Many businesses don't need a full-time Head of CX. They need someone who can fix the customer journey, reduce churn, and turn retention into a growth engine without building a massive team to do it.

What kind of Fractional Head of CX do you need?

Tier 1: Audit & Advise

Price: $4K–$6K per month (AUD)

For businesses that know customers are dropping off but don't know exactly where or why — and need an experienced CX leader to diagnose the problem.

• Customer journey audit
• Churn and retention analysis
• NPS / CSAT benchmarking
• Quick-win recommendations
• Monthly advisory check-in

Best for: Post-revenue businesses with 20+ customers that suspect their onboarding or support experience is leaking revenue but haven't had the expertise to investigate.

Tier 2: Run CX

Price: $6K–$12K per month (AUD)

For businesses that need someone to own the customer experience function — building the systems, processes, and team to drive retention and expansion.

• Customer lifecycle design and optimisation
• Onboarding program build-out
• Support operations review and improvement
• Feedback engine into Product
• Customer health scoring and reporting
• Team structure and hiring guidance

Best for: SaaS and marketplace businesses with NRR below 100% that need a leader to take ownership of the entire post-sale experience.

Tier 3: Enterprise CX Transformation

Price: $10K–$16K per month (AUD)

For businesses moving upmarket or managing complex enterprise accounts that demand a fundamentally different level of service, process, and reporting.

• Enterprise onboarding and success playbooks
• Account management and expansion strategy
• Cross-functional alignment (Sales, Product, Support)
• Automation and self-service strategy
• Executive business reviews and client reporting
• CX team build and leadership

Best for: Companies moving from SMB to mid-market or enterprise that need to re-engineer their service model to meet higher client expectations and contract values.

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How much does a fractional Head of CX cost in Australia?

Most fractional Head of CX engagements range from $4,000 to $16,000 per month depending on scope. Diagnostic and advisory support starts around $4K–$6K/month. Hands-on CX leadership sits between $6K–$12K/month. Enterprise transformation — rebuilding the entire post-sale experience for larger accounts — typically runs $10K–$16K/month.

When should a business hire a fractional Head of CX?

The clearest signals are: Net Revenue Retention below 100%, high churn in the first 90 days, or a move upmarket that requires a service level you can't currently deliver. If you have fewer than 20 customers, the founder should own this directly.

What does a fractional Head of CX actually do?

They go well beyond support tickets. At minimum, they audit the customer lifecycle and identify the points where users drop off. At the upper end, they design onboarding programs, build feedback loops into Product, implement customer health scoring, and lead enterprise account strategy.

Fractional Head of CX or a full-time permanent Head of CX -- which do I need?

A full-time Head of CX costs AUD$250K+ per year and is genuinely hard to find. For most scaling businesses, a fractional Head of CX delivers senior CX leadership at 1–2 days per week — enough to diagnose the problem, build the systems, and train the team without the permanent cost.