I was speaking with a prospect the other day, and they were telling me how they needed more direction in marketing. While they had a small marketing staff, the team was composed of junior staffers and coordinators.
The problem they faced was though they had the need for a marketing director, they didn’t have the budget for a full-time employee.
That’s when I introduced to them the concept of a fractional marketing director. This is a leadership and strategic role that is a contract, not a full-time employee. They offer the expertise of a senior marketing leader with much less expense.
Benefits of a Fractional Marketing Director
- Less expense
- No full-time benefits
- Experience
- Outside perspective
Now hiring for this position is not for everyone. When could your company make the best use of a fractional marketing director?
Junior Staff: In the case presented above, the small marketing staff was young and could benefit from the experience of a senior staffer.
They didn’t have the expertise to create strategies for the long term. The staff also lacked the experience in building core messages while keeping them consistent across the company.
Skill Set: Perhaps you have a marketing team where skills lie more towards graphics or design, rather than overall leadership. A fractional marketing director could be useful to get everyone on the team pulling together.
A marketing manager’s strongest role is to unify all of the marketing efforts and make 1+1=3.
Outside Perspective: When you bring in a new employee you have a fresh perspective on your company, but that quickly fades as the new employee is pulled into the day-to-day of the business. However, a fractional marketing director spends most of their time outside your company. They can bring a new, fresh perspective to your overall marketing needs.
Variable Needs: Let’s say that you have a new division that needs a marketing plan to integrate into the rest of the company’s message. Or you have a large project like a tradeshow or website build that requires the attention of a senior marketing person, but it only will last for a pre-defined period.
This would be an excellent time to look at a fractional marketing director. They can work for that predetermined time for that project, and then you no longer have the expense after. A marketing leader is even more helpful when no one else has the bandwidth or expertise to run the project and get the ROI.
Transition: In the transition time as you grow to have a full-time senior marketer, you can take advantage of the service of a fractional leader. It can give you the benefit of an experienced marketer before you have the expense of a full-time marketer.
Want to talk more about a fractional marketing leader? Contact 366 Marketing here about our fractional marketing director services.