RAM KR. SHUKLA
I help E-Commerce and B2B brands turn marketing spend into compounding revenue.
AI and Growth Marketing Consultant | Fractional CDO
A Fractional CMO: Senior Marketing Leadership at a Third of the Cost
Somewhere between Rs. 1Cr and Rs. 100Cr in revenue, every company hits the same wall: the marketing team executes, the agencies deliver, and nobody owns the direction. A full-time CMO costs Rs. 60L to 1.5Cr a year plus equity, takes six months to hire, and is a painful mistake to reverse. The fractional model exists precisely for this gap.
As a fractional CMO I own your marketing outcomes six to eight days a month: strategy, budget allocation, team direction, vendor judgment, and the monthly number review with the founder. Same accountability as a full-time hire, a third of the cost, one month of notice if it is not working. I documented an entire month of this work, decision by decision, in my fractional CDO post; the role is the same discipline.
Discuss the Fractional ModelWhat a Fractional CMO Actually Owns
The decisions of a CMO without paying for the meetings of one.
Strategy and the number
Quarterly marketing strategy tied to revenue targets, monthly reforecasts, and one page of truth the founder actually reads. The number is owned, not observed.
Budget and channel allocation
Where the money goes and, more importantly, where it stops going. Kill decisions on underperforming channels are the highest-value hours of the engagement.
Team direction and hiring
Your executors get priorities, sequencing, and coaching. When it is time to hire, I write the brief, screen the candidates, and often hand the function to the full-time leader I helped you find.
Agency and vendor judgment
Contract reviews, performance audits, and the vendor conversations founders dread. I have replaced enough agencies to know exactly what good looks like, and I have no execution shop to sell you afterwards.
Marketing infrastructure
Measurement, attribution, and reporting built so decisions get made on numbers, not narratives. GA4 truth over platform flattery.
The founder sounding board
Weekly access for the decisions that cannot wait for the monthly review. Half the value clients report is having someone senior to think out loud with.
How the Fractional Engagement Runs
Heavy at the start, lighter as systems take hold.
Fractional CMO Questions
Fractional CMO versus consultant versus agency?
A consultant advises, an agency executes deliverables, a fractional CMO owns outcomes: the strategy, the team, the budget, and the number. If nobody in your company can name who owns marketing results, that is the gap this fills.
What size company does this fit?
Typically Rs. 5Cr to Rs. 100Cr revenue, or funded startups from Series A. Below that, buy focused consulting instead; above that, hire full-time and I will help you do it.
Why do you say CDO on your homepage?
Chief Digital Growth Officer is how I frame the role because my ownership runs deeper into digital: SEO, CRO, and AI systems alongside classic marketing leadership. Functionally, engagements run as fractional CMO with stronger digital teeth.
Can you work alongside our existing agency?
Yes, and it usually improves them: agencies perform better when someone senior on your side sets direction and reads their reports with an experienced eye.
Related: digital marketing consulting and the story of a real month inside the role.
Ready to Grow Your Company?
Thirty minutes, one on one. I'll review your current setup, identify the growth opportunities you're sitting on, and give you honest, actionable advice tailored to your business. No sales pitch, just a real conversation about what to fix first.
Schedule a CallYour 30 minutes, mapped:
You keep the findings either way. Whether we work together is a separate conversation.
