TL/DR:
Many finance businesses struggle to effectively communicate their value.
Most tech businesses find it even harder.
When those worlds collide, the problem is magnified.
If you are a start-up or scale-up fintech, it can be hard to get the expert and experienced help you need to define and implement your marketing and growth strategy. Hiring a full-time CMO is expensive and takes real commitment.
Working with a fractional CMO, however, can give you competitive advantage and turbo-charge your growth. Particularly if it's someone who has worked in fintech before.
A full version of this article can be found at https://fractionalcmo.uk/fractional-cmo-for-fintechs/ 
Does a fractional CMO need to be a fintech specialist?
Do they need to be? No.
Is it helpful if they are? For sure.
For one thing, if your fractional CMO is a fintech specialist, they will already have:
However, I'm a firm believer that CMOs (whether permanent or fractional) benefit from having wider experience as well.
Best scenario: your fractional CMO is a fintech specialist, but not exclusivist.
What does a fractional CMO do in a fintech business?
Depending on your circumstances and business stage, a fractional CMO can work with you in a number of ways:
What are the benefits of a fractional CMO for a fintech?
If you're a large, well established fintech heading for Unicorn status, congratulations!
For the rest of us, the struggle is very real. A combination of a difficult funding landscape, increased costs and inflation mean reduced runways.
Generating sustainable revenue is as important as ever - perhaps more than ever. But CMO salaries are high so how can you compete?
A fractional CMO will give you access to 20+ years accrued knowledge and experience but at a fraction of the cost of employment.
How much does a fintech fractional CMO cost?
Day rates might look expensive, but you're only paying that for a limited number of days a month.
And you're not paying NI, pensions, holiday pay, sick pay...
With rates starting at a little over £800 per day, fractional CMO rates can be quite affordable for many fintech start-ups and scale-ups.
If you have an incumbent marketing team, you might want to consider a retainer arrangement. Here, your fractional CMO is "on call" - available for structured time each month as well as informal and unstructured time.
Existing marketers find this particularly helpful - having a senior marketing coach and expert on hand whenever they need it.
We arrange a fee and a 'fair use' policy up front and then review quarterly to see whether the engagement should be increased or decreased.
About me
I'm Richard Leader, I've been a senior marketing bod for over 20 years - and a fractional (or portfolio) marketing director and CMO for around 4 years.
I've worked with fintech startups & scaleups including
Funding Options, CMC Markets, Touch Financial, Fluidly, Satago, Scroll Finance & others.
With 20 years marketing experience in B2B and B2C companies, I can help your business identify and overcome barriers to growth.
