Fractional CMO Services Australia: Fill The Gap Without The $250k Salary
Your marketing manager can't think strategically. Your CEO shouldn't be doing marketing. And you're not ready to commit $250k+ for a full-time CMO. This is The Gap and it's costing you growth.
You've Hit the Marketing Leadership Gap
Your business has grown past the "marketing manager" phase, but you're not ready to commit $250,000+ per year for a full-time CMO. Sound familiar?
Without a CMO, you're experiencing:
- ✗Disconnected marketing activities with no clear strategy
- ✗Junior team members making senior-level decisions
- ✗Marketing budget waste without proper oversight
- ✗Inability to scale growth systematically
- ✗Reactive campaigns instead of proactive planning
- ✗No one connecting marketing to revenue outcomes
With a Fractional CMO, you get:
- Strategic marketing leadership at a fraction of the cost
- Proven frameworks from scaling $5M to $330M businesses
- Clear roadmaps connecting marketing to revenue
- Confidence that your marketing actually works
- Expert guidance for your existing team
- Part-time access to full-time expertise
What Is a Fractional CMO?
A Fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is a senior marketing executive who works with your business on a part-time or project basis. You get the strategic thinking, leadership, and execution oversight of a $250k+ executive for a fraction of the cost.
Think of it as outsourced marketing leadership that integrates directly into your business, guiding your team, setting strategy, and ensuring every marketing dollar drives measurable growth.
Strategic Direction
Clear roadmaps connecting marketing activity to business outcomes
Team Leadership
Mentoring and managing your existing marketing team to peak performance
Growth Systems
Frameworks for predictable, scalable customer acquisition
Rapid Deployment
Start seeing impact within 30 days, not months
Is a Fractional CMO Right for Your Business?
Fractional CMO services are ideal for Australian businesses in specific growth stages. Here's who benefits most:
SMEs Scaling ($5M - $50M)
You've proven product-market fit and need strategic marketing leadership to scale systematically without the full-time CMO salary.
Post-Agency Businesses
You've outgrown your agency and built an internal team, but they need senior leadership to maximize performance and align to business goals.
Pre-IPO or Growth Phase
You're preparing for investment, acquisition, or rapid expansion and need marketing credibility and strategic infrastructure fast.
Who This Is NOT For
Let's be honest. Fractional CMO services aren't for everyone. If any of these describe you, we're not a good fit:
Micromanagers
If you need to approve every social media post, review every email subject line, or sit in on every campaign meeting, you don't want a CMO, you want a junior assistant. We build systems and lead teams, not report to founders on daily minutiae.
DIY Founders Who Won't Delegate
If you're still personally managing Facebook Ads at 2 a.m., you're not ready for strategic leadership. A Fractional CMO requires you to let go of tactical work and trust someone to own marketing outcomes.
Businesses Looking for 'Cheap Labour'
This isn't about saving money on a hire. It's about accessing executive-level thinking without full-time overhead. If you just want someone to 'do marketing stuff,' hire an agency or a junior marketer.
Companies With No Marketing Budget
A Fractional CMO provides strategy, leadership, and systems. But you still need budget to execute. If you're spending less than $10k/month on marketing activity, you're not ready for fractional leadership.
Businesses That Ignore Recommendations
If you've hired consultants before and ignored every recommendation they made, don't hire a Fractional CMO. We're here to lead, not write reports that sit in a drawer. You need to be ready to act on strategic advice.
Startups Pre-Product/Market Fit
If you're still figuring out your product, pricing, or target market, you don't need a CMO. You need a growth hacker or a marketing generalist. Come back when you have proven demand and are ready to scale systematically.
Still Reading? Good.
If none of the above describes you, and you're a serious founder ready to delegate marketing leadership to someone who will own outcomes, challenge your assumptions, and build systems that scale—let's talk.
What Our Fractional CMO Services Include
This isn't consulting. It's embedded leadership. We work inside your business, not outside of it.
Marketing Strategy & Planning
12-month roadmaps with quarterly milestones, channel prioritisation, and budget allocation aligned to revenue targets.
Team Leadership & Development
Weekly stand-ups, performance reviews, skills audits, and capability building to elevate your existing marketing team.
Performance & Analytics Frameworks
Define KPIs, implement dashboards, and establish reporting cadences so you know exactly what's working and what's not.
Go-to-Market Strategy
Product launches, market entry plans, positioning, messaging frameworks, and competitive differentiation.
Marketing Technology & Stack Optimisation
Audit your martech, eliminate waste, integrate systems, and ensure your team has the tools to execute efficiently.
Brand & Messaging Architecture
Define your brand positioning, value propositions, and messaging hierarchy across all customer touchpoints.
Marketing Operations & Process
Build repeatable systems for campaign execution, content production, lead management, and quality assurance.
Executive Reporting & Board Presentations
Monthly reports and quarterly business reviews that connect marketing activity to financial outcomes for leadership visibility.
Your Fractional CMO: Alex Frew
Alex has spent two decades building and scaling marketing teams that drive predictable, compounding growth. He's scaled businesses from $5 million to $330 million in revenue, served on the Google CEO Advisory Board for two years, and his agencies have supported over 7,000 Australian businesses.
He doesn't sell you campaigns. He builds you capability. Alex embeds into your business to create the marketing infrastructure, team performance, and strategic clarity that allows you to grow without the permanent overhead of a $250k+ CMO.
How Fractional CMO Engagement Works
We integrate into your business in 30 days and deliver measurable impact within 90.
Discovery & Audit
Week 1-2
We analyse your current marketing operations, team capabilities, tech stack, and growth bottlenecks.
Strategy & Roadmap
Week 3-4
Deliver a 12-month marketing plan with prioritised initiatives, budget allocation, and success metrics.
Execution & Leadership
Ongoing
Weekly team meetings, performance tracking, and hands-on guidance to implement the strategy.
Review & Optimise
Monthly
Monthly performance reviews and quarterly business updates to refine strategy and maximise ROI.
Fractional CMO Pricing
Get senior marketing leadership for a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.
Strategic Advisor
2 days per month
Early-stage SMEs needing strategic direction
- Monthly strategy sessions
- Quarterly planning workshops
- Team coaching (async)
- Performance dashboards
- Email support
Embedded Leader
1 day per week
Growing businesses scaling marketing operations
- Everything in Strategic Advisor
- Weekly team stand-ups
- Campaign oversight
- Martech optimisation
- Board presentations
- Priority support
Transformation Partner
2 days per week
Businesses undergoing major marketing transformation
- Everything in Embedded Leader
- Team recruitment support
- Full operational integration
- Brand strategy development
- Go-to-market execution
- On-site visits (quarterly)
Compare: Full-Time CMO vs Fractional CMO
Full-Time CMO
- $250,000+ base salary
- $50,000+ super & benefits
- 12-month commitment minimum
- Recruitment costs & time
- $300,000+ total first year cost
Fractional CMO
- $72,000 - $240,000 per year
- No super or benefits overhead
- Flexible engagement terms
- Immediate start (no recruitment)
- 60-80% cost savings
Fractional CMO vs Marketing Agency vs Marketing Consultant
Understanding the differences will help you make the right choice for your business growth.
| Feature | Fractional CMO | Marketing Agency | Marketing Consultant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost Structure | $6k-$20k/month | $10k-$50k+/month retainer | $200-$500/hour project rates |
| Commitment Level | Ongoing leadership & execution | Contracted deliverables | Project-based advice |
| Team Integration | Embeds as executive leader | External vendor relationship | Advisory capacity only |
| Strategic Ownership | Full ownership of marketing outcomes | Owns specific campaigns/channels | Provides recommendations |
| Execution | Oversees & guides your team | Executes in-house for you | No execution involvement |
| Long-term Value | Builds internal capability | Temporary capability, leaves with them | Knowledge transfer via reports |
| Flexibility | Scale up/down as needed | Locked into retainer terms | Very flexible, ad-hoc |
Key Deliverables You Can Expect
Tangible outputs that transform your marketing from reactive to strategic.
90-Day Strategic Plan
A comprehensive roadmap detailing your marketing priorities, channel strategy, budget allocation, success metrics, and quick wins to establish momentum within the first quarter.
Team Mentoring Program
Weekly coaching sessions, skills development plans, performance frameworks, and capability-building initiatives to elevate your existing marketing team to peak performance.
Vendor Management System
Audit and optimise all marketing vendors, agencies, and technology partners. Eliminate waste, negotiate better terms, and ensure every dollar spent drives measurable ROI.
Additional Deliverables Include:
Trusted by Growing Australian Businesses
Alex has scaled multiple businesses from $5M to $330M and founded agencies that have helped over 7,000 Australian companies achieve their growth goals.
Revenue growth achieved across multiple scaling engagements
Australian businesses supported through agency network
Served on Google CEO Advisory Board shaping global marketing programs
Agencies Founded by Alex Frew
Yes Digital
Full-Service Digital Marketing
Digital Six
Digital Marketing with a Difference
Fire-Up Digital
Professional Websites Quickly
2X Digital
Amplify Online Revenue & Leads
3P Digital
Pay-Per-Performance Agency
Ready to Get Strategic Marketing Leadership?
Stop operating without a clear marketing strategy. Book a 20-minute discovery call to see if Fractional CMO services are the right fit for your business.
Or email us directly at mastermcc@3pdigital.com.au or call 0414 017 980