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Fractional CMO

Fractional CMO, without the handoff.

A fractional CMO gives you senior marketing leadership without a full-time executive salary. Seafoam's version comes with the two things a fractional CMO usually can't bring alone: the measurement that shows what marketing actually produces, and the team that executes the plan. One senior strategist owns the number, every month, for less than a full-time CMO's salary.

Tell us what's going on →See how it works ↓
  • $500M+ in client revenue impacted
  • 16 years in business
  • 95%+ client retention
  • 10 years running St. Louis Small Business Monthly award

2x+

the size of the firm since 2019

Evidence / Professional services

Measurement first, then economics, then strategy, then execution.

A professional services firm has more than doubled in size since 2019. Every marketing decision got made against real numbers, and each answer changed what came next.

Read the story →Talk to us about yours →

What a fractional CMO does.

A fractional CMO is a senior marketing executive who works with your business part time instead of joining the payroll. The job is the same one a full-time CMO does: set the direction, own the plan, run the monthly review, and explain marketing in the language your CFO and board use.

You get the judgment of someone who has done it many times before, without the recruiting fee, the ramp time, or the full salary. Most companies that look for a fractional CMO already have marketing activity. What they’re missing is someone who decides what it’s for.

The catch

A marketing department has three functions. Most fractional CMOs cover one.

Strategy

Where the business is going, who it sells to, and what marketing has to produce to get there. This is the fractional CMO.

Measurement

The CRM, attribution, and reporting that show what every dollar produced. Usually nobody’s job, so nobody can say what worked.

Execution

The channels, campaigns, and website that do the work. Usually an agency that was never in the strategy conversation.

Seafoam puts all three under one senior team, accountable to one number.

What a fractional CMO costs.

Less than a full-time CMO, by a wide margin. A full-time CMO runs $18K to $26K a month in salary alone, before the team underneath them, and takes six to twelve months to ramp. A fractional CMO costs a fraction of that, which is the point.

The catch is what a fractional CMO doesn’t include. Strategy is one function. Measurement and execution are two more, and most fractional CMOs leave both to someone else. Seafoam’s engagement is one retainer, scoped to your business, covering all three. The first three months of Diagnosis & Strategy are included.

Fractional CMO vs. Seafoam

A marketing department covers six stages. Most options cover one or two.

Revenue strategy
Brand strategy
Marketing strategy
Campaign & channel
Execution
Measurement
If you outsource
Management consultantsStrategy deck, then they leave
Brand agencyBrand, not revenue
Fractional CMOPlans, but doesn’t execute
MeasurementUsually nobody
Most marketing agenciesExecutes, doesn’t think upstream
AI toolsFast and cheap, strategy-blind
If you hire internally
CEOWearing this hat
BrandUsually skipped
Marketing directorStretched thin
MeasurementUsually nobody
Coordinator + agencyDisconnected from strategy
Every stage, one team, accountable to one number

A fractional CMO plus an agency can cost about the same as Seafoam. What you give up is one team answering for the whole number.

How it works

First we find what's leaking. Then we run the fix.

One retainer, scoped to your business. The diagnostic is included.

Start here

Phase 1 / 3 months

Diagnosis & Strategy

Customer interviews, fieldwork, and a full audit of your funnel, turned into a prioritized roadmap and a dollar figure for what’s leaking and where.

Phase 2 / Ongoing

The system, running

We run your marketing day to day against the roadmap, adjust as the data comes in, and report against revenue every month.

As the system matures and runs leaner, the goal is to cost you less, not more.

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Is this for you?

Who this works for, and who it does not.

A good fit if

  • You don’t have a CMO, you can feel the gap, and you’re not ready to make a senior hire.
  • You’ve tried a fractional CMO before and watched them produce a strategy nobody could execute.
  • Your head of marketing is great at execution but doesn’t set strategy the board takes seriously.
  • Marketing decisions get made in fragments, without a coherent picture of where the function is pointed.
  • You want marketing reviewed every month, in financial terms.

Not a fit if

  • You’re a startup looking for your first customers.
  • You already have a strategic CMO in the seat.
  • You want a freelance CMO by the hour, or a strategy deck to hand to someone else.
  • You’re choosing on price alone.

Questions

What people ask before they start.

What is a fractional CMO?

A senior marketing executive who works with your business part time instead of joining the payroll. They set the strategy, own the plan, and lead the monthly review, at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.

How much does a fractional CMO cost?

Less than a full-time CMO, who runs $18K to $26K a month in salary before the team underneath them. Seafoam’s engagement is one retainer, scoped to your business, and covers strategy, measurement, and execution together. The first three months of Diagnosis and Strategy are included.

Is Seafoam a fractional CMO?

Yes, and then some. You get the senior strategist a fractional CMO provides, plus the measurement layer and the team that executes the plan. Most fractional CMOs write the plan and hand it to someone else. We operate against it every month.

How long does a fractional CMO engagement last?

Every engagement starts with three months of Diagnosis and Strategy. After that, everything is month to month. We believe in the work, so we don’t lock you in.

What is the difference between a fractional CMO and a marketing agency?

An agency executes a plan. A fractional CMO decides what the plan should be. Most companies end up hiring both, and the two never answer for the same number. Seafoam does both under one accountability line.

What if our head of marketing pushes back?

They sometimes do, at the start. The pushback usually resolves within the first few weeks, once they see we’re not replacing them. We’re giving them the strategic cover and measurement their role has been missing.