Planning When Hiring a Fractional CMO

When it comes to your business, the marketing department can really play a part in its growth. After all, it is the marketing department that is responsible for attracting the right, targeted people to your offer. Their efforts make your brand recognizable, bring in leads, nurture leads, get more eyes on your website, and much more.

Every marketing department, in order to maximize its potential, needs to be overseen by a C- Suite Executive, and it is the Chief Marketing Officer that takes on this role. The thing is, not every business has the resources to hire one in-house. That’s where a Fractional CMO comes in.

But when is the right time to hire a Fractional CMO? How do you know you need one? Here are some business situations that could lead to you knowing when the right time is to start working with one:

When You Have Growth and Scaling Needs

Is your company growing fast? Do you need help scaling your marketing department to best leverage this growth? If so, then consider hiring a Fractional CMO. While your company grows, it is generally a good thing, however there are changes to navigate. You need to scale correctly or else your business might not even survive the growth phase.

On flip side, if you have a long-term goal to grow and scale your business, but it hasn’t happened yet, then you can also hire a Fractional CMO to help you achieve that goal. One of the functions of a Fractional CMO is to analyze the strategic goals of the company as a whole and then determine what needs to be done in the marketing department to get you there.

To Overcome a Lack of Marketing Expertise

Another function of a Fractional CMO is that they can help you overcome a lack of marketing expertise in-house. This is either by possessing the skills themselves, training your existing staff in the missing tasks, or help you make outsourcing and/or hiring decisions.

In other words, if you know you are lacking important skills in-house that you need to solve, this could be a prime opportunity for you to hire a Fractional CMO. He or she can help you solve any personnel issues or skills gaps you may be experiencing. The reason why this works is because they will be able to analyze the big picture and help you make the best decisions for the company.

Bring the Fractional CMO on for Strategic Planning

If at any time you realize you need some strategic marketing help, this is the right time to begin working with a Fractional CMO. Many marketing departments fail to have a strategic plan. Rather they implement a series of marking practices that, when strung together, give the appearance of being a strategic plan

The fact is, every detail that you think of should be tied to your business goals. The marketing plan should be thoughtful and designed to help your business achieve its big picture. Every little detail, such as an article topic chosen for the blog, needs to be done with the overall strategy top of mind. A Fractional CMO can help bring clarity.

These are just a few examples of when the right time is to work with a Fractional CMO. Keep these in mind if you’re thinking of hiring one!