What is a Fractional CMO?

What a Fractional CMO Does — and Why Contractors Deserve Something BetterAgencies - which is better for you?

Will Schmidt - November 27, 2024

Contractor Mission Statement Guide Summary

A Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is an outsourced marketing leader hired part-time to manage strategy, branding, and lead generation without the full-time salary. It’s a smart move for many small businesses — but not always enough for the trades.


In this guide, you’ll learn what a fractional CMO does, when it makes sense to hire one, and why our Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) Program goes beyond it — built specifically for contractors who want results, not marketing theory.

Sections and Topics

1. What a Fractional CMO Actually Does
2. Why Contractors Need More Than a Generic CMO
3. Fractional CMO vs. Agency vs. CSO Program
4. When a Fractional or CSO Partnership Makes Sense
5. Real Examples for Each Industry
6. Common Mistakes When Hiring Marketing Leadership
7. How to Choose the Right Fit for Growth

What a Fractional CMO actually does

A fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) offers senior-level marketing leadership on a part-time or contract basis.

They develop strategy, manage marketing vendors, analyze performance, and help align brand goals — all without the cost of a full-time CMO.

According to CMOx, the average fractional CMO works 10–25 hours per month and costs between $5,000 and $15,000/month, depending on the size of the business.

That can make sense for SaaS companies or tech startups — but for contractors, who depend on local SEO, reputation, and territory-specific leads, those hours don’t stretch far enough.

Why Contractors and local businesses need more than a fractional CMO

Narrowing The Industry Gap

Most fractional CMOs come from corporate, B2B, or SaaS backgrounds — not home services.

They understand funnel metrics and brand messaging, but not the realities of running a roofing crew in 105° heat or scaling lead flow across five nearby cities.

A SaaS CMO might talk about “customer acquisition cost,” while a home-service CSO understands average job ticket, service radius, review velocity, and Google Maps ranking.

That difference is why TIP built the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) Program — a full marketing system designed specifically for local contractors.

When is a fractional CMO or CSO better for your business

Fractional CMOs are best for managing your internal marketing team without the $15k - $20k salary

Hiring a fractional CMO can work if you already have a small marketing team in-house and need senior-level guidance. They help unify your message, review analytics, and keep vendors accountable — but they won’t build your campaigns themselves.

Best for:

• Mid-size contractors doing $1M–$5M + in annual revenue
• Companies with a marketing coordinator or admin already on staff
• Businesses that only need oversight and brand direction

A Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) is best if you have no internal makreting team and a budget of $2,000 or less per month

A Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) goes beyond marketing — they come from sales and business development, not just ad strategy. They treat marketing as a tool to improve pricing, sales close rates, customer referrals, and reviews.

Think of a CSO as a VP of Growth powered by AI — one expert who replaces a full team of employees while keeping everything aligned and affordable.



Best for: contractors who want measurable growth, not more meetings — business owners ready to run smarter, faster, and leaner without adding payroll.

Biggest mistakes in choosing marketing leadership

They have to know marketing, branding, and sales

The biggest mistake business owners make is hiring marketing help without understanding who actually drives growth.

They expect agencies to think strategically and CMOs to handle execution — but most agencies just deliver tasks, and most fractional CMOs only deliver advice. That’s why you end up with high costs, mixed messages, and no one truly accountable.



A real growth partner needs to understand sales, branding, and marketing — how pricing affects leads, how culture impacts reviews, and how to turn marketing into measurable revenue. A CSO bridges it all: they unify your message, lead your strategy, and stay available when you need them — not just during a scheduled meeting.

The result is one system, one strategy, and one leader who understands your business like a partner, not a vendor. That’s why the CSO Program was built — to replace fragmented marketing with a unified growth engine designed for real-world contractors.

Final Thoughts on Fractional CMOs and choosing a marketing leader

A fractional CMO gives you direction — but a Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) gives you results. Our CSO Program combines sales, marketing, and business development into one system that actually grows your contracting business. Instead of hiring multiple vendors, meetings, and managers, you get one dedicated leader who understands pricing, referrals, reviews, and reputation — and uses AI and strategy to run it all seamlessly.