Why Mid-Sized Manufacturers Need a Fractional CMO
You’ve invested in better equipment. You’ve expanded your sales team. You’ve built and honed your supply chain into a well-oiled machine. So… why aren’t sales keeping pace?
If your product and reputation have carried you this far, it’s tempting to think momentum will pick back up. But when growth stalls despite operational improvements, the cause is often less obvious. In many cases, it stems from a shift in how today’s buyers evaluate vendors—a shift that can quietly, but persistently, siphon off revenue if not addressed strategically.
Executive Takeaways:
- Manufacturing buyers now choose vendors before ever contacting sales, making early visibility and differentiation essential
- Relying only on sales relationships or word-of-mouth leaves revenue on the table and drives margin pressure.
- Marketing tactics without strategy lead to “random acts of marketing” that fail to deliver sustainable ROI.
- A Fractional CMO provides senior-level leadership and strategy without the cost of a full-time hire.
- With the right leadership, marketing shifts from support activity to revenue engine, fueling qualified leads and stronger pricing power.
The Modern Buyer Journey Has Changed
Traditional sales and marketing functions were built for an era when buyers relied on sellers to learn about products. Today’s manufacturing buyers? They’re doing their homework—online, anonymously, and long before speaking to a rep.
According to a recent buyer trends report, 81% of B2B buyers select a vendor before ever making contact. If your brand isn’t showing up early—when buyers are defining their needs and narrowing options—then you’re not even in the running.
In a field where specs and price dominate RFPs, it’s hard to differentiate based on the value you deliver. Your sales team may be spending time on low-quality leads or struggling to communicate value beyond cost. And when buyers treat your offering like a commodity, margins take the hit.
“We’ve seen manufacturing companies flooded with RFPs that only focus on price. Companies want to raise prices or go upmarket, but without strategic marketing, they can’t communicate their value clearly enough to take that step forward.” —Trisha Gallagher, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Marketri
As markets become more competitive and commoditized, a great product alone isn’t enough. If you’re still relying on traditional sales relationships or word-of-mouth, there’s a good chance you’re leaving revenue on the table.
Why Marketing Tactics Haven’t Worked for You
At some point, you’ve probably heard this suggestion for navigating today’s changing buyer journey: “Have you tried marketing?”
Chances are, you have—through internal teams, outsourced support, or both. But if those efforts didn’t deliver measurable growth, the root cause likely wasn’t lack of effort. More often, it’s the absence of strategic marketing leadership. Without a clear plan that ties tactics to business goals, even smart marketers can fall short.
“When marketing efforts are fragmented and a company is sending out emails, social posts, or other collateral with no clear link to business objectives, we call those ‘random acts of marketing.’ And that’s when strategic, senior-level guidance is most urgently needed.” —Trisha Gallagher, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Marketri
Tactics alone might deliver a short-term boost—a spike in web traffic, a bump in email engagement. But without strategy, momentum fades fast, and so does ROI. That’s the difference between “random acts of marketing” and a sustainable engine for growth.
The Case for Fractional Marketing Leadership
The prospect of a full-time Chief Marketing Officer may feel out of reach or unnecessary. But without a leader to connect the dots between business goals and marketing activity, even the most sophisticated sales team will hit a wall.
That’s where a fractional CMO comes in. Here’s what that looks like inside an organization:
- Executive leadership without the overhead – Fractional CMOs bring enterprise-level marketing expertise without the cost of a full-time hire. They assess gaps quickly, align marketing with your sales process, and implement strategies that support long-term growth.
- Smarter marketing operations – An experienced CMO knows where to invest and where to cut back. They help you scale efficiently, eliminating guesswork and ensuring every initiative supports your goals.
- Performance you can measure – Marketri’s fractional CMOs bring a data-driven mindset that ties marketing activity to meaningful metrics like MQLs, SQLs, and closed-won deals. Bonus perk: That clarity empowers your team to prioritize value over volume.
With the right leadership, marketing moves from tactical execution to strategic growth driver—generating qualified leads, supporting the pricing you need, and helping close more of the right deals, faster.
It’s Time to Treat Marketing as a Revenue Driver
What sets high-performing, high-growth manufacturing firms apart? Their leadership views marketing as a revenue function rather than a support service. When marketing is tied to measurable business goals like market expansion, lead generation, or shortened sales cycles, that’s when it becomes an engine for growth.
FAQ: Why Mid-Sized Manufacturers Need a Fractional CMO
Why aren’t sales keeping pace with operations?
Because today’s buyers research independently and often choose vendors before speaking with sales. Without strategic marketing, you’re invisible in that process.
Why haven’t marketing tactics delivered results?
Tactics alone create short-term bumps but fade quickly without a strategy tied to business goals. That’s when efforts turn into “random acts of marketing.”
Why not hire a full-time CMO?
For most mid-sized manufacturers, the cost is prohibitive. A Fractional CMO delivers enterprise-level expertise at a fraction of the expense.
What value does a Fractional CMO add beyond cost savings?
They align marketing with sales, focus budgets on what works, and measure success with metrics that matter—like qualified leads, pipeline growth, and closed deals.
How does viewing marketing as a revenue driver change outcomes?
It shifts marketing into a strategic function that helps win better-fit customers, sustain growth, and protect margins in competitive markets.
What’s Next?
It’s time to bring marketing into alignment with the other ways you’ve leveled up.
Ready to move past random acts of marketing and into measurable impact? Contact CEO Debra Andrews today to discuss how Marketri can help you develop a comprehensive marketing strategy tailored to your unique business objectives.
