What Is a Fractional CMO, and Do You Need One?
There are more ways than ever to get marketing support, from freelancers and specialist agencies to consultants and part-time execs. For most companies, the challenge isn't finding help. It's working out what kind of help they need most.
Hiring a full-time marketing lead is a significant investment. The average UK salary is around £27,600, but senior marketing roles sit well above that. A full-time Marketing Manager typically earns around £44,400, while a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) can earn anywhere from £100,000 to £220,000 per year.
And that's just the salary. Once you add employer National Insurance contributions, pension payments, recruitment costs, workspace overheads, and things like bonuses, holiday, and sick pay, the actual cost of hiring someone can be nearly double their base pay. For many businesses, especially earlier-stage or growing ones, that's a major financial and operational commitment.
Not every business is ready for that or wants to take on the cost and commitment that comes with it. Sometimes, the need is more strategic than hands-on. Other times, it's about getting things done, without the commitment of another full-time hire. Often, it's somewhere in between.
That's where a fractional CMO comes in.
What Is a Fractional CMO?
A Fractional CMO is exactly what it sounds like: a senior marketing leader who works with your business on a part-time basis. You get high-level experience and momentum, without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.
Typically, a fractional CMO helps set direction, shape strategy, and bring clarity and focus to your marketing. But not all fractional CMOs work the same way. Some stay high-level, offering guidance but staying out of the day-to-day. Others act more like consultants, dropping in to give advice, then stepping back.
At Chief, we take a very collaborative approach. We don't just hand over a plan and disappear. We work as part of your team, often directly with the founder(s), building strategy, offering guidance, but we also do the work. That means everything from positioning and messaging audits to creating landing pages, writing newsletters, and launching LinkedIn campaigns. We also specialise in short, punchy demo videos that help replace those long (often forgettable) founder Looms you see so much.
Not every fractional marketing setup looks like that. Some companies want a consultant. Others need someone to advise their existing team. But if what you're looking for is a flexible, experienced team that can lead, consult, and execute, we do all three.
When Does Hiring a Fractional CMO Make Sense?
Hiring a fractional CMO tends to make the most sense when you're in one of these situations:
You're not quite ready to hire full-time in the C-Suite.
You know you need senior marketing support but are not ready to commit to a full-time salary. Or maybe you're still figuring out what the role should look like. A fractional CMO can help create that role, build the foundation, and allow you to make better hiring decisions later.
Your team is stretched thin.
You've got a capable team doing good work, but no one with the time or headspace to lead. A fractional CMO can step into that leadership gap, providing direction, focus, and accountability without overwhelming your team.
You’re ‘doing marketing’ as organised chaos.
Maybe a couple of blogs are going out each week, some ads are running, and a few landing pages are live, but it all feels disconnected. A fractional CMO can bring some context and expertise to all this. They create a plan that connects activity to outcomes, so your marketing has a chance of making a difference.
You need momentum, fast.
You might have a product launch, a funding round, a rebrand, or simply just some internal pressure to "make something happen." You need results quickly. A good fractional CMO shouldn't need a long runway; they get in and get moving.
You want flexibility and low risk.
Startups and growing businesses change direction constantly. A fractional setup gives you the ability to adapt without the hassle of rewriting job descriptions or reorganising your team every time something changes.
All of this is especially true in B2B SaaS. Marketing in this space is rarely simple. The products are complex, the messaging can be technical, and the audiences are diverse. Growth expectations are high, and it's not enough to just "do some marketing." You need someone who understands the business and industry, can set a clear strategy, and can make sure it gets done quickly.
What If Fractional Isn't the Right Fit?
Fractional support isn't always the answer, and that's ok. Marketing teams look different at every growth stage, and what you need today might not be what you need in six months. Sometimes, you don't need marketing leadership, you might just need to get something over the line — a campaign, a product launch, a new website. In those cases, a scoped project might be the right fit. It's much more focused, it has a beginning and an end, and you get the outcome you need without having to build a long-term relationship.
Other times, the issue is clarity. You've got a team in place, but the roadmap is fuzzy. You're unsure where to focus, what to drop, or what "good" even looks like in your current market. That's where consulting can be useful: bringing in an experienced perspective to stress-test your thinking, spot blind spots, and refine your approach.
There are also moments when you're getting ready to hire (maybe your first senior marketing role, maybe a restructure) and you need some help making the right call. A short-term advisory setup can help you define the role, evaluate candidates, or sense-check your org design before you commit to a hire you might regret later.
So no, fractional isn't the only option. And it's not always the right one. What you need is to find the model that fits your current reality: your budget, your goals, your internal capabilities, and your speed. If you're clear on what you need, great. If you're not, that's fine too; often that's part of the work.
How We Do It at Chief
At Chief, it's just the two of us (Matt and Sophie) working directly with every client. We're a husband-and-wife team with a background in marketing, content, and creative, and we've built Chief to be hands-on, flexible, and collaborative. We sometimes tap in a designer for support, but we only work with people who do a better job than we can in a discrete area of work. So when you work with us, you're getting our brains on your business, every step of the way.
We work with clients in a few different ways — from one-off consultations and scoped projects to longer-term partnerships. But when a company needs ongoing support and senior-level input, that's where our fractional CMO setup fits best.
Here's how it works:
80 hours (minimum) of support per month, covering strategy, execution, and regular check-ins.
A shared tracker so you always know what's happening, what's in progress, and what's next.
A weekly session with us to review progress, ask questions, and plan ahead.
We charge a fixed monthly rate of £4800 (+VAT), which includes everything: planning, delivery, design coordination, calls, and tools. We ask for a three-month minimum so we've got the time to make a real impact. After that, it rolls month-to-month — but many clients choose to lock in a longer-term agreement (like 6 or 12 months) once we're up and running.
Not every business requires a fractional CMO, and we frequently work on smaller scopes or short-term projects as well. But if you need experienced, flexible support that can lead, deliver, and adapt with you, our fractional setup can provide that.
Tell me more…
Ready to chat with us about how we can support you? Book a call with us today to talk through what you need from a marketing resource in your B2B SaaS.
