Fractional CMO
We take on marketing leadership, a few days a month.
Afterwards there's someone setting and guarding the direction, managing your team and your partners, and sitting at the table where decisions get made. Not an advisor who turns out right after the fact. Someone accountable.
What you get
Someone who carries the direction instead of advising on it, and a team that needs a little less of us every month.
What is a fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO is senior marketing leadership for a limited number of days per month, without hiring a full-time marketing director. WIT.agency takes on four fixed responsibilities: setting and updating the direction, managing your team and partners, guarding the budget, and handling follow-up. We work embedded in your organisation and sit at the table where decisions are made.
It differs from a consultant: a consultant advises and you decide, a fractional CMO carries a piece of the leadership itself. And it differs from an interim marketer: interim temporarily replaces someone who's absent, fractional fills a role that never existed in the first place.
Marketing agency based in Belgium · Works locally, nationally and internationally · For businesses and for agencies
Who it is for
For scale-ups and SMEs with real marketing to run but no senior marketer in-house, and no case for a full-time CMO yet.
Why WIT
We have led a marketing team before, so the role starts working on day one instead of being learned on the job.
This is why they call us.
“We have people executing, but nobody guarding the direction.”
Marketing that runs on someone's goodwill lasts exactly as long as that goodwill does. That's usually shorter than hoped.
What we look at
Four responsibilities. One accountable person.
Marketing leadership isn't advice wearing a fancier hat. It's four responsibilities someone has to carry every month. Where the weight falls shifts by quarter, and that's normal.
Direction
Where are we headed, and why that, now?
Setting the strategy and keeping it current. Not once a year, but whenever the market or the company moves.
Management
Who does what, and who checks it?
Your own people, your agencies and your freelancers. We sit in the weekly meeting and clear the blockages.
Budget
Where does the money go, and what does it deliver?
We guard the allocation and account for it. Without budget accountability, leadership is just a suggestion.
Follow-up
Does what got agreed actually happen?
The least visible and the most important. Most plans fail not on their content but on the lack of follow-up.
What it comes down to
From everyone a little accountable to one person who carries it.
What's there now
The owner decides when there's time. A junior executes. An agency runs the campaigns. Nobody looks at the whole.
Every piece is running, and still nothing moves.
What's there afterwards
One person sets the direction, chairs the weekly meeting, allocates the budget and follows up. Two days a month, with a name attached.
Not more people, but one clear owner. That's what the Management and Follow-up responsibilities deliver.
Illustrative example, not from an actual client.
The deliverable
Here's what it looks like when it's done.
Not a document but a role, filled. What does end up on paper is the direction and what got agreed each period.
- 01The marketing direction, kept current
- 02A plan per period with owners and budgets
- 03Management of your team, your agencies and your freelancers
- 04Accountability for the budget and what it delivered
- 05Knowledge that stays behind in your own team
How it usually goes
A fixed way of working. No fixed package.
This is the usual sequence. Where we go deep and where we keep it short gets decided during intake.
Takeover
A quick audit of goals, channels, team and tooling, and setting priorities together.
at the table
Leadership
We lead the marketing meeting, clear blockages, coach your people and align with sales. Budget included.
grant mandate
Accountability
Every period, the conversation: what happened, what did it deliver, what changes. This keeps recurring for as long as we're there.
be there
Where it varies
If you already have a marketing lead, we coach them instead of taking over the role. If the question sits mostly with one channel, the rest stays lighter.
Where it never varies
We always take budget accountability, because leadership without budget is just advice. And we always build knowledge into your team.
What it costs
No rate card. One number.
Two days a month for one brand is a different job than four days for a group with several brands and an internal team. That's why there's no fixed price tag.
What there is: once the approach is set, the number is fixed. No hourly billing, no extra costs halfway through.
What determines the scope
How many days per month.
That depends on what needs carrying, and it can change.
How big your team is.
No team, one junior, or a group of five with external partners on top.
How many brands or markets.
One brand in one market, or a portfolio that also needs to align internally.
How long you need it.
A bridge until you hire someone, or a role that stays part-time for good.
Honestly
Sometimes you need something else.
You want a thinking partner, not leadership.
Look at Marketing consultantSomeone is temporarily out and you just want a replacement.
Look at Interim marketerYou need a direction first, before anyone can steer.
Look at Marketing strategyYou're looking for a report to justify a decision that's already made.
Then we're not the right fitClient quote coming.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask before they start.
What does a fractional CMO cost?
There's no fixed rate, since it varies how much needs carrying. Price depends on the number of days per month, the size of your team, the number of brands or markets, and the duration.
How many days a month is that?
That depends on what needs carrying, and it can change: some months ask for more than others.
What's the difference with a consultant?
A consultant advises and you decide and follow up. A fractional CMO takes over part of the leadership, including budget and management.
What's the difference with an interim marketer?
Interim temporarily replaces someone who's absent and keeps the ongoing work running. Fractional fills a role that never existed in the first place.
What if we want a permanent CMO later?
Then that's a successful engagement. We are glad to help with the search and the handover too.
Do you manage our agencies too?
Yes, and that's often the most valuable part. We know how agencies work and can have that conversation without you needing to play bad cop yourself.
Are we locked into a long contract?
No. There's a notice period that's fair to both sides, but no long commitment.
Does this work for an SME too?
Yes, and that's where the question comes from most often. There's a point where a company gets too big to handle marketing on the side, and too small for a full-time CMO.
Someone accountable first. Then movement.
The call where we work out whether a fractional CMO makes sense for you takes thirty minutes and costs nothing.
Book a 30-minute callUnder this service