Fractional Marketing Partner vs. In-House Hire: What's Actually Different?
Key takeaways
A full-time marketing hire comes with a salary, benefits, software, and your time managing them. A fractional partner works on a monthly retainer sized to the work.
A fractional partner can often start within a few weeks, while hiring and onboarding a marketer can take months.
An in-house hire learns your company deeply over time. A fractional partner brings what they've learned across several clients.
Some companies start with a fractional partner and hire in-house once the role is clearly defined.
"Should we just hire a marketer?"
I get asked this a lot, and my answer is always that it depends on what you need right now.
Should we hire a full-time marketer or bring in a fractional partner?
Start with the workload.
If there's enough marketing work to keep someone busy 40 hours a week, and you have the budget to keep them for a few years, hire in-house. You get someone in the building who knows every product and every person.
If what you need is senior marketing judgement a few hours a week, someone to set the plan, manage your vendors, and check the work before it goes out, a fractional partner usually makes more sense.
How do the costs compare?
A full-time marketer costs more than their salary.
You're also paying for benefits, software, onboarding, and your own time managing them.
A fractional partner is on a monthly retainer, and you can scale the scope up or down as the business changes.
In-house hire | Fractional partner | |
|---|---|---|
Cost | Salary plus benefits, software, and management time | Monthly retainer sized to the work |
Time to start | Often months, between hiring and onboarding | Often within a few weeks |
Knowledge of your company | Deep, built up over time | Built quickly, plus patterns from other clients |
Flexibility | Fixed cost, whatever the workload | Scope grows or shrinks with the business |
Best fit | The workload is full-time and growing | You need senior marketing judgement before you need a full-time person |
When does an in-house hire make more sense?
When the work is truly full-time, and you need someone available every day. Some companies bring in a fractional partner first to set up the brand standards and the plan, then hire in-house once they know exactly what the role should be.
How do I know which one my company needs?
Ask yourself a few questions:
Is the workload full-time today, or is it just the stress that feels full-time?
Do you need someone to make things, or someone to decide what gets made?
Can you wait months for someone to start, or do you need help this quarter?
If your answers lean toward the second half of each question, a fractional partner is probably the better first step.
FAQ
Can a fractional partner help us hire in-house later?
Yes, and I'm happy to. Once you know what the role should be, I can help you define it and hand everything off to your new marketer when they start.
Is a fractional marketing partner the same as an agency?
Not quite. An agency usually gets hired for a specific project, like a campaign or a website. I work inside your business, set the plan, and manage your vendors, including any agencies you bring in.
How many hours does a fractional partner work?
It depends on what you need. It can be a few hours a week or a couple of days, and we'll work that out together in the retainer.
If you've been going back and forth on whether to hire a marketer, let's talk it through. I'll help you figure out which option fits where your company is right now. Book a call with me.
