Are You Ready for Fractional Marketing?

As industries, notably high tech, continue to see a trend of decreasing headcounts, the question of how to get everything done more efficiently is on the minds of business leaders. The various disruptions during the pandemic that are contributing to current layoffs also energized a way of working that offers answers to the efficiency question: Fractionalization.

The fractional model

A fractional approach allows leaders to fill the functions within their organization without building a 100% full-time, in-house team. Functions including legal and finance have been working with this model for some time in response to new technologies and services. For example, self-service legal tools have reduced the need for full-time, in-house counsel. Everyone still needs an attorney, but their role has become more specialized as part of a larger workflow.

As millions of workers have gone and stayed remote, the feasibility of shifting more functions to a fractional model has taken off. It’s far easier for a specialist to service multiple firms effectively when they don’t have to work in multiple offices.

Fractional marketing

A fractional approach to marketing allows firms to be nimble, buy the expert services they need, when they need them, while keeping costs nimble and manageable as well. As more talent enters a fractional marketing environment, we’ll start to see more true specialists available, as they can devote their careers to the same piece of the marketing puzzle across multiple firms. In this scenario, firms will benefit from the cross-pollination of strategies and ideas, as fractional workers spread lessons learned across industries.

Not all or nothing

A fractional approach can be incorporated into any marketing program, and can naturally consist of a mix of employment types, mixing full-time employees, part-time employees, contractors, and agencies. There’s even a trend of fractionalizing marketing leadership, with specialist part-time CMOs focusing their effort on strategy, saving budget for a larger team to handle execution.

How to get started

If you’re working with a traditional marketing team of full-time employees, taking the first steps into fractionalization can be daunting. If you’re a CMO finding yourself doing a wide range of execution tasks in addition to leading strategy, you may be wondering if you could be more effective by becoming a specialist strategist in a fractional model.

At Expert Marketing Advisors, we know and practice fractional marketing. Our own team is bolstered by our army of writing, product marketing, social media, events, and PR experts.

Watch our webinar

In our webinar, Fractional Marketing—A Slice of Your Marketing Pie, we lay down the steps to take and pitfalls to avoid as you try on a fractional marketing model. eMa’s Founder and CEO, Courtney Kehl, and E.T. Mac, Business Development Expert discuss:

• How fractional marketing will help you reach your business goals while saving time, money and resources
• The benefits and drawbacks of fractional marketing
• How to choose the best fractional marketing fit for your company