Your Fractional CMO:
Strategic marketing leadership
to scale your SME

Marketing can (and should) be a powerful driver of business growth. But too often, it ends up being a source of stress, confusion, and wasted budget.

You’ve got a team doing bits of marketing. Maybe an agency or maybe someone in-house... but no one’s actually leading it. There’s no clear strategy. No joined-up plan. And no one who’s truly accountable for results.

That’s where I come in.

As your Fractional (i.e. part-time) CMO, I join your senior leadership team and take ownership of your marketing function. I’ll build the strategy, lead the team (yours or mine), and make sure your marketing is fully aligned with your business goals.

No fluff. No filler. Just clear direction, structured delivery, and measurable outcomes.

CEO marketing strategy session with Fractional CMO support

What does a Fractional CMO do?

A Fractional CMO is a part-time, strategic marketing leader who helps you build the marketing function your business actually needs – without the cost (or risk) of a full-time hire. Think of it like borrowing a highly experienced Marketing Director for just the days you need them. I help CEOs like you clarify your marketing strategy, build a clear 90-day plan, lead your in-house team (or agency), and make sure every marketing pound is doing something useful. It’s hands-on, sleeves-rolled-up leadership - but tailored to your stage of growth.

I work with ambitious, founder-led businesses who’ve outgrown scattergun marketing and need strategic leadership to scale. Most of my clients are in technical, consultancy or B2B service sectors – industries like engineering, software, professional services, and niche manufacturing – where buying decisions are complex and traditional marketing tactics just don’t cut it.

If you’re running a growing team, managing agencies or juggling too many marketing hats yourself, this is for you.

If you’re stuck in the messy middle - where marketing has outgrown your time but you’re nowhere near ready to hire a full-time Marketing Director - you’re not alone. Most CEOs I work with are brilliant at running their business, but marketing has become the weakest link. They know something’s missing, but they don’t know if they need a consultant, an agency, or a Head of Marketing. That’s where Fractional CMO support comes in. I fill that leadership gap - part-time, high-impact, and totally aligned to your business goals.

How do we start?
What it's like working with a Fractional CMO:

Step 1 – Clarity Call
We start with a 45-minute conversation to uncover your business goals, your biggest marketing challenges, and where you feel stuck. You’ll walk away with immediate insights - even before we decide whether we should work together.

Step 2 – Strategic Blueprint
If we’re a good fit, I’ll dive in with a structured audit - reviewing everything from strategy to systems, metrics to messaging. We’ll end up with a tailored Marketing Action Plan: this will be our blueprint detailing exactly what we need to do, in what order, for measurable impact.

Step 3 – Leadership & Execution
Once we kick-off, I step in as your Fractional CMO. I lead the implementation, working alongside your team (or mine), ensuring every activity aligns with our plan and your broader business goals. I’ll pull in freelance specialists only when their skills are needed - giving you right-sized support, on-demand.

Step 4 – Measure, Optimise, Scale
With clear KPIs defined from the start, we'll track progress weekly and optimise monthly. We’ll spot what’s working (and fast‑kill what isn’t), continually tuning your marketing machine to improve ROI and fuel growth.

What you get when you work with me as your Fractional CMO

CEO marketing strategy session with Fractional CMO support

Strategic leadership without the overhead of a CMO – you get senior strategic insight, without hiring a full-time salary.

Tight focus and attention – I only work with a few clients to ensure you get genuine senior-level input and accountability

Right-sized team, every time – no generic in‑house team quotas. You get exactly the freelancer specialists you need - for strategy, content, campaign execution and analytics.

A performance-first approach – every activity is tied back to metrics and return on investment. No vanity metrics. No wasted effort.

A built-for-you system – not a one-off plan. You’ll end up with a sustainable, repeatable Marketing Machine that continues to generate leads, sales and growth.

Wondering what a Fractional CMO costs in the UK? It’s usually a fraction of what you’d pay for a full-time marketing director, but delivers all the strategic clarity and leadership your business needs. Most clients invest between £1.5k and £5k per month, depending on the level of support. It’s a flexible, lower-risk alternative to hiring a full-time Marketing Director and delivers strategic marketing leadership exactly when you need it.

If you're not sure how much support you need, let's have a call. I’ll give you my honest recommendation on the right level of support for your business - no upselling, just what’ll give you the biggest return. And if you're not ready to invest that much, we can talk about what's possible with different levels of support.

Want to see this in action? Here’s how I helped a private healthcare clinic rebuild their marketing machine, cut wasted ad spend, and grow organic leads dramatically.

Premier Veins logo

Want to see this in action?

Here’s how I helped a private healthcare clinic rebuild their marketing machine, cut wasted ad spend, and grow organic leads dramatically.

Read what it's like having a Fractional CMO

Who this is for?

CEOs, MDs and Founders of small and medium-sized businesses who:
  • Want marketing to drive growth without the risk, budget and hassle of hiring a full-time CMO.
  • Feel like they're managing their marketing themselves, without the time or expertise to do it properly.
  • Want someone who'll treat their business like their own, and take accountability for results.

Want to see if we’d make a good team?

If this sounds like the kind of strategic relationship you’ve been missing, let’s start with a Clarity Call. It’s the best way to see whether I can partner with you to build a marketing machine that delivers the results - and the confidence - you deserve.

2024 Website launch Blog Images-2

Fractional CMO vs Marketing Agency: Which Is Right for Your Business?

If you’re not sure whether you need a consultant, an agency, or a marketing leader, this blog breaks down the difference and helps you decide.

Read blog: Do I need a Fractional CMO or an agency?
90-day planning tools blog

Why a 90-Day Marketing Plan is Your Secret to Stop Overthinking and Start Growing

Or if you want to take a DIY-first approach, start with this guide to building a 90-day marketing strategy.

Read blog: How to build a 90-day plan
Ros Conkie with The Marketing Machine book for scaling SME marketing

Curious to see how the Marketing Machine process works?

Get your free sample chapter of Ros Conkie's book, The Marketing Machine, and discover how to turn your marketing into a well-oiled, lead-generating machine - without the fluff!

Or buy the book here.

Your questions answered…

How much does a Fractional CMO cost?

It depends on the support you need - but it’s far less than hiring a full-time Marketing Director. Most of my clients invest between £2,000 and £5,000 per month depending on how many days you need me each month and how hands-on the support is. That includes strategic leadership, team mentoring, supplier management, planning, and keeping everything aligned with your growth goals. If you’re trying to weigh it up, let’s have a quick chat and I’ll tell you what’s realistic for your business.

I don't have a marketing team, does that matter?

No, not at all. With very small clients, I often start with a team of freelancers to get the momentum going and give you the flexibility you need as you grow. As your business grows I can support the recruitment, training and mentoring of your marketing team. Having a CMO overseeing this whole process means you can smooth the transition from an outsourced team to an inhouse one.

Who will I be working with?

Your strategy and plan will be created and managed by me, Ros Conkie. If you need support implementing it, then we have a trusted network of partners and suppliers that we can draw on to build a complete expert-led marketing team.

How is a Fractional CMO different from a marketing consultant or agency?

Good question - and one that gets asked a lot. The key difference is ownership. Most consultants and agencies will give you recommendations and run campaigns, but they don’t lead your marketing function. As a Fractional CMO, I step into that leadership role. I build the strategy, manage your team or your suppliers, and make sure everything is delivering real results. I'm not on the outside looking in - I'm in your corner, helping your business grow from the inside out.

What happens once we've created a strategy?

Having a stratey is great, but implementing it is another challenge. Some people are happy to take this on themselves, with a bit of ad hoc strategic steer, but others need more support to keep the momentum going. This is why, once we have your strategy and plan in place, I’ll be here to oversee and manage the implementation. Whether you want to find good freelancers, recruit team members, or bring in agencies etc., I'm on your team to help make sure you achieve your goals as efficiently as possible.

Can we use AI to increase the efficiency of our marketing?

Yes, if you want to! AI is developing rapidly and it's hard to keep up with it all, so I make sure to continually invest my time learning its capabilities and limitations. I have helped a number of clients to create and use custom GPTs in their businesses that generate high quality, tailored content in their own tone of voice. It's not for everyone, but if you're curious about it then let's talk.

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Machines running well...

The people you really want to hear from are the people who have already taken the leap and been through the process.

So, don’t just take it from us, here’s what our previous clients had to say…

"My marketing has improved a lot since I started working with Ros and Katie. We’ve gradually built up a strategy which includes loads of marketing activities that approach clients without actually approaching them with regular blogs, LinkedIn content and my website. When I first put my website up, I just expected people to come to it. I didn’t realise the importance of guiding people to and through it. Now I’m getting enquiries through it.” - Martin O'Hare, O'Hare Engineering Design Ltd.

Martin Ohare

"Ros has helped our business grow more than we ever imagined. She helps us to think differently about our marketing approaches, evaluate decisions properly and has put together a plan that not only delivers results but also saves us money by preventing us from making expensive misjudgements around marketing She’s saved us time, money and our sanity!” - Karen Meager, Monkey Puzzle Training & Consultancy

Karen Meager

"I’ve noticed changes in my staff, who are keener, more confident and more professional. They’ve followed what Ros said and put it into practice. She’s given us a sense of direction and a structure to work from. She’s shown us how it should be done – it’s taken away a stress and a doubt" - Edward Morris, EPM

"Marketing has always been one of my challenges in running a business. There are so many different platforms and marketing methods that it is hard to know where to invest to generate consistent leads. Ros made me think about how my customers interact with the business and I now have tools that will make sure the next marketing campaign I conduct will provide a good ROI. If you are unsure how to get the best from your marketing campaigns, speak to Ros, it could be the best investment you make in marketing!" - Simon Norton, Bristol Business Brokers

Simon Norton

"Ros has deconstructed 'marketing' and created a framework that covers the whole of the territory, a system to ensure the parts of the framework hold together. It is not a 'fill in the blanks' template – it makes you think, question, and test. It is both straightforward and subtle and is one of the most valuable courses I have been on." - Philip Avery, The Business Mechanic

PhilipAvery

"I looked over my goals I set last year for marketing, in 12 months we wanted to… Raise our conversion rate from 30% to 36%... It’s now 65%. Increase the average monthly spend per customer from £300 to £500… it’s now £750. Have 20 retainer clients, which we have! We’ve tripled our business in a year. Just wanted to share this with you and say a massive thank you! - Electra Savvidou, ActionPAs

Electra Savvidou
Get started today 
 

Book a call with me to discuss how we can start building a marketing machine that’ll drive sales and profit.