You're looking for a CMO. You probably don't need one.
Every year, dozens of Swiss SMEs post a job ad for a "Head of Marketing" or "CMO". The proposed salary hovers between CHF 140.-,000 and 180,000. Applications pour in. Six months later, the position is either vacant or filled by someone doing community management instead of driving growth.
The problem isn't the candidate. It's the model.
The trap of the first marketing hire
When an SME of 15 to 80 employees decides to "structure its marketing", it typically falls into one of two scenarios:
Scenario 1: Too junior. You hire a marketing manager at CHF 85.-,000-100,000. This person is competent at execution but lacks the experience to define an acquisition strategy, arbitrate a CHF 150.-,000 budget, or challenge an external agency. Result: lots of activity, little measurable impact.
Scenario 2: Too senior. You recruit an experienced CMO at CHF 180.-,000-250,000, including charges. This person has the strategic skills but ends up managing operational tasks that don't justify their salary. After 18 months, frustration is mutual.
In both cases, the company loses time, money, and momentum.
The real cost of an in-house CMO
Let's do the full calculation for Switzerland:
- Gross salary: CHF 180.-,000
- Social charges (~15%): CHF 27.-,000
- Employer pension (LPP): CHF 12.-,000-18,000
- Workspace, tools, training: CHF 10.-,000-15,000
- Total: CHF 230.-,000 to 260,000 per year
For an SME generating CHF 2.- to 10 million in revenue, that's a considerable investment for a single position.
What an SME actually needs
The truth is, an SME doesn't need a CMO 5 days a week. It needs three things:
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A clear strategy · Which channels to prioritise? What budget to allocate? Which KPIs to track? These decisions take a few hours per month, not 40 hours per week.
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Coordinated execution · Modern marketing involves SEO, content, digital advertising, CRM. Each specialty can be outsourced. What's needed is someone to orchestrate the whole.
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Accountability · A contact who reports on results, not hours spent. Who says "this month we generated 34 qualified leads at a cost of CHF 85.- per acquisition" rather than "we published 12 LinkedIn posts".
The Fractional CMO model: how it works
A Fractional CMO is an experienced marketing director who works part-time in your company. Typically 1 to 2 days per week, over a 6 to 12-month engagement.
It's not consulting
The fundamental difference from a consultant: the Fractional CMO doesn't deliver an 80-page report and disappear. They integrate into the team. They attend management meetings. They make decisions and own them.
It's not an agency
Unlike an agency, the Fractional CMO has no interest in selling you more services. Their objective is aligned with yours: generating measurable business results.
In practice, a typical week looks like:
- Monday morning · Review of last week's KPIs, campaign adjustments
- Tuesday · Sync with the sales team on lead quality, brief the SEO agency
- Thursday afternoon · Strategic work: quarterly roadmap, market analysis, positioning
The rest of the time, execution is handled by internal or external specialists, coordinated by the Fractional CMO.
5 signals it's time to bring in a Fractional CMO
1. You don't have a documented marketing strategy
If your "strategy" boils down to "we do a bit of LinkedIn and we redesigned the website last year", you don't have a strategy. You have scattered tactics.
2. Your CEO is the sole marketing decision-maker
When the founder or CEO makes all marketing decisions between client meetings, marketing is never the priority. And it shows in the results.
3. You depend on uncoordinated freelancers
A designer here, a copywriter there, a Google Ads agency elsewhere. Nobody sees the big picture. Messages are inconsistent. Budgets overlap.
4. Your growth is stalling despite a good product
You have satisfied clients, a solid product, but growth is plateauing. The problem isn't your offer, it's your ability to make it visible to the right prospects.
5. Your marketing budget is poorly allocated
You spend CHF 8.-,000 per month on Google Ads but nobody analyses conversions. You have a website costing CHF 200.- per month in hosting but generating zero leads. Money goes out, but without direction.
Common objections (and why they don't hold up)
"It's too expensive"
A Fractional CMO costs between CHF 3.-,000 and 8,000 per month depending on involvement. Compared to the CHF 20.-,000+ monthly cost of an in-house CMO (charges included), it's 3 to 6 times cheaper for the same level of strategic competence.
"They won't understand our industry"
A good Fractional CMO doesn't need to know your industry in detail. They know marketing, acquisition, and growth. Your industry expertise is yours. Their role is to transform it into a visible competitive advantage.
"We prefer someone in-house"
That's legitimate. And it's often the logical next step. A Fractional CMO can structure your marketing for 6-12 months, then help you recruit the right internal profile and train them. It's a transition, not a dependency.
Marketing is no longer a department. It's a system.
SME marketing in 2025 is an ecosystem: optimised website, local SEO, targeted digital advertising, strategic content, CRM, automation. No junior profile can orchestrate all of this alone. No SME budget justifies a full-time CMO to do it.
The Fractional CMO is the conductor of this system. They don't play every instrument. They ensure each one plays the right score, at the right time.
If your company generates between CHF 1.- and 15 million in revenue and you feel your marketing could do much better, the question isn't "should we hire a CMO?". The question is: "what level of strategic support do you need?"
The answer is probably simpler, faster, and less expensive than you think.
