Hire a Fractional CPO if you lack a clear product vision or your roadmap is just a list of stakeholder requests.

Hire a Growth Consultant if you have a roadmap but are "blind" — you can't measure if features actually move metrics.

Don't hire a consultant to optimize a product nobody wants. Strategy must precede optimization to avoid waste.

CPO sets the strategic direction; the Consultant provides the data infrastructure to confirm or refute the strategy.