Comparison · Growth
Marketing agency vs. fractional growth team.
A marketing agency runs a defined channel or campaign you have already chosen. A fractional growth team acts like your growth leadership: it decides which channels to run, runs them, and measures them against business outcomes. Choose an agency when the strategy is set and you need execution; choose a fractional team when you need the strategy and the execution together.
By Alex Harris, Co-Founder, FGVWhat does a marketing agency do?
An agency is built to execute a channel well: paid media, SEO, content, PR. You bring the strategy and the goals; they bring specialists and scale in that channel. It works best when you know what you want and need it run.
What does a fractional growth team do?
A fractional team works as part of your company for part of the time. It owns the growth plan, chooses and sequences channels, runs or oversees them, and reports on the numbers that matter to the business, such as funded accounts, CAC and payback, not just channel metrics.
How is success measured?
Agencies are usually measured on their channel: impressions, clicks, cost per lead. A fractional team should be measured on business outcomes across channels. In fintech that distinction matters, because cheap sign-ups that never fund or repay cost more than they look.
Which is right for your stage?
As a rough guide:
- Pre-seed and seed: a fractional team, to find the first repeatable channel
- Series A: a fractional team or growth lead, with agencies for channels that are already proven
- Series B and beyond: an in-house growth team, with specialist partners where depth matters
Why does fintech experience matter for either?
Financial products have long consideration, strict advertising rules and value that shows up after sign-up. A partner who has grown fintech companies knows which conversion to pay on, what compliance will flag, and what good looks like for your category.