Guide
What is a fractional CMO?
A senior marketing leader who works part time on retainer: sets strategy, directs the work, reports results.
In short
- Sets the strategy and the few priorities
- Directs your team, freelancers, and agencies
- Reports what the work earned
- Part time: no full-time executive salary
The full answer
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing leader who works with a business part time, on a retainer, instead of as a full-time employee. They set the strategy, choose the priorities, direct the people and vendors who do the work, and report on results. "Fractional" means a fraction of a full-time role.
What does a fractional CMO actually do?
The title describes leadership, not a task list. In practice a fractional CMO does five things:
- Diagnoses. Looks at your website, listings, ads, follow-up, and numbers to find what is working and what is wasted.
- Plans. Turns that into a written roadmap with a few priorities, an owner for each, and dates.
- Directs. Briefs and checks the work of your staff, freelancers, and agencies so they pull in the same direction.
- Decides. Says no to the shiny tactic that does not fit, and where the next dollar should go.
- Reports. Explains in plain language what was done, what it earned, and what comes next.
How is it different from an agency, a freelancer, or a consultant?
An agency or freelancer is hired to do a defined piece of work, such as running ads or building a site. A fractional CMO decides which pieces are worth doing and in what order. A consultant may hand over a report and leave; a fractional CMO stays in the seat for the engagement and is accountable for the plan being carried out.
The shorthand many practitioners use is that the CMO decides what to do and the agency does how. We compare the two in detail in fractional CMO vs marketing agency.
What does it look like in a trade or home-service business?
Take a roofing, pergola, turf, or fencing company with a good crew and steady referrals but no one owning marketing. A fractional CMO might find that new leads wait hours for a reply, the Google Business Profile lists the wrong services, the website has no page for the city where most jobs are, and an agency is spending the ad budget on clicks that never call. The plan fixes those in order of payoff, assigns each fix, and checks it got done.
That is different from hiring a marketer to "do social media". It is closer to having a head of marketing for a fraction of the cost.
Is it the same as a full-time CMO?
The role is the same; the time is not. A fractional CMO divides time across the engagement, usually in short, regular blocks. That suits a business that needs senior judgment but does not yet have enough marketing work or budget to keep an executive busy. See fractional CMO vs full-time CMO.
Who is a fractional CMO a good fit for?
- Established businesses that already sell and want to grow in a planned way.
- Owners who run jobs all day and have no time to run marketing.
- Companies that have tried an agency or a junior hire and feel they are guessing.
It is a weaker fit for a brand-new business that has not yet made its first sales, or for someone who only needs a single deliverable. More in when to hire a fractional CMO.
Where WRD Media fits
WRD Media is the practice behind Howard Kan, a fractional CMO for trade and home-service businesses in DFW and across the US. The engagement has two levels, Advisor at $4,999 a month and Embedded at $9,999 a month, with a 90-day initial term. Details are on the fractional CMO page and the services page.
Common questions
Is a fractional CMO a real CMO?
They hold the leadership role part time. The title does not change the work: strategy, priorities, direction of the team, and accountability for the plan.
How many hours does a fractional CMO work?
It varies by engagement and by who you ask. Scope and access matter more than a number of hours, so ask what you will receive each week and each month.
Does a fractional CMO do the work or just advise?
It depends on the level. Some only direct and review. Others also ship work every week. Ask exactly which.
How long is a typical engagement?
Most are at least a few months, because strategy takes time to show up in results. Ours is a 90-day initial term, then month to month.
What does a fractional CMO cost?
See our guide: how much does a fractional CMO cost. Market ranges run from a few thousand dollars a month to well over ten thousand, depending on scope.
Not sure where to start?
Book a 20-minute strategy call. We will look at your biggest marketing opportunity and what Howard would do about it, even if we never work together.