Interim and Fractional CMOs

A focused interim CMO in business attire working intently on a laptop at a modern office desk, surrounded by stationery and plants.

Marketing Executives Kickstart Advertising and Lead-Gen Efforts

Marketing is one of the most important things a business can do. Not only does it build brand awareness, it positions your products and services to meet the needs of various customer segments. Done right, it increases sales through cost effective methods and engages and sustains your existing customers. It’s a critical business function, which means your marketing strategy deserves the oversight of a dedicated Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).

Yet, not every business needs a full-time CMO on payroll. Instead, growing enterprises benefit from an interim or fractional CMO who can provide high-level direction that your staff can execute on. When the time comes to put someone at the head of your marketing department, turn to M&A Executive Search to ensure that person has the experience and vision to put your company on a strong trajectory.

With more than 10,000 well-qualified executive candidates in our nationwide network and no fee until we place the right one, we engage interim marketing services in whatever capacity you need them: from a transitionary CMO to an industry-specific marketing consultant. Through our start-to-finish onboarding, we ensure your new executive hire hits the ground running.

Request Interim & Fractional CMOs

Let us know how we can help you with your Interim executive recruiting and talent needs and our Executive Search team will follow up with you promptly.

What is an Interim CMO?

Marketing is the key to business growth, and it takes a strong understanding of your business, market, audience and products to develop a winning marketing strategy. Yet, not every business is ready to go all-in on a full-time CMO. Instead, they need someone who can step in and create an immediate impact ata high level. The answer is often a fractional or interim CMO.

Fractional CMOs step into their role as marketing leaders in a part-time or as-needed capacity. Interim CMOs, on the other hand, bridge the gap between an outgoing or vacant position and a long-term solution to a C-suite marketing expert. In either capacity, businesses benefit from a marketing executive who can assist with brand management, marketing program development, applying customer insights, improving customer experience and helping to identify and achieve primary objectives related to marketing. Digital Product Management Expert

When to Hire an Interim Chief Marketing Officer

An interim marketing executive with the right background provides value in a very focused capacity, working on either a full-time interim basis for a period or on a fractional basis 1-3 days a week for a longer period. Either way, companies get leading marketing and CMO talent that delivers 90% of the value of a full-time CMO at less than 50% of the cost.

There are many reasons why a business might choose to hire a part-time Chief Marketing Officer. You might be looking for help launching marketing automation initiatives. Or, you might need help establishing channel-specific strategies to connect with a new audience. Many companies turn to fractional or interim CMOs for high-level strategy. Most often, however, it’s about recognizing your need for strategic marketing functions:

  • Brand Management
  • Channel Marketing Strategies
  • Competitive Analysis
  • CRM Implementations
  • Demand Generation
  • eCommerce and Other Online Strategies
  • Lead Generation and Management
  • Marketing Communication
  • Pricing Strategy
  • Product Launch and Product Relaunch
  • Target Market Analysis and Sizing

At M&A Executive Search, we meet the need for expertise in these areas by connecting businesses to digital marketing experts with robust experience. Leveraging an extensive national network of senior-level interim and fractional marketing executives, we help clients engage the right marketing expert: someone who has the industry specific marketing management experience your organization needs to grow.

Types of Interim Executives

In what capacity do you need an executive presence to supplement your marketing team? This is a question M&A Executive Search helps every client answer as we search for a marketing leader who’s the right fit for your unique and specific needs. We’re looking for someone who can commit themselves to your business and your vision for a marketing strategy that drives results.

  • Interim Executives generally assume the role for a 2- to 12-month period.
  • Interim-to-Hire fill a position immediately while searching for a permanent solution.
  • Fractional Executives assume a long-term role, but it’s not a full-time job.
  • Project Executives offer unique expertise to solve a specific problem.

We search within a pool of more than 10,000 qualified and vetted candidates to place not only a capable marketing expert, but someone who can deliver in exactly the capacity you need them to. Whether you’re expanding your digital marketing efforts and social media presence or need a channel-specific expert who can apply customer data in effective strategies, the ideal professional is in our network. Best of all, there’s no fee until you hire them. 

How to Add an Interim CMO to Your Marketing Team

The first step in hiring a Chief Marketing Officer is realizing your need for one. Who’s at the helm of your marketing operations? If the position is vacant or scattered among several people, your next step is to contact M&A Executive Search and let us exercise our proven process for identifying, vetting and staffing Chief Marketing Officers.

We tap into our extensive talent pool of more than 10,000 nationwide candidates to narrow the search for criteria to 3-4 individuals who are a perfect fit for your business. We don’t just consider your scope of marketing operations; we also consider business case and industry, desired areas of expertise and your expectations for the hire. We bring you candidates that fit your need exactly, and we assist you through the entire assessment and hiring process. There’s no fee until you hire, which makes the process of engaging interim management risk-free.

Our interim CMO services don’t just connect you to a candidate with relevant experience—we evaluate talent to ensure they’re the right fit: someone who can develop and execute your marketing plan at a high level, with results that more than justify their hire.

Staffing According to Marketing Strategy

Marketing is a broad term. It’s important to drill down past marketing generalists, to ensure the person filling the CMO role at your company is capable of executing good solutions that meet your business’ specific marketing challenges. Some of the areas of expertise we’re accustomed to providing talent within include:

Whether you’re mapping the customer journey, need help establishing project-based initiatives or are ramping up your marketing automation, count on us to augment your executive team with a fractional or interim CMO who’s ready to roll up their sleeves. They’ll showcase value that stems from the specific expertise you’re looking for. 

Temporary CMO Placement for Fast-Moving Industries

Every business knows the importance of a well-constructed marketing machine. It’s why Chief Marketing Officers are so difficult to find and retain. And, it’s why M&A Executive Search has worked so hard to cultivate a diverse pool of marketing leadership. We seek to provide every client with access to professionals with the power to transform their business’ marketing efforts. 

Our familiarity with diverse industries means you’re getting an interim CMO with past experience in your field, who knows what does and doesn’t work. More importantly, they’ll bring leading-edge marketing strategies to your organization that propel it to the top of your field. Some of the industries and organizations we staff executive talent for include:

Other Interim Executive Positions

Every member of the C-suite plays an important role in the success of the broader organization. If there are unfilled seats at your executive table, contact M&A Executive Search to fill them with qualified interim executives who can contribute to the ongoing success of your company. 

Many companies retain their CMOs, yet need to fill temporary gaps in other key executive positions. M&A Executive Search is standing by to help, whether you need an interim CFO, interim CEO or an interim COO. We have a variety of other interim executive positions we place for.

Access and Engage the Right Interim CMO

Many companies have limited resources when the time comes to hire an experienced CMO or VP of Marketing on a full-time basis. Top CMOs can demand compensation of $200K-$400K or more. Yet, a seasoned CMO with experience in your industry can have a dramatic impact on your business, driving revenues that well-offset their salary. Engaging and hiring a fractional or interim CMO gives you access to these benefits, at a fraction of the cost of a full-time executive hire. 

Your search for a part-time Chief Marketing Officer begins with M&A Executive Search. Contact us today to quickly engage an experienced interim CMO among our thousands of qualified executive candidates. There’s no fee until you engage with an interim CMO that’s best-suited to market your business’ products and services effectively to the audiences you care about most.