Hire a Chartered Fractional CMO in the UK

At VCMO, our Fractional CMO engagements are designed for organisations where marketing needs consistent leadership, not intermittent support.

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This route is typically right when:

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• Marketing activity exists, but direction is unclear
• Sales and marketing are misaligned
• Spend is increasing without predictable revenue impact
• Teams are busy, but priorities keep shifting
• Leadership lacks confidence in marketing performance
• The business has outgrown agencies or junior leadership

If your challenge is understanding what’s wrong, a diagnostic route may be more appropriate.

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If your challenge is owning and fixing marketing performance over time, this service is the right place.

At VCMO, our Fractional CMOs are not external advisers or consultants. They operate as part of your leadership team and are responsible for:

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✅ Setting clear marketing strategy aligned to business goals

✅ Translating strategy into prioritised execution

✅ Aligning marketing with sales, finance and operations

✅ Leading and developing internal teams and partners

✅ Making trade-offs and decisions, not just recommendations

✅ Establishing governance, reporting and accountability

✅ Owning performance — not just activity

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This is leadership with responsibility, delivered on a part-time basis.

Our Fractional CMO engagements are structured around ownership and commercial outcomes, not hours or task lists.

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While every engagement is tailored, most include:

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1. A defined part-time leadership commitment (typically 1-3 days/week)
2. Regular presence within the business
3. Direct engagement with founders, CEOs and senior leadership
4. Ownership of marketing direction and prioritisation
5. Alignment across sales, finance and operations
6. Clear objectives, governance and reporting

This is not an advisory arrangement or a “check-in” model. It is embedded leadership with responsibility.

Fractional CMO leadership is an ongoing, retained engagement, designed to provide continuity, accountability and senior ownership — not ad-hoc input or short-term fixes.

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While every engagement is tailored, Fractional CMO support typically involves:

✔️ A defined part-time leadership commitment

✔️ A minimum engagement period to allow momentum and impact

✔️ Clear objectives, governance and success measures

✔️ Direct access to senior marketing leadership embedded within the business

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Investment is aligned to:

1. The scale and complexity of the organisation
2. The scope and urgency of leadership required
3. The level of stakeholder and board involvement

As a guide, Fractional CMO engagements typically sit significantly below the cost of a full-time CMO, while delivering senior leadership from day one.

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This service is not priced on:

❌ Day rates

❌ Hourly billing

❌ Task-based scopes

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It is priced as leadership with accountability, delivered on a retained basis.

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Exact structure and investment are confirmed during the discovery conversation to ensure the model is right for both sides.

When our senior leadership is embedded, marketing stops behaving like a collection of disconnected tactics and starts operating as a business function.

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Organisations typically experience:

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• Clearer go-to-market direction
• Fewer false starts and abandoned initiatives
• Reduced wasted spend
• Stronger alignment between teams
• Improved pipeline confidence and visibility
• Clearer reporting for boards and investors

The difference is not more activity — it is better decisions, made consistently.

It's important we set expectations clearly. A Fractional CMO engagement is not designed to:

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‍❌ “Fix marketing quickly”

‍❌ Deliver 'just' campaigns

❌ Provide occasional senior input

❌ Act as an external reviewer

❌ Operate without authority

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It is designed to:

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✅ Provide sustained leadership

✅ Bring clarity and prioritisation

✅ Align teams and stakeholders

✅ Own outcomes over time

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If the business needs clarity before committing to leadership, a diagnostic route is usually the right starting point.

Our retained Fractional CMO engagements are most effective for:

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• Founder-led B2B businesses scaling beyond early growth
• Leadership teams under pressure to improve GTM performance
• Investor-backed organisations requiring confidence and governance
• Businesses navigating complexity, change or preparation for exit

What matters is not size or sector — but the need for senior marketing leadership that owns the outcome.

If you’re not ready for ongoing leadership, these routes may be more appropriate:

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• Marketing Audit — when you need independent clarity before committing to change
• Marketing Advisory — when you need senior input without a retainer
• Investor Due Diligence — when confidence and assurance are required ahead of funding or exit
• Marketing Mentoring — when you (or a team member) needs mentoring to build confidence, clarity, and safeguard future capability

If strategic leadership is required, this page is the right place to be.