Fractional CMO for manufacturers and industrial companies
Communication-IMPACT provides Fractional CMO services to manufacturers with about 20 to 200 employees, led by M.J. Plebon, a Chemical Engineering Technologist and former industrial President. He builds the online pipeline that gets your specs in front of buyers who research before they call, then trains your team to run it. The industries he knows best are process equipment, steam systems, food production, packaging, pulp and paper, oil and gas, and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Why is marketing harder for manufacturers?
Marketing is harder for manufacturers because the sale is long, technical, and decided by a committee. Sales cycles run 6 to 18 months, buyers read the spec sheet before the brochure, and five people can each stop the deal. Most marketing agencies are built for shorter, simpler sales.
Most manufacturers built their business before buyers started researching online. They grew on relationships, trade shows, and referrals, and that worked for decades.
The buyers changed. The sales approach did not. By the time a B2B buyer first contacts a vendor, they are about 70% of the way through their decision, according to the 6sense 2024 B2B Buyer Experience Report.
Long sales cycles
A capital equipment decision can take a year or more. Content has to keep your name in front of the committee the whole time, not just on the day someone fills in a form.
Technical buyers
Engineers do not read adjectives. They want specs, tolerances, CAD files, and proof. If your site gives them a brochure, they move on.
Buying committees
The plant engineer, operations, procurement, the CFO, and the person who installs the equipment all ask different questions. A message built for one of them leaves four unanswered.
What does a Fractional CMO do for a manufacturer?
For a manufacturer, M.J. Plebon finds where the pipeline leaks, builds the technical content and sales tools buyers look for, runs the marketing against a 90-day SLA measured in qualified RFQs, and trains the in-house team to take over by month 12.
- Puts your specs where buyers search, using intent-based industrial SEO
- Builds ROI calculators, comparison pages, and spec portals your reps use to defend your price
- Maps your buying committee with a Buyer OS Ideal Customer Profile (link: /ideal-customer-profile-services)
- Reports on qualified RFQs and pipeline value, not traffic
- Trains your team and leaves
See the four phases and prices
Which industries does M.J. Plebon know from the inside?
M.J. Plebon has worked inside process equipment, steam systems, and oil and gas, and has sold into food, paper, and pharmaceutical plants. That means your engineers do not have to teach him the basics before the work starts.
Process equipment and steam systems
I ran the Canadian division of a global manufacturer of steam heating and process equipment as President and General Manager, with full P&L responsibility. I also ran factory energy surveys. I know how these products are specified, sold, and serviced.
Oil and gas
As VP of Business Development, I took an environmental technology for upstream oil and gas from concept to $30M in revenue and co-authored seven technical papers along the way (link: /cmo-credentials-page).
Food production, packaging, pulp and paper, and pharmaceutical manufacturing
Steam heating and process equipment goes into food plants, paper mills, and pharmaceutical facilities. Those plants were my customers. I know the buyers, the plant priorities, and the questions that come up in a capital review.
What should a manufacturer expect from a Fractional CMO?
A manufacturer should expect a written plan, sales tools the reps use, honest reporting on qualified RFQs, and a trained team at the end. With Communication-IMPACT, the 90-day SLA means you can walk away with no penalty if the agreed number of qualified RFQs does not show up.
- In 30 days: a written blueprint of where your pipeline leaks
- In the first months: sales tools and search work aimed at your buyers
- Every month: a report on qualified RFQs and pipeline value
- By month 12: your team running it without me
Questions manufacturers ask
Manufacturers ask whether their buyers really search online, whether referral-based companies need this, and how big they need to be. The short answers: yes, yes, and about 20 to 200 employees.
Our buyers don't search online. They call people they know. Do we still need this?
Your current buyers may not. Their replacements do. The engineer who takes over from your longtime contact will search before calling anyone. And even a referral gets checked online before the meeting. If your site does not back up the referral, the deal gets harder.
Most of our business comes from referrals. Why change?
Keep the referrals. The risk is depending on them alone. If a few relationships carry your pipeline, a buyer or investor sees key-person risk and values the company lower. A digital pipeline adds a second source of leads that does not retire.
How big does a manufacturer need to be?
Communication-IMPACT works best with companies of about 20 to 200 employees. Big enough to have a sales team and real bids at stake. Small enough that a full-time CMO is hard to justify.
Will you need a lot of our engineers' time?
About 30 minutes per technical expert. I turn their explanation into sales material, and they check the facts before anything is published.
Book Your 30-Minute Pipeline Call
Written by M.J. Plebon, Fractional CMO and founder of Communication-IMPACT, Montreal. Last updated October 21, 2026.