How to Find the Right SaaS CMO: Full-Time vs Part-Time vs Fractional

Is your SaaS startup in need of rapid growth?

Finding the right chief marketing officer (CMO) could be the answer. 

So, what is a SaaS CMO?

SaaS CMOs are tasked with driving rapid growth through targeted customer acquisition, retention, and brand development. 

They craft creative, data-driven marketing strategies and focus on customer journeys, digital campaigns, and product-market fit. 

SaaS CMOs also ensure cohesive messaging and a competitive market position through close alignment with product and sales teams. 

Hire a B2B saas chief marketing officer with extensive expertise around scaling tactics and optimising marketing ROI, and you should see fast, sustainable growth in a fiercely competitive tech landscape.

Of course, not every startup needs — or can afford — a full-time CMO in its early stages. 

But hiring a part-time or fractional CMO can catalyse the growth your SaaS startup needs without busting your budget. 

Whether your SaaS startup needs a full-time, part-time, or fractional chief marketing officer, read on to find out how to hire the right CMO at the right stage.

Why You Need a SaaS CMO

Growth is not easy — SaaS startups will face a series of customer acquisition and retention challenges as they expand. 

This is where a talented CMO can work wonders. 

Growth Challenges for SaaS Startups

Subscription-based business models come with unique challenges. 

Steep customer acquisition cost is one key example. 

Indeed, for SaaS businesses trying to stand out in a saturated online environment, acquiring new customers often involves high marketing costs and high-impact digital campaigns. 

Meanwhile, retention is equally critical, as recurring revenue is vital for SaaS profitability — but retaining customers can be even more challenging than acquiring them. 

So what does a saas CMO do?

CMOs are tasked with developing comprehensive marketing strategies that focus on customer acquisition and retention to address the unique challenges of subscription-based models.

Here’s how.

When it comes to customer acquisition, a skilled CMO employs data analytics to identify target audiences, optimise marketing funnels, and enhance user experience, ultimately increasing conversion rates.

CMOs also implement strategies to foster customer loyalty, such as personalised communication, engaging onboarding processes, and regular feedback loops. 

By understanding customer pain points and continuously adapting offerings, CMOs help reduce churn rates. 

Their ability to balance both acquisition and retention strategies ensures sustainable growth, enabling startups to thrive in a dynamic market while building a loyal customer base.

When You Need a Full-Time SaaS CMO

A full-time SaaS CMO is the only viable option for some businesses. 

Yes, making this hire can be expensive, but it’s a small price to pay for sustainable success. 

The decision to hire a full-time CMO typically happens around Series B, when a company is scaling aggressively. 

Now the business requires larger teams and complex campaigns, you need to bring in a senior marketing leader to manage these operations. 

Not only will your full-time CMO manage an entire — and fast-growing — marketing department, but they’ll oversee sizable budgets, design effective long-term marketing strategies, and report directly to the CEO.

There are many advantages to bringing on board a full-time CMO for your SaaS brand. 

But most importantly, this brings them fully into the fold. 

Their focus will be 100% on your SaaS business, with no distractions and full commitment to your company’s goals.  

Of course, hiring a full-time CMO also comes with a cost. 

You’re looking at a $250k+ salary, so if you hire the wrong candidate, this can be pretty expensive.

When You Need a Part-Time SaaS CMO

Not quite ready to commit to a full-time CMO?

If you’re around Series A, when your company has established product-market fit, or even in early Series B, a part-time SaaS CMO could be the right fit. 

A part-time CMO will not take on the full gamut of responsibilities that a full-time exec would be able to. 

However, you can rely on them to oversee marketing strategy, set up the core marketing team, and manage that vital early-stage growth. 

Many startups opt for a part-time chief marketing officer because it’s significantly more affordable than hiring a full-time executive. 

Additionally, this gives you a bit of flexibility to play with.

Part-time CMOs work flexible hours, meaning you can bring them in when you really need them. 

Of course, the flip side of this is that they won’t always be available, meaning they can’t be as hands-on in day-to-day activities. 

There’s also the possibility that these limited hours could delay scaling.

When You Need a Fractional SaaS CMO

Hiring a fractional SaaS CMO is an innovative approach that aligns with the financial and operational agility that power early-stage startups. 

Indeed, startups in Seed to Series A can benefit from hiring a fractional CMO for strategic direction — at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire. 

Fractional CMO activities for SaaS companies consist of building a strong, scalable B2B SaaS marketing foundation that you can build on later in your growth journey. 

They lead early-stage customer acquisition and set up your marketing processes with growth in mind. 

They will also deliver a strong SaaS go-to-market strategy, ensuring you make a splash upon market entry.

Of course, a fractional CMO is unlikely to have the long-term commitment to your business of a full-time exec, but there are multiple advantages to working with one early on in your growth journey. 

With an outsourced chief marketing officer, you can schedule their working hours for when you need their expertise, ensuring you get bang for your buck. 

Furthermore, you can access senior, highly-experienced CMOs that you might not (yet) have the budget for as full-time employees.

Fractional CMOs are affordable, flexible, and ideal for startups with budget constraints or those looking for quick results in the short term. 

Key Traits to Look for in a SaaS CMO

Ready to hire a SaaS chief marketing officer for your business? 

This is a big, exciting step. 

However, hiring the right person is also incredibly important — mistakes here can be costly, especially if you’re hiring a full-time or part-time CMO.

Here are the most important traits to look for in your new SaaS CMO. 

Deep SaaS Industry Expertise

There are plenty of talented CMOs out there with experience in a wide range of industries. 

But you need to hire a chief marketing officer with deep expertise in SaaS. 

This is crucial for understanding the nuances of subscription models and SaaS customer acquisition and retention strategies. 

Their expertise in data-driven marketing, product positioning, and competitive differentiation ensures effective brand growth, optimised customer journeys, and tailored strategies that drive sustainable revenue in a dynamic market.

Helicoptering in a CMO from a different industry is unlikely to have the same impact on your growth.

Leadership and Team-Building Skills

SaaS startup CMOs play a vital role in building and leading marketing teams at every stage of your growth journey. 

In the early stages, they must assemble agile teams focused on brand awareness and customer acquisition. 

And as the startup scales, CMOs need to foster collaboration across departments, ensuring alignment in messaging and strategy. 

SaaS startups typically have small teams, so every employee must bring multiple skills and a wealth of specialist knowledge to the table — and CMOs play a significant role in making this happen.

Indeed, a CMO’s ability to mentor and develop talent is crucial for nurturing your future leaders and adapting marketing efforts to evolving market dynamics. 

A CMO who understands these phases can effectively pivot strategies, optimising resource allocation and enhancing team performance, ultimately driving sustainable growth and competitive advantage.

Read More: How To Scale and Grow SaaS

Data-Driven Decision-Making

In 2024, every single business should be harnessing the power of data. 

In the SaaS world, where your rivals are all tech innovators, you’re unlikely to be able to compete without cutting-edge data insights tools that enable intelligent, data-driven decision-making.

And how well you use data for decision-making often comes down to your CMO. 

Indeed, CMOs in SaaS startups must leverage analytics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to make informed decisions that drive growth. 

By analysing customer data, conversion rates, and engagement metrics, CMOs can identify trends and optimise marketing strategies to enhance acquisition and retention. 

This data-driven approach enables CMOs to pivot quickly, ensuring marketing efforts align with business goals and maximising ROI. 

Read More: How to Advertise Your SaaS

How to Find the Right SaaS CMO Quickly

There comes a point in the growth of every SaaS business where the work starts piling up, and founders need to bring in outside expertise in order to continue to increase SaaS revenue. 

If you need a CMO and need one now, here’s where to begin. 

#1 Define Clear Job Requirements

Start by crafting a job description with a focus on your startup’s stage, budget, and specific needs. 

Ensure your job description includes the following elements:

• Your startup’s stage — whether it’s pre-seed, growth, or scaling — as this influences required skills and experience. 
• Specific budget constraints, ensuring candidates understand the financial context within which they’ll operate. 
• Specific job requirements, such as expertise in digital marketing, customer acquisition strategies, or product positioning tailored to your industry. 
• Expectations for team leadership and collaboration across departments. 
• The importance of adaptability and innovation, as the right CMO will need to pivot strategies to meet the dynamic challenges of a startup environment.

#2 Leverage Your Network

Now you’ve got your job description ready to go, it’s time to start your search for high-quality CMO talent.

But where to hire a chief marketing officer?

Start by tapping into your professional network. 

Reach out to your industry connections with the job description, and leverage referrals, and use LinkedIn to reach out to former colleagues or industry leaders for recommendations. 

Meanwhile, attending SaaS-related events, conferences, and meetups allows founders to meet potential candidates and gain insights from peers about who excels in the field. 

Additionally, engaging with mentors, investors, and advisors who understand the SaaS landscape can provide access to a broader talent pool.

This network-driven approach helps ensure candidates possess the right skills, experience, and a startup mentality.

#3 Use Specialised Platforms

If you want to cast the net wider in your hunt for a CMO, turn to specialised platforms like SaaS job boards, recruitment platforms, and headhunters. 

Here are some useful examples. 

SaaS Jobs Boards

• Wellfound: A platform focusing on startup jobs, where many SaaS companies list openings.
• Remote.co: Features remote job listings, including marketing roles in SaaS companies.
• Top Startups: Features a wide range of SaaS startup jobs and has powerful filters to streamline your search
• SaaSiest Jobs: A job board focusing on the B2B SaaS sector

Recruitment Platforms

• LinkedIn Talent Solutions: Offers advanced search options to find candidates with specific SaaS experience and skills.
• Hired: A recruitment platform that matches companies with tech and marketing talent, including CMO roles.
• Built In: Focuses on tech startups, allowing companies to post jobs and search for candidates with SaaS experience.
• SimplyHired: An aggregator that lists jobs from various sites, including many SaaS positions.

SaaS Headhunters

• CSG: Offers SaaS executive search 
• Wunder Talent: SaaS recruitment experts
• Talentfoot: A SaaS executive search firm

When to Hire a SaaS CMO vs. Outsourcing to a Fractional CMO

Is your startup ready to hire a full-time CMO, or would a fractional CMO be a smarter move? 

It comes down to your growth stage, budget, and specific needs. 

Full-Time CMO

If your company has established growth and an optimistic forecast, you may be ready to hire a full-time CMO. 

However, only pull the trigger on this hire if your marketing needs are both extensive or ongoing. 

Fractional CMO

Does your startup need deep marketing expertise and high-level strategy?

It sounds expensive — but hiring an experienced professional to market SaaS doesn’t have to bust your budget. 

Interim or Fractional for Transitions

Hiring SaaS CMOs in an interim or fractional capacity can also effectively plug a gap during a transition. 

These experienced execs offer a vital blend of stability and expertise during periods of leadership transition. 

They will quickly step into their role, ensuring that brand strategy, customer engagement, and revenue-driving initiatives continue uninterrupted. 

For companies facing vacancies in leadership, an interim CMO provides continuity, bridging gaps while you’re looking for a full-time replacement.

They will deliver strategic insights and help you make easy marketing wines without a long-term commitment. 

This gives you a bit of breathing space, allowing you to put in the work to hire a genuinely exceptional full-time CMO. 

After all, hiring mistakes in the C-suite can be costly.

Time-Sensitive Marketing Initiatives

This is another instance in which you may want to consider a fractional CMO. 

If you have a marketing initiative that needs delivering soon, and you’re without a CMO, a fractional exec can come in to run your campaign for a defined period. 

This is ideal for early-start startups who need to enter the SaaS market but are unlikely to have a hefty marketing budget. 

Final Checklist for Hiring a SaaS CMO

If you’re gearing up to hire your exec, follow these SaaS CMO best practices

before making an offer. 

✅ Evaluate Your Startup’s Stage

Evaluating your startup’s stage before hiring a CMO is essential to align your marketing leadership with your company’s immediate and long-term needs.

Different CMOs have different strengths, which means that some will be most effective in the very early stages of growth, and others will be better suited to driving customer acquisition in Series B. 

Indeed, early-stage startups often focus on building brand awareness, strategising to get their first customers, and product-market fit, which may require a CMO with growth hacking skills or experience in fast-paced, resource-constrained environments.

In contrast, later-stage startups might need a CMO skilled in scaling operations, refining brand strategy, or managing complex marketing infrastructures. 

Misalignment can lead to wasted resources, mismatched priorities, and missed growth opportunities.

Look for a CMO with a proven track record of driving startup growth from your current stage. 

Putting in the work to assess each candidate thoroughly ensures the right CMO fit, maximising impact and supporting sustainable growth.

✅ Determine Budget and Expectations

In order to write a job description that will secure a CMO who is strategically aligned with your organisation, you must first determine your budget and expectations. 

Defining clear marketing goals will help you to identify the specific skills, experience, and focus areas your CMO will need, ensuring their efforts directly contribute to key business objectives. 

Understanding your budget is equally important, as it determines whether you can afford a full-time CMO or if a more flexible, cost-effective fractional CMO might better meet your needs. 

If you’re opting for a fractional CMO, it also helps you to work out how many days you will need them for — and how many your budget will stretch to. 

Without clear goals and budget parameters, companies risk overextending resources, under-utilising talent, or misaligning marketing leadership with business priorities. 

This foresight supports targeted, impactful marketing leadership.

✅ Check References and Experience

When any business hires a new employee, they must check candidates’ references and experience.

But as a startup with a small team making an exec hire, checking references and experience during SaaS CMO recruitment is absolutely crucial — after all, the right CMO could be the difference between success and failure. 

As discussed above, SaaS marketing requires unique expertise, focusing on subscription-based growth, customer retention, and recurring revenue models. 

A CMO with SaaS experience understands the nuances of customer lifecycle management, product-led growth, and high-value digital marketing strategies critical to the industry. 

A track record of proven growth, verified through references, demonstrates a candidate’s ability to generate and convert leads, reduce churn, and scale customer acquisition — which are all crucial for SaaS scalability and success. 

Why Choose SaaStorm’s Fractional CMO Services

At SaaStorm, our SaaS fractional CMO service gives you unparalleled flexibility and expertise in marketing leadership. 

Here’s why our approach stands out:

• Proven SaaS Marketing Expertise: Our CMO manages multiple high-growth SaaS companies, ensuring you benefit from strategies that are tried, tested, and optimised for the B2B SaaS landscape.
• Flexibility Tailored to Your Needs: Whether you need a short-term project boost, ongoing strategic guidance, or a long-term marketing partner, we offer engagement options that scale with your business. No long-term commitment is required — you get marketing leadership on your terms.
• Strategic Focus on Growth: From demand generation to product launches, our fractional CMO is deeply involved in aligning marketing with your business’s growth goals, ensuring efficient use of your marketing budget and maximum ROI.
• Real-Time Insights from Multiple Campaigns: Our CMO works across various high-performing SaaS businesses, giving them unique insights into industry trends and the latest marketing tools. You get the benefit of this broad expertise, something a full-time CMO at one company might not offer.
• Cost-Effective Leadership: With SaaStorm, you avoid the high overhead of a full-time CMO. Instead, you get senior-level marketing guidance at a fraction of the cost, allowing you to allocate resources strategically across other parts of your business.

FAQs

1. Does a Startup Need a CMO?

Every startup should take on a CMO — but this doesn’t mean you need to blow your budget on a full-time executive. 

When your business is in its early stages — from Seed to Series A — consider hiring a fractional CMO for strategic direction at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire. 

They will help build your marketing foundation from the beginning, lead early-stage customer acquisition, and set up scalable marketing processes. 

As the marketing needs of your SaaS company increase, you can scale up their role to part-time and eventually full-time. 

2. How Do I Find a Good SaaS CMO?

Need a strong B2B SaaS CMO to lead marketing success? Seek candidates with a strong background in digital marketing, customer acquisition, and retention specific to subscription models. 

Prioritise those with experience in SaaS growth, data-driven decision-making, and content strategy. 

When it comes to how to find a SaaS CMO, networking, industry events, and SaaS-focused job boards are all valuable tools. 

You should also consider specialised recruiters to identify top talent with proven SaaS success.

3. What is the Salary of a CMO in SaaS?

CMO SaaS salaries can vary widely based on company size, location, experience, funding stage, and revenue.

According to Wellfound, in 2024, CMO SaaS salaries at startups can range from $32,000 to $196,000 — with an average of £151,000. Often, they can earn more with equity compensation. 

However, CMOs at larger businesses will typically earn significantly more. At established SaaS companies In the US, some CMOs earn upwards of $500,000 once bonuses and equity are taken into consideration. 

4. How Do I Find a Startup CMO?

To find a startup CMO, start by defining your business’s specific growth and brand needs. 

Look for candidates with a mix of strategic vision and hands-on experience in early-stage companies, including skills in digital marketing, customer acquisition, and scaling. 

Regarding hiring tactics at this level, networking within startup ecosystems, attending industry events, and using platforms like LinkedIn or startup-focused job boards are effective. 

An executive recruiter specialised in startup talent can also be invaluable for identifying the right cultural and operational fit.

5. What Does a Chief Marketing Officer Do?

A Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) leads an organisation’s marketing strategy to drive growth, brand awareness, and customer engagement. 

Responsibilities include overseeing market research, brand positioning, product marketing, digital marketing campaigns, and customer acquisition and retention strategies. 

Additionally, the CMO collaborates closely with sales, product, and executive teams to align marketing with broader business goals, ensuring effective messaging and market competitiveness.

6. How to Hire a Chief Marketing Officer?

To hire an experienced CMO for saas growth, first define the role’s key responsibilities and objectives. 

Look for candidates with proven strategic, analytical, and creative skills, ideally with industry experience, and assess cultural fit, leadership style, and adaptability to market trends. 

Finally, use a thorough interview process and consider an executive recruiter for specialised insights.