House of marbles
From bricks-and-mortar beginnings to global ecommerce success a partnership built on strategy and shared creativity.
“Websites and Online Marketing are an investment for growth but it’s easy to get it wrong. Thankfully the decision to use Vu was definitely right.”
Alexander Richards, Rochesters Hire
Fractional marketing, what it means in practice
Most teams get stuck in the middle. They have someone leading marketing, but not enough specialist capacity to execute consistently.
Fractional marketing support fills that gap. You get a wider team without hiring full-time roles, and the mix can flex month to month as priorities change. If you want examples by budget, see marketing retainer packages.
Fractional marketing team vs hiring
Hiring gives you depth in one role. Fractional support gives you coverage across roles, without carrying permanent overhead.
It works well when you do not need a full-time designer or developer, but you do need access to both, alongside SEO, paid, content, and strategy.
Outsourced marketing department vs freelancers
Freelancers can be a good fit for one clear output. The problem starts when you have multiple moving parts and nobody owns the system.
An outsourced marketing department gives you one accountable team that already works together, so delivery stays joined up and momentum does not drop. If you are weighing models, see outsourcing marketing for small business, retainer vs freelancers vs in-house.
Get a marketing retainer package recommendation, based on your budget
Have a chat about what you need most right now. We will recommend a sensible channel mix and show what a monthly marketing retainer could look like at your level.
Weekly check-ins and monthly marketing reporting
Weekly delivery check-in, plans and priorities
Week to week, we keep delivery moving. We get together, look at what is in flight, and check progress against the plan, usually a project plan or a Gantt chart.
It is the nudge along, you have this, we have that, and here is what is on the horizon.
Monthly marketing reporting, outcomes and next actions
Month to month, we step back and review performance in a way you can take back to the bosses. The monthly marketing reporting keeps the bigger picture in view, because it links activity to outcomes.
It answers three questions, what changed, what improved, and what we do next.
This rhythm is why fractional marketing works. You get an outsourced marketing team that can ship work consistently without dropping the strategic picture.
Fractional marketing support in practice, a group example
Group C-suite, central marketing lead, multiple business units
RCI Group is a good example of where fractional marketing support fits.
There is a group C-suite, a central marketing lead, and ten businesses that need help with their marketing. Each business has its own internal team, but the central marketer is responsible for keeping momentum, raising quality, and reporting back to the C-suite.
What changes when you add capacity and accountability
They understand brand, design, development, campaigns, and strategy, but they cannot produce every outcome across the group. That is where an outsourced marketing team makes sense.
It gives them extra capacity to push work through quickly, get fresh ideas when they are busy, and access support on things that are hard to fund as standalone projects. If you want the full delivery model, see our digital marketing retainer.
“The process was inspiring. The Vu team brought energy, insight and creativity that genuinely lit a spark in us.”
Marketing dashboard and reporting dashboard, one place for delivery
Marketing dashboard, what you can see each week
A marketing dashboard is only useful if it helps you run the week, not just review the month.
You should be able to log in and see what is in progress, what has shipped, and what is coming next, tied to the plan and the weekly check-in.
Reporting dashboard, time logs, requests, and SEO feedback
Our reporting dashboard includes time spent by default, so you can see what was done and how long it took.
Clients can log requests directly against the website using a BugHerd style workflow. They can also request content, so delivery and content planning stay in one place.
We also surface feedback from SEO tools we use in the background, so you are not jumping between systems to understand progress.
The goal is one place where the marketing lead can get the information they need, then report back internally with clarity.
What an outsourced marketing team helps with
Fractional marketing works best when the work is tied to a clear route to market.
We help you choose what comes first, then keep delivery moving through weekly check-ins and monthly reporting.
Lead flow, paid search and landing pages
When you need leads quickly, the focus is usually demand capture, paid search, landing page improvements, and conversion tracking, see pay per click advertising and professional SEO services.
That includes managing the account, tightening targeting, checking search terms, adding negative keywords, and improving what happens after the click.
Compounding growth, SEO, content, internal linking
When you want steady growth, the focus shifts to SEO content, improving key service pages, and internal linking so strong pages support the ones you want to grow.
This is also where message and tone of voice matter. If the message is vague, you can publish more and still not land.
Design, development, and campaigns when needed
As priorities shift, you can pull in design for campaign assets, development for site improvements, and support for email, social, or CRO, without rebuilding the team.
The mix flexes, but the plan stays clear.
Ready for fractional marketing support?
If you want extra capacity without hiring, we can recommend a sensible retainer mix based on your budget and route to market.
Book a free 30 minute chat or see how we deliver this week to week in the digital marketing retainer
Call to Action
If you want a package recommendation based on your route to market and budget, we can map a simple first month plan and show you what typically fits.
Why Choose Vu?
Message first, not channel first
We start with what you are trying to say, who it is for, and how it should land. Then we choose the channels and the order of work.
Short cycles, clear priorities
We work in short cycles with fast feedback, so progress is visible and decisions keep moving.
One team, specialist coverage
You get access to strategists, designers, developers, SEO specialists, and paid media support, without hiring them individually.
Values-led delivery, B Corp
We are a certified B Corp and build for performance, accessibility, and a lighter digital footprint.
“The team at Vu were curious, patient and incredibly supportive in helping us get there and the site has had a great response.”
What this looks like in real retainers
A retainer is easier to judge when you see it over time. One month it is website improvements, the next it is campaign creative, then content planning, then fixing tracking so you can see what is actually converting.
This is exactly why fractional marketing support works. The work flexes, but the rhythm stays consistent, weekly delivery check-ins, monthly reporting, and clear priorities.
RCI Group, fractional support across multiple businesses
RCI is a good example of the model. A central marketing lead is responsible for keeping momentum across multiple businesses and reporting back to the C-suite.
They do not need to hire a full department. They need an outsourced marketing team that can bring the right specialist in at the right time, keep delivery moving, and make progress visible through one dashboard.
More examples, long-term partnerships and message-first work
House of Marbles is a long-term example. We built their first ecommerce website nearly 20 years ago, then supported growth across multiple global sites with regular marketing meetings, content and keyword work, paid advertising, SEO, and technical support.
Carpenter Oak is a message-first example. We helped sharpen how they communicated value, improved tracking and reporting, and reduced Google Ads spend by half in year one while performance improved.
If you want to see the full stories, browse our case studies.
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FAQs
Fractional marketing support gives you access to a wider team without hiring full-time roles. The mix flexes month to month around your priorities.
Not usually. This page is about a fractional marketing team model, an outsourced marketing team, not a single person. Its is unlikely a single person could cover the range of an entire agency at the level of experience or quality required.
Weekly check-ins are short and practical. We review what is in flight, check progress against the plan, and unblock decisions so delivery keeps moving.
You can see what has shipped, what is in progress, what is next, and time spent by default. You can also log website and content requests in the same place.
Yes. This works well when you have someone leading marketing internally, and you need extra capacity and specialist coverage to deliver consistently.
Once goals and access are confirmed, we can agree priorities and begin the first delivery cycle. Normally theres a chemistry meeting, proposal, SLA and onboarding process which takes a week or two.
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