As the head of GameOn’s fractional CMO service, it seems strange to reflect on the fact that, when I was a hiring manager myself, I never once considered hiring fractionally.
It wasn’t that I thought it was a bad idea; in fact, as you will find out, I believe it is one of the best things a business can do in the modern environment. Simply put, the idea was just never presented to me.
If, however, I were presented with fractional services as a hiring manager now, I’d take them in a heartbeat. 
The COVID Effect
As it did with many things, COVID fundamentally changed the way businesses think about talent. Remote work has gone from being a perk for many workers to being an expectation. Companies began to hire globally, and agility has become a must. That shift brought a flood of experienced marketers and C-suite-level executives into the market, looking for more flexible work terms.
The pandemic showed many businesses that yes, you can operate with a largely remote team, opening the doors for more flexible working arrangements. As such, they needed to start to meet workers on their terms.
In my previous roles, we would regularly use external partners, whether that was freelancers, agencies and consultants, especially when there were knowledge gaps in our team. However, fractional hires and the notion of bringing in a fractional team were far from my radar. Looking back, it is clear that this would have solved many of the problems we were facing.
Different Challenges
One of the biggest questions businesses ask is whether hiring a fractional CMO is right for them. In my experience, there is a wide spectrum of problems that a fractional CMO service, like the one we provide at GO CMO, can solve, regardless of the size of your business.
For example, I’ve found that many start-ups or smaller businesses often hit the same wall: founders and executives are shouldering marketing tasks, and they reach a tipping point where there is too much to handle. So, they look to make their first hire. However, the options feel binary – either hire a specialist in one or two areas but leave other areas behind, or a generalist who can provide broader coverage but not as much depth.
Typically, the budget for these roles is mid-level at best, and you will soon find yourself back at the same starting point, or you will need to outsource some of the work you wanted them to cover.
Maybe you’ve got a larger team, but a new product launch or market entry has left you short. You might need more localised experience or a product specialist, and hiring senior experience is going to prove extremely costly, especially if it is only for a short period.
Or perhaps you’re a big company looking to bridge an employment gap. A senior team member has left all of a sudden, and the existing team is left without a clear plan or framework.
Finally, what if you’re a company looking to sell? Having a huge in-house team can represent huge fixed costs, while a more flexible model with lower overheads will tell potential buyers a much different story.
How Fractional Solves These Problems
To all of the above problems, you are probably beginning to notice a pattern: fractional hires offer an accessible solution.
At GO CMO, our team works closely with businesses to identify exactly what they need. Our model is adaptable – it can operate as a fully outsourced marketing team that is an extension of your current model, or a specialist placement to support a core channel activity.
There are so many other benefits to going down the fractional route. One of the biggest is that senior marketing experience might not be financially attainable for a company on a permanent basis, and this allows them to bridge that gap while it is needed.
Bringing in someone for one or two days a week to oversee what is needed and to steer the ship in the right direction is often a much more financially beneficial move than hiring someone to be there all day, every day. Fractional hires are also not being pulled in every direction and can dedicate their time much more effectively.
It isn’t just the cost that this fixes, though. No single individual can cover all of the needs that a fractional CMO-led team can. At GO CMO, our service also includes social media support, paid media specialists, content writers, and our GO Intel service, which provides market intelligence and strategy.
A fractional team, like a freelancer, will also be working with other brands. That kind of exposure can help bring insights that your company might not otherwise get. A diverse range of viewpoints from external eyes can often help a company reshape their strategy and prove more effective.
The Bottom Line
The fractional model is undoubtedly here to stay. It has become a smarter and more efficient way for businesses to access strategic, experienced leadership without the pressures or constraints of a full-time hire.
It also supports businesses of all sizes, democratising access to top-level talent with a much more financially sustainable approach. At GO CMO, we see these services benefit our clients regularly.
The changes in the way we work now present more flexibility and fluidity than ever before, and the companies that will succeed are those that are willing to take advantage of that.
