Fractional CMO for healthcare practices
Your dedicated Chief Marketing Officer, without the full-time hire. Get senior direction, one coordinated plan and clear priorities for your team, budget and suppliers.
Book a free strategy callThe missing role
You have someone on ads, someone on SEO and someone posting on social. Each sends an update. You still have to work out what it all means for your practice.
So you chase briefs between patients, compare reports after hours and make budget decisions without one clear view. That is not another marketing task. It is a leadership gap.
A fractional CMO fills that gap. We bring your priorities, people and spend into one plan, then coordinate the agreed work. You stay involved in the decisions. You do not have to manage every moving part.
Healthcare context
Our work spans healthcare organisations, not just generic businesses. These organisation marks show that context across our marketing services. They do not identify a specific Fractional CMO engagement.
What is included
One direction for your marketing. Clear responsibilities for the people delivering it. Choose the level of leadership that fits your practice, then agree the work in writing.
Bring your channels, messaging and priorities into one written marketing strategy. Your 90-day plan sets out what needs doing, who owns it and when it will be reviewed. No more separate activity lists with nobody joining them up.
Decide where each marketing dollar belongs before adding another campaign. We review your current spend against practice priorities and capacity, then agree an allocation. Growth and Scale include a broader strategic budget review for the channels or locations in scope.
Give your coordinator, freelancers and agencies clear briefs and priorities. Starter brings up to 3 services into one plan. Growth adds 3 more, for up to 6, with supplier management. Scale has no cap on services in the plan. You stay across the decisions without having to chase every update yourself.
Review enquiries, booking pathways, spend and work completed in one monthly conversation. We agree the measures first and use the data available to explain what to change next. Where tracking has gaps, those gaps become tasks, not a made-up result.
Define who your practice serves, which services need attention and how to explain them clearly. Positioning and referral planning work around your clinicians, locations and service capacity, rather than adding demand your team cannot accommodate.
Use a monthly strategy meeting on Starter and weekly sessions on Growth or Scale to review priorities and keep the agreed work moving. Your meeting covers the plan, budget, delivery updates and next decisions. The time allocation and hands-on delivery are documented before you start.
Leadership and execution are not the same thing.
Your retainer covers the work listed in your agreement. Hands-on Google Ads management, website work and content production are scoped separately or expressly included. Advertising spend and existing supplier fees remain separate. Scale has no cap on the number of services in your plan. The work within each service is still agreed before delivery starts.
Is this right for you?
Need a daily production role rather than senior direction? A coordinator or separately scoped delivery service is a different requirement. We discuss that distinction before recommending an engagement.
Compare the role you need, not an assumed salary saving. A part-time engagement and an employed executive are different commitments.
Part-time direction within an agreed scope
An employed executive role
A monthly retainer for agreed work
Salary and applicable employment on-costs
Oversight or management, matched to your tier
Responsibilities set by the employment role
Agreed before work starts
A full-time employment arrangement
For an eligible employee, the general super guarantee rate is 12%, subject to the applicable earnings rules and contribution base. See the ATO super guarantee guidance. Salary, recruitment and onboarding costs depend on the role; they are not assumed here.
A junior marketer, senior marketer and CMO do different jobs. Choose the responsibility you need, not just a job title. This is a general role comparison. Actual responsibilities depend on the job description and agreed scope.
Scroll the table sideways to compare all four roles.
| What you need | Fractional CMO with The Practice Engine | Junior marketer | Senior marketer | Full-time Chief Marketing Officer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Part-time senior direction, one coordinated plan and specialist support within your scope. | Day-to-day tasks, content and campaign support, with guidance. | Ownership of substantial channels, projects or a marketing function. | Organisation-wide marketing leadership and alignment with business priorities. |
| Strategy and budgets | A written plan, budget allocation, priorities and measures agreed with your practice. | Research and reporting input, usually within an established plan and budget. | Channel or campaign strategy, planning input and budget recommendations. | Overall marketing strategy, investment decisions and budget governance. |
| Team and suppliers | Coordinates your team, selected services and suppliers under the agreed plan. | Collaborates on assigned work and supports supplier communication. | Leads projects or contributors and manages suppliers within their remit. | Builds and leads the marketing function and its supplier relationships. |
| Delivery support | Access to specialist support for the work included in your engagement. | Hands-on completion of assigned marketing tasks. | Leads complex delivery and coordinates quality, dependencies and timelines. | Oversees the full marketing operation. Specialist delivery depends on the team and budget. |
| Engagement and cost structure | An agreed part-time scope. Starter begins at $4,000 per month. | An employed or contracted role, with costs set by the role and arrangement. | An employed or contracted role, with costs set by responsibilities and scope. | A full-time executive role, with salary and applicable employment on-costs. |
Your first 90 days
This is the working sequence we use to scope an engagement. Your agreement confirms the deliverables, access requirements and milestone dates. It is a delivery plan, not a forecast of new patients or revenue.
Days 1 to 30
Start with the Practice Growth Audit. Review your channels, suppliers, spend, tracking and enquiry-to-booking pathways. Identify the priority work and the information needed to make the next decisions. Your team supplies access and confirms the practice facts.
Days 31 to 60
Agree the strategy, budget allocation and measures. Set owners and review dates for the 90-day plan, and brief the suppliers involved. Prioritise tracking repairs so reporting can follow the booking pathways your practice actually uses.
Days 61 to 90
Manage the agreed priorities, review delivery with your team and use the available data to decide what comes next. Bring the work into an owner report instead of leaving you to compare disconnected channel updates. Exact milestones depend on your written scope and approvals.
Nominate a decision-maker, provide the agreed account access and review practice information before it is published. Your team confirms clinician capacity and priorities. We coordinate the marketing work around those facts, rather than making decisions for your clinical team.
Why The Practice Engine
Your plan needs to work for your services, clinicians, referral pathways and booking process. That is where we start.
Our team brings over 15 years of experience leading and transforming healthcare businesses. We bring that healthcare context to your strategy, budgets, team and delivery plan.
We connect your marketing priorities to the services you actually offer and the capacity you have. Public-facing clinical information goes through practice approval. Advertising and privacy requirements belong in the workflow, not in an afterthought.
Keep the agencies and staff that work for your practice. We set direction and briefs for the roles in scope. If you need specialist delivery, we identify it explicitly, whether it is healthcare SEO, ads, website work or content.
A clinic in Sydney, a regional practice and a multi-location group do not need identical plans. Scale brings agreed locations into one direction while allowing for local services, budgets and approvals. Read how we work.
Plans and pricing
Starter begins at $4,000 per month for up to 3 selected services. Growth adds 3 more, for up to 6. Scale includes unlimited services in your plan. All three tiers include strategy, budget planning and monthly reporting. Growth and Scale are quoted to your scope. There is no lock-in contract. Just 30 days' notice.
A solo or single-location practice that needs a clear plan and senior direction.
Up to 3 selected services
Focus on the three services that matter to your practice. Bring their strategy, budgets and management into one plan, with a monthly meeting to review the work and agree the next priorities.
A growing practice with several clinicians, channels or suppliers to coordinate.
Up to 6 selected services
Everything in Starter, plus three more services. Connect up to six services under one strategy, with weekly decisions, supplier management and a wider budget review as your practice grows.
A multi-location group or franchise network that needs one direction across its sites.
Unlimited services in your plan
Everything in Growth, with no cap on the number of services in your plan. Coordinate the whole marketing mix across agreed locations, with group-level strategy, local budgets and board-ready reporting.
Starter covers up to 3 selected services. Growth adds 3 more, for up to 6 in total. Scale has no cap on the number of services in your plan. Each selected service has an agreed strategy, management responsibilities and delivery scope. Unlimited refers to the number of services, not unlimited hours, campaigns, content or project work.
Start with the work that matters to your practice, rather than a list of platforms for its own sake. These are examples of services your plan can bring together. Your proposal identifies the selected services, management responsibilities and delivery included.
Other needs can include content marketing, AI visibility and email marketing. We agree the mix before work starts.
$3,300 one-off
Review your channels, spend, tracking and booking pathways before committing to an ongoing plan. The audit identifies priorities for a written 90-day plan. It can be purchased as a standalone service and does not commit you to a monthly retainer.
Enquire directly about a strategy project or specific planning requirement. You do not have to choose a tier to start a conversation. We document a separate scope and price before any work is agreed.
Your quote confirms the time allocation, delivery responsibilities, fees and GST treatment. Advertising spend, software and existing supplier fees are separate unless expressly included. Before delivery starts, we agree the plan, deliverables and review dates for the services you select. Your proposal also confirms any audit work included or quoted separately.
Questions worth asking
A clear offer should stand up to practical questions. Here is how the role, time, costs and delivery commitment fit together.
A fractional Chief Marketing Officer provides part-time marketing leadership. The role brings your strategy, budget, staff and suppliers into one coordinated plan. It is designed for practices that need senior direction without creating a full-time executive role. The work and time allocation are agreed before delivery starts.
An agency is usually engaged to deliver work in particular channels. A fractional CMO coordinates the wider plan, budget and priorities, then directs the people delivering it. We can manage existing agencies or scope delivery through The Practice Engine. Hands-on campaign work is included only when it is expressly listed in your agreement.
Starter begins at $4,000 per month. Growth and Scale are quoted to match your practice, locations and agreed work. The Practice Growth Audit is $3,300 one-off. Your quote sets out the scope, time allocation, fees and GST treatment before you commit. Advertising spend and existing supplier fees are separate.
Starter includes a monthly strategy meeting. Growth and Scale include weekly sessions. The total time allocation, preparation, supplier coordination and reporting are set out in your written scope. We do not apply one hours-per-week promise to every practice or package.
No. We can work with your current team and suppliers, set clearer briefs and coordinate priorities. If a supplier change is worth considering, we explain the reasons and you make the decision. Supplier costs stay separate from the Fractional CMO retainer.
Starter covers up to 3 selected services. Growth adds 3 more, for up to 6 in total. Scale has no cap on the number of services in your plan. Each selected service has an agreed strategy, management responsibilities and delivery scope. Unlimited refers to the number of services, not unlimited hours, campaigns, content or project work. You can select services such as Google Ads, healthcare SEO and social media. Hands-on campaign work, website builds and content production are included only when listed in your agreement. Advertising spend, software and existing supplier fees stay separate unless expressly included in your quote.
Yes. The Practice Growth Audit is a standalone $3,300 one-off service. It reviews your current marketing and sets priorities for a written plan. You can enquire about the audit or a separately scoped project without choosing an ongoing tier. An audit does not commit you to a retainer.
Before work starts, we document the agreed deliverables, milestones and review points. If an agreed item within our control is incomplete at day 90, we continue that agreed work at no management charge until it is complete, subject to the written agreement. The commitment covers work we control, not patient numbers, revenue, rankings or advertising platform outcomes.
There is no lock-in contract for the ongoing plan. Cancellation requires 30 days' notice. Your written agreement sets out the notice process, any work already approved and any separate supplier or project commitments.
Yes. We support healthcare practices across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and regional Australia, with strategy sessions delivered remotely. Scale is designed for groups and franchise networks that need coordinated planning across the locations included in their scope.
Healthcare advertising needs accurate information and the right approvals. We plan public material around the requirements relevant to your service. Your practice remains responsible for approving its clinical information. Read the AHPRA advertising guidance and the ACCC guidance on misleading claims.
Your next step
Book a free strategy call to discuss your current spend, suppliers and priorities. We will talk through whether you need senior direction, a standalone audit or a defined delivery project. If there is a fit, the next step is a written scope and quote. No obligation to proceed.
