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Fractional CMO2026-11-01T14:14:13-05:00

Strategy, Budget And Team Direction

Fractional CMO

Senior marketing leadership from CICOR Marketing, without the full-time hire.

Fractional CMO

When the business has outgrown its marketing

A fractional CMO from CICOR Marketing gives a growing company a senior marketing leader for part of each month instead of a full-time executive salary. A senior CICOR Marketing leader takes the role. Your fractional CMO sets the strategy, manages your team and vendors, plans the budget, and reports to leadership every month, backed by the CICOR Marketing team for the work the plan calls for. The engagement runs on a monthly hour allocation, with the level of authority agreed up front, for companies with roughly $2 million to $50 million in revenue.

Here is the pattern we see most often. The company has grown, but the founder still makes every marketing decision between other jobs. Three vendors do three things and none of them talk to each other. Nobody owns the number.

A fractional CMO puts one experienced person in charge of the whole function. You get the strategy, the accountability, and the judgment of someone who has watched the same patterns repeat for decades, without the cost of the hire.

At CICOR Marketing, that person is a senior strategist on our team, backed by more than 45 years of combined marketing and IT experience. Our senior strategists already serve as fractional CMO for several clients.

Business consulting session

Who It Fits

Who this is the right fit for

This engagement fits companies between roughly $2 million and $50 million in revenue. It fits a business with a business getting ready for growth or investment, and a founder who is ready to hand off marketing strategy and keep the final say.

It is not the right fit for a business that needs its first website or campaign more than it needs a leader. If that is you, Marketing Consulting, Strategy and Audits is the better start, and we will say so. It is also not a fit for a company that wants a CMO in name only.

Services

What is included

PLANNING

Strategy, annual plan, and quarterly priorities

Your fractional CMO writes the marketing strategy, the annual plan, and the priorities for each quarter. When you add a service, a product, or a market, your fractional CMO builds the launch plan too.

LEADERSHIP

Leadership of your team and your vendors

Your fractional CMO leads your internal marketing staff and manages the outside agencies, freelancers, and vendors. That includes setting their scope, reviewing their work, and deciding who stays.

FOUNDATION

Budget planning and accountability

Your fractional CMO plans the budget, decides where each dollar goes, and answers for what it produced. You see the plan before the spend, and the result after it.

REPORTING

Executive reporting

Your fractional CMO sits with your leadership team and reports every month in plain language. You learn what was done, what it cost, what it brought in, and what changes next.

EXECUTION

Marketing infrastructure

Your fractional CMO sets up or fixes the systems that let marketing scale: the CRM, analytics, lead tracking, and the handoff between marketing and sales.

NEXT STEP

Want Help Choosing The Right Piece?

Tell us your goals. CICOR Marketing recommends the right scope, with a plan before any spend.

What To Know

Three levels of authority, chosen up front

Every engagement states how much authority your fractional CMO has, whether you want an advisor or someone running marketing day to day.

1. Advisory. Your fractional CMO recommends. You approve and your team carries it out.

2. Management. Your fractional CMO directs your marketing staff, contractors, and vendors within the agreed scope. You keep the final decisions and the spending authority.

3. Delegated. Your fractional CMO makes defined marketing decisions and approves spending up to a limit you set, per item and per month.

At every level, CICOR Marketing does not sign contracts, take on debt, or hire or dismiss employees in your name without your written authorization. You can change the level later as the business changes.

How We Work

How it works

The engagement begins with a 30-day assessment and plan. Then it runs on a monthly rhythm.

1. Days one through 30. Your fractional CMO reviews the business, the team, the vendors, the budget, and the numbers, then delivers the plan.

2. Every week. A check-in with your team on what is moving and what is stuck.

3. Every month. A leadership meeting and a written report.

4. Every quarter. A review of the plan against the results, and the next quarter’s priorities.

The monthly hour allocation, typically 20 to 50 hours, covers leadership time, meetings, and the execution the plan requires. When a month calls for more, you add hours in blocks of five, 10, or 20, subject to availability.

Every Fractional CMO engagement is delivered as Full Service, the CICOR Marketing partnership that puts leadership and execution under one agreement and one report. A strategy needs time to take hold, be measured, and improve. Full Service also lets your fractional CMO switch on the services the plan needs without a new contract each time.

Start The Conversation

Request A Consultation

The first conversation is a working diagnosis focused on your goals. CICOR Marketing replies within one business day.

  • A reply from CICOR Marketing within one business day
  • A free consultation, limited to 30 minutes
  • A plan before any spend
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Fractional CMO FAQs

How many hours a month does a fractional CMO work?2026-10-20T09:24:14-04:00

A fractional CMO from CICOR Marketing works on a monthly hour allocation, typically 20 to 50 hours. The allocation covers leadership time, meetings, and the execution the plan requires. When a month calls for more, you can add hours in blocks of five, 10, or 20, subject to availability.

How much authority does a fractional CMO have?2026-10-20T09:24:15-04:00

Every fractional CMO engagement from CICOR Marketing states the level of authority up front. At the advisory level, your fractional CMO recommends, and you approve. At the management level, your fractional CMO directs your marketing staff, contractors, and vendors within the agreed scope while you keep the final decisions and spending authority. At the delegated level, your fractional CMO makes defined marketing decisions and approves spending up to a limit you set. You can change the level as the business changes.

How does a fractional CMO engagement start?2026-10-20T09:24:16-04:00

A fractional CMO engagement from CICOR Marketing begins with a 30-day assessment and plan. Your fractional CMO reviews the business, the team, the vendors, the budget, and the numbers, then delivers the plan. After that, the work runs on a set rhythm: a weekly check-in with your team, a monthly leadership meeting with a written report, and a quarterly review of the plan against the results.

Is my business the right size for a fractional CMO?2026-10-20T09:25:10-04:00

A fractional CMO fits companies with roughly $2 million to $50 million in revenue that have outgrown founder-led marketing. Signs it is time: a team or vendors with no one directing them, a budget set by habit, and no single owner of the marketing number. Below that size, a marketing audit and plan usually does more good than a part-time executive.

How much does a fractional CMO cost?2026-10-20T09:25:16-04:00

A fractional CMO from CICOR Marketing is quoted as a monthly retainer, sized by the hour allocation (typically 20 to 50 hours a month), the scope of the marketing function, and the authority level. Published tiers run $2,500, $5,000 or $10,000 a month, on its own agreement or bundled into Full Service. You get the fee in writing after a short call.

What does a fractional CMO do?2026-10-20T09:25:17-04:00

A fractional CMO leads a company’s marketing function part time, doing the job a full-time chief marketing officer would do for a fraction of the cost. That covers strategy and budget, leading the internal team and outside vendors, reporting to leadership, and planning launches. At CICOR Marketing, a senior leader holds the role and works under a monthly hour allocation with an authority level the client sets.

Smiling advisor presenting tablet

Ready When You Are

One person owns the number, and it is not you anymore

The moment marketing has a leader, the founder gets their week back and the vendors get direction. Tell us what you want to hand off. We will say whether the role fits before anyone talks about a fee.

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