Your Tech Startup Needs a Marketing Executive – Have You Considered a Fractional CMO?
Tech startups have exceptional opportunities for growth, especially when they have products and services that solve a common pain point for businesses and consumers. Post-series A funding, however, doesn’t always give you enough money to hire a full-time chief marketing officer (CMO). Instead of taking a risk on a full-time CMO, consider hiring a fractional CMO with experience in tech marketing.
Is a fractional CMO right for your tech startup marketing? That likely depends on several variables. In this post, we’ll cover some of the reasons startups choose fractional CMOS and what you can expect from a fractional CMO.
What Is a Fractional CMO, Anyway?
Let’s start with a pretty obvious question: what is a fractional CMO? A lot of entrepreneurs, executives and managers have never heard of this position. That will probably change over the next few years as fractional C-suite professionals become increasingly popular solutions for businesses.
Essentially, a fractional CMO is a marketing expert who prefers working with multiple companies instead of devoting themselves to a full-time position within one business.
Fractional CMOs often work with several tech startups at the same time. That’s potentially great news for tech startups that need to implement successful marketing strategies without spending too much money. Since the fractional CMO helps several businesses, you don’t have to pay them a full-time salary. Often, you and the CMO agree on a contract that details the person’s pay and length of service as well as project milestones.
What You Can Expect From a Fractional CMO
Some of the common services you can expect from a factional CMO include:
Creating B2B marketing strategies that increase your revenues and brand recognition.
Building a tech startup marketing plan that meets your budget requirements.
Establishing a timeline for when your marketing materials get released.
Consulting with other marketing professionals to give you niche expertise for more successful campaigns.
Thinking critically about your business to determine which marketing strategies will work best for your products and services.
What You Cannot Expect From a Fractional CMO
The nature of a fractional CMO’s work means that you cannot expect them to fill some roles for your business. Do not expect them to:
Work full-time hours.
Give your tech startup their undivided attention.
Stay with your business for longer than the contract stipulates.
If you need someone to give you 100 percent of their working hours and make a long-term commitment to your startup, you might want to consider choosing a full-time CMO. Read this blog post to learn more about the differences between full-time and fractional CMOs.
Can a Fractional CMO Fill Your Tech Start-up’s Marketing Needs?
In many cases, tech startups with Series A funding do not need a full-time CMO. At this point in the business’s development, your team members usually focus on proving concepts and building products. You need some marketing to spread the word about your company, but you probably do not need a CMO working 40+ hours a week and getting paid a six-figure salary plus benefits.
Learn more about the pros and cons of hiring fractional CMO. Whether this type of professional fits your needs depends on your business’s resources, existing plans, and current stage of development.
Fractional CMOs Have Experience Working With Diverse Companies
Many companies choose fractional CMOs because they want to save money. Then, they discover that the fractional CMO actually does a better job that a full-time CMO with limited experience.
Since fractional CMOs have a lot of clients, they learn how to apply a broad range of marketing strategies to different circumstances. They might have worked with several companies facing the same challenges that make it difficult for your startup to reach its goals. It’s very easy to adapt previous strategies and make them effective for your tech startup.
At other times, your startup might benefit from a more innovative marketing strategy that few companies in your industry use. You wouldn’t necessarily want to choose a full-time CMO who only has experience working in the tech sector. For more innovative insights, turn to a fractional CMO who has seen how other industries thrive.
Fractional CMOs Can Work Quickly to Start Your Marketing Campaigns
Tech startups need to move quickly to stay ahead of competitors. Even a short delay could give someone else an opportunity to introduce a new product similar to yours.
Fractional CMOs know how to develop and implement marketing plans quickly. Many of them excel in challenging situations, so they can create a marketing strategy, onboard any team members they need, reach milestones on time and monitor KPIs to check effectiveness.
Although your fractional CMO will not work for you on a full-time basis, you can expect rapid results because they know how to pivot and adjust to industry trends better than many traditional CMOs.
Find a New Direction for Your Marketing Campaigns
If you’re one of the lucky startups that have an in-house marketing team, it could make a lot of sense to hire a fractional CMO who can bring a fresh perspective to your marketing strategy.
Many fractional CMOs start their jobs by performing an audit. The audit reveals what parts of your marketing plan does and does not work well. Once they have a clearer view of how your marketing performs, they can replace under-performing aspects with new, more effective ideas.
If you do not have a marketing team in place, fractional CMOs can reach out to professionals they have worked with on other projects. That way, you get someone with the specific skills needed to make your B2B marketing and tech marketing more successful. You don’t have to worry about hiring a new employee. Instead, you pay for the services you need and reap the benefits.
Get a Full-Time CMO to Replace Your Fractional CMO
More often than not, fractional CMOs don’t stay at a company for longer than 18 months. When the project ends, they move on to new challenges.
That doesn’t mean the fractional CMO will leave your startup without helping you plan for the future. In fact, most fractional CMOs are happy to help you find a full-time CMO to take their place. As highly experienced professionals, fractional CMOs know what skills and traits to look for in potential replacements.
Some Fractional CMOs Get Better Results Than Others
Overall, you can expect any experienced fractional CMO to give you reliable marketing services that help your tech startup grow. Of course, some fractional CMOs get better results than others.
Make sure you take time to talk to fractional CMO candidates about their work experiences and what they can offer your organization.
Arch Collective uses a six-week process to build a successful B2B marketing plan. The process includes:
Performing a marketing audit.
Interviewing internal stakeholders and existing clients to understand what value the company offers.
Researching the business, its products and its industry.
Reviewing the marketing plan with contacts before presenting it to the CEO.
Building a budget that identifies costs at every step of the marketing plan.
Defining deliverables and getting approval from the CEO.
You can watch Amanda Rabideau, Arch Collective’s Founder and CEO, explain her six-week process in more detail in this video.
Talk to Arch Collective About Hiring a Fractional CMO
Does a fractional CMO sound like a good fit for your tech startup’s marketing needs?
Get in touch with Arch Collective to learn more about how a fractional CMO can address your startup’s unique needs. You might discover that you can make your business more successful without paying for a full-time CMO.
