You need marketing leadership. The question is how to structure it.
Option A: Build an in-house marketing team from scratch.
Option B: Hire a fractional CMO and supplement with specialists.
Option C: Go agency-only with no internal leadership.
Each approach has different costs, capabilities, and trade-offs. Let me show you the real numbers so you can make an informed decision.
Option A: Full In-House Marketing Team
The Typical Structure
For a £2m–£10m revenue UK business, a capable marketing function usually looks like:
| Role | Salary | Total Cost (inc. NI, pension, benefits) |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing Director/CMO | £85,000–£120,000 | £105,000–£150,000 |
| Marketing Manager | £40,000–£55,000 | £50,000–£70,000 |
| Content/Social Specialist | £30,000–£40,000 | £38,000–£50,000 |
| Total Team Cost | £193,000–£270,000 |
Plus recruitment fees (typically 20–25% of first-year salary for senior roles):
| Recruitment | Cost |
|---|---|
| Marketing Director | £17,000–£30,000 |
| Marketing Manager | £8,000–£14,000 |
| Specialist | £6,000–£10,000 |
| Total Year 1 Recruitment | £31,000–£54,000 |
Year 1 Total: £224,000–£324,000
That’s before you spend a penny on:
- Marketing tools and software (£500–£2,000/month)
- Advertising budget
- Content production
- Agency support for specialist work
The Reality Check
Most SMEs can’t justify this spend. A £3m revenue business spending £250k on marketing team salaries alone is allocating 8% of revenue before any actual marketing happens.
The result? Businesses either:
- Under-hire (one marketing manager doing everything badly)
- Over-stretch (senior marketer doing junior work)
- Or don’t hire at all (founder-led chaos)
Option B: Fractional CMO + Specialists
The Typical Structure
| Component | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Fractional CMO (2 days/week) | £5,000–£8,000 | £60,000–£96,000 |
| Marketing Coordinator (in-house) | £3,200–£4,200 | £38,000–£50,000 |
| Specialist agency (content, SEO, ads) | £2,000–£5,000 | £24,000–£60,000 |
| Total | £10,200–£17,200 | £122,000–£206,000 |
Year 1 Total: £122,000–£206,000
Recruitment cost for the coordinator: £6,000–£10,000 (one-time).
What You Get
Strategic leadership — The fractional CMO provides direction, makes decisions, and holds people accountable. Same capability as a full-time marketing director.
Execution capacity — The coordinator handles day-to-day tasks. The agency provides specialist skills.
Flexibility — Scale agency spend up or down based on needs. Add CMO days during intense periods.
Experience depth — Fractional CMOs typically have 15–20 years experience. They’ve seen what works across multiple businesses.
The Trade-Off
You don’t have a full-time senior marketer in the office five days a week. Some businesses need that presence; most don’t.
Option C: Agency Only
The Typical Structure
| Component | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service marketing agency | £5,000–£15,000 | £60,000–£180,000 |
| Ad spend (managed by agency) | £2,000–£10,000 | £24,000–£120,000 |
| Total | £7,000–£25,000 | £84,000–£300,000 |
What You Get
Execution. Someone to run campaigns, create content, manage social media, handle SEO and PPC.
What You Don’t Get
Strategy. Direction. Accountability.
Agencies do what you tell them. If you don’t know what to tell them, they’ll suggest things — but their suggestions are shaped by what they sell, not what you need.
I’ve seen businesses spend £150,000/year with agencies and have nothing to show for it. Not because the agency was bad, but because nobody was directing them toward business outcomes.
The Hidden Cost
Without internal leadership, you make poor decisions. You can’t evaluate agency recommendations. You don’t know if results are good or bad. You chase tactics instead of strategy.
The agency-only model works if someone internally can provide strategic direction. For most SMEs, that means the founder — which pulls them away from what they should be doing.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | Full In-House | Fractional + Specialists | Agency Only |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 Cost | £224k–£324k | £128k–£216k | £84k–£300k |
| Strategic Leadership | Yes (if hired well) | Yes | No |
| Execution Capacity | Medium-High | Medium | High |
| Flexibility | Low | High | High |
| Hiring Risk | High | Low | None |
| Time to Capability | 4–6 months | 4–6 weeks | 2–4 weeks |
| Knowledge Retention | High | Medium | Low |
| Founder Time Required | Low | Low | High |
The Hybrid Reality
Here’s what most successful £2m–£10m businesses actually do:
Fractional CMO — Strategic leadership, direction, accountability
Internal coordinator — Day-to-day execution, project management
Specialist agencies — SEO, content, ads, design as needed
This model delivers:
- Senior strategic capability
- Adequate execution capacity
- Flexibility to scale
- Reasonable cost
Total investment: £120,000–£200,000/year including execution budget.
Decision Framework by Revenue
Under £1m Revenue
Recommended: Agency-only with founder direction, or part-time marketing manager.
You can’t afford a fractional CMO yet. Focus on execution with the founder providing direction. Once you hit £1m, revisit.
£1m–£3m Revenue
Recommended: Fractional CMO (1 day/week) + agency.
You have enough budget to benefit from strategic leadership but not enough for a full team. The CMO directs the agency and ensures money is well spent.
Budget: £50,000–£100,000/year total marketing spend.
£3m–£10m Revenue
Recommended: Fractional CMO (2 days/week) + internal coordinator + specialist agencies.
This is the sweet spot for the fractional model. You get full strategic capability without the overhead of a senior in-house hire.
Budget: £120,000–£200,000/year total marketing spend.
£10m–£20m Revenue
Recommended: Evaluate full-time CMO hire, or continue with heavy fractional engagement (3+ days/week).
At this scale, you might need more presence than fractional allows. But some businesses continue with fractional CMOs well past £20m if the model works.
Budget: £200,000–£400,000/year total marketing spend.
£20m+ Revenue
Recommended: Full-time CMO with internal team.
You’re big enough to justify and attract a quality full-time hire. The fractional CMO may transition to an advisory role.
What About Quality?
A common objection: “Won’t a full-time hire be more committed and therefore better?”
Not necessarily.
Fractional CMOs typically have more experience. They’ve worked across multiple businesses and industries. They’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. A full-time hire at the same budget might have 10 years experience; the fractional CMO has 20.
Fractional CMOs stay sharp. Working with multiple businesses keeps them current. Full-time hires can become insular — especially in smaller companies with limited exposure to new ideas.
Fractional CMOs have broader networks. They know agencies, tools, talent, and approaches from their other engagements. That network benefits you.
The trade-off is presence. If your business genuinely needs someone in the office five days a week — for team management, rapid iteration, or constant stakeholder access — full-time may be better. But most businesses overestimate how much presence they actually need.
Making the Transition
Starting with Fractional, Moving to Full-Time
Common pattern: Use a fractional CMO to build the marketing function, then hire full-time when you’re ready to scale.
The fractional CMO can:
- Define the full-time role requirements
- Source and evaluate candidates
- Onboard and transition knowledge
- Stay on as advisor during handover
This de-risks the full-time hire. You’re not hiring blind — you know what the role should look like because someone’s been doing it.
Starting In-House, Adding Fractional
Less common, but sometimes useful: You have a marketing manager who needs senior guidance.
The fractional CMO provides:
- Strategic direction the manager lacks
- Mentorship and development
- Executive representation the manager can’t provide
This accelerates the manager’s development while filling the capability gap.
The Bottom Line
For most UK SMEs between £1m and £20m revenue:
The fractional CMO model delivers better ROI than building a full in-house team.
You get:
- Same strategic capability at 40–60% less cost
- Faster time to capability (weeks, not months)
- More flexibility to scale up or down
- Broader experience from someone who sees multiple businesses
- Lower risk if it doesn’t work out
The full in-house team makes sense when:
- You’re large enough to fully utilise a senior hire (£20m+ revenue)
- You need constant presence for team management or rapid iteration
- You have specific cultural reasons for wanting everyone in-house
For everyone else, the maths favours fractional.
FAQ
What if we hire a marketing manager first and add a fractional CMO later?
That works. The CMO provides direction; the manager executes. Just ensure the manager is comfortable being directed by an external leader. Some managers struggle with this dynamic.
Can a fractional CMO help us build an in-house team?
Yes. Many engagements include hiring support — defining roles, sourcing candidates, conducting interviews, and onboarding new team members.
What happens if the fractional CMO isn’t available when we need them?
Good fractional CMOs are available for urgent questions between sessions (Slack, email). For scheduled deep work, you plan around their days. This is rarely a problem in practice.
Is it harder to build culture with a fractional leader?
Somewhat. The CMO won’t be at every team lunch or Friday drinks. But culture comes from behaviour and values, not physical presence. A good fractional CMO models the right approach even with limited time.
How do we transition from fractional to full-time?
Typically a 2–3 month overlap. The fractional CMO helps hire their replacement, transfers knowledge, and stays available for advisory support during the transition.
Related: Fractional CMO: The Complete Guide for UK Businesses | How Much Does a Fractional CMO Cost in the UK? | Fractional CMO vs Marketing Agency: Which Delivers More ROI?
