Fractional CMO for Manufacturing, E-commerce & B2B Services

Get more qualified leads and sales by aligning your marketing with how today’s AI‑driven buyers make decisions.

Hi, I’m David Lee.

I’m an Independent Fractional CMO helping B2B companies get on Buyer’s shortlist in the Age of AI.

I work with manufacturing, e-commerce, and B2B service companies to align marketing with sales, create AI-ready messaging, and drive measurable growth—without the cost or commitment of a full-time CMO.

AI-driven buyers are changing the playbook for sales and marketing.

Studies from Pew Research and Forrester show:

Millennials and Gen Z now make up the majority of B2B buyers. (Forrester)

Millennials have overtaken Boomers as the largest living adult generation. (Pew Research)

Millennials grew up with the internet and research suppliers online. (Forrester)

They build shortlists based on explicit, searchable digital content.

They’re using AI tools to generate and evaluate vendor shortlists.

Today’s B2B buyers look at your website to determine if your company:

• Understands their company‑specific problems

• Demonstrates experience and expertise to solve them

• Is transparent and easy to work with

AI is the new “Front Door” for vendor selection.

Your website isn’t just a lead‑gen funnel filled with keyword stuffed content; it’s a structured knowledge base that AI tools and buyers rely on to answer their questions.

Think of it as a data source, not a marketing brochure: your site must educate and support the buyer’s journey.

The content you publish becomes the data these AI tools pull from to respond to the buyer questions. If it isn’t there, you’re invisible to both AI and buyers.

When prospects talk to sales, they expect to hear the same clear, fact‑based message they read on your site.

Align your sales conversations with your website content so AI, buyers, and your team all tell the same story.

The Solution:
A Marketing Strategy and a Plan for the Age of AI.

Your marketing strategy is a set of informed decisions on:

  • Where you want to play:

    Be clear on the industries, company size and buyer problems.

  • Your Message:

    Your value proposition should explain how you solve those problems across every touchpoint — website, sales conversations, and marketing collateral.

  • Integration of capabilities across departments:

    Bring operations, engineering, product development and marketing together so your promises match what the business can deliver.

  • Integration of your technology stack:

    Tie together your CRM, ERP, inventory management, e‑commerce and shipping systems. Seamless data flow supports both your strategy and your plan.

After making your strategic decisions you can then create the plan

  • Align Sales and Marketing Goals

    Ensure both teams are driving toward the same revenue and customer experience outcomes.

  • Translate strategy into a plan:

    Lay out a concrete action plan with milestones. The plan is the execution roadmap; it’s not the strategy.

Marketing is more than a checklist of tactics like SEO, trade shows, or social media.

In many agency models, the “strategy” is built mainly to support the services they sell. I know—because I’ve been on that side.

As a former agency owner, I saw how “CMO” roles inside agencies often focus on keeping service work flowing rather than creating a strategy that stands on its own.

My approach is different.

As an independent fractional CMO, I’m not tied to a fixed menu of deliverables or a corporate playbook.

I create custom, strategy-first solutions designed for smaller companies that want the leadership of a CMO without the cost of a full-time hire—and without being steered toward services they don’t need.

Today, an effective marketing strategy is about three things:

  1. Generating measurable revenue by aligning marketing and sales around AI-driven buyer behavior.

  2. Supporting the sales team with messaging, tools, and content that AI tools can easily surface and buyers can quickly understand.

  3. Creating an exceptional buying experience that answers buyer questions up front, builds trust, and matches the capabilities of your company.

I offer three services to build your AI-Ready Marketing Strategy

Strategic Website Plan

For companies that know their website must engage AI-driven buyers and guide them through the buying journey — and want the project delivered on time and on budget.

What you get

Everything needed to brief a web design partner on a fixed-price project that supports your business strategy.

    • Manufacturing

    • Distribution

    • Wholesale

    • e-commerce

    • B2B Service Companies

  • Buyer Persona Playbook

    Defines AI-era buyer profiles, pressure points, and trigger questions.

    Functional Requirements

    Outlines the features your website needs to support AI visibility and buyer needs.

    Technical Requirements

    Ensures your platform supports structured data, fast load times, and integrations.

    Comprehensive Page List

    A content blueprint designed to address top buyer prompts and SEO opportunities.

  • 4-8 Weeks

  • $15k - Manufacturing, B2B Services

    $25k - e-Commerce

Strategic Marketing Plan

For companies who want more than a checklist of marketing activities—this is a strategy that positions your business to win in an AI-driven market.

What you get

A winning strategy plus an actionable plan to execute it.

    • Manufacturing

    • Distribution

    • Wholesale

    • e-Commerce

  • Buyer Persona Playbook (aligned with AI-based buyer behavior)

    Stakeholder Buy-In (internal alignment on strategy)

    Organizational Capability Requirements (what the team needs to succeed)

    Technical & Systems Requirements (CRM, ERP, IMS, integrations)

    12-Month Roadmap (strategy → execution plan)

  • 12-24 months

  • $8k to $15k per month

    Monthly contract

Buyer Persona Playbook

For marketing and sales teams that know a unified message that is aligned with AI-powered buyer behavior helps win over competitor noise.

What you get

A strategic playbook to define where to play, how to win, and how to engage AI-driven buyers.

    • Manufacturing

    • Wholesale

    • Distributors

    • e-Commerce

    • B2B Service Companies

  • Target Audience Demographics

    Who buys from you, by industry and role.

    Target Audience Psychographics

    Their motivations, pain points, and AI-led behaviors.

    Product Solution Mapping

    How does your offering map specifically to their problem.

    Your Unique Solution

    How your services address those specific problems.

    Key Messaging

    Short, memorable phrasing that AI tools and buyers recognize.

    Recommended Research Channels

    Where buyers search and what AI tools prioritize.

  • 2-4 Weeks

  • $5k

What my clients say

“Their data driven approach combined with their technical expertise allowed me to fully delegate all things marketing while still understanding the results.”

Molly

“I was tired of working with other companies who would charge me monthly, but I had no clue what they were actually doing. Dave was a breath of fresh air. My business has grown exponentially in ways that I never could have done alone."

Dani

“They work to fully understand your business processes so that they can recommend the best solutions to move your company forward"

Tim

FAQ

  • Many manufacturing companies have a marketing manager focused almost entirely on day-to-day tasks. That leaves little room for strategic thinking.

    A fractional CMO focuses on:

    • Defining the marketing strategy

    • Integrating marketing with sales

    • Driving measurable revenue results

  • According to Salary.com, the median base salary for a full-time CMO is about $350k/year, not including benefits or bonuses.

    My fractional CMO services range from $96k–$180k/year, depending on the engagement.

    • Marketing agencies execute tactics like web design, social media, or content creation.

    • Marketing consultants handle specific projects like e-commerce integrations or CRM setups.

    • Fractional CMOs set the overall marketing strategy, bridge sales and marketing, and work with leadership to ensure marketing is also responsible for driving revenue.

  • Yes. A core part of my role is collaborating with product, engineering, and sales teams to:

    • Create accurate, compelling product messages

    • Ensure marketing supports the sales process from first contact to closed deal

  • It depends on your starting point.

    Strong results come from making strategic decisions about:

    • Target markets and buyer profiles

    • Competitive positioning

    • Organizational capabilities

    • Technology stack and integrations

    This work takes time, but it builds a foundation for lasting growth.

  • Engagements typically run 12–24 months.

    Time needs vary—more during planning periods, less during execution phases when your team is implementing the plan.

  • Look for:

    Experience - According to korn ferry the average age of a cmo is 55.

    Industry, marketing, agency, and consulting experience also matters.

    Good cultural fit - like any executive, the personality, beliefs and character are all important factors when deciding bring in a fCMO.

  • Yes—with in-person visits at key moments:

    • Touring facilities to understand capabilities

    • Attending trade shows to meet customers

    • Participating in strategic planning sessions

  • By ensuring your website and content directly answer the questions AI tools surface during vendor evaluations—positioning you to appear in AI-generated shortlists.

  • AI tools analyze and summarize available content to answer buyer questions. If your site doesn’t contain the right information in the right structure, you risk being excluded from their recommendations.

  • Yes—I review your website, messaging, and digital assets to identify gaps that prevent AI tools from accurately representing your business.n

  • My contracts are month-to-month for maximum flexibility.

  • I can usually start a new engagement within a few weeks of signing a contact.