Marketing Leadership

Fractional CMO Services

Get experienced CMO leadership without the full-time commitment. Our fractional CMO services (also known as virtual CMO services) help you build your brand, drive demand generation, and scale marketing with a senior marketing leader working 1-3 days per week.

Find a Fractional CMO London CMO Jobs

£850-£1,300

Day Rate Range

1-3 days

Per Week

40-60%

Cost Savings vs FT

90 days

Typical First Review

Industry Resources

What We Deliver

Fractional CMO Service Areas

🎯

Marketing Strategy

Develop go-to-market strategy, positioning, and marketing roadmap aligned with business goals

✨

Brand & Positioning

Define brand strategy, messaging framework, and competitive differentiation

📈

Demand Generation

Build pipeline through digital marketing, content, events, and outbound programmes

👥

Team & Agency Management

Hire marketing talent, manage agencies, and build high-performing marketing function

🔧

Marketing Technology

Select and implement martech stack - CRM, automation, analytics, attribution

⚙️

Marketing Operations

Establish processes, reporting frameworks, and marketing-sales alignment

Pricing

Engagement Models

Flexible options to match your marketing maturity and growth goals

Strategic Advisor

1 day/week

£3,400-£5,200/month

Strategy oversight, monthly planning, agency direction

Best for:

Early-stage, strong marketing team

Part-Time CMO

2 days/week

£6,800-£10,400/month

Active leadership, team management, campaign oversight

Best for:

Scale-ups, demand gen focus

Intensive CMO

3 days/week

£10,200-£15,600/month

Deep involvement, rebrand, major launches

Best for:

Transformations, rapid growth

Cost Comparison: A fractional CMO at 2 days/week costs £81,600-£124,800/year vs £175,000-£275,000+ for a full-time CMO (including salary, NI, pension, benefits, equity, and recruitment fees). That's 50-60% savings while accessing senior marketing leadership.

Hourly

Fractional CMO Hourly Rates UK

For ad-hoc consultations and project-based work.

Level / Specialisation	Hourly Rate	Best For
Standard Fractional CMO	£125-£175/hour	Marketing audits, strategy reviews
Senior CMO (15+ years)	£175-£225/hour	Board presentations, investor decks
B2B SaaS Specialist	£150-£225/hour	PLG, demand gen, ABM strategy
Brand / Rebrand Expert	£175-£250/hour	Brand strategy, repositioning

Comparison

Fractional vs Interim vs Full-Time CMO

Understanding the differences between marketing leadership models.

Factor	Fractional CMO	Interim CMO	Full-Time CMO
Commitment	1-3 days/week	Full-time (temp)	Full-time (perm)
Duration	6-18 months ongoing	3-9 months typical	Permanent
Monthly Cost	£3,400-£15,600	£16,000-£24,000	£14,000-£23,000+
Annual Cost	£41,000-£187,000	£48,000-£72,000 (3mo)	£175,000-£275,000+
Primary Focus	Strategy, brand, demand gen	CMO gap, rebrand, transformation	Full marketing ownership
Flexibility	Scale up/down easily	Fixed contract term	Limited flexibility
Best For	SMEs, scale-ups, £1-30M revenue	CMO vacancy, launch, crisis	Large enterprises, IPO-ready

Browse Opportunities

Current Fractional CMO Jobs

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Department

Location

Work Type

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When to Use Fractional CMO Services

A fractional CMO provides senior marketing leadership without the cost and commitment of a full-time hire. This model is particularly effective for companies that need strategic marketing expertise but are not yet ready for a full-time C-suite marketing leader.

Virtual CMO vs Fractional CMO - What's the Difference?

Virtual CMO and fractional CMO mean the same thing - both refer to a part-time Chief Marketing Officer who works with your company on a retained basis. The term "virtual CMO" gained popularity with remote work, emphasising that marketing leaders can drive strategy effectively without being on-site every day. Whether you search for virtual CMO services or fractional CMO services, you're looking for the same solution: experienced marketing leadership without full-time cost.

Ideal Situations for Fractional CMO Services

Founder-led marketing - When founders need to hand off marketing leadership
Agency dependency - When you need someone to direct agency work strategically
Brand evolution - Repositioning, rebrand, or entering new markets
Demand generation - Building pipeline and marketing-sourced revenue
Membership growth - For membership-based organisations, work alongside a membership marketing specialists to drive acquisition and retention
Pre-fundraise - Professionalising marketing before Series A/B
Marketing leadership gap - Covering departure while hiring permanent CMO

UK Locations We Serve

Our fractional CMOs operate across the UK, with particular strength in:

London

Our largest market - tech, VC-backed, B2B SaaS

Manchester

Growing digital marketing hub

Birmingham

Professional services, manufacturing

Fractional CMO vs Marketing Agency

Aspect	Fractional CMO	Marketing Agency
Accountability	Owns marketing outcomes	Delivers campaign outputs
Strategy	Sets overall direction	Executes brief
Team Leadership	Manages internal team & agencies	External resource

Related Services

Find Fractional CMOs

Browse available fractional CMOs

How to Hire

Guide to hiring a fractional CMO

CMO Salary Guide

Day rates and benchmarks

What is a Fractional CMO?

Understanding the role

Results

Success Stories

Real examples of how fractional CMO services have transformed businesses

Software

B2B SaaS Scale-up

Challenge:

Founder-led marketing hitting ceiling at £2M ARR, no marketing leadership or team

Solution:

Fractional CMO 2 days/week for 12 months

Results:

✓Built 4-person marketing team
✓Reduced CAC by 35%
✓Grew pipeline by 180%
✓Reached £5M ARR

Professional Services

Professional Services Firm

Challenge:

Strong referral business but needed to build brand and digital presence

Solution:

Fractional CMO 1 day/week for 18 months

Results:

✓Complete rebrand and positioning
✓Launched thought leadership programme
✓40% increase in inbound leads
✓Won 3 industry awards

E-commerce

D2C E-commerce Brand

Challenge:

Reliant on paid media with declining ROAS, needed diversification

Solution:

Fractional CMO 2 days/week for 9 months

Results:

✓Built organic acquisition channel
✓Improved email revenue by 120%
✓Reduced paid media dependency by 40%
✓Launched successful loyalty programme

Professional Resources

📚

CIM

Chartered Institute of Marketing

📊

DMA

Data & Marketing Association

📰

Marketing Week

UK marketing news and insights

🏆

IPA

Institute of Practitioners in Advertising

📈

WARC

Marketing effectiveness research

🎯

B2B Marketing

B2B marketing community and awards

FAQ

Common Questions About Fractional CMO Services

Fractional CMO services typically include: marketing strategy development, brand positioning and messaging, demand generation and pipeline growth, marketing team leadership, agency and vendor management, marketing technology stack optimisation, and board-level marketing reporting.

Most engagements are 1-3 days per week on a retained basis. Your fractional CMO joins leadership meetings, directs marketing strategy, manages teams and agencies, and drives measurable marketing outcomes. Engagements typically start with a strategic assessment and 90-day plan.

Agencies execute campaigns and produce content. Fractional CMOs provide strategic leadership - they set direction, manage agencies, hire teams, and are accountable for overall marketing performance. Think of them as your marketing leader who directs agency work.

Fractional CMO day rates in the UK range from £850-£1,300. A typical 2-day per week engagement costs £6,800-£10,400 per month (£81,600-£124,800 annually). This is 40-60% less than a full-time CMO with benefits and equity.

Ideal situations: scaling marketing beyond founder-led efforts, repositioning brand for growth, building demand generation engine, preparing for fundraising, professionalising marketing operations, or bridging gap while hiring full-time CMO.

Our fractional CMOs are based across the UK, with strong presence in London (our largest market), Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol, and Leeds. Most work hybrid arrangements combining remote work with on-site client days.

Most engagements start with a 3-month trial period, then extend to 6-18 month retained relationships. Some companies work with fractional CMOs for 2-3 years as they scale, eventually converting to full-time when the role justifies it. The flexibility to scale up or down is a key advantage.

Absolutely. One of the most valuable fractional CMO services is building your marketing function. They define roles, write job specs, source candidates, conduct interviews, and onboard new hires. Many fractional CMOs have built teams of 5-20+ marketers across multiple companies.

Look for: 10-15+ years marketing experience including leadership roles, track record of measurable results (revenue, pipeline, brand metrics), experience at similar stage companies, relevant industry knowledge, and ideally CIM or equivalent professional qualifications. References from previous fractional engagements are valuable.

Expect quick wins in 30-60 days (audit findings, low-hanging fruit optimisations), meaningful impact in 90 days (strategy deployed, campaigns running), and significant ROI by 6 months (team built, systems optimised, measurable pipeline growth).

Meet the Expert

Written by a Practicing Fractional Executive

Dan Keegan

Founder & Fractional GTM Expert

With over 15 years of experience in executive leadership, go-to-market strategy, and business development, Dan brings real-world fractional expertise to help professionals navigate the executive job market.

Dan founded Fractional Quest after working as a fractional executive himself, understanding firsthand the challenges of finding quality opportunities and the value fractional leaders bring to growing businesses.

15+ Years Executive ExperienceFractional GTMStrategy & Growth

Connect on LinkedIn

Prior executive experience includes

SONY

Sony

Orange

H3G

Hutchison

Current fractional client

OneUp Productions

Gaming & Esports Production

Fractional GTM Lead

New Markets Entered

GTM

Strategy Delivered

2-3

Days Per Week

The Challenge

OneUp Productions needed to expand into new international markets but lacked the in-house expertise for go-to-market strategy. They needed senior GTM leadership without the commitment of a full-time hire.

Our Approach

Engaged as Fractional GTM Lead to develop and execute market expansion strategy, working 2-3 days per week alongside the existing leadership team.

Cost Effective

Senior GTM expertise at a fraction of full-time hire cost

Immediate Impact

Hit the ground running with proven playbooks

Flexible Scale

Adjusted involvement as needs evolved

Fractional GTMMarket ExpansionGaming IndustryInternational Growth

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Ready to Get Started with Fractional CMO Services?

Connect with experienced fractional CMOs who can transform your marketing. London, Manchester, Birmingham and across the UK.

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