How to Make the Most of a Fractional Marketing Team

I talk a lot about why it makes sense to hire a fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). But what if you could have an outsourced marketing team as well??

What Is a Fractional Marketing Team?

It's a team of marketing specialists that you can hire to execute on the strategy built by your internal or outsourced CMO. The goal is to supplement your existing talent or to act as an entire marketing department on a part time basis.

The benefit of having a fractional team is this: For the same cost as hiring one person who may be good at a few things, you can access half a dozen people who are all EXCELLENT at their own area of expertise.

You get much more for your money this way.

Also, a team is focused on OUTCOMES, not on providing specific SERVICES. The team wants to win, not keep delivering a particular set of marketing activities to keep a contract going.

Want to hear insights from one of the experts on our Blender fractional marketing team? Watch this episode from social media strategist, Sa Maria Boyd .

An Outsourced Marketing Team Should Have These Capabilities

• Digital Marketing (paid, organic, email, etc.)
• Copywriting & Content (across all stages of the sales funnel)
• Creative Design (from brand identity to web design)
• Videography/Photography (including editing and production)
• Development (for web dev and troubleshooting)

You may not need all of these skillsets at once, but a fractional team should be well rounded enough to fill any gaps in your internal marketing department as needed.

7 Ways to Get the Most from Your Fractional Marketing Team:

1. Start with a clear strategy that is built to be executable (not one that just looks good on paper). Break it down into tactics, and then into projects and tasks.
2. Know the definition of winning on a tactical level (using benchmarks and scorecards). Set up a monthly progress and reporting call.?
3. Make sure all team members know the final outcomes you are driving toward. They should always be accountable for doing their part to reach that goal, not just for “delivering marketing stuff.”
4. Give all team members access to your brand message playbook and brand guidelines along with your full media library or CMS. This keeps everyone on the right track with brand consistency and helps you make the most of existing assets.?
5. Use standardized & repeatable processes. Ensure transparency around timelines and progress.
6. Don’t be the bottleneck. Try to get back to the team the same day or next day when they ask you for reviews or approvals.
7. Be open to new ideas. With a fractional marketing team of true experts, you don’t want order takers. You want idea creators and people who get the RIGHT thing done. Ask questions. Listen to recommendations. Be eager to test new ways of doing things.

Ready for a conversation with our CEO about how to work with a fractional CMO + Marketing Team? Grab a time to talk with Dacia Coffey here.