Two of the services we offer at Accent are fractional marketing executive services and fractional marketing. While everybody understands a “fractional executive” means a part-time person filling in a hole in the corporate leadership, fractional marketing is a thing of its own. Fractional marketing is the concept of hiring a company that can bring multiple marketing disciplines to the table in various amounts to meet the project goal. So, rather than hiring an SEO company, an online advertising company, blog writers, keyword researchers, direct mail designers; your company can hire a firm that has the experience and resources to perform all those needs. This is different from a traditional ad agency in that the marketing effort may not reply extensively on ad spends.
We do fractional marketing during most of our marketing engagements with clients, because most of the projects we handle require a little bit of different skill sets. So, if we need two hours of keyword research and ten hours of blog writing; we do both in-house at Accent. This keeps you from having to coordinate handfuls of specialized outsources. This also means that Accent can project-manage the whole effort. I’ve been in the room where a St. Pete entertainment CFO stated that the (30 person) company needed to first hire a database administrator (DBA) because they needed to develop their company website, which was just going to be a regular marketing type site for the company with no specialized functions nor deep database needs. That’s a $150k/year full-time position that they were going to start with before even assessing the website consumer usability, copyright, graphics, and website SEO. We completed the website project for a fraction of that salary and didn’t need a DBA for anything.
We’re finding that some companies are realizing fractional marketing is becoming increasingly popular among St. Petersburg businesses, offering a strategic and flexible solution for companies to manage their marketing efforts more effectively. This model allows businesses to hire marketing specialists on a need basis without committing to full-time salaries, thus optimizing budget and enhancing focus on strategic initiatives.
For small to mid-sized businesses in St. Petersburg, the benefits of fractional marketing are substantial. Companies can access a variety of skills—from SEO strategists to social media experts—exactly when they need them. This adaptability is crucial in responding to market changes and pursuing new opportunities without the overhead of maintaining a large staff.
Fractional marketing provides businesses the agility to leverage the latest digital tools and platforms, ensuring they remain competitive in a dynamic market. This approach not only helps in fine-tuning marketing efforts but also ensures that companies are not left behind as new trends and technologies emerge. In my experience, we’ve seen this lately in the form of understanding how high-quality content is being generated quickly with the use of artificial intelligence tools in the creative process.
This model is particularly effective for seasonal campaigns or specific projects such as product launches or trade shows. For example, a business planning to introduce a new product can engage a fractional team for everything from web design and copywriting to digital advertising and public relations, ensuring a comprehensive and coordinated approach that maximizes impact and engagement.
Accent is a boutique consulting firm in the St. Petersburg, FL area and handles projects and fractional leadership roles in areas including IT, HR and Marketing. Mike Martino is a managing partner in the firm and leads the marketing projects.
