Fractional CMO for B2B Startups
Get senior marketing leadership, without the full-time hire.
Your business is growing, you've got a product that works, and customers who want it. But marketing is being held together by a founder who's already stretched thin, or a small team producing activity without a clear strategy behind it.
When you’re spending budget - and a lot of time and effort - on creating and launching campaigns, you need the commercial thinking that ties it all together. Publishing good content is one thing, but you need strategic marketing direction to get leads, pipeline and growth moving the way they should.
What does a fractional CMO actually do?
A Fractional CMO works inside your business for the days you need, at the level you need. When you reach the point where you need someone to take responsibility for marketing, but you’re not yet ready for a full-time senior hire, that’s where a Fractional CMO can help.
This isn’t a case of just dropping in to write a strategy document and disappear, but rather bringing someone on board to understand your business, own the strategic direction, and make sure everything you're doing in marketing is working towards the same commercial goal.
For early-stage and small B2B businesses, it's often the most effective way to get senior marketing leadership without the cost or commitment of a full-time CMO hire.
Ring a bell?
Marketing is happening, but it's not generating the leads or pipeline you need
There's no clear strategy connecting your activity to your growth goals
Sales and marketing aren't seeing eye to eye, and everyone has a different view of the problem
Agencies or team members are doing things, but nobody's really driving the direction
You know you need senior marketing leadership, but a full-time CMO hire feels too soon
If you’re going round in circles and wondering how things are going to come together, a Fractional CMO could be the answer. Bring in someone to take ownership of making it work.
What changes when you bring me in.
The first 90 days are usually dedicated to diagnosis and strategy creation. I start by getting a clear picture of where you are - your brand, market and competition, and what's actually getting in the way of growth. From there, we build the strategy, sharpen the positioning and messaging, and put a full-funnel plan in place that connects your marketing directly to your commercial goals.
On an ongoing basis, I then work as part of your team, bringing strategic direction to your marketing, making sure your agencies and team have clear briefs to work from, and keeping everything pointed at growth - rather than just activity. In short, your marketing starts doing what it should.
Ongoing Fractional CMO support typically runs at one or two days per week, depending on what your business needs It's flexible by design; as your business grows and your needs change, we adapt accordingly.
Why me?
My background is nearly a decade as a CMO at a B2B SaaS start-up, leading brand positioning, messaging, content strategy, and rebrands. Like you, I’ve been deeply engrained in the start-up environment, getting to grips with the constraints and challenges; getting our brand noticed, generating decent leads with small budgets, and managing various agencies on top of a team - all of us wearing many hats.
Having been through the startup journey before (growing the business from £0-4million) I’ve built marketing functions from the ground up, navigated the challenges of competing against bigger, more established players, and I know what it takes to turn early-stage marketing into something that actually drives growth.
As a Fractional CMO, I work with a small number of clients at a time. This means you and your team get proper attention - not just a name on a roster.
"Mel is highly organised, insightful, and a strong critical thinker, with a real ability to collaborate on strategy and turn it into clear, effective marketing. She’s dependable, thoughtful, and a pleasure to work with, and I would not hesitate to recommend her."
- Adam Castleton, CEO at Startle
Have questions?
If you’re a start-up or scale-up that needs strategic direction and senior-level thinking without the cost of a full-time hire, you’re in the right place!
Bringing someone new in can feel like a big risk. If you think you could benefit from my support but have questions, let’s book in a chat to discuss my experience and how I can help.