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Maximizing Revenue with Fractional CMO: Cost-Effective Growth in 2024
March 25, 2024
by
Siva Cotipalli
Running a successful SaaS company demands your constant attention. You juggle email campaigns for lead generation, content creation for industry events, and tackling a dip in organic search traffic – all while wearing multiple hats. But if you handle all the marketing tasks, who will strategize the business growth? You need a helping hand, but not just an ordinary one. An experienced marketing lead that drives business growth and that fits well within your budget as a growing company.
A fractional CMO is just what you need. They are a seasoned marketing leader who works with you part-time to provide the strategic guidance and expertise your team needs to thrive. Don't get bogged down by feeling like you need a full-time marketing executive to achieve results.
What does a fractional CMO do, more specifically? And does your B2B SaaS startup actually need one? Let’s find that out today.
1. First things first, What exactly is a Fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO provides strategic marketing planning, leadership, and execution for startups that need a CMO but don’t have or can’t afford the cost of a full-time resource. Usually, Fractional Chief Marketing Officer engagements depend on the scope of marketing needs but range from 1 day per week to 90 days in a year.
2. Fractional CMOs will become more common than ever in 2024
Current market conditions have become challenging for tech startups due to rising interest rates, the Ukraine invasion, the conflict in the Middle East, and the impending US elections. All these events are negatively impacting their growth, and because of this, “Belt-tightening” has become increasingly common.
B2B SaaS startups are chasing “profitability” and “efficiency” over “growth,” so the position of some C-suite leaders in startups like the CMO is under threat. (of course, we are making some broad generalizations here).
On the flip side, the number of freelance marketers has exploded due to a number of factors, such as:
The increased attraction of remote work
The lack of job security in full-time roles
The dearth of skilled B2B SaaS marketers
The affordability of hiring freelancers over full-time employees
The attractive business model of SMEs, who can't always afford a full-time marketing director (CMO), but a freelance CMO offers their expertise at a more manageable cost.
3. Multifaceted Benefits of Hiring a Fractional CMO
Benefits of Hiring a Fractional CMO
The fractional CMO trend is surging as almost 2,82,000 LinkedIn users are adopting the title by January 2024. But why is that so? Let’s find out:
Faster Time to Market: A fractional CMO's experience streamlines your marketing launch processes and gets your product or service to market quicker. Fractional CMOs have reported an average of 48% faster time-to-market for new services and products, translating into quicker returns on investment.
Better productivity: Strategic guidance and leadership from a fractional CMO will help your marketing team work more efficiently and achieve their goals faster. Fractional CMOs have increased average productivity by 28% just by allowing companies to allocate their internal marketing teams more tactical tasks.
Higher revenue growth: By optimizing marketing strategies and campaigns, a fractional CMO can potentially contribute to increased sales and revenue. Companies that engaged Fractional CMOs have experienced an average 29% revenue growth rate compared to 19% for those without.
Cost-Effective Solution: Hiring a full-time CMO is expensive and does not always fit into the budget of every startup. On the other hand, a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer is a cost-effective solution, especially for startups. With a fractional CMO, you get expert advice and guidance without the additional overhead costs.
Wealth of Experience: A Fractional Chief Marketing Officer brings a decade of experience that spans over multiple industries and campaigns. They offer strategic direction and invaluable insights honed through years of industry experience.
Holistic Marketing Proficiency: A Fractional CMO comes with experience across all major facets of marketing, such as brand, product, and growth marketing. They ensure comprehensive coverage of marketing functions, which maximizes impact and minimizes gaps.
Immediate Process Implementation: A part time CMO is equipped with established processes and methodologies. So, from day one, they have the ability to expedite the setup and optimization of marketing operations to accelerate time-to-market and drive efficiency.
CEO Offloading: A Fractional CMO alleviates the CEO’s burden by taking complete responsibility for marketing leadership. This allows the CEO of the B2B SaaS startup to focus on overall business growth and broader strategic initiatives.
Efficient Team Management: A Fractional Chief Marketing Officer streamlines the entire marketing ecosystem, from hiring and managing teams internally to overseeing agencies and contractors. This ensures optimal resource utilization and team coordination.
4. Signs your business needs to hire a fractional CMO
Now that you understand what a fractional CMO does and how it can help your business grow in a cost-effective way, how can you tell it’s time to start looking for one? If the majority of the below signs apply to your business, it’s time to start looking for one.
Lot of scope to improve pipeline and brand awareness but don't have bandwidth to do it
You want to grow, but your budget isn’t there yet
Your team needs expert marketing leadership
Your past marketing strategies haven’t worked
You feel your business needs a new perspective
You want to make your marketing efforts more consistent across all channels
You are not ready for the commitment of a full-time CMO
5. Signs your business is not ready to hire a fractional CMO
Despite the multi-faceted benefits of a fractional CMO, there are times when hiring one doesn’t work for your business or would likely create additional problems. If any of the following situations apply to your organization, it’s probably best to wait.
You aren’t serious and ready to invest in your marketing
You don’t have proper business goals
You’re not prepared for growth
You or company stakeholders are not ready to take action
6. What Fractional CMO Services Do They Provide?
Hiring a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer brings a range of specialized services to elevate your business’s marketing efforts. They dive deep into your business to tailor marketing strategies that align with your overall business goals so that every marketing effort counts. Let’s explore the most important services that a Fractional CMO agency provides:
Create a marketing strategy by analyzing the market and customers’ pain points.
Create a sales funnel covering every stage from lead acquisition to boosting the word of mouth of the happy customers.
Build a brand that connects with customers’ pain points.
Make data-driven decisions and adjust the action plan.
Manages specialists (copywriters, designers, web developers, etc.) to ensure consistency across channels.
Oversee the marketing budget and ensure optimal marketing ROI.
Work independently and drive the development of the marketing department.
7. How much does an Outsourced CMO cost?
Hiring a full-time CMO is a significant investment. Fractional CMOs offer a smarter solution, typically costing 50-75% less than the annual salary and benefits of a full-time executive.
Usually, Fractional CMOs charge by the hour, with rates ranging from $60 to $500. This allows you to tailor your engagement to fit your budget. For example, a $8,000 monthly retainer with 80 committed hours translates to just $96,000 annually.
This flexible structure lets you access top-tier marketing expertise without the full-time commitment. You can scale your engagement up or down as your needs evolve, ensuring you get the right level of support at the right cost.
8. What Makes ProGrowth Different?
Marketing has become more sophisticated than ever. Achieving outstanding marketing results requires specialists with lots of experience. And that’s expensive. For more than 10 years, we have served as the outsources and fractional CMO and marketing team to cost-conscious B2B SaaS startups that demand outstanding results.
Here’s what makes us stand out from other Fractional Chief Marketing Officer agencies in the market:
ProGrowth has served as the outsourced CMO for dozens of B2B SaaS Startups with outstanding results.
Most of our clients have been with us for several years because our outsourced CMO services are reliable. We constantly update our marketing approach based on changes in the market.
ProGrowth gives you a $2M/year marketing team for just a fraction of the cost. We think about your business as if it is our own.
Book a Meeting with Our Fractional CMOs Today. Let’s discuss your marketing goals and see how our Fractional CMO services can drive growth for your SaaS brand.
