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What Does a Fractional CMO Actually Do - and When Do You Need One?

  • Writer: Laura Derbyshire
    Laura Derbyshire
  • 2 days ago
  • 3 min read
Senior business leader walking forward, representing strategic marketing leadership and fractional CMO support

As businesses scale, marketing often becomes one of the hardest functions to get right.


Founders know growth is stalling or becoming inefficient. Teams are busy, activity is high, but results aren’t compounding. Hiring a full-time CMO feels premature - but relying on agencies or junior marketers no longer feels sufficient.


This is where the Fractional CMO model has emerged as a powerful alternative.

But what does a fractional CMO actually do? And how do you know when it’s the right move for your business?


What Is a Fractional CMO?

A Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is a senior marketing leader who works with your business on a part-time, interim or embedded basis.


Unlike agencies or consultants focused on execution alone, a fractional CMO operates at leadership level - shaping strategy, guiding teams, and aligning marketing directly to commercial outcomes.


In simple terms, a fractional CMO gives you CMO-level thinking and leadership, without the cost, risk or long-term commitment of a full-time hire.


What a Fractional CMO Actually Does

A strong fractional CMO is not there to “do more marketing”. They are there to bring clarity, structure and direction. Typically, this includes:


1. Diagnosing the Real Growth Problem

Before tactics, channels or campaigns, a fractional CMO looks at the bigger picture:


  • Where growth is stalling

  • What’s misaligned between brand, marketing and sales

  • Whether the issue is positioning, proposition, pipeline, messaging or execution


This diagnostic phase is often where the biggest value lies, because many businesses are solving the wrong problem.


2. Setting a Clear Marketing Strategy

A fractional CMO creates a strategic framework that answers:

  • Who are you really targeting

  • What makes you distinctive

  • How marketing supports revenue and growth goals

  • What success looks like in commercial terms


This replaces fragmented activity with a joined-up plan that teams can actually execute.


3. Leading, Not Just Advising

Unlike traditional consultants, a fractional CMO is hands-on at the leadership level.


This might include:

  • Leading internal teams

  • Managing agencies and partners

  • Making prioritisation decisions

  • Acting as a strategic partner to the CEO or founder


The focus is not theory, it’s momentum.


4. Building Systems That Scale

A good fractional CMO doesn’t create dependency.


They put in place:

  • Clear processes

  • Decision frameworks

  • Performance metrics

  • Team structures


So that marketing becomes repeatable, measurable and scalable - even after their involvement reduces or ends.


Fractional CMO vs Agency vs In-House Hire

This is where many founders get stuck.


Hiring a Full-Time CMO

Pros

  • Deep internal focus

  • Long-term ownership

Cons

  • Expensive

  • High-risk if it’s the wrong hire

  • Often unnecessary before a certain scale


Using Agencies

Pros

  • Strong execution capability

  • Flexible resourcing

Cons

  • Limited strategic ownership

  • Often channel-focused

  • Can optimise activity without fixing fundamentals


Hiring a Fractional CMO

Pros

  • Senior leadership without full-time cost

  • Objective, external perspective

  • Strategic and commercial focus

  • Flexibility as the business evolves

Cons

  • Requires clear collaboration and trust

  • Works best when leadership is open to change


For many scaleups and growth-stage businesses, fractional leadership offers the best balance of experience, flexibility and ROI.


When Do You Actually Need a Fractional CMO?

A fractional CMO is particularly effective when:

  • You’ve outgrown ad-hoc marketing decisions

  • Revenue growth has plateaued despite high activity

  • You’re scaling, fundraising or repositioning

  • You have a marketing team, but lack senior direction

  • You’re unsure whether to hire in-house or restructure


If marketing feels busy but unclear, tactical but not strategic, or expensive without clear returns - those are strong signals.


The Benefits of a Fractional CMO

Done well, a fractional CMO can:

  • Bring clarity to confused growth strategies

  • Align brand, marketing and sales

  • Improve decision-making at the leadership level

  • Increase efficiency and focus

  • Support sustainable, long-term growth


Crucially, the benefit is not “more marketing”, it’s better marketing, led properly.


How OSER Approaches Fractional CMO Support

At OSER, fractional CMO work is not about dropping into a predefined package.


Every engagement is shaped around:

  • Business stage and ambition

  • Commercial goals

  • Existing capability and constraints


The focus is on:

  • Strategic clarity

  • Leadership-level decision making

  • Building momentum without unnecessary complexity


The aim is always to leave the business stronger, clearer and better equipped to grow - not dependent.


Is a Fractional CMO Right for You?

If you’re questioning whether your current marketing setup is fit for where you want to go next, it’s usually worth exploring.


The right support at the right moment can unlock disproportionate impact, especially when growth matters.


If you’d like to explore whether fractional CMO support makes sense for your business, a strategic discovery conversation is often the best place to start, or take our 2-minute Do You Need A Fractional CMO Quiz.






Prefer to talk it through?

You can also get in touch with OSER to explore whether fractional CMO support is the right next step.


 
 
 

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