01
I own the number
Revenue, customer acquisition cost and payback are mine to answer for. The agency owns delivery and quality inside its channel.
Fractional CMO vs agency
Fractional CMO, agency or full time CMO: who should own your growth?
An agency runs a scope. A full time CMO owns the whole function at a full executive cost. A fractional CMO owns the plan and the number part time, and usually leads the agency you already have. Most brands without a senior owner of growth need the third, often alongside the first.
I’m Monica Hacker, a fractional CMO for CPG, ecommerce, beauty and wellness, and healthcare brands. I lead agencies for a living, so this is the comparison from the middle of it.
The short version
What each one actually owns.
The question isn’t which is better. It’s which job you need done, and who is accountable when the number moves the wrong way.
| Marketing agency | Fractional CMO | Full time CMO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | A team that executes a defined scope: ads, creative, SEO, email | One senior leader who sets the plan, leads the team and agencies, and owns results | One senior leader inside the company, every day |
| Who owns the growth number | Usually nobody on their side. They own delivery against the scope | The fractional CMO | The CMO |
| How it’s priced | A monthly retainer, a percent of ad spend, or both | A monthly retainer. My range starts at $8,500 a month | A full executive salary, plus benefits, equity and a search |
| Commitment | Set by each agency’s contract | 10 of 19 providers in my benchmark publish a minimum, usually 3 months. Mine is 4, with a review at month 3 | A permanent hire |
| Best when | You know what to do and need hands | You need someone senior to decide what to do and make the pieces work together | Marketing is big enough to need a full time executive and a team under them |
For market context, my pricing benchmark found a median starting retainer of $6K a month across 19 US fractional CMO providers that publish prices.
When an agency is enough
Hire an agency when the strategy is already settled.
If you know which channels work, what a customer is worth and what you can afford to pay for one, an agency is the right buy. You need execution capacity, and a good agency brings specialists you couldn’t hire one by one.
Where it breaks is when the agency is also expected to set the strategy. An agency is paid to deliver its scope. It is rarely paid to tell you to move budget out of its own channel, or to fix the checkout, the retention program or the offer. So every channel reports a win, and revenue doesn’t follow.
When you need a fractional CMO
Hire a fractional CMO when nobody owns the number.
You have spend, people and probably an agency or two. What’s missing is one person who looks across paid, retention, the site and the offer, decides where the next dollar goes, and answers for the result.
That’s the seat I take. I set the plan, run the weekly priorities, hold agencies and the in house team to a number, and get into the work myself when it needs a senior hand. You get CMO level decisions without carrying a full time executive before the business needs one.
When it’s time for a full time CMO
Hire full time when the job needs someone every day.
A full time CMO makes sense when marketing has a team big enough to need daily leadership, when the role sits on the executive team and the board, and when the budget supports an executive salary without starving the programs.
A good fractional engagement often ends exactly there: the plan works, the team has grown, and part of my job becomes helping you hire the person who takes the seat full time.
Using both
How a fractional CMO and an agency work together.
02
They get clearer briefs
Priorities, budgets and tests come from one plan, so the agency stops guessing and stops getting conflicting asks.
03
You get one view
One monthly business review that ties spend to revenue across every channel, instead of a stack of agency reports that each look good on their own.
Is a fractional CMO cheaper than a marketing agency?
They buy different things. An agency retainer pays for execution capacity. A fractional CMO retainer pays for senior strategy, leadership and accountability. Many brands need both, and a fractional CMO often pays for the role by cutting agency spend that isn’t working.
Can a fractional CMO manage my existing agency?
Yes, and that’s usually where I start. I set the priorities, approve the plan, hold the work to a number and tell you plainly if the agency is the wrong fit.
What’s the difference between a fractional CMO and a marketing consultant?
A consultant advises and leaves. A fractional CMO is accountable for results over months, leads the team and agencies, and stays until the plan works.
When should we move from a fractional CMO to a full time CMO?
When marketing needs a leader every day: a growing team, a seat on the executive team, and a budget that supports an executive salary without cutting programs.
How much does a fractional CMO cost?
Mine starts at $8,500 a month, with a 4 month minimum and a review at month 3. Across 19 US providers that publish prices, the median starting retainer is $6K a month.
Not sure which one you need?
Bring your numbers and your current setup. In thirty minutes you’ll know whether you need an agency, a fractional CMO or both.
Book a call →Thirty minutes. Bring your numbers, or just bring the problem. You'll leave knowing what I'd fix first.
