Yesterday, I wrote about the risk of fractional CMO positioning.
As with many things, there is another side to the coin. In fact, there are several benefits of fractional CMO positioning.
Here are just a few.
1. It positions you as a senior leader, which you are
People with high stakes and high-value projects are looking for senior guidance to help oversee their marketing program.
A CMO title—fractional or not—implies seniority. And that’s a strong first impression to make.
2. It makes it obvious what you do
Not everyone knows what a marketing strategist, advisor, or consultant even does.
Explaining it in terms of being like a part-time chief marketing officer is a great way to articulate the type of strategic work you’ll bring to the table.
3. It implies a long-term relationship, not a “one-and-done” project
Nobody plans to hire a CMO (fractional or otherwise) for a single project or short period of time.
Clients who are attracted to a fractional CMO see you either as being a long-term fixture on their team, or at least a medium-term solution until they have the means to hire a full-time person.
Either way, longevity in your relationships can be a good thing, as long as you don’t let it devolve into an employee-like situation.
4. It allows you to create a high price anchor
My definition of a fractional CMO is one that may involve a combination of high-level strategy, some proof-of-concept tactical work, and even some day-to-day management of the marketing program.
And because of the executional nature of that work, it should be priced high—both to position you and your skills as a premium offering, but also to make your advisory tier (the one you should be selling most of) seem cheap by comparison.
And by the way, you don’t need to do any of the tactical stuff I described in my definition above. But there is a market for it, so I include that as the top-level idea.
These are just some of the benefits to a fractional CMO positioning. Overall, it can help shorten your sales processes, charge a premium, increase lifetime value, and get more traction on all your services by clarifying what you do more quickly.