What is fractional marketing and why B to B companies should consider it now

The Rise Of Fractional Marketing 

Sometimes, an idea is sitting there waiting to be discovered, until finally, circumstances combine to create the perfect conditions for it to come into being. 

Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace both theorised about natural selection within a decade of each other, and Thomas Edison and Sir Humphry Davy both had their ‘light bulb moments’ around the same time too! 

While we’re not comparing fractional marketing to these groundbreaking discoveries it’s certainly an idea whose time has come, and for smaller B to B businesses it really can be a game changer for both the organisation and the owner. 

Which might explain its rapid growth in the USA where in the last five years, its use has grown by over 60% (source: Chief Outsiders). 

So, what is fractional marketing? 

It’s where a seasoned marketer works inside your company on an ongoing part-time basis to deliver the strategy and drive business growth, without the price-tag normally needed for that level of experience.  

Unlike freelancers, fractional marketers work with companies continuously rather than on a project basis. 

The arrangement is flexible depending on what the business needs, and while a fractional marketer is not an employee, they’ll become so embedded it’s as if they are. This way, they can develop the deep understanding of the business that’s required for effective marketing and work closely with the team so they’re not reliant on an already busy CEO for direction and information. 

What kind of business is fractional marketing right for?

First of all, fractional marketing isn’t going to work for everyone. If you’re a very early-stage start-up, just looking for some short-term specific work, or not interested in growing the business, then it’s not for you. And of course, if the scale and complexity of your marketing merits the cost of a full-time senior marketer, that’s how you should go. 

However, if you’re building a business for long-term success, and looking for ways to bring strategic, intentional and consistent marketing into your business or, if you feel stuck and growth/sales seems to have stalled, it could be the answer to ‘unsticking’ your situation.  

In fact, probably the most common run-up to taking on a fractional marketer is that a business has grown organically as much as it possibly can, every contact of the owner/salesperson has been exhausted, and the leads are drying up. They’ve maybe tried to DIY some half-hearted ‘marketing’ but don’t really know what they’re doing, or they might have engaged an external agency, only to be frustrated by the poor engagement and lacklustre results. 

This kind of company needs somebody deeply skilled in creating an impactful, valuable brand, digitising effective lead generation, and driving growth. In other words, fractional marketing is perfect for this kind of company. Let’s expand on why. 

What are the benefits of fractional marketing? 

Affordable strategy & direction 

This is the big one, and it also spearheads all the other benefits. A coherent marketing strategy is essential to ongoing, sustainable business growth, and the irony is the companies that most need it are often the ones that can’t afford it. Without a well-thought-out and documented marketing strategy differentiating you from your competitors, you’re just throwing s$!t at the wall and hoping it sticks.  

A good strategy must be developed and driven from within your business, not imposed on it. This requires knowing your business inside out and working closely with it over time. A fractional marketer typically sits with your executive team to do just that. 

Breadth and depth of experience  

A fractional marketer brings a wealth of experience gained in other organisations. By their very nature, fractional marketers operate in different companies simultaneously, bringing fresh thinking and new perspectives to bear. Of course, great experience doesn’t come cheap, and that’s another fractional benefit of only taking the time you need. Another benefit of this level of experience is they don’t need to be directed or actively managed, avoiding another drain on your time. 

A host of reliable marketing specialists 

As you may already know, ‘marketing’ is a broad field comprised of many specialised areas, some of which you may need occasionally, and some weekly. Search Engine Optimisation. Search Engine Marketing. Social Media Management. Brochure Copywriting. Website Design. Email Marketing. No one person does all this, and when you work with an experienced fractional marketer, they’ll bring their tested A-Team of specialists with them, an instant marketing department, if you will. 

Accountable ongoing support  

Another key feature is being in it for the long haul and being accountable for results. 

Even with a solid strategy, sometimes a business will get tempted by the latest trend or ‘something that worked for a friend’. Now, while it’s true you should pause, take stock and address your strategy now and again in the light of new information, a senior marketer will know when you really should deviate and when you should stay the course.  They know how to collect appropriate data so that such decisions are evidence-based for full accountability, unlike a traditional agency that’ll be happy to zig, zag and go around in circles so long as they get paid.  

Flexible schedule to cope with demand 

Finally, a fractional marketer can increase or reduce their time with you when the work demands, which for any small business is an absolute godsend. Instead of reaching out to find new, untested resources that you have to brief on the ins and outs of your business each time, you just increase the time required until the project is complete and then revert to business as usual.

“If I called my services ‘Fractional CMO’ 10 years ago, people would have thought I was crazy. Now, the market’s ready for it.”

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing and well-known marketing broadcaster

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Why is it the perfect time for fractional marketing? 

Partly, it’s about the high rate of failures of the traditional external agency model, especially in B to B, where it just doesn’t work; in fact, it was precisely this problem that led us to pioneer fractional marketing in Australia. 

Another reason is that times have got tougher, and businesses without a proper strategy or intentional marketing plan are struggling. In boom times you might be able to get by on a wing and a prayer, but when spending drops across the board, and you have to fight harder for the work that’s still out there, you need to pick up your game – and in a digital world that means marketing. 

Plus now we can work in multiple locations without leaving home, fractional marketers often split their time between your workplace and theirs, and they can manage this across two to three businesses, making the model financially viable. It’s really a perfect win/win. 

Fractional marketing in Australia, and all over the world. 

Without using the term ‘fractional marketing’, we launched this concept several years ago and have since refocused our entire business around it to help Engineering and industrial SMEs ‘unstick’ growth in the most affordable, effective way possible. 

So, when we heard a global marketing leader like John Jantsch, founder of Duct Tape Marketing, has gone all-in with the fractional marketing concept, it simply validated what we’d been busy perfecting. And if you dig in further, you’ll find fractional marketers in Asia, the US and the UK and many other countries worldwide.  

If you’re based in Australia, however, and you like the idea of access to top talent at a fraction of the cost, then give us a shout, and I’m sure we can help. 

Meantime, if you’d like to read more about techniques a fractional marketer will use to get growth going, download a copy of our eBook ‘Unstuck Your Growth’ here. 

More reading here https://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylrobinson/2023/12/08/why-companies-should-embrace-the-fractional-employee-business-model/