Thinking about bringing in a Fractional CMO? You’re not alone. More and more SMEs are looking for senior marketing leadership without the full-time price tag. But if you’re assuming they’ll just slot in and "do your marketing"... we need to talk.
A Fractional CMO isn’t another pair of hands. They’re your strategic lead - the person who builds and owns your marketing roadmap. Their job is to connect your business goals to the marketing activity needed to achieve them. That means identifying opportunities, spotting gaps, leading your team (or helping you build one), and making sure every marketing pound is working hard.
If you already have a marketing person or agency doing bits and bobs but you’re not sure if it’s all tying together, that’s where a Fractional CMO can make the biggest impact. They align everything around a single strategy, so you’re not wasting money on scattergun activity that sounds good but delivers little.
What they’re not there to do is run your Instagram or write blogs themselves. They’ll guide, brief, and oversee - but the implementation often comes from your team or trusted suppliers.
That said, if you don’t have a marketing team or agency yet, hiring a Fractional CMO is still absolutely the best place to start. Why? Because they’ll help you make the right hires in the right order, avoiding costly mistakes and wasted budget. They’ll even roll their sleeves up and manage some of the early implementation themselves if that’s what’s needed to get the machine moving. But crucially, they’ll do it as part of building a repeatable system - not just ticking marketing tasks off a list.
So, is a Fractional CMO right for you?
A good Fractional CMO will still need your input - especially at the start. They’ll ask tough questions, challenge assumptions, and want to understand your vision inside out. But in return, they’ll give you clarity, direction, and a structure to grow with confidence.
If this sounds like what your business needs, let’s have a chat. You can book a call with me at rosconkie.com/clarity and we’ll figure out if this is the right next step for you.