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

In three months, you'll have this.

Months 1 to 3

What fixing your marketing is worth in dollars, with the math shown. And a plan for which changes come first.

Customer Journey Map current state · gaps · suggested journeySample company

The opportunity, in dollars

Compounded, fixing the journey is worth +$2,193,430 a year, a 31% lift before a dollar of paid media.

Leads / yr900×1.12

Close rate22%×1.09

Avg job value$24,000×1.03

Repeat1.5×1.04

Revenue / yr$7,128,000→ $9,321,430

+$2,193,430added revenue / year

+$877,372added gross profit / year

The plan

Prioritized roadmap

Phase 1

Seafoam-ledTrack every lead to its source

First, because nothing after it can be measured without it.

Seafoam-ledClean up the CRM

One record per customer, so sales and marketing see the same thing.

Client-ledName three proof stories

You confirm which customers we can name.

Phase 2

Seafoam-ledRebuild the website around your best customer

Built on what the customer interviews found.

Seafoam-ledSearch and AI answer pages

So you show up when buyers ask Google or ChatGPT.

JointQuote follow-up within a day↳ needs CRM cleanup

4 in 10 quotes never get a second call today.

Seafoam-ledPaid search on your best-margin services↳ needs lead tracking

Widens volume only after tracking is fixed.

Phase 3

Seafoam-ledEmail to past customers

They hear from you twice a year today.

JointReferral program

We build the ask and the tracking. Your team makes the introductions.

Seafoam-ledAI for reporting and lead scoring↳ needs CRM cleanup

Once the data is clean enough to trust.

After that, you can check this any day.

Month 4 on · month to month

Our senior team carries out the plan, with no long-term contract. Your playbook shows what marketing brought in, what you spent, and where the money came from. Including what didn't work.

Tell us what's going on →

Marketing Strategy Playbook updates itselfSample company

01 · What it's earning

Money from marketing

This monthLast 90 daysThis yearLast 12 months

How much did marketing bring in, Aug 13 to Nov 10?

$452,000

▲ 22% vs $370,500 the same dates last year$452,000 from 19 new customers

Spent on ads$31,400

Back for every ad $1$2.92$91,600 in sales from ads

Where the new-customer money came from

Google searchfree results · 8 new customers

$212,400

▲ 31% Growing

Referralsword of mouth · 6 new customers

$148,000

Steady

Google Ads5 new customers · $24,800 spent · $3.69 back per $1

$91,600

▲ 18% Growing

LinkedIn Ads0 new customers · $6,600 spent · $0.00 back per $1

Nothing yet

What the numbers say: Google search brought the most new-customer money. LinkedIn Ads: $6,600 spent and no sales from it in these dates.

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. With Seafoam, the same team plans it, does it, and answers for the result.

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.

What our clients say

When meeting with leadership, the Seafoam team was always able to intelligently and clearly articulate their strategy, answer demanding questions, and provide meaningful explanations.

Haley P.

BioGaia USA

Nearly everything we do with Seafoam is data driven. That helps us make decisions based in facts that deploy our resources more effectively. Our Seafoam team uses that data to stay the course, or shift focus, strategy and tactics to adapt to real-time market challenges.

John S.

SNL Painting

Seafoam has been handling all my CPA firm's digital marketing needs for several years now. ... The leads generated continue to increase and are now at about double from when they started.

Tom D.

Dunn CPA Firm

Their keyword optimization of the site has produced tremendous traffic and conversion growth. They are also a really friendly, knowledgable staff that is refreshingly honest.

Kara S.

Alpine Shop