Founders often ask me whether they need a fractional CMO or a marketing agency. In short, an agency is best when you know what needs doing and want a team to execute it, while a fractional CMO is best when you need someone senior to decide what should be done across every channel and be accountable for the result. The right answer depends on what is actually holding growth back.
The short version
An agency is best when you know what you need done and want a team to execute it, usually in one or two channels.
A fractional CMO is best when you need someone senior to decide what should be done, across every channel, and to be accountable for the result.
What does an agency do well?
A good agency brings specialist skills and capacity. If you have a clear strategy and need someone to run your Meta Ads, build your Klaviyo flows or manage SEO, an agency can do that well and at scale.
The limits are structural. Agencies are usually paid to run a channel, so they naturally optimise that channel. Senior people sell the work and junior people often deliver it. And no single agency is responsible for how paid, email, SEO, PR and your website work together.
What does a fractional CMO do well?
A fractional CMO looks at your marketing as one system. They decide where budget goes, which channels to start or stop, how your positioning and offer should change, and what success looks like. Then they hold the plan, and everyone working on it, to account.
The best fractional CMOs also do hands-on work. That matters for smaller teams, because a strategy nobody has time to deliver is not much use. When I led the D2C launch of MONPURE in London, the job was both: setting the plan across paid, email, PR and the site, and doing much of the work. The brand reached £500k in revenue in its first six months and more than £2m by year two.
What are the signs you need a fractional CMO?
You are spending on marketing but cannot say which channels are profitable.
You have several freelancers or agencies and nobody is joining the dots.
Growth has stalled and you are not sure why.
You are preparing to raise, launch a product or enter a new market.
The founders are making marketing decisions they do not have time for.
When is an agency enough?
You already have a clear plan and someone senior in-house to own it.
The gap is capacity in a specific channel, not direction.
Your tracking is reliable and you know your numbers.
Why do many businesses use both?
The most effective set-up I see is a fractional CMO setting direction and priorities, with specialists or an agency doing volume execution. The CMO writes the briefs, sets the targets and judges the work on commercial results, not activity. You get senior thinking without paying senior rates for every task.
A simple test
Ask yourself: if I gave a capable team a bigger budget tomorrow, would I know exactly what to tell them to do? If the answer is yes, you probably need execution. If the answer is no, you need direction first.
Frequently asked questions
Is a fractional CMO more expensive than an agency?
Not necessarily. A fractional CMO is usually scoped as a monthly retainer for a set amount of senior time and agreed deliverables, while agencies typically charge retainers per channel. I have broken down how pricing works in what a fractional CMO costs in Singapore.
Can a fractional CMO manage my existing agency?
Yes, and this is one of the most common set-ups. The fractional CMO sets the targets, writes the briefs and reviews the agency's work against commercial results, so you get more value from the agency you already pay.
How long does a fractional CMO engagement usually last?
Most start with a short, fixed-fee audit and then move to a monthly retainer if there is a clear fit. Many run for six to twelve months, often until the business is ready to hire a full-time marketing lead.
How Kompass works
I am based in Singapore and work as a fractional CMO for founder-led brands and startups globally, including clients in the UK, the Netherlands, the US and Singapore. I am hands-on: paid acquisition, conversion rate optimisation, email and lifecycle, SEO and digital PR. Every engagement starts with a fixed-fee growth audit, so you get a clear plan whether or not we keep working together.
If you are not sure which you need, book a discovery call. I will tell you honestly, even if the answer is an agency.
