What is a Fractional CMO?

Propel is a cool-sounding name for a company; it’s an action. Fuel propels rockets, and growth propels businesses, but what is a Fractional CMO? For those of you thinking “chief medical officer,” let’s gently hit the “wrong answer” buzzer (insert sound effects). In the marketing world, CMO is “Chief Marketing Officer.”

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the real magic happens when marketers partner with customers to understand what problems their company can help solve.

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Companies have many leadership functions teamed up to hit their financial goals and serve customers, and marketing is an important role on this baseball team of business. Contrary to popular belief, marketing does more than order branded polos for trade shows and logo golf balls for sales teams. Marketing is steering growth strategy by creating action plans based on understanding customers. Yes, these action plans include connecting with customers in various ways, and sometimes it starts with a free t-shirt or a social media post. But the real magic happens when marketers partner with customers to understand what problems their company can help solve. Good marketers connect with customers to gather data about what matters to them and then work internally and cross-functionally to do something about it in profitable way for both. If you have strong marketing leadership with a strategic marketing approach, you will be quicker to see the big picture and translate information into action, and you’ll have leadership to drive communication and collaboration across your company in a way that accelerates sales.

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Now that you’ve indulged the “marketing is very important to grow your business” soapbox, let’s talk Fractional CMO. A Fractional CMO is an experienced marketing leader for hire, including access to a network of marketing professionals, without the commitment of hiring a full-time person. “Fractional” means you get a fraction of a full-time person at a level that matches your needs.

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When would you need a Fractional CMO?

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Here’s a handy checklist for starters:

1. You want to grow your business.
2. You want a trusted C-level marketer but don’t want to hire one full-time yet.
3. You’ve been busy reaching out in multiple ways to attract customers, but you’d like more of a coordinated strategic approach with success metrics.
4. You feel like your marketing strategy could use a makeover and you’re not sure where to start.
5. Your marketing function is currently handled by the CEO, taking away from other critical areas.
6. Your marketing function is managed by someone with multiple roles, and you could use some help from a marketing expert to keep up with the rapidly changing marketing playing field.
7. You’re investing in marketing but not clear on the return.
8. You raised more startup funding and need help prioritizing growth strategies and hitting key investor metrics.
9. You’d like to know how your marketing performance and investment match up with similar sized companies.
10. You want help entering a new market and want to realize sales faster.
11. You’d like to capture and act on customer insights sooner.
12. You’d like marketing and sales to collaborate (don’t laugh, it can happen).
13. Do you wonder: What is digital marketing?  Should we be on “The Facebook”?
14. You just really love marketing. It’s like the cowbell - you need more marketing!

If you found yourself nodding to any items on the list, we are here to help. Propel CMOs know how to make it happen. We have the experience to create a successful marketing approach to hit your business growth goals. We are fueled up and ready to propel you forward today.