Understanding the role of a fractional CMO
A fractional CMO provides strategic marketing leadership on a part-time basis, helping healthcare organizations develop and execute effective marketing strategies without the cost of a full-time executive.
Common questions about fractional CMO services
Q: What is a fractional CMO, exactly?
A: A fractional CMO is an experienced marketing leader who embeds with your team for a set number of hours each month. You get executive-level strategy, leadership, and accountability without adding a full-time executive to payroll. That looks like building the growth plan, aligning teams, and turning brand story into pipeline and revenue.
Q: How is a fractional CMO different from a marketing agency or a consultant?
A: Healthcare providers, senior care organizations, healthtech startups, and wellness brands often leverage fractional CMO services for expert guidance.
Q: What types of organizations benefit from a fractional CMO?
A: Agencies build assets and run channels. Consultants advise. A fractional CMO leads. They set direction, translate strategy into systems, coach your team and partners, and own outcomes with you. Many firms describe this as getting an executive rather than “more hands.”
Q: When does a fractional CMO make the most sense?
A: It is a strong fit during inflection points like scaling, leadership gaps, a GTM reset, fundraising, or when you need senior guidance to turn scattered efforts into a plan the team can run.
Q: What does HHS do in the first 30 days?
A: We often start with the ALIGN Pilot, a short discovery and setup sprint:
- Assess reality with a fast audit of brand, channels, and pipeline
- Locate gaps across story, systems, and handoffs
- Integrate workflows and owner roles
- Guide rollout with a 90-day plan and scorecard
- Normalize habits with weekly rhythms and simple dashboards
At the end you have a clear narrative, an operating plan by pillar, and a lightweight scorecard leadership trusts.
Q: How do you measure success?
A: We agree on a small, visible scorecard. Typical signals include time-to-value on campaigns, qualified pipeline, lift in conversion on priority journeys, sales enablement usage, and one to two credibility metrics like press or partner wins. We keep it simple so leaders can make decisions quickly.
Q: How quickly will we see impact?
A: You should feel clarity in two to four weeks and see movement on leading indicators in the first 60 to 90 days. Durable gains usually show up as cleaner handoffs, faster cycles, and more consistent signal in your pipeline.
Q: What does executive time look like each week?
A: Expect a weekly leadership session, quick async check-ins, and working sessions with the owners of content, demand, and sales motions. We adjust cadence to your culture and bandwidth.
Q: Do you require long contracts?
A: No. We start with a short ALIGN Pilot, then you can go month to month or choose a longer retainer if you want price protection and capacity guarantees. We do offer hourly support, although it is best for narrow, task-level lifts. If you want true strategic leadership with dots connected across brand, demand, and sales enablement, hourly tends to pull the role into “doer” mode rather than executive guidance. Many clients also take advantage of our longevity good-faith discount for multi-month commitments, which rewards stability and planning on both sides.
Q: What happens after the ALIGN Pilot?
A: Most partners move into a retainer. We work across four program buckets (Content Management, Executive Leadership, Media Relations, and Growth & Sales Enablement) and six marketing pillars (Brand Story & Identity, Content Engine, Demand & Campaigns, Sales & RevOps, Growth Analytics, and Embedded Leadership). You can scale hours up or down as needs change.
Q: What do you actually deliver in month one to three?
A: A tight stack: clarified brand narrative, messaging framework, channel priorities, campaign roadmap, pipeline and content calendars, enablement collateral, and a leadership scorecard. We coach owners, tune workflows, and stand up the operating rhythm so the plan survives the meeting.
Q: How much does a fractional CMO cost compared to hiring full-time?
A: Market context helps. The average full-time CMO salary in the U.S. is about $373K before benefits and bonuses. In Chicago, reported averages are roughly $236K, with wide ranges by company stage. Fractional CMOs typically charge retainers from about $4K to $20K per month or hourly rates from roughly $150 to $500 depending on scope and seniority.
Q: How does HHS price work?
A: We scope after the ALIGN Pilot so the retainer fits your goals and team capacity. We price by structured hours tied to outcomes, not vanity deliverables. Most clients start small, then right-size once the scorecard shows what is working. We also offer project-based work if a narrow lift is all you need.
Q: Who does the work at HHS?
A: You work directly with senior leadership on strategy, planning, and enablement. We collaborate with your internal team and trusted specialists for production as needed. We keep ownership clear so nothing slips between strategy and execution.
Q: What makes HHS different from a typical fractional model?
A: Two things. First, we run brand as a workflow, not a campaign. We hardwire story into intake, handoffs, and sales motions so the work sustains. Second, we operate as an embedded partner in healthcare, which means we build for regulated, multi-stakeholder realities rather than generic B2B playbooks.
Q: Do you work in regulated healthcare settings?
A: Yes. Most of our clients sit in senior and post-acute care, virtual care, and multi-specialty groups. We design content and workflows with PHI safety, credentialing realities, and clinical operations in mind. We also coordinate with compliance and medical leadership during reviews.
Q: What should we have ready before we start?
A: Give us access to your existing materials, basic performance snapshots, and a short list of business goals. We handle the rest: interviews, quick audits, and a working session to align story, priorities, and metrics.
Q: Can you partner with our existing agency or internal marketing team?
A: Absolutely. We often lead strategy and operating cadence, then empower your team and agency partners to execute with less friction. The goal is to make everyone’s work easier and more effective.
Q: What if we only need help on one pillar?
A: That is fine. Some groups bring us in for message and positioning only, others for demand generation or sales enablement. The model flexes.
Q: How are you different from an interim CMO?
A: Interim CMOs typically backfill a full-time seat and manage the entire department during a search. Fractional CMOs focus on strategic leadership and operating systems at scoped hours. We can act as interim if needed, though most clients prefer the fractional approach for flexibility.
Q: How do we get started?
A: Book a short intro. If there is a fit, we kickoff the ALIGN Pilot, set the scorecard, and lock the first 90-day plan. If you prefer, we can skip the pilot and move right into a working relationship, we’ll work out the detgails on our consultation call.
Health Highlight Strategies, LLC 