You Don't Need a Marketing Director All Year. You Might Need One for Your Plan.
Short Answer: Yes. A fractional marketing director can build your marketing plan as a short, fixed project without a long-term contract. You get a clear picture of what works, a budget split, priorities and tracking – your team executes, and optional quarterly check-ins keep the plan on track. |
Many founders like the idea of a marketing team that runs seamlessly under a skilled senior leader. Then reality kicks in: you're not a big corporation, and you can't afford a whole team – especially not the senior person. But maybe you don't need someone senior every single day. Maybe you need them only when it matters, while a junior marketer does the rest with a bit of direction.
There's a name for that: a marketing director on demand, or fractional marketing director. They help you decide where to put the money and what to stop doing. Because as I like to remind founders: if it doesn't bring you leads or sales, it's not worth your time, energy or money. You don't need to be everywhere – only where your audience is.
This article is part of my guide on How to plan your 2027 marketing budget.
What does a fractional marketing director do in a planning project?
It's the senior part of marketing, packed into a few weeks. A typical planning project covers:
A review of what works – which channels bring customers, what they cost and what can't be measured. This is the marketing audit.
A stop list – what to stop, pause or fix. What should a small business stop spending on in 2027?
The 2027 budget and funnel split – based on your sales goal. How much should a small business spend on marketing in 2027?
Channel priorities and KPIs – two or three numbers that really matter.
Tracking set-up – or a clear brief for whoever sets it up.
Handover – a plan your junior marketer, your agency or you can execute.
If several people own parts of the budget, I bring them straight into the planning spreadsheet: how much they plan to spend next year, whether this year's budget was enough and whether they had to shift money between projects. If you're a founder with a couple of helping hands, it's simpler.
Fractional CMO helps you decide where to put the money and what to stop doing. Because as I like to remind founders: if it doesn't bring you leads or sales, it's not worth your time, energy or money.
A good plan also looks for cheaper wins. Keeping an existing customer is easier and cheaper than winning a new one. So if there isn't enough budget for paid ads in peak season, when advertising gets even more expensive and aggressive, a referral campaign through your own channels can do the job instead.
How long does it take – and what does it cost?
It really depends – I know I've said it throughout this series. The scope depends on how many channels are in your marketing mix, what your sales goals are, how you work with retention and whether tracking needs setting up first. That's why the fair way to price a planning project is as a fixed quote based on your situation. It can be as little as €500 but can span to couple of thousands.
Compare that with a full-time senior hire. A skilled marketing director or CMO will very likely cost €50,000–100,000 a year in gross salary alone, depending on the country and industry. On top of that come employer costs: across the EU, non-wage costs such as employer social contributions make up 24.8% of total labour costs – roughly a third on top of the gross salary (Eurostat, 2025). Add recruitment time, notice periods, administration and local employment rules.
A skilled marketing director or CMO will very likely cost €50,000–100,000 a year in gross salary alone, depending on the country and industry.
And price isn't the main reason companies go fractional anyway. In Marketing Week's research, the top driver was senior expertise without long-term commitment (33.9%); cost efficiency came second at 18.6%.
To be fair, an external marketing director will never be as embedded in your company as an employee – they work with several clients and focus on one specific job. Think of hiring a caterer for a big birthday party. You might be a great cook, but you don't want to cook for a hundred guests – you pay professionals so you can enjoy the party. Same with marketing.
When is a one-off project enough – and when do you need ongoing support?
Choose the format by who will execute the plan. I usually work in three ways:
A few consultations – when you need direction and clarity, but you have the hands in the company to execute.
A project – we build the plan together once, you learn from it for next time, followed by occasional consultations.
Long-term support – when things need to be built from the ground up: strategy and execution, possibly helping you hire a junior marketer to take over the wheel, then quarterly check-ins.
Ongoing support also makes sense when nobody can challenge your agency, when you're launching or growing fast, or when your marketing lead goes on parental leave – interim cover was 9.9% of demand in the Marketing Week research.
Engagements often grow once they prove their value: 42% of interim projects now last longer than six months (Heidrick & Struggles, 2026). Start with the plan, and extend only if it earns it.
How do you prepare so the project is worth it?
The better your data, the faster and cheaper the project. Bring 12 months of marketing costs (your stop-list spreadsheet is perfect), sales by channel or by month, access to Google Analytics and your ad accounts, agency reports and your 2027 sales goal.
And decide who owns execution before you start. A plan is only as good as the person running it.
FAQ
Can I hire a fractional marketing director for one project?
Yes. A marketing plan or a marketing audit is a common fixed project.
What's the difference between a fractional marketing director and a marketing consultant?
A consultant usually advises. A fractional marketing director takes ownership – sets the direction, guides the team and is accountable for results while engaged.
What happens after the plan is done?
Your team executes, quarterly check-ins review the results and adjust the plan, and ongoing support only if you need it.
How much does a fractional marketing director cost?
It depends on the scope – the number of channels, your goals and whether tracking needs setting up. A fixed project quote is usually the clearest option.
Planning 2027 and not sure where to start? Go back to my 2027 marketing budget guide, or book a discovery call – we'll look at what you have, and I'll tell you honestly whether you need a project, a few consultations or nothing from me at all.
I'm Tereza – I help founders stop being the marketing department and start having one.
Sources
Marketing Week – Demand for fractional CMOs "driven by expertise over cost" (27 May 2026): https://www.marketingweek.com/fractional-cmos-demand-expertise/
Heidrick & Struggles – 2026 Talent Lens Survey: The State of Interim Talent (12 February 2026): https://www.heidrick.com/en/perspectives/on-demand-talent/2026-talent-lens-survey_the-state-of-interim-talent
Eurostat – Hourly labour costs (2025 data, extracted 31 March 2026): https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Hourly_labour_costs
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