SEO Services

Marketing Consulting & Coaching.
Strategic Guidance From an Operating Marketing Studio.

Q: How is consulting different from agency execution work?

In short: execution work is 'we do it for you'; consulting and coaching is 'we teach you (or advise you) on doing it.' Agency execution means RMG takes the work product on, we build the website, run the campaigns, produce the content, manage the deliverables, and report on outcomes. Consulting and coaching means the client or the client's team owns the work, and we provide strategic guidance, methodology transfer, audit findings, vendor evaluation, and ongoing expert input as the client executes. The engagement structures, pricing models, and success metrics are different. Execution is typically scoped on deliverables (a website, a monthly campaign, a content calendar). Consulting is typically scoped on advisory hours, defined audits, scheduled coaching sessions, or fractional leadership time. Pricing reflects the difference: a consulting hour at $200 to $350 buys senior strategic input; an execution hour buys an actual deliverable getting built. Why this matters for selection: clients with strong in-house teams who need expert second opinions, vendor selection guidance, or strategy validation should pick consulting. Clients without internal marketing capability who need the work done should pick execution. Many clients use both, consulting to figure out strategy and vendor selection, then execution from us (or someone else) once the direction is clear. We don't push consulting clients toward execution retainers; the engagements are scoped separately and stay separate.

Q: How is RMG different from typical marketing consultants?

Three differences, all of which trace back to one thing: we operate a working marketing studio every day, and the consulting work draws from real client operations rather than theoretical frameworks. (1) Operator credibility. We currently build websites, run digital marketing campaigns, produce video and podcasts, manage SEO and GEO programs, and operate marketing technology stacks for dozens of client accounts. The advice we give consulting clients is based on what we did last week on a comparable client account, not on a framework book published five years ago. (2) Methodology transferability. We document our actual operating methodology and share it openly during consulting engagements. The goal is for the client to be able to execute the methodology themselves (or with their team or another vendor) after the engagement ends. We don't gatekeep, holding methodology back to force ongoing engagement is short-term thinking that produces frustrated clients. (3) Honest scope and pricing. Six clearly defined engagement types, published pricing ranges, transparent scope. No 'let's schedule a discovery call' sales theatre to learn pricing; no five-figure entry fees that lock clients in before they've evaluated fit. The consulting market in 2026 is full of marketing gurus charging $25,000+ for self-paced programs and big-name strategy firms delivering generic frameworks. Our positioning is the opposite: working operators with transparent pricing and transferable methodology.

Q: What topics do you actually consult on?

Anything within our operating scope: web design strategy (when to rebuild a site, what platforms to choose, how to scope a website project, what to look for in a web design vendor); SEO and GEO strategy (technical architecture, content planning, search and AI visibility, how to measure organic and AI-search performance); digital marketing strategy (channel selection, budget allocation across paid media, organic, email, SMS, content; vendor selection; KPI design); marketing technology decisions (CRM, automation, analytics, attribution stack, vendor evaluation, contract negotiation); content strategy (topical clustering, editorial calendar planning, distribution architecture, how to scale content production); brand positioning and messaging (positioning frameworks, audience definition, messaging hierarchy, vertical-specific brand strategy); conversion optimization strategy (testing methodology, statistical thresholds, prioritization frameworks); marketing operations and team structure (in-house vs. agency vs. fractional, hiring marketing roles, building marketing playbooks, building reporting cadences); vendor selection (evaluating agency proposals, second-opinion vendor reviews, contract review, negotiation support); and budget allocation (how much to spend on what, marketing-budget benchmarking against revenue, ROI modeling). We don't consult on disciplines outside our operating scope, if the question is about influencer marketing, traditional PR, or trade-show strategy, we'll be honest that we don't run those programs ourselves and recommend other operators who do.

Q: How long does a typical consulting engagement run?

Engagement length varies sharply by type. Hourly advisory: typically one to four hours per engagement, often a single session with optional follow-ups. Project-based audits: typically 2 to 6 weeks from kickoff to written deliverable, depending on scope (a focused SEO audit might be 2 weeks; a full-stack marketing audit might be 4 to 6 weeks). Workshops: half-day to two-day sessions, occasionally extended into multi-week training programs. Monthly coaching: most coaching engagements run 6 to 12 months, long enough for the team to absorb methodology and see results from implementation, short enough that the client isn't building dependency. We periodically renegotiate scope or pause engagements when the team has internalized enough that ongoing coaching isn't providing fresh value. Fractional CMO: typically 6 to 18 months, the industry-standard window. Shorter than 6 months and the marketing strategy doesn't have time to compound. Longer than 18 months and most companies are ready for a full-time hire (which we help structure and recruit for as part of the transition). Office-hours retainers: month-to-month with no commitment, often run indefinitely as a low-touch 'expert on call' arrangement. Honest framing: we'd rather end an engagement on a high note than extend it past its value. Engagements that drag on without producing client results aren't good for either side.

Q: What does a typical month look like in a coaching retainer?

Coaching retainers ($1,500 to $5,000 per month) flex to fit how the client team works, but the common monthly structure is: 2 to 4 scheduled working sessions (typically 60 to 90 minutes each, bi-weekly or weekly depending on engagement level), where we work through specific decisions the team is facing, review work in progress, validate strategic direction, and transfer methodology on whatever's relevant that week; async messaging access in Slack, email, or another shared channel for questions that don't need a full session, typical response window is one business day; asset and proposal review when the team is evaluating vendor proposals, reviewing campaign creative, or finalizing strategy documents, we mark up and provide feedback; monthly written summary covering key decisions, recommendations made, action items for the client team, and any concerns surfaced; and quarterly strategy reviews covering progress against original engagement goals, scope adjustments, KPI review, and forward planning. Coaching is most valuable when the client team is actively executing marketing work, if there's no execution happening between sessions, the engagement quickly stalls. We screen for 'do you have time and resources to act on the recommendations?' before quoting, because coaching a team that can't execute is a waste of both sides' time and money.

Q: What does fractional CMO actually involve?

Fractional CMO ($5,000 to $15,000 per month, typically 10 to 20 hours per week of senior-level work) is materially different from coaching or hourly advisory: we own the marketing function for the engagement window. Typical scope includes strategic ownership (annual planning, KPI definition, channel strategy, budget allocation across all marketing investments); team management (managing existing in-house marketing staff, agency vendors, freelancers; conducting weekly 1:1s with direct reports; setting priorities and reviewing work); vendor management (evaluating, selecting, contracting, and managing agency partners across web, SEO, paid media, content, and creative production; reviewing all vendor work product; managing vendor budgets); KPI ownership (defining marketing-attributable revenue, MQL/SQL definitions, attribution methodology, dashboard architecture; owning the marketing scorecard reported to the CEO and board); executive participation (joining executive meetings, board prep, quarterly business reviews, strategic planning sessions; representing marketing in cross-functional decisions); hiring support (writing job descriptions, interviewing marketing candidates, structuring marketing org charts, supporting the transition to a future full-time hire); and compliance and risk (reviewing marketing claims, advertising compliance, privacy/data handling, contract review). Engagements typically run 6 to 18 months and are renegotiated at 6-month checkpoints. We don't take fractional CMO engagements lightly, it's a real commitment with real accountability, and we'll only sign if the engagement profile matches our operating capability.

RMG Web Marketing offers marketing consulting and coaching for business owners, in-house marketing teams, and leadership groups who need expert guidance without an execution retainer. Hourly advisory, monthly coaching, project-based audits, team workshops, fractional CMO engagements, and office-hours support — all backed by the same studio that builds websites, runs digital marketing, and produces media every day. We share what we actually do, not theoretical frameworks. Published pricing, honest scope, no gatekeeping our methodology.

There are four types of marketing consultants in the 2026 market, and three of them have a credibility problem. Marketing gurus sell five- and six-figure programs built on theoretical frameworks and recycled case studies, generally from people who stopped operating real marketing campaigns years ago (or never did). Big-name strategy consultants deliver beautiful slide decks built on industry research, then leave implementation as an exercise for the client, generally producing strategy documents that gather dust because the team that has to execute them was never in the room. Agencies that won’t consult insist on full execution retainers because consulting work doesn’t fit their billing model, leaving clients who just need strategic guidance with no obvious vendor option. The fourth type — operators who consult — is rarer, and that’s where RMG Web Marketing sits. We run an actual marketing studio executing real web design, digital marketing, and media production work daily across dozens of client accounts. When we consult, we share what’s actually working right now, what we’ve tried and abandoned, and the specific tactical lessons we’ve paid to learn. No frameworks without proof of operating use; no recommendations we wouldn’t implement on our own client work.

Our consulting and coaching engagements come in six honest engagement types, each with published pricing ranges and clearly defined deliverables. Hourly advisory ($200–$350/hour) for one-off strategic questions, vendor selection second-opinions, marketing-stack decisions, or “we need an expert on this call” situations — minimum bookings, no monthly commitment. Monthly coaching retainer ($1,500–$5,000/month) for ongoing strategic guidance, scheduled bi-weekly or weekly working sessions, async messaging access, and quarterly strategy reviews — for business owners or in-house teams building marketing capability. Project-based audits ($2,500–$10,000) for one-time deep dives across web design, SEO, paid media, content, marketing operations, or full-stack marketing programs — written deliverables with prioritized remediation roadmaps. Team workshops ($2,500–$15,000 per day) for in-person or virtual training sessions on specific disciplines, marketing-team onboarding, or executive briefings. Fractional CMO engagements ($5,000–$15,000/month) for embedded marketing leadership, vendor management, KPI ownership, and quarterly board reporting — a different commitment level than coaching, with real outcome accountability. Office-hours retainers ($500–$1,500/month) for light-touch access — 90 minutes of scheduled time per month plus async messaging — for businesses that want an expert on speed dial without a full engagement.

Based in Fairfield, Texas and serving clients across the country, RMG operates consulting and coaching as a distinct service line, not a loss-leader for execution work. We’re happy when a consulting client never engages us for execution because they took our methodology and built an in-house capability with it — that’s a successful outcome, not a missed opportunity. The published pricing means you know what you’re paying for before the first call. The defined engagement types mean you know what you’re getting. The operator-not-guru positioning means the advice is built on real client work, not theoretical models. Honest caveats apply: consulting and coaching produce results when the client actually implements the recommendations. We can’t promise outcomes from advice the team never executes. What we can promise is that the recommendations will be specific, the methodology will be transferable, and the engagement scope will match the published pricing.

Frequently Asked

Marketing Consulting Questions? Honest Answers and Published Pricing.

Plain-English answers about marketing consulting and coaching engagements, how they differ from done-for-you agency work, the six engagement types we offer, pricing and timelines, fractional CMO vs. coaching, vendor selection support, and what working with RMG on a consulting engagement actually looks like.

How is consulting different from agency execution work?+

In short: execution work is “we do it for you”; consulting and coaching is “we teach you (or advise you) on doing it.” Agency execution means RMG takes the work product on — we build the website, run the campaigns, produce the content, manage the deliverables — and report on outcomes. Consulting and coaching means the client or the client’s team owns the work, and we provide strategic guidance, methodology transfer, audit findings, vendor evaluation, and ongoing expert input as the client executes. The engagement structures, pricing models, and success metrics are different. Execution is typically scoped on deliverables (a website, a monthly campaign, a content calendar). Consulting is typically scoped on advisory hours, defined audits, scheduled coaching sessions, or fractional leadership time. Pricing reflects the difference: a consulting hour at $200–$350 buys senior strategic input; an execution hour buys an actual deliverable getting built. Why this matters for selection: clients with strong in-house teams who need expert second opinions, vendor selection guidance, or strategy validation should pick consulting. Clients without internal marketing capability who need the work done should pick execution. Many clients use both — consulting to figure out strategy and vendor selection, then execution from us (or someone else) once the direction is clear. We don’t push consulting clients toward execution retainers; the engagements are scoped separately and stay separate.

What are the six engagement types you offer?+

All six are scoped separately with published pricing, defined deliverables, and clear success criteria. (1) Hourly advisory, $200–$350/hour with minimum bookings, for one-off strategic questions, second opinions on vendor proposals, marketing-stack decisions, or specific tactical situations needing senior input — no monthly commitment. (2) Monthly coaching retainer, $1,500–$5,000/month, includes scheduled bi-weekly or weekly working sessions, async messaging access, quarterly strategy reviews, and ongoing methodology transfer to the client team — ideal for business owners or in-house teams building internal marketing capability. (3) Project-based audits, $2,500–$10,000 depending on scope, deliver one-time deep dives into web design, SEO, paid media, content, marketing operations, or full-stack marketing programs, with written reports including prioritized remediation roadmaps the client team executes. (4) Team workshops, $2,500–$15,000 per day, are in-person or virtual training sessions on specific disciplines, marketing-team onboarding, executive briefings, or methodology training for partner agencies. (5) Fractional CMO engagements, $5,000–$15,000/month, are embedded marketing leadership with KPI ownership, vendor management, team coaching, and quarterly board reporting — a different commitment than coaching, with real outcome accountability over a typical 6–18 month engagement window. (6) Office-hours retainers, $500–$1,500/month, give 90 minutes of scheduled time per month plus async messaging access for businesses that want an expert on speed dial without a heavier engagement. Engagement types can be combined or switched as needs change.

What’s the difference between coaching and fractional CMO?+

Both are monthly retainers, but they’re fundamentally different in commitment level, accountability, and the work involved. Coaching ($1,500–$5,000/month) means we’re the strategic advisor in scheduled sessions, but the client team owns the marketing function and accountability. Coaching is about methodology transfer, decision support, and ongoing guidance — we help the team think through problems and improve their work, but we don’t own outcomes. Fractional CMO ($5,000–$15,000/month) means we embed in the leadership team, own the marketing function for the engagement window, manage vendors and team members, set and report on KPIs, and present to the board or executive team — we own outcomes. The fractional CMO model is the right fit when a company needs senior marketing leadership but doesn’t have the budget or workload for a full-time CMO ($275K–$500K fully loaded annually for an experienced CMO in most markets). It’s typically 10–20 hours per week of senior-level work, and engagement windows usually run 6–18 months — long enough for compounding to kick in, short enough that most companies transition to a full-time hire by month 18–24. Honest framing: most clients don’t need a fractional CMO. They need monthly coaching or hourly advisory. Fractional CMO is the right call when there’s a real leadership gap in the marketing function, an existing team that needs senior management, and a budget that supports embedded executive-level work. We’re happy to talk through which engagement type fits before quoting.

How is RMG different from typical marketing consultants?+

Three differences, all of which trace back to one thing: we operate a working marketing studio every day, and the consulting work draws from real client operations rather than theoretical frameworks. (1) Operator credibility. We currently build websites, run digital marketing campaigns, produce video and podcasts, manage SEO and GEO programs, and operate marketing technology stacks for dozens of client accounts. The advice we give consulting clients is based on what we did last week on a comparable client account — not on a framework book published five years ago. (2) Methodology transferability. We document our actual operating methodology and share it openly during consulting engagements. The goal is for the client to be able to execute the methodology themselves (or with their team or another vendor) after the engagement ends. We don’t gatekeep — holding methodology back to force ongoing engagement is short-term thinking that produces frustrated clients. (3) Honest scope and pricing. Six clearly defined engagement types, published pricing ranges, transparent scope. No "let’s schedule a discovery call" sales theatre to learn pricing; no five-figure entry fees that lock clients in before they’ve evaluated fit. The consulting market in 2026 is full of marketing gurus charging $25,000+ for self-paced programs and big-name strategy firms delivering generic frameworks. Our positioning is the opposite: working operators with transparent pricing and transferable methodology.

What topics do you actually consult on?+

Anything within our operating scope: web design strategy (when to rebuild a site, what platforms to choose, how to scope a website project, what to look for in a web design vendor); SEO and GEO strategy (technical architecture, content planning, search and AI visibility, how to measure organic and AI-search performance); digital marketing strategy (channel selection, budget allocation across paid media, organic, email, SMS, content; vendor selection; KPI design); marketing technology decisions (CRM, automation, analytics, attribution stack, vendor evaluation, contract negotiation); content strategy (topical clustering, editorial calendar planning, distribution architecture, how to scale content production); brand positioning and messaging (positioning frameworks, audience definition, messaging hierarchy, vertical-specific brand strategy); conversion optimization strategy (testing methodology, statistical thresholds, prioritization frameworks); marketing operations and team structure (in-house vs. agency vs. fractional, hiring marketing roles, building marketing playbooks, building reporting cadences); vendor selection (evaluating agency proposals, second-opinion vendor reviews, contract review, negotiation support); and budget allocation (how much to spend on what, marketing-budget benchmarking against revenue, ROI modeling). We don’t consult on disciplines outside our operating scope — if the question is about influencer marketing, traditional PR, or trade-show strategy, we’ll be honest that we don’t run those programs ourselves and recommend other operators who do.

Do you consult on vendor selection or review proposals from other agencies?+

Yes, and it’s one of our most common consulting engagements. Second-opinion vendor reviews typically run 2–6 hours of advisory time ($400–$2,100) and cover proposal evaluation across pricing transparency, scope realism, methodology specificity, deliverable definition, contract terms, performance commitments, and team experience. We’ll tell you whether the proposal is honestly scoped, what to negotiate, what to walk away from, and what red flags to watch for. Full vendor selection support for a multi-vendor procurement (web design + SEO + paid media, for example) typically runs $2,500–$10,000 as a project and covers RFP design, vendor shortlisting, proposal scoring frameworks, reference checks, contract review, and onboarding support. Honest framing: we will absolutely recommend other agencies and freelancers when they’re the right fit — we don’t have a referral-fee relationship with anyone, and we don’t steer clients toward us when another vendor fits better. The market is full of "consultants" who are actually sales agents for specific agencies, taking referral fees behind the scenes. We aren’t that. We’ll also tell you honestly when we are the right fit, in which case the consulting engagement either continues separately or transitions to an execution proposal scoped and signed independently.

How long does a typical consulting engagement run?+

Engagement length varies sharply by type. Hourly advisory: typically one to four hours per engagement, often a single session with optional follow-ups. Project-based audits: typically 2–6 weeks from kickoff to written deliverable, depending on scope (a focused SEO audit might be 2 weeks; a full-stack marketing audit might be 4–6 weeks). Workshops: half-day to two-day sessions, occasionally extended into multi-week training programs. Monthly coaching: most coaching engagements run 6–12 months — long enough for the team to absorb methodology and see results from implementation, short enough that the client isn’t building dependency. We periodically renegotiate scope or pause engagements when the team has internalized enough that ongoing coaching isn’t providing fresh value. Fractional CMO: typically 6–18 months — the industry-standard window. Shorter than 6 months and the marketing strategy doesn’t have time to compound. Longer than 18 months and most companies are ready for a full-time hire (which we help structure and recruit for as part of the transition). Office-hours retainers: month-to-month with no commitment, often run indefinitely as a low-touch “expert on call” arrangement. Honest framing: we’d rather end an engagement on a high note than extend it past its value. Engagements that drag on without producing client results aren’t good for either side.

What does a typical month look like in a coaching retainer?+

Coaching retainers ($1,500–$5,000/month) flex to fit how the client team works, but the common monthly structure is: 2–4 scheduled working sessions (typically 60–90 minutes each, bi-weekly or weekly depending on engagement level), where we work through specific decisions the team is facing, review work in progress, validate strategic direction, and transfer methodology on whatever’s relevant that week; async messaging access in Slack, email, or another shared channel for questions that don’t need a full session — typical response window is one business day; asset and proposal review when the team is evaluating vendor proposals, reviewing campaign creative, or finalizing strategy documents — we mark up and provide feedback; monthly written summary covering key decisions, recommendations made, action items for the client team, and any concerns surfaced; and quarterly strategy reviews covering progress against original engagement goals, scope adjustments, KPI review, and forward planning. Coaching is most valuable when the client team is actively executing marketing work — if there’s no execution happening between sessions, the engagement quickly stalls. We screen for "do you have time and resources to act on the recommendations?" before quoting, because coaching a team that can’t execute is a waste of both sides’ time and money.

What does fractional CMO actually involve?+

Fractional CMO ($5,000–$15,000/month, typically 10–20 hours per week of senior-level work) is materially different from coaching or hourly advisory: we own the marketing function for the engagement window. Typical scope includes strategic ownership (annual planning, KPI definition, channel strategy, budget allocation across all marketing investments); team management (managing existing in-house marketing staff, agency vendors, freelancers; conducting weekly 1:1s with direct reports; setting priorities and reviewing work); vendor management (evaluating, selecting, contracting, and managing agency partners across web, SEO, paid media, content, and creative production; reviewing all vendor work product; managing vendor budgets); KPI ownership (defining marketing-attributable revenue, MQL/SQL definitions, attribution methodology, dashboard architecture; owning the marketing scorecard reported to the CEO and board); executive participation (joining executive meetings, board prep, quarterly business reviews, strategic planning sessions; representing marketing in cross-functional decisions); hiring support (writing job descriptions, interviewing marketing candidates, structuring marketing org charts, supporting the transition to a future full-time hire); and compliance and risk (reviewing marketing claims, advertising compliance, privacy/data handling, contract review). Engagements typically run 6–18 months and are renegotiated at 6-month checkpoints. We don’t take fractional CMO engagements lightly — it’s a real commitment with real accountability, and we’ll only sign if the engagement profile matches our operating capability.

What’s actually included in RMG’s consulting and coaching services?+

Six engagement types, all with published pricing, defined scope, and clear deliverables. Services include: hourly advisory for one-off strategic questions, second opinions, and vendor proposal reviews ($200–$350/hour with minimum bookings); monthly coaching retainers with scheduled sessions, async messaging access, asset review, and quarterly strategy reviews ($1,500–$5,000/month); project-based audits across web design, SEO, paid media, content, marketing operations, and full-stack marketing programs, delivering written reports with prioritized remediation roadmaps ($2,500–$10,000); team workshops in-person or virtual, on specific disciplines, methodology training, marketing-team onboarding, and executive briefings ($2,500–$15,000 per day); fractional CMO engagements with embedded leadership, KPI ownership, team management, vendor oversight, and board reporting ($5,000–$15,000/month, typically 6–18 month windows); office-hours retainers for light-touch expert access — 90 minutes scheduled per month plus async messaging ($500–$1,500/month); vendor selection and proposal review for evaluating agency proposals, building RFPs, conducting reference checks, and contract review; marketing operations consulting on team structure, tooling, attribution, and reporting infrastructure; brand positioning and messaging strategy with positioning frameworks and messaging hierarchy work; and methodology transfer across all our operating disciplines (web design, SEO, GEO, paid media, social, email, SMS, content, video, podcast, analytics) so the client team can execute in-house with our methodology. What’s explicitly not included: execution work — that’s scoped separately under our agency services. We don’t bundle consulting and execution into one engagement.

Six Engagement Types, Published Pricing

honest engagement types with published pricing, defined scope, and clear deliverables — not one-size-fits-all "discovery calls"

$200–$350

hourly advisory rate for senior strategic input — the most flexible engagement type with no monthly commitment required

6–18 mo

typical engagement window for fractional CMO work — long enough to compound, short enough to transition to a full-time hire

Operators

we run a working marketing studio every day; the advice comes from real client operations, not theoretical frameworks

Why Consulting Works

Why Consulting & Coaching Beats Done-For-You for Some Situations

Not every marketing problem is best solved by hiring an agency to do the work. For a meaningful subset of businesses — those with existing in-house marketing capability, those where strategic direction is the bottleneck rather than execution capacity, those building internal capability they want to keep, and those whose situation requires expert input but not full execution commitment — consulting and coaching produce better outcomes than done-for-you agency work. The reasons are structural. Agency engagement requires either committing to a multi-month execution retainer (with all the budget commitment that implies) or scoping a discrete project deliverable. Neither structure fits the company that just needs strategic guidance, vendor selection support, audit findings, or methodology coaching for an existing team. Hourly advisory, monthly coaching retainers, and project-based audits exist specifically to serve this scope range. The honest framing: agencies built around execution retainers often discourage consulting engagements because they don’t fit the billing model, leaving clients with no good vendor option in the strategic-advisory range. We built RMG’s consulting practice specifically to fill that gap.

The second reason consulting works is methodology transfer compounds for the client. When a coaching engagement transfers RMG’s actual operating methodology to a client team — how we audit SEO, how we structure paid-media testing, how we plan content calendars, how we measure GEO performance, how we evaluate vendor proposals — the client retains that capability after the engagement ends. The methodology becomes part of how the client team works for years afterward. With done-for-you execution, the client gets the deliverables, but the methodology stays with the agency. For companies that want to build a durable internal marketing capability rather than rent one indefinitely, the coaching model produces longer-term value even when it costs less in the short term. We’re explicit about this with clients: we don’t gatekeep methodology. We share what we do, document it, and teach the client team to execute it. If that means the client team executes it themselves (or with another vendor) after the engagement, that’s a successful outcome.

The third reason is fractional leadership is genuinely cheaper than full-time CMO hires for most growing companies. A fully loaded senior CMO in most US markets costs $275,000–$500,000 annually when salary, equity, benefits, recruiting fees, and onboarding time are included. Most growing companies between $2M and $50M revenue aren’t ready for that commitment but do need senior marketing leadership. Fractional CMO engagements at $5,000–$15,000/month deliver 10–20 hours per week of senior-level work — strategy, vendor management, team coaching, KPI ownership, board reporting — at 40–70% lower fully loaded annual cost than a full-time hire. Most engagements run 6–18 months, which is the right window: long enough for the marketing strategy to compound, short enough that companies ready for permanent leadership transition into a full-time hire (with the fractional CMO supporting the recruitment and onboarding). Honest caveats apply: fractional CMO isn’t the right fit for every company. Companies that need 40+ hours/week of marketing leadership, companies where marketing is the dominant business function, and companies where the CMO needs deep institutional knowledge of a complex product or domain should hire full-time. We’ll tell you honestly which fit your situation.

The Six Engagement Types

Six Honest Ways to Work With RMG on Strategy

Hourly Advisory

$200–$350/hour, minimum bookings, no monthly commitment. One-off strategic questions, second opinions on vendor proposals, marketing-stack decisions, "we need an expert on this call" situations. Best for companies with internal capability that just need senior input on specific decisions. Most engagements run 1–4 hours per session, often a single session with optional follow-ups.

Monthly Coaching Retainer

$1,500–$5,000/month. Scheduled bi-weekly or weekly working sessions, async messaging access, asset and proposal review, quarterly strategy reviews, monthly written summaries. Best for business owners or in-house teams actively building marketing capability. Most engagements run 6–12 months. Methodology transfer compounds the value past the engagement window.

Project-Based Audits

$2,500–$10,000. One-time deep-dive audits across web design, SEO, GEO, paid media, content, marketing operations, or full-stack marketing programs. Written deliverable with prioritized remediation roadmap. 2–6 week turnaround depending on scope. Best for companies needing strategic clarity before committing to execution work — with us or with another vendor.

Team Workshops

$2,500–$15,000 per day. In-person or virtual training on specific disciplines, marketing-team onboarding, executive briefings, methodology training for partner agencies. Half-day, full-day, or multi-day formats. Best for teams needing concentrated upskilling on a specific discipline or for executives needing a structured briefing on a strategic topic.

Fractional CMO

$5,000–$15,000/month, typically 10–20 hours per week, 6–18 month engagement windows. Embedded marketing leadership, KPI ownership, team and vendor management, board reporting. Real outcome accountability, not just advisory. Best for growing companies that need senior marketing leadership but aren’t ready for a $275K–$500K full-time CMO hire. We support the eventual transition to a full-time hire.

Office-Hours Retainer

$500–$1,500/month. 90 minutes of scheduled time per month plus async messaging access. The lightest-touch engagement type — an expert on speed dial without a heavier commitment. Best for businesses that want occasional senior input without a full advisory engagement. Month-to-month with no commitment; many clients run this indefinitely.

How We Engage

How Consulting Engagements Work: Fit Check, Scoping, Engagement, Review, Transition

Every consulting engagement moves through the same five phases regardless of whether it’s a single hourly advisory call, a monthly coaching retainer, or an 18-month fractional CMO commitment. The depth of each phase scales with engagement type, but the discipline of each phase is the same:

Fit Check & Engagement Type Selection

An initial 20–30 minute call (free, no obligation) to understand the situation, identify what type of help is actually needed, and recommend an engagement type. Sometimes the answer is "you don’t need consulting right now, you need an agency to execute" — in which case we say so honestly and recommend the right execution path (with us or with another vendor). Sometimes the answer is "hourly advisory is enough for what you’re describing." Sometimes it’s a coaching retainer or fractional CMO conversation. The fit check exists specifically to avoid mis-scoping engagements — a six-figure fractional CMO commitment when the client really needed a 3-hour vendor review is bad for both sides. Deliverable: a written engagement recommendation with specific scope, pricing, and rationale.

Scoping & Engagement Agreement

For hourly advisory, this is a brief booking process — minimum hours, payment terms, and session scheduling. For coaching, audits, workshops, fractional CMO, and office hours retainers, this includes a written scope of work covering deliverables, success criteria, meeting cadence, communication channels, decision rights, and payment terms. Engagement length is set with explicit checkpoints (6-month renegotiation for coaching; 90-day reviews for fractional CMO). For fractional CMO specifically, this includes a board introduction, KPI definition, and team transition planning. Everything in writing; everything signed; pricing matches the published ranges (no surprise upcharges).

Engagement Execution

This is the actual consulting work. For hourly advisory: the scheduled session(s) with summary notes after each. For coaching retainers: scheduled bi-weekly or weekly working sessions, async messaging support, asset and proposal review on demand, monthly written summaries. For audits: discovery, analysis, draft review, and final written deliverable with prioritized remediation roadmap. For workshops: pre-workshop discovery, agenda design, the session(s) themselves, and post-workshop follow-up notes and resources. For fractional CMO: embedded leadership work including strategy, team management, vendor oversight, KPI reporting, executive participation, and hiring support. For office hours: the monthly 90-minute scheduled session plus ongoing async messaging. All engagements include written summaries so the client team has a documented record of decisions made and recommendations given.

Progress Review & Scope Adjustment

Coaching retainers, fractional CMO engagements, and office-hours retainers include quarterly progress reviews (more frequent for fractional CMO) covering: (a) what we’ve worked on, decisions made, recommendations given; (b) what the client team has executed and what results have emerged; (c) what’s still pending and why; (d) whether the engagement scope still matches the situation, and if not, what to adjust. Engagement scope can expand, contract, pause, or transition as the situation changes — we’d rather adjust scope honestly than maintain a misaligned engagement. For hourly advisory and audits, the equivalent step is a check-in after the engagement to verify whether the recommendations are getting implemented and whether additional support would be useful. Honest framing: we’ll suggest reducing scope or ending engagements that aren’t producing client results, even when the client would happily continue paying. Engagements that drift past their useful window aren’t good for either side.

Transition & Methodology Handoff

Every engagement ends with a transition phase, calibrated to the engagement type. For hourly advisory and audits: the deliverable IS the transition — written recommendations, methodology notes, and resources the client team can execute against indefinitely. For coaching retainers: a final session reviewing what’s been transferred, what methodology is documented, and what the client team is now able to execute in-house. Many coaching engagements include an optional "graduation audit" verifying the team has internalized the methodology. For workshops: post-workshop materials, recordings, methodology documents, and follow-up support windows. For fractional CMO: structured transition to a full-time CMO hire, including role definition, hiring support, candidate evaluation, and a 30–60 day overlap with the incoming full-time leader to transfer institutional knowledge. For office hours: typically no formal transition; engagement continues indefinitely or ends month-to-month. Methodology handoff is always part of the work: we share documentation, recordings, templates, and frameworks the client team retains.

Who Should Consider Consulting

Who Should Consider Consulting or Coaching?

Consulting and coaching make sense for a wide range of business situations, but the prioritization depends on your team capability, strategic clarity, and what kind of help you actually need. If your situation matches any of these, an honest fit-check call is probably worth scheduling:

Business owners building marketing capability who need expert guidance
In-house marketing teams without senior leadership above them
Companies evaluating agency proposals and needing a second opinion
Growing companies not ready for a $275K–$500K full-time CMO hire
Founders deciding whether to hire in-house or outsource marketing
Companies between agencies needing interim strategic guidance
Marketing teams onboarding new tools, channels, or methodologies
Executive teams needing a structured marketing briefing or review
Partner agencies needing white-label consulting capability
Companies overspending on marketing without clear ROI
Teams preparing for a board meeting or executive marketing review
Companies refreshing brand positioning, messaging, or strategy

If your situation matches one or more of these and you’re not sure which engagement type fits, the 20–30 minute fit-check call is free and there’s no obligation. We’ll be honest about whether consulting is the right answer, which engagement type fits, and what to expect from the work. Sometimes the answer is “you don’t need us right now — here’s what to do instead.” That’s fine. We’d rather decline a misaligned engagement than take it on and produce mediocre results. The point of the fit check is mutual filtering.

Our Difference

Why Choose RMG Web Marketing for Consulting?

The marketing consulting market in 2026 splits along three unhelpful lines, and choosing between them is most of the buying decision. Marketing gurus sell high-priced programs and courses ($5,000–$50,000 entry fees are common) built on theoretical frameworks, recycled case studies, and personality-driven content. They often haven’t operated a marketing campaign in years; the business model is course sales, not consulting. Clients get repackaged frameworks and community access, not strategic input grounded in current operating reality. Big-name strategy firms deliver beautifully designed strategy decks (often $50,000–$250,000 per engagement) built on industry research and senior partner credibility, then leave implementation as an exercise for the client. The strategy documents are usually directionally correct but disconnected from operating reality, and they gather dust because the team that has to execute them was never in the room. Agencies that won’t consult insist on multi-month execution retainers because consulting work doesn’t fit their billing structure, leaving clients who just need strategic guidance with no good vendor option. The honest framing: each of these failure modes is structural, not just bad execution. Gurus can’t consult on current operating reality because they don’t operate. Strategy firms can’t produce executable strategies because they don’t execute. Execution agencies can’t scope consulting properly because their billing model is built on something else. Choosing RMG comes down to one thing: we run a working marketing studio every day, and we built our consulting practice specifically to share that operating reality without forcing clients into an execution retainer.

Based in Fairfield, Texas and serving clients across the country, RMG operates consulting and coaching as a distinct service line with published pricing, defined scope, and transferable methodology. We share what we actually do every day across dozens of client accounts — not theoretical frameworks, not recycled case studies, not personality-driven hype. We’re happy when a consulting client never engages us for execution because they took our methodology and built in-house capability with it. The published pricing means no “discovery call” sales theatre to learn what things cost. The six clearly defined engagement types mean you know what you’re getting before signing. Here’s what working with us on consulting looks like:

Operating studio, not a course-seller or strategy firm
Six honest engagement types with published pricing
Free 20–30 minute fit-check call, no obligation
Transferable methodology, no gatekeeping
Honest scope adjustment when engagements drift
No referral-fee relationships with vendors we recommend
Fractional CMO with real outcome accountability
Transition planning built into every engagement type

We treat consulting and coaching as operator knowledge transfer, not framework selling. Our consulting practice exists to share what we do every day with clients who need strategic guidance — not to upsell them into execution retainers, not to lock them into multi-year programs, not to gatekeep methodology. If the engagement works, the client builds durable internal capability. That’s the goal.

Start With a Fit-Check Call

Ready for Strategic Guidance From an Operating Studio?

Whether you need one-off hourly advisory, a monthly coaching retainer, a project-based audit, a team workshop, a fractional CMO engagement, or a light-touch office-hours arrangement, the first step is the same: a free, no-obligation 20–30 minute fit-check call to understand the situation and recommend the right engagement type. We’ll be honest about whether consulting is the right answer, which type fits, and what the engagement will actually cost. Then you decide whether to move forward.

Marketing Consulting & Coaching.Strategic Guidance From an Operating Marketing Studio.