If you need senior marketing leadership without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire, a Fractional CMO is one of the fastest ways to bring clarity, direction, and momentum to your growth plans.
In practice, I’m a UK-based Fractional CMO and marketing leader with over 25 years’ experience across brand, digital, performance, product launches and team building — mainly in tech, media, education and B2B consultancy environments. My approach balances strategy with hands-on delivery, helping businesses move faster, sharpen their positioning, and generate measurable results.
What is a Fractional CMO?
A Fractional CMO (Fractional Chief Marketing Officer) provides senior marketing leadership on a part-time basis. In other words, you get the strategic thinking, experience and accountability of a full-time CMO, without the long-term commitment or cost of a permanent hire.
Typically, Fractional CMOs work with growing UK businesses that need clearer strategy, stronger execution and better commercial outcomes, but aren’t yet ready for a full-time C-suite role.
What I Do as a Fractional CMO
My work as a Fractional CMO focuses on helping UK businesses turn marketing from a cost centre into a predictable growth engine. As a result, you gain senior marketing leadership without the cost, risk or commitment of hiring full-time.
In practical terms, this usually means:
Setting the right strategy — brand, digital, acquisition, product and messaging
Working closely with your leadership team on positioning and go-to-market
Building (or fixing) the marketing engine so it’s predictable and scalable
Improving performance marketing, attribution and funnel conversion
Aligning marketing with sales so growth isn’t left to chance
Supporting product launches, revenue diversification and new business lines
Providing hands-on support where needed — not just a slide deck
Most often, clients bring me in when they need someone senior who can immediately diagnose issues, create a plan, and help deliver it.
How a Fractional CMO Engagement Works
Most Fractional CMO engagements follow a simple structure:
First, I assess the business, understanding customers, current performance and constraints.
Next, I set direction by defining positioning, priorities, goals and a realistic plan.
Then, I lead delivery by guiding your marketing team, agencies or partners.
Finally, I embed systems, processes and capability so progress continues.
The focus isn’t activity for activity’s sake. Instead, it’s clarity, momentum and measurable progress.
Fractional CMO vs Full-Time CMO or Marketing Agency
A Fractional CMO sits between hiring a full-time CMO and relying on an agency.
Compared to a full-time CMO, you get senior leadership without the overhead, long hiring process or permanent commitment.
Compared to a marketing agency, a Fractional CMO works inside your business, aligns marketing to commercial goals, and takes responsibility for direction — not just delivery.
For many UK businesses, this makes a Fractional CMO the fastest way to improve focus, execution and results without over-committing too early.
Who I Work With
I typically support:
Tech companies and SaaS businesses
Professional service firms and consultancies
Education and training providers
Founder-led businesses hitting a growth ceiling
Teams who know what they want to achieve but need a senior marketer to lead it
If you’re growing quickly, changing direction, or trying to turn scattered marketing activity into something predictable, I can help.
Common Problems I Solve
You don’t need a Fractional CMO forever — you just need one at the right moment.
Most businesses come to me when they’re struggling with one or more of these:
No clear marketing strategy or positioning
Weak or inconsistent lead flow
A website that isn’t converting
A team doing lots of things, but not the right things
No clarity on what’s working (or not working) in acquisition
Difficulty launching new products or revenue streams
A marketing team without senior leadership
A need to professionalise marketing before hiring internally
If any of these sound familiar, you’re in the right place.
Why Work With Me Instead of an Agency or Full-Time Hire?
You get senior leadership, not agency fluff.
I don’t sell retainers or retainers of retainers. Instead, I focus on clarity, direction and delivery.
You get strategy and hands-on execution.
For example, I’m just as comfortable building a brand strategy in the morning as jumping into GA4 or Meta Ads in the afternoon.
You don’t pay for overhead.
There’s no office, no juniors, no layers. Simply put, you get the expertise you need.
You move faster.
Because fractional means focusing only on what matters — and cutting everything that doesn’t.
You de-risk hiring.
Ultimately, you get senior leadership now and make a full-time hire when the time is right.
Betty Burrell
Head of Marketing - Northcoders Group PLC
Working with Steven was transformational for our marketing function. He brought clarity, structure and direction at a time when we needed it most, and helped strengthen both our strategy and day-to-day delivery. Steven has a rare ability to simplify the complex, create focus, and give teams the confidence to move forward. His impact continued long after he stepped out of the business.
Marie Allan
Marketing Manager - JMW Solicitors
Steven’s mentorship was a turning point for me. He helped me build the confidence, structure and strategic thinking I needed to step up into a Marketing Manager role, something I wanted to do but was unsure of how to show I was able to do. His guidance made a huge difference in helping me grow, he provided real insights and developments from the marketing world and was there when I had any questions. Thank you for taking your time to listen and provide helpful concise advice which has helped me further my marketing career.
UK Focused Fractional CMO Support
I work primarily with UK-based businesses, particularly in tech, SaaS, professional services and education. That means realistic budgets, practical execution, and an understanding of the UK hiring, funding and growth landscape — not generic advice pulled from US-centric playbooks.
If you’re trying to work out whether a Fractional CMO is the right fit, I’ve written a more detailed guide explaining what the role involves and when it makes sense – What is a Fractional CMO?
FAQs
A Fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is a senior marketing lead you hire part time. In other words, you get the strategy, experience and accountability of a full time CMO, without the salary, long hiring process, or permanent commitment. It's somebody batting for your side.
A Fractional CMO sets direction, prioritises what matters, and makes sure marketing is tied to commercial outcomes. That usually means sorting positioning and messaging, building a plan, improving the funnel, and leading the team/agencies so marketing stops being “busy” and starts working.
Typically £1m–£50m revenue. That said, I also work with high growth startups and scale-ups when they need senior marketing leadership before they’re ready for a full time hire.
Most run 3–6 months. However, some clients keep me involved longer if they want ongoing leadership while they build the team, fix foundations, or push through a growth phase.
Both. I’m based in Manchester, but I support businesses across the UK, usually a mix of remote working with occasional onsite days when it’s useful.
Perfect, most clients do. I bring senior direction, structure and coaching, so the team can move faster and focus on the things that actually drive growth.
Common triggers are stalled growth, unclear positioning, low confidence in what’s working, messy lead flow, or a team that needs leadership. Basically: you’re doing marketing, but it’s not landing, and you need someone senior to fix it.
It depends on the time commitment and scope. Most Fractional CMOs work on a day rate or monthly retainer, and it’s usually far more cost effective than hiring a full time CMO while still giving you senior-level impact.
Yes, especially for founder led or scaling businesses that need experienced leadership now, but don’t want to build a big team too early. It’s a good way to de-risk decisions and get momentum without overcommitting.
