Question 1

What is a fractional CMO?

Accepted Answer

A fractional Chief Marketing Officer is a senior marketing executive engaged on a part-time, retainer basis — typically a few days a month — instead of being hired full-time. A fractional CMO owns the marketing strategy, sets priorities, reviews performance, and oversees internal staff or outside vendors, but is not responsible for hands-on production (design, ad buying, content writing). The model is designed for businesses that need senior marketing judgment but cannot justify the $250K–$400K fully-loaded cost of a full-time Chief Marketing Officer.

Question 2

How is a fractional CMO different from a marketing agency?

Accepted Answer

An agency sells execution — ad campaigns, websites, content, creative — and is paid based on the work it produces. A fractional CMO sells strategy and oversight, and is paid for senior judgment regardless of production volume. Because a fractional CMO is not paid per deliverable, there is no structural incentive to recommend more activity than your business actually needs. A common model is to keep an existing agency for production work and add a fractional CMO as an independent senior layer that sets strategy and holds the agency accountable to outcomes.

Question 3

Do you replace our existing marketing agency?

Accepted Answer

Almost never. In most engagements, Stronghold CMO is layered above an existing agency, internal marketing coordinator, or marketing director. The fractional CMO sets strategy, defines the roadmap, approves campaigns against business outcomes, and holds the existing team accountable to the plan. If your current agency is misaligned with your business goals, we will say so directly and help you make the decision — but the default posture is to strengthen the team you already have.

Question 4

Is Stronghold CMO a marketing agency?

Accepted Answer

No. Stronghold CMO is a strategy consultancy. We do not run ad campaigns, build websites, produce content, or manage social accounts. Those are execution functions handled by your internal team or your production agency. Our role is the senior marketing leadership above them — diagnosing the real problem, setting the strategy, and overseeing whether execution is producing the results the strategy predicted.

Question 5

What size business is Stronghold CMO designed for?

Accepted Answer

Our typical engagement is with an owner-led service business generating between $1M and $25M in annual revenue. Below $1M, a fractional CMO is usually premature — you need demand generation basics, not strategic oversight. Above $25M, you typically need a full-time Chief Marketing Officer. The sweet spot is a business that has outgrown founder-led marketing, is spending meaningful money on marketing (often $10K–$50K per month), and needs senior judgment to make that spend productive.

Question 6

What industries do you specialize in?

Accepted Answer

We work primarily with owner-led service businesses in industries where marketing is driven by local trust, reputation and operational quality rather than venture-funded scale. Our deepest experience is in home services (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, remodeling), dental and medical practices, legal services, wellness and clinical services, and professional services firms. We avoid verticals where we cannot add senior judgment — such as deep-tech B2B SaaS, consumer packaged goods, or venture-backed growth marketing — and will tell you directly if your business is outside our wheelhouse.

Question 7

Do you work with businesses outside the United States?

Accepted Answer

We occasionally take engagements outside the United States, but our default is US-based service businesses where we can cite domestic market data, regulatory context and buyer behavior with confidence. If you operate outside the US, contact us and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit.

Question 8

How is Stronghold CMO priced?

Accepted Answer

We price on scope, not hours. Research reports (Competitive Intelligence Brief and Market Research Deep Dive) are fixed-price one-time engagements. Campaign Strategy Sprints are fixed-price three-week engagements. Fractional CMO retainers are a flat monthly fee depending on scope and cadence. Current prices and what is included in each engagement are published on the services pages. We do not bill by the hour, and we do not charge performance fees or take a percentage of ad spend.

Question 9

What is included in the monthly fractional CMO retainer?

Accepted Answer

A typical retainer includes: a weekly competitive intelligence check-in; a rolling 30/60/90 day strategic roadmap updated monthly; campaign strategy and approval for any new initiative; oversight of your internal team or agency (standing weekly review); budget stewardship and spend review; a monthly executive briefing document for the owner; and a quarterly business review. Specific inclusions are agreed in the engagement letter before work begins. Retainers do not include production work (design, content, media buying).

Question 10

Can we buy one research report without committing to a retainer?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Competitive Intelligence Brief, Market Research Deep Dive, Campaign Strategy Sprint, and Performance Diagnosis are all offered as stand-alone, one-time engagements with no retainer commitment. Many clients start this way and decide later whether ongoing senior oversight is worth the retainer.

Question 11

What is the difference between a Competitive Intelligence Brief and a Market Research Deep Dive?

Accepted Answer

A Competitive Intelligence Brief is focused on specific competitors — typically up to five named businesses — and audits their messaging, digital presence, SEO positioning, content strategy and pricing signals. It answers the question: where are my competitors strong, where are they vulnerable, and where should I position against them? A Market Research Deep Dive is broader and answers the question: what is my market, who actually buys, why do they buy, what drives demand, and what are the regulatory or structural shifts I need to plan for? Most clients need one or the other, not both — we will tell you which is the right fit based on the decision you are trying to make.

Question 12

How quickly can we start?

Accepted Answer

Research reports and Campaign Strategy Sprints typically begin within one to two weeks of the signed engagement letter, depending on intake scheduling. Fractional CMO retainers typically begin within two to three weeks after intake, to allow time for a thorough diagnostic before strategic decisions are made. We will not start a retainer engagement without an intake phase — starting without context produces generic advice, and that is not our product.

Question 13

What happens after I submit a project request?

Accepted Answer

Within two business days of your request, you will receive a response either (a) confirming we are a fit and proposing a 30-minute intake call, (b) recommending a different engagement type than the one you selected and explaining why, or (c) declining the engagement with a direct explanation. If we propose a call, the call is a diagnostic conversation — not a sales pitch — at the end of which we will either quote a scoped engagement or send you elsewhere with specific referrals.

Question 14

Do you sign an NDA?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We routinely sign mutual non-disclosure agreements before substantive engagements. If you have your own NDA template, we will review and counter-sign; if not, we can provide one. All engagements are covered by confidentiality obligations in the engagement letter regardless of whether a separate NDA is signed.

Frequently asked questions.

What a fractional CMO actually is

Who Stronghold CMO is for

Pricing and engagements

Starting an engagement

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