How to Choose a Fractional Marketing Director for Your Accountancy Firm

The term “Fractional marketing director” has become a bit of a buzzword over the last couple of years, and not everyone using the title is offering the same thing. Some are generalists’ roles. While some are freelancers with a senior title attached. And some operate at a strategic, accountable level, the way an in-house marketing director would, just without the full-time cost.

Before you bring someone into your firm, Let’s look at what to look for:

They should understand your business before they touch your marketing

A good fractional marketing director won’t jump straight into a content calendar or a rebrand. They’ll want to understand the following first:

• Who your current clients are, and who you want more of. This is the most frequent question I ask, so please be prepared to answer it.
• What services are most profitable (and which ones you’re quietly trying to grow).
• How the partners think about growth for the firm: organic, referral-led or acquisition. These all have different marketing actions attached to these.
• What’s worked before, and what hasn’t. Many firms are already doing marketing but not sure what has been working or not. I can review the data and work out what is going on.

I wrote more about this exact process in What Does a Fractional Marketing Director Do for Accountancy Firms? The short version is: strategy before tactics, every time.

I would like to note that often when I start working with firms, they have decided that they need “marketing” and the assumption is I will just come in and start posting straight away. But without understanding the basics of the firms marketing and what they want to achieve we can’t get started.

Fractional Marketing Director vs Agency vs In-House Hire

Let’s take a look at the different options available to firms:

	In-House Hire	Agency	Fractional Marketing Director
Cost	£40k–£60k+ salary	Project/retainer fees.	Fraction of in-house cost.
Strategic Ownership	Yes, if senior enough.	Agencies execute, they don’t usually own strategy.	Yes from strategy to implementation of the strategy
Accountability	Direct	Diluted across account managers	Direct, one point of contact
Sector Understanding	Takes time to build	Often generic, spread across industries	Should already understand accountancy specifically
Flexibility	Fixed cost regardless of need	Can be locked into contracts	Scales up/down with the firm

The firms that get the most value tend to be 4–20 staff, big enough that marketing needs real strategic direction, but not yet at the size where a full-time marketing director makes financial sense.

I explored the hiring trend behind this in Why Accountancy Firms Are Hiring an Outsourced Marketing Director, if you want the fuller picture.

Questions to ask before you hire a fractional marketing director

Here are the questions I’d want answered, if I was looking to hire:

• “What does the first 30 days look like?” — If the answer is immediately about content or social media, be cautious. It should start with understanding and a plan.
• “How do you measure success?” — Vague answers about “brand awareness” aren’t good enough. You want clarity on leads, enquiries, and client value. Yes brand awareness is part of the process, but at the end of the day its about the new business they can bring to the firm.
• “Do you build the strategy and execute it, or just advise?” — Some fractional directors are purely strategic and hand off execution elsewhere. Others (like me) build the strategy and stay accountable for delivering it.
• “Have you worked with accountancy firms specifically?” — Sector understanding matters. The way a 15-person accountancy firm attracts clients is very different to how a retail brand does.
• “What does ongoing reporting look like?” — You should never be left wondering what’s happening. Theres normally a 12 month plan and within that plan regular review points to check the marketing is on track.

A marketing strategy and marketing plan are not the same thing

A marketing plan is the calendar of activity, what gets posted, when, and where. A marketing strategy is the thinking behind it, why you’re doing it, who it’s for, and what outcome it’s driving toward.

If someone jumps straight to a content calendar without first agreeing the strategic direction, that’s a red flag. It’s one of the most common gaps I see when I start working with new firms.

I’ve written a full breakdown of this distinction in The Difference Between a Marketing Strategy & Marketing Plan

The accountancy firm marketing plan

Once strategy is agreed, you should expect to see it translated into a clear, actionable plan.

It typically includes:

• A content plan aligned to your target client types
• Clarity on which channels are being used.
• A realistic timeline. SEO and organic growth take 8–12 months, and anyone promising overnight results should be questioned.
• Regular reporting that ties activity back to enquiries and client value.

I cover what this looks like in practice in Marketing Plans for Accountancy Firms.

Ready to find out more

Choosing a fractional marketing director isn’t about finding the cheapest option, or the person with the flashiest portfolio. It’s about finding someone who treats your marketing with the same accountability as a senior hire would, strategic, accountable, and genuinely invested in your firm’s growth, without the overhead of a full-time salary.

If you’re exploring this for your own firm and want an informal chat about what that could look like, I’m always happy to talk it through.