Businesses, especially startups, are often faced with a dilemma—they’re in desperate need of a chief marketing officer (CMO) to guide their marketing operations but can’t afford or don’t need a full-time one. Because of the fractional employment model, they no longer need to compromise. They can employ a fractional CMO and pay only for a fraction of their time while still getting the high-level expertise they need to upgrade their marketing efforts.

If your focus is B2B marketing and you operate in industries like SaaS, a B2B fractional CMO can be the puzzle piece you need to hit your goals and do so in a timely manner.

In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the B2B fractional CMO role. We’ll cover the basics of the position and share tips to help you find and onboard a top-notch professional. Finally, we’ll introduce a platform to streamline the fractional recruiting process and save you time and effort.

Understanding the Difference Between Fractional, Full-Time, Part-Time, and Freelance Work

The fractional recruiting model implies an employee’s continuous and broader engagement with a specific company but with a lower and more flexible workload. In the context of marketing, it’s mostly associated with executive positions such as CMO, CGO (chief growth officer), and marketing director. Still, it’s also a common choice when it comes to highly specialized positions like:

• SEO marketers
• Content marketers
• Marketing consultants

Similar to part-time employees, fractional employees aren’t committed to a single company for 40 hours per week like their full-time counterparts. However, if the need arises, the fractional employee may work full-time for a company during a specific critical period.

At the same time, fractional employees resemble freelancers in that they can work for multiple employers at once, dedicating a fraction of their time to each. The key difference is that freelancers are self-employed, while fractional employees are typically regarded as part of the company and are more involved in its collective.

The table below summarizes the key differences between the employment models discussed above:

What Is a B2B Fractional CMO?

A B2B CMO is a top-level marketing executive who specializes in the B2B (business-to-business) marketing approach. As the primary decision maker in a company’s marketing department, they’re responsible for developing and implementing strategies to meet the specific challenges of the B2B model, such as:

• Smaller and more knowledgeable target audiences
• Longer and more complex sales cycles
• Building trust in the brand and nurturing relationships with clients

While B2C (business-to-customer) marketing directly drives growth through customer purchases, B2B marketing is seen as support for the sales team, which establishes and nurtures client relationships. For that reason, B2B marketing teams often don’t get the same level of funding as B2C ones but are still expected to drive revenue and growth.

Typically, B2B CMOs have many years of experience operating in B2B industries, such as tech and manufacturing, so they know what kind of marketing approach is most effective. They often start as marketers and then work their way up to managerial and executive positions through relevant experience, post-graduate education, and certification programs.

A fractional B2B CMO shares many of the responsibilities of a full-time CMO. The biggest difference is that fractional CMOs work fewer hours, engaging with the company as needed. They may jump in to help during critical periods, offering expert guidance or oversight to ensure optimal results.

B2B fractional CMOs usually focus on strategy, research, and analytics. They’re not as involved in the implementation and the day-to-day operations as their full-time counterparts. 

Key Roles and Responsibilities of a B2B Fractional CMO

Below are the typical duties of a B2B fractional CMO:

1. Strategic planning: Identifying target market segments, picking the right channels, and devising an account-based marketing strategy, which involves personalized marketing and relationship-building with clients
2. Brand management: Creating and maintaining the company’s brand identity, which needs to emulate credibility and catch the eye of specific high-value audiences
3. Sales enablement: Developing sales-oriented content, ensuring alignment with the sales department, and offering training and feedback for improvement
4. Marketing analytics: Tracking campaign progress and focusing on metrics such as conversion rates, customer lifetime value, and return on investment

Key Benefits of Hiring a B2B Fractional CMO

Fractional CMOs are the perfect middle-ground solution for many businesses, especially early-stage B2B startups with tight budgets. Without the possibility of employing high-level marketing experts on a fractional basis, these companies would have to choose whether to:

• Operate with no marketing direction
• Hire less experienced and knowledgeable talent
• Risk going bankrupt with a full-time CMO

Even if the budget isn’t an issue, a business may not need full-time CMO support because its marketing needs are specific and seasonal.

Instead of making unfavorable compromises, businesses can hire a fractional CMO and enjoy the following advantages:

1. Affordability: With fractional hiring, you can access C-level expertise without splurging on a full-time C-level salary. This cost-effective approach allows you to hire multiple experts and build an all-star marketing team
2. Adaptability: The fractional model lets you adapt to the constant changes in B2B marketing and scale up or down easily. The B2B fractional CMO can put in more hours in case any problems emerge or you decide to ramp up your marketing efforts
3. Time-to-hire: Fractional B2B experts are typically more readily available and have more flexible schedules. You can hire an expert as soon as you need to, taking advantage of marketing opportunities and resolving issues quickly
4. Objectivity: Fractional CMOs can bring fresh and objective perspectives to your B2B marketing efforts, driving innovation and growth

When To Hire a B2B Fractional CMO

One of the situations that call for a fractional CMO is when you’re entering industries that heavily rely on B2B marketing methods, such as software-as-a-service (SaaS). This market has unique requirements and demands a specific marketing approach. A SaaS fractional CMO’s experience can be valuable in helping you understand the sector and create a marketing strategy to achieve favorable outcomes from the get-go.

If you’re already set up for the B2B market, a B2B fractional CMO’s expertise can be invaluable during a major transition. This may include situations such as business expansions and new product launches.

It may also be time to hire a fractional CMO if you run into an issue or need an extra hand. For example, you should seek out a B2B fractional CMO’s help when:

• Your full-time CMO is unavailable: A fractional B2B CMO can step in to ensure your marketing efforts continue in the right direction
• Your current strategy isn’t working out: If your B2B campaigns aren’t yielding optimal results, a fractional CMO can help identify the causes and improve the outcomes
• You lack branding consistency: A fractional CMO can revise your branding strategy and ensure a coherent brand image for your business
• Your marketing department is swamped: A B2B fractional CMO can help your department work more efficiently and hire new talent

What To Look For in a B2B Fractional CMO

Before trusting any individual with a high-stakes position such as CMO, you must make sure they have the necessary qualifications. The screening process usually consists of the following:

1. In-depth interviews: These serve to evaluate the candidate’s communication and leadership skills. You can also assess how they handle particular situations
2. Assessments: Case studies and presentations are an excellent way to evaluate the candidate’s strategic thinking and business acumen
3. Reference checks: You should conduct reference checks to verify the candidate’s experience and past achievements

The table below breaks down the primary qualities you should seek in a B2B fractional CMO and the types of questions you need to answer:

Optimizing the Relationship With Your B2B Fractional CMO

Before you even start sourcing candidates, you should figure out exactly what you want your B2B fractional CMO to do. Having a clear picture of their role and responsibilities will help you recruit more efficiently, giving you specific skills to look out for. You should also make this information clear to candidates to prevent misunderstandings.

While it’s not typical to provide full-time benefits to fractional employees, you should offer at least some incentives to attract talent and keep them engaged, such as health insurance and opportunities for advancement.

It’s also essential to have your fractional CMO sign an NDA. Since they’ll work for other companies, an NDA serves to protect your proprietary and confidential information.

You must also establish open lines of communication and exchange feedback regularly. Doing so will keep you aligned and ensure efficient work.

Still, it’s crucial not to overdo it and slip into micromanagement—that will distract the employee, stifle their creativity, and undermine their expertise. Even though they’re not a full-time employee, you should trust your B2B fractional CMO’s abilities and devotion.

Similarly, you should make the CMO feel part of the team by including them in relevant activities and sending company updates.

The following table sums up the dos and don’ts of hiring a B2B fractional CMO:

Challenges of Hiring a B2B Fractional CMO

The most challenging aspect of hiring a B2B fractional CMO is finding a suitable individual. If you don’t screen and interview extensively, your candidate may turn out to be:

• Unreliable: The CMO needs to be transparent about their capabilities and follow through on your agreement. If not, they won’t be able to deal with sensitive matters and make all the tough decisions
• Dependent: While they should communicate with you regularly, the CMO must also be able to work autonomously and get the job done. If not, they’ll need constant supervision or approval, which means your time will be wasted
• Unmotivated: Since you may not be the only employer the CMO will work with, there’s a risk the fractional CMO won’t be as devoted to your cause as you want them to be. In that case, they likely won’t do their best work

Unlike with hard skills and experience, it’s difficult to assess these traits before the candidate starts working for you. If you end up hiring the wrong fit, there’s a chance one of you will want to end the collaboration, forcing you to deal with yet another recruitment cycle and spend even more resources.

To avoid this situation, your best bet is to partner with an on-demand recruitment platform like MarketerHire, which can connect you with elite, pre-vetted B2B fractional CMOs within days. By offering free trials and rematching, MarketerHire minimizes the risk of making a bad hire, among all the other benefits it brings to your marketing recruitment game.

Why Is MarketerHire the Best Choice for Hiring a B2B Fractional CMO?

MarketerHire is a matchmaking platform that connects businesses in all industries with top marketing talent across all niches and verticals. Founded by seasoned marketing experts in 2018, it has since made over 25,000 successful matches for clients that include household brands like:

• Forbes
• Lyft
• HelloFresh
• Netflix

MarketerHire’s proprietary MarketerMatch system combines AI and hand-matching to connect you with the top fractional candidate from its elite marketer network according to your specific requirements. The system is also fast, allowing you to hire for any marketing role within as little as three days. This is especially useful if you need to hire an interim B2B fractional CMO urgently due to the sudden absence of your full-time executive.

MarketerHire’s marketing experts rigorously screen all candidates before admitting them into the network. The screening process singles out the top 3% of applicants and consists of:

1. Detailed skill reviews
2. Video interviews
3. Test projects

You can assess the fit of your match during a free trial week. If you’re not happy with their work, you can get a rematch free of charge. That means you don’t have to worry about hiring the wrong B2B fractional CMO and wasting precious resources by starting the hiring process all over again.

While the final decision is yours, rest assured that your involvement in sourcing, screening, and interviewing candidates will be minimal. With MarketerHire’s white-glove, concierge-style service, you’ll receive support before, during, and after the recruitment process.

How MarketerHire Works

To have MarketerHire find you the perfect B2B fractional CMO, you only need to:

1. Describe your needs: Hop on a short call with your dedicated marketing manager to discuss your company and its requirements
2. Meet your match: MarketerHire’s expert team will single out the top candidate for the role within 48 hours
3. Kickstart collaboration: You can start working with your new B2B fractional CMO within three days

Once work is underway, your marketing manager will check in with you every two weeks to ensure you’re satisfied. If not, they’ll find you a new match for free.

Thanks to MarketerHire’s no-obligation short-term contract, you can freely scale up, scale down, or cancel collaboration. MarketerHire is also there for you if you want to expand your marketing team with experts like social media managers, marketing analysts, or programmatic marketers. You can hire them on a full-time, fractional, or hourly basis.

MarketerHire can also connect you with full-time Expert Assistants if your marketing, design, or sales team ever needs help with tedious, manual work. The assistants can take over repetitive tasks, allowing the rest of your team to focus on high-impact strategic work.

Whether you need a B2B fractional CMO or an assistant, reach out to MarketerHire and meet your next great hire in a jiffy!

Other Fractional Hiring Resources To Check Out

Want to learn more about fractional recruitment? Here’s a list of other guides we’ve written on the topic:

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