Your financial services firm needs to win more clients. And while referrals are great, they aren’t helping you scale in a big way. In order to really grow your business, you need marketing. But a full-time CMO and marketing team is expensive. Now just isn’t the right time to make that kind of investment.
With the rise of remote and freelance workers in the U.S., many small businesses are outsourcing their marketing efforts to a Fractional CMO. A Fractional CMO is a C-level marketing professional who works with companies to remotely grow their business.
Much like hiring a marketing agency, a CMO can manage everything from website development to newsletters to digital ads. This is all at a fraction of the cost of an in-house team. But unlike a marketing agency, you’ll have a C-level resource who can act as your strategic partner.
There are a number of reasons why a Fractional CMO makes sense for a growing financial services firm. Here are the top three advantages of outsourcing your marketing efforts.
You pay for what you get
The average salary of a full-time, in-house CMO is between $150k and $250k. This does not include benefits, a 401(k), bonuses, and potentially a relocation fee. A Fractional CMO will cost your firm significantly less. Furthermore, he can be paid by project or kept on a monthly retainer.
The money you’re spending on a Fractional CMO may also include work he has handed off to his network of professional designers, copywriters, web developers, and other marketing professionals, improving the quality of your marketing materials.
Your relationship with a CMO lasts as long as you have the need for one. The average CMO remains on staff for 44 months. This means every 3 1/2 years, you need to spend months conducting a CMO search. You will go through wooing candidates, and onboarding them again — a costly endeavor.
Because Fractional CMOs have the flexibility and freedom to take on various projects and aren’t bogged down by office politics. They have nothing driving them away from your business.
Access marketing specialists and digital tools
Beyond the base cost of a CMO’s salary, there will be a whole slew of additional marketing costs if you plan to bring marketing in-house. Your CMO will likely need access to digital tools, platforms, and certifications needed to run your marketing initiatives well—each of which is an additional cost to your business.
And though a CMO may be an excellent strategist, he might not excel at every aspect of execution, meaning you’ll need to bring on developers to build a website, designers to create sales sheets, and copywriters to churn out the content your CMO needs.
When working with a Fractional CMO, he or she is responsible for any digital tools or specialists needed to do the job well. Because they’re using marketing tools for all clients, you’re not absorbing the costs.
Need a platform for running digital ads? Looking for a Storybrand-certified content creator? Need to build a fully functioning website with a built-in email subscription? A Fractional CMO will have a whole suite of marketing tools and access to professionals who are skilled at using them.
Most importantly, a Fractional CMO will act as a liaison between you and the creative team. They will be the ones collecting and delivering feedback and ensuring consistency among all deliverables.
Whether you have a set creative team through your Fractional CMO or he finds the freelancer with the best rate for each project, you can rest assured each deliverable will be written in the brand voice, have the look and feel of your brand, and will serve the strategy laid out by the CMO.
Get objective expertise
Beyond the cost-savings of a Fractional CMO, there may be strategic benefits to working with an “outsider”. An in-house CMO likely has deep experience in your industry. They’re equipped to execute on tried-and-true tactics, but their experience is limited and can result in stale ideas.
A Fractional CMO is working with a number of clients of varying sizes, and they sometimes dip into different industries. They’ve been exposed to various marketing problems, tactics, and solutions. They are thus able to think outside the box and deliver fresh ideas on how to grow your business.
Fractional CMOs also isn’t afraid to tell you when a message isn’t working. Traditional CMOs are deeply ingrained into your business and can become very attached to the brand they’ve worked hard to establish. When a message isn’t resonating with clients, they might struggle to recognize that and let go.
Fractional CMOs, on the other hand, offer an outside perspective. They are able to offer objective advice without worrying about offending the boss and losing their job.
So whether you’re trying to grow your business without breaking the bank or need to shake up your messaging to better resonate with potential clients, a Fractional CMO may be the answer.
To learn more about how Peregrine Fractional CMOs and marketing experts can help you grow your business, fill out the form below.
