, the age-old marketing dilemma: should you hire a marketing manager to keep things running day-to-day, or bring in a fractional CMO to steer the whole ship? Well… it depends.
Let’s break it down.
Think of a marketing manager as the captain of the day-to-day grind. They’re the ones making sure your campaigns go out on time, your social posts don’t have typos, and your Google Ads don’t accidentally blow your whole budget in one afternoon.
They focus on execution: running campaigns, managing creative assets, coordinating with sales, and making sure your brand doesn’t look like it’s being run out of a basement. A marketing manager cost varies, but you’re usually looking at a full-time salary of between $70,000 and $120,000 a year depending on experience and location.
Great? Absolutely. Strategic? Sometimes. But if your business needs high-level direction—like deciding whether you should even be running TikTok ads in the first place—the role of a marketing manager may not be enough.
Unlike a marketing manager, a fractional CMO isn’t living in the weeds of daily posting schedules or newsletter edits. They’re busy building strategy, aligning marketing with your business goals, and creating a roadmap that actually leads somewhere other than “let’s just post memes and hope for the best.”
A fractional CMO provides senior-level leadership on a part-time or contract basis. That means you’re tapping into years of C-suite experience without committing to the scary six-figure salary (and benefits package) of a full-time executive.
The fractional CMO cost typically ranges between $5,000–$15,000 per month, depending on scope. Compared to the marketing manager cost, it might feel steeper month-to-month, but you’re getting strategic leadership that can increase ROI, streamline your marketing spend, and help you avoid costly mistakes.
Here’s the trick: it’s not always an either/or situation. Sometimes, businesses need both—a fractional CMO to chart the course, and a marketing manager to keep the engine running.
Ask yourself:
If you’re a startup or mid-sized company still figuring out how to scale, a fractional CMO can be a game-changer. They’ll help you prioritize channels, build brand positioning, and align your marketing with sales. Once the strategy is clear, a marketing manager (or team) can jump in to carry it out.
Here’s the reality: a lot of companies overspend on execution and underspend on strategy. They hire a marketing manager, realize there’s no real plan behind the campaigns, and then wonder why nothing’s working.
According to Harvard Business Review, CMOs play a critical role in aligning marketing with broader business growth — a perspective that’s often missing when companies focus only on tactical hires.
Choosing between a fractional CMO and a marketing manager really comes down to where your business is right now. If you’re drowning in execution but missing direction, a fractional CMO can give you the strategy you need to stop spinning your wheels. If you already have a killer plan but no one to implement it, a marketing manager is your new best friend.
At Prism Digital, we offer fractional CMO services to drive your business forward. So you could say we’re biased! But for good reason. We’ve seen how bringing in a fractional CMO can completely transform how companies approach growth, often at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time executive. And if you need help figuring out what mix of leadership and execution makes sense for your business, we’ve got you covered.
Because in the end, marketing isn’t just about running campaigns. It’s about running them in the right direction. And trust us, “throwing money at random ads” isn’t a strategy.