Fractional marketing leadership
Fractional marketing leadership for small and growing businesses
Senior marketing judgment for businesses too small to hire a marketing executive, with a digital team that carries out the plan. We set the direction, run the calendar and answer for the work.
What a fractional marketing leader does
The same job a marketing director does in a larger company, sized to the hours a small business actually needs.
Sets priorities
Decides what to do first, what to stop doing and what can wait.
Owns the budget
Puts your marketing dollars and hours where they'll do the most.
Runs the calendar
Keeps campaigns, content and launches moving on schedule.
Reports plainly
Tells you what's working, what isn't and what we'll change.
The gap
Why small firms go without a marketing leader
In most small businesses, the owner is the marketing department. Marketing happens in the gaps between client work, which means it happens in bursts, then stops.
Hiring a full-time marketing director rarely makes sense at this size, and most agencies sell execution without anyone deciding what's worth doing. Fractional leadership fills that gap: an experienced person who thinks about your marketing every week, backed by a team that does the work.
How it works with Sweetpea Works
Start with a single session. Continue only if it's useful.
Step one
Strategy session
A paid working session to look at where you are, where you want to be, and what to do first, before you spend anything else. You leave with a written plan whether or not we work together after.
Ongoing
Monthly leadership
Priorities, budget, calendar and reporting, owned by us. A standing meeting each month, a plan you can see, and our studio carrying out the work in any of our five disciplines. [Scope and cadence to confirm.]
For teams
Workshops
Working sessions for owners and their teams on positioning, messaging, reviews and getting found in search and AI answers. [Format and length.]
The arithmetic
What it costs compared with a hire
A full-time marketing manager is a salary, benefits, software and a team to execute. Fractional leadership is a monthly engagement with the execution built in, and it scales up or down with your season.
A full-time hire
Median pay for marketing managers in the U.S. is about $166,000 a year before benefits, software or anyone to carry out the work (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025).
Fractional leadership
A monthly engagement scoped to what your business needs, with strategy and execution from one team. We'll give you a written proposal after the strategy session.
Honest fit
Who it's not for
- Businesses that want to learn to do all their marketing themselves. A course or a coach will serve you better.
- Anyone looking for guaranteed rankings, inquiry counts or revenue. We don't make those promises, and you should be wary of anyone who does.
- Companies large enough to need a full-time marketing team. We'll gladly refer you.
- Independent professionals who want everything done monthly at a published price. Pinnacle Trax was built for you.
Book a strategy consultation.
A complimentary first conversation, [length] minutes, with Kelly. In person in Jefferson and Orleans parishes, or by video anywhere.