engagement produces a practical plan with owners, budgets and metrics, not a slide deck that sits on a shelf.
Flexible, low-risk engagement.
Scale your fractional CMO's time up or down as priorities change, without a long-term executive contract.
The right fit for your stage.
We match startups and SMBs worldwide with a CMO suited to their stage, market and growth goals.
05 / HOW IT WORKS
From first call to a plan
From first call to a plan
your team is running.
Hiring a fractional CMO with FractionalHQ is simple, and you see direction within the first weeks.
- 01
Share your goals.
A discovery call about your business, growth targets and current marketing. We recommend the right scope and time commitment.
- 02
Find the biggest opportunities.
Your fractional CMO reviews your market, customers, positioning, channels, team and numbers to see where growth will come from.
- 03
Agree a 90-day plan.
Set priorities, budget, owners and success metrics in a go-to-market plan built for your next stage of growth.
- 04
Lead, measure and scale.
Your CMO leads the plan with your team and agencies, reports on results and adjusts as the business grows.
06 / RESULTS
Marketing you can
Marketing you can
measure in revenue.
Every fractional CMO engagement is judged on business outcomes. This is what changes when experienced marketing leadership is in place.
- One clear message. Positioning that sales, marketing and leadership all use.
- A plan everyone follows. Priorities, budget, owners and metrics in one place.
- Spend tied to revenue. Pipeline and acquisition reporting you can act on.
- A team that runs itself. Marketers and agencies led without the founder.
07 / FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Everything to know
Everything to know
before you hire.
Answers to the questions founders and leadership teams ask most about working with a fractional CMO.
What is a fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO is an experienced chief marketing officer who works with your business on a part-time or retained basis. They own your marketing strategy, lead your team and agencies, and report on results, without the cost or commitment of a full-time executive hire.
What is the difference between a fractional CMO and a full-time CMO?
Both provide senior marketing leadership. A full-time CMO is a permanent executive hire with a full salary, benefits and a long recruitment process. A fractional CMO brings the same level of experience for an agreed share of their time, starts sooner and can scale up or down as your business changes.
How much does a fractional CMO cost?
Most fractional CMO engagements are a monthly retainer based on scope and time commitment. The cost is a fraction of a full-time CMO's total compensation, with no recruitment fees, equity or long-term contract. We agree the scope and fee with you after a discovery call.
How many hours does a fractional CMO work?
It depends on your stage and goals. Some businesses need a few days a month for strategy and oversight; others need a CMO embedded in the team for several days a week during a launch or growth push. The time commitment is agreed upfront and reviewed regularly.
When should a startup or small business hire a fractional CMO?
A good time is when marketing has become important to growth but you are not ready for a full-time CMO: after early product-market fit, before a launch or fundraise, when the founder is still running marketing, or when spend on ads and agencies is rising without clear results.
What is the difference between a fractional CMO and a marketing agency?
An agency delivers marketing work such as ads, content or design. A fractional CMO sets the strategy, decides priorities and budget, and holds the team and agencies accountable for results. Many businesses use both, with the fractional CMO directing the agency.
Is a fractional CMO the same as an interim CMO?
Not quite. An interim CMO usually fills a full-time vacancy for a fixed period. A fractional CMO works part-time on an ongoing basis. A fractional CMO can also provide interim cover while you recruit a permanent marketing leader.
What happens in the first 90 days with a fractional CMO?
The first weeks focus on a marketing diagnostic: your market, customers, positioning, channels, team and numbers. That leads to a 90-day marketing plan with clear priorities, budget and metrics, which your fractional CMO then leads with your team.
Can a fractional CMO work with our existing marketing team and agencies?
Yes. A fractional CMO leads and develops your existing marketers, sets direction for agencies and freelancers, and identifies any gaps worth hiring for.
How do I hire a fractional CMO with FractionalHQ?
Get in touch to book a discovery call. We will discuss your goals and current marketing, recommend a scope and time commitment, and match you with a fractional CMO suited to your stage and market.
Lead your market.
Let’s build the plan.
Tell us where you want marketing to take the business. We will recommend the right fractional CMO engagement and match you with an experienced leader.
Book a discovery call