WTF is an fCMO?
A clear guide for leaders evaluating whether fractional marketing leadership is right for their organization.
Definition & Overview
A fractional Chief Marketing Officer providing executive-level strategy, oversight, and guidance on a part-time or project basis.
A fractional CMO sets the strategy, aligns marketing with operations, improves reporting, oversees vendors, and ensures the entire marketing system works cohesively.
Your internal team and partners execute the work—your CMO leads the direction, prioritization, and accountability.
- A full-time CMO is embedded daily in your organization, typically at a $200–$300K salary.
- An agency executes campaigns and tactics.
- A fractional CMO provides senior leadership, clarity, and structure—ensuring your team and vendors are aligned, efficient, and driving measurable results.
Fractional CMOs are especially valuable in industries with operational complexity, distributed teams, and multi-location models.
Healthcare, MSOs/PPMs, specialty clinics, and multi-office service organizations often see the fastest impact because they need stronger alignment across marketing, operations, and technology.
My specialization is in healthcare, MSOs/PPMs, multi-location clinics, and organizations managing complex operational structures or clinic rollups.
Fit & Timing
Most organizations are ready when:
- Marketing feels busy but inconsistent
- Reporting doesn’t match or leadership lacks visibility
- Multiple vendors or clinics operate in silos
- The business is expanding or integrating acquisitions
- Teams need senior-level direction but a full-time CMO isn’t practical
If marketing is working hard but not working together, it’s time to explore fractional leadership.
You likely need one if you’re experiencing:
- Unclear metrics or unpredictable results
- Fragmented systems (CRM, EMR, automation, analytics)
- Inconsistent brand presence across locations
- Slow decision-making or scattered priorities
- A gap between marketing, operations, and patient experience
Most of my clients fall between $5M–$75M in revenue, or operate 5–50 locations, but the true indicator isn’t size, it’s complexity.
Any organization with multiple teams, inconsistent marketing performance, or rapid growth can benefit from a fractional CMO.
Yes. Multi-location organizations are among the highest-benefit users of fractional CMOs because they often struggle with:
- Inconsistent marketing across offices
- Disconnected systems
- Competing priorities between locations
- Volume-driven growth pressure
- Vendor sprawl
This is the core of my work — supporting companies with multiple locations, varied workflows, decentralized vendors, and inconsistent reporting.
Yes. Healthcare operators frequently use fractional CMOs to manage:
- Clinic rollups
- Compliance-safe marketing
- EMR/CRM integration
- Patient lifecycle automation
- Multi-clinic branding and reporting
- Vendor coordination
Absolutely.
A fractional CMO is uniquely valuable during acquisition cycles. They unify systems, reporting, brand standards, workflows, and marketing performance across new clinics—while identifying what to keep, remove, or replace.
Yes, especially if your business is growing and your marketing team lacks senior leadership.
A fractional CMO prevents wasted spend, improves reporting, strengthens operations, and ensures your organization invests in the right things—often at a fraction of the cost of a full-time executive.
Most fractional CMOs range from $6,000–$18,000 per month, depending on complexity, number of locations, internal team size, and scope.
Strategy sprints typically range from $8,000–$20,000.
Yes. Instead of committing to a $250K+ salary, benefits, and long onboarding time, companies pay for only the senior leadership hours they need—often achieving higher ROI faster.
Role & Responsibility
Most fractional CMOs range from $6,000–$18,000 per month, depending on complexity, number of locations, internal team size, and scope.
Strategy sprints typically range from $8,000–$20,000.
Yes. Instead of committing to a $250K+ salary, benefits, and long onboarding time, companies pay for only the senior leadership hours they need—often achieving higher ROI faster.
Yes. A key part of the role is overseeing vendors, ensuring they’re aligned with strategy, holding them accountable to KPIs, and eliminating redundant or low-value services.
Yes. A fractional CMO can make sure your website, automation tools, and analytics all integrate into consistent, usable reporting. They don’t replace IT—they ensure the marketing systems stack works together.
Most engagements follow a structure like this:
0–30 Days: Audit, assessment, reporting alignment, vendor review, quick wins.
30–60 Days: Roadmap rollout, system improvements, cross-team alignment.
60–90 Days: Scalable programs, lifecycle automation, reporting maturity, operational consistency.
You’ll typically see KPI tracking and clarity around:
- Cost per lead / cost per acquisition
- Pipeline and patient volume trends
- Channel performance
- Website and conversion metrics
- Multi-location reporting
- Vendor and budget efficiency
- Year-over-year growth
They bridge the gap between marketing, sales, operations, and patient experience. This includes shared KPIs, operational workflows, lifecycle automation, and cross-functional initiatives that improve efficiency across the organization.
Most organizations see clarity and improved visibility within the first 2–4 weeks.
Structural improvements and measurable performance gains typically follow within the first 60–90 days.
Look for a senior marketing leader who can:
- Communicate clearly at both strategic and technical levels
- Understand multi-location operations or healthcare complexity
- Explain how they work—not just what they know
- Provide a structured process
- Align marketing with operations and technology
- Show real examples of system-level improvement
A good fractional CMO should make you feel more confident, not more confused.
My Approach & Frameworks
To create clarity and consistency across every clinic location, I use a structured methodology rooted in the Functional Marketing Framework. My engagements typically include:
- 30-day audit & assessment sprints
- 60-day alignment & optimization sprints
- Acquisition integration roadmaps
- CRM/EMR + marketing system alignment
- Unified reporting & dashboard setup
- Vendor and internal team oversight
These frameworks help multi-location healthcare groups scale marketing systems, reduce duplication, and standardize performance across every location.