Problem Analysis: Can SaaS replace a fractional CMO for small B2B growth?
1. Problem Breakdown from the Moderator:
A detailed description of a systemic pain point in the B2B segment has come to ProblemHunt. This is not a classic user request but rather an analysis from a consultant. We can't publish it as a standard problem, but it's too profound to ignore. Let's examine it as a case study. Before publication, all unnecessary information was removed while preserving the important details and essence.
2. The Core of the Problem (according to the expert):
Owners and CEOs of small/medium B2B companies (production, services) are stuck in a state of «unpredictable growth»:
— 50% of revenue comes from word-of-mouth, the rest from random deals.
— There is no established marketing and sales system: a «brochure» website, no funnels, KPIs are not tracked.
— The founder is buried in operations (production, clients), with no time/expertise for growth strategy.
— They can't afford to hire an expensive CMO/Growth Lead, and hiring a junior is useless.
— Attempts to implement a CRM or buy templates without a strategy fail.
The Big Illusion: They think they need «ideas» or «tools». In reality, they need a senior owner of the growth function (a fractional CMO/CRO) who will build the system, processes, and drive it.
3. The Price Tag the Market Sees (data from the consultant):
— Diagnosis + Plan: €1.5K – €12K
— «Engine» Implementation over 2 months: €8K – €25K
— Fractional Leader (1-3 days/week): €2.5K – €18K/month
4. Question for you, developers and founders:
Here is a classic business pain point that is currently addressed by consultant services. Do you see an opportunity here for a technology product (SaaS, platform) that could solve this problem en masse, more cheaply, and in a scalable way?
5. Problem author:
Name: Anne Seringe
Country: France
Contacts: Email
Replies
This is a very accurate diagnosis — and I agree with the core conclusion: founders don’t lack tools or ideas, they lack ownership of the growth system.
Where I’d nuance the question is this:
I don’t think SaaS can truly replace a fractional CMO — because judgment, accountability, and context still matter.
However, I do think there’s a real opportunity for technology to compress senior growth thinking into a repeatable system:
• Structured diagnosis instead of one-off “ideas”
• Decision frameworks instead of templates
• Persistent context (why decisions were made, what changed)
• Feedback loops that expose what’s actually working
In other words, not “marketing automation”, but growth operating systems that help founders think like a fractional leader when they can’t afford one.
The failure mode I’ve seen with CRMs and templates isn’t the tool — it’s the absence of a coherent mental model behind them.
If SaaS can encode parts of that model — not replace humans, but augment founder judgment — then this becomes scalable in a way consulting never will.
Curious to hear where others think the boundary is between human leadership and systemized decision-making.
vibecoder.date
@benvspak We had something in mind that was the other side of this.
It's a chicken and egg operations problem, no time or energy to establish the processes that would save time or energy.
vibecoder.date
I wonder what tool like https://scribe.com/ bring to this space because it sounds to me like the core problem is lack of time and inability to stop to create SOP and derive automations from it.
Saas bridging this gap wouldn't work unless it's super quick to set up and works out of the box. Or it comes with an onboarding service that takes care of everything in a done with you manner