Senior marketing leadership that answers for the numbers, without a full-time hire
A Dizital Connect Fractional CMO runs your marketing function part-time, on a monthly retainer. We own the strategy, the budget and the reporting, manage the people who execute, and are measured against targets agreed up front: qualified pipeline, cost per qualified lead, customer acquisition cost and payback.
Built for founders, CXOs, startups, SMEs, and law and professional services firms, across B2B and B2C, in India, the US, the UK and Australia.
- 4 to 20+ hours a week
- Starts with a two-week diagnostic
- Targets agreed before work begins
- Backed by an AI + human execution team
Tell us who you are, and we will show you what this means for you:
You already pay for marketing. What is missing is someone senior who ties it to revenue.
Most growing companies and firms have an agency, a freelancer, some ad spend and a website, but no one in the leadership team who decides what all of it should achieve. A DC Fractional CMO fills that seat for a set number of hours a week: owning the plan, the budget and the numbers, and directing whoever does the work, whether that is your staff, your agencies or the DC team.
Everything a DC Fractional CMO owns
Six areas, covering the full marketing function from strategy to the board report.
Strategy and positioning
- Ideal client profile and target segments
- Positioning, messaging and offer design
- Go-to-market plans for new services, markets and products
- Annual and 90-day plans tied to revenue targets
- Competitor and market reviews
Budget and channels
- Marketing budget setting and allocation
- Channel mix across paid ads, search and AI visibility, social, email, events and partnerships
- Monthly spend reallocation based on returns
- Tool, vendor and contract spend review
Measurement and reporting
- KPI framework: what gets measured and why
- Dashboards for pipeline, spend and channel return
- Monthly pipeline and channel performance reviews
- Board, partner and investor reporting on spend, pipeline, CAC and payback
Pipeline and revenue
- Sales and marketing alignment
- Lead definitions, scoring and handover rules
- CRM structure, data quality and attribution
- Funnel conversion and leak fixes, from first visit to signed client
- Nurture, follow-up and speed-to-lead standards
People, agencies and partners
- Marketing team structure and roles
- Hiring, onboarding and coaching
- Briefing and managing agencies, freelancers and the DC team
- Interim leadership during a CMO search
Brand, content and client growth
- Brand and content strategy
- Website and landing page conversion
- Thought leadership, webinars, events and podcasts
- Reviews, referrals, retention and upsell programmes
What a fractional CMO does not do: design every ad, write every email or post on social media every day. That work sits with your team, the DC execution team, or both, and your Fractional CMO is accountable for its quality and its results.
A typical agency retainer versus a DC Fractional CMO
| Typical agency retainer | DC Fractional CMO + team | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets the plan | You brief the agency, and it plans its own channels | Your Fractional CMO sets one plan across every channel and vendor |
| What gets reported | Clicks, impressions, posts published | Qualified pipeline, cost per qualified lead, CAC and payback |
| Who manages other vendors | You do | Your Fractional CMO does, including other agencies and freelancers |
| When results stall | More activity is proposed | Budget moves to what works, and what does not work is stopped |
| Link to sales | Ends at the form fill | Covers lead handover, follow-up speed and CRM data through to signed client |
| Seat at the table | Supplier | Part of your leadership team, reporting to founders, partners or the board |
Pick the problem that sounds most like you
Each one has a cost you can feel today, a first move a Fractional CMO makes, and a different picture 90 days later.
Problem 1 of 6
What it is costing you
What your Fractional CMO does first
What changes in 90 days
When we will tell you it is not the right fit
A Fractional CMO needs a budget to direct and people to carry out the plan. Without either, we will recommend starting with a 90-Day Sprint or a managed marketing team instead. And when your marketing needs senior attention most of the week for the foreseeable future, you are ready for a full-time CMO; we will help you write the role, hire and hand over.
From stuck to scaling: how the first 90 days run
Every DC Fractional CMO engagement follows the same path, so you always know what happens next and what you will be shown.
Today
Stuck
Spend, effort and vendors, but no owner and no clear numbers.
Weeks 1 to 2
Diagnose
Positioning, website, channels, ad spend, AI search and CRM reviewed. Written findings.
Weeks 3 to 4
Plan and targets
A 90-day plan, budget by channel and the targets we answer for, signed off by you.
Months 2 to 3
Build and run
Biggest leaks fixed first, then the channels that matter, with your team or ours.
Every month
Scale
One scorecard, budget moved to what works, and the next 90 days planned.
Choose the level of leadership you need
For: founder-led marketing, early-stage companies and smaller firms that need direction more than management.
- Positioning, plan and budget
- Monthly KPI review and reporting
- Guidance for your team or agency
- On-call senior input for key decisions
For: companies and firms with a small marketing team or a set of agencies that need a leader.
- Everything in Advisory
- Weekly team and agency management
- Pipeline and channel reviews with spend reallocation
- Sales and marketing alignment and CRM standards
- Board or partner reporting
For: multi-channel programmes with larger budgets, new market entry or a turnaround.
- Everything in Embedded
- Full marketing function leadership
- Hiring and team build-out
- DC execution team across ads, content, search, events and CRM
- Quarterly strategy and budget resets
Every engagement starts with the two-week Growth Diagnostic. Retainers run for a minimum of 90 days, so there is time to set targets, fix what is leaking and show movement in the numbers. Pricing depends on hours, scope and markets; book a growth call and we will recommend the right tier.
The monthly scorecard
Targets are agreed at the start, and every month you see the same numbers, so progress is clear to partners, founders and the board.
Qualified pipeline
New qualified opportunities and their value, and marketing's contribution to revenue.
Cost per qualified lead
By channel and campaign, not just cost per click or cost per form fill.
CAC and payback
Customer acquisition cost and how many months it takes to earn it back.
LTV to CAC
Lifetime value of a client against the cost of winning them.
Marketing efficiency ratio
Total revenue against total marketing spend, as a blended check on all channels.
Channel return and attribution
Which channels, campaigns and content bring business, and which do not.
Funnel conversion
Conversion at each stage, from first visit to consultation to signed client, and where leads drop out.
Speed to lead
How fast new enquiries get a response and how many get followed up.
Sagar Pratap Singh, Principal Consultant and Fractional CMO
Sagar has 16+ years in go-to-market strategy, demand generation, account-based marketing, search and AI visibility, email, webinars and direct sales. As VP of Business Development and Marketing at a legal process outsourcing firm serving U.S. law firms, he owned the full cycle from lead generation to closing and client relations, and he has worked with 90+ law firms.
Outside legal, he built, ran and sold a restaurant business in Goa and has worked across hospitality and BPM, so he has been through the full cycle of launching, scaling and fixing what broke with his own money at stake.
Why companies choose DC
- Cross-industry, senior-led: legal, professional services, hospitality, BPM, startups and SMEs
- Execution in-house: an AI + human team for ads, content, search, events and CRM, so plans do not stall
- A mentor bench: the DC Mentor Board of leaders with 15+ years in their fields, for a second opinion on your market
- Two time zones: offices in Greater Noida and Huddersfield, working with clients in India, the US, the UK and Australia
What a Fractional CMO engagement looks like in practice
Real engagements, the playbooks we use and our thinking on running marketing with a fractional leader. Filter by what you want to see.
Case studyCreating a GTM workflow where there had been noneRead the case study →
Case studyMaking the agency unnecessaryRead the case study →
PlaybookGTM workflow designRead the playbook →
PlaybookMeasurement and reporting dashboardRead the playbook →
ArticleThe LegalTech GTM problem: you are selling an AI label into a market that already has oneRead the article →Want to see what a Fractional CMO would change for you?
A 15-minute intro call. We will tell you honestly whether fractional cmo is the right next step.
Questions about hiring a fractional CMO
What is a fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing leader who joins your leadership team for a set number of hours a week instead of full-time. At DC, your Fractional CMO owns the marketing plan, budget, vendors and reporting, and is measured on pipeline and cost per client.
How many hours a week does a fractional CMO work?
Our tiers run from 4 to 8 hours a week for advisory work, 10 to 15 hours for an embedded CMO, and 15 to 20 or more hours for growth programmes. The right level depends on your team, budget and goals.
How is a fractional CMO different from a marketing agency or consultant?
A consultant gives advice and an agency runs campaigns. A fractional CMO leads the whole marketing function, sets the strategy and budget, manages whoever executes, and answers for the results against agreed targets.
How quickly does a fractional CMO start adding value?
Every DC engagement starts with a two-week Growth Diagnostic that ends with a prioritised 90-day plan, so the first decisions are made within the first month. A full-time CMO search and ramp-up usually takes several months.
How much does a fractional CMO cost?
Pricing depends on hours, scope and the markets you sell in. After a growth call we recommend a tier and give you a fixed monthly fee. Retainers run for a minimum of 90 days.
When should we hire a full-time CMO instead?
When you need senior marketing time close to full-time for six months or more, a full-time hire is usually better value. We help you define the role, hire and hand over.
Do you only work with law firms?
No. We work with founders, CXOs, startups, SMEs, law and professional services firms, and B2B and B2C companies across industries in India, the US, the UK and Australia.
Tell us where marketing is stuck. We will show you what the first 90 days should look like.
A 15-minute intro call is the fastest way to find the right starting point.
