A Few Marketing Org Chart Considerations for New or Early-Stage Departments
Modern marketing holds the key to many companies’ growth kingdoms. CEOs are increasingly realizing its distinct and needed benefits, including scalability, intelligence, measurement capabilities, and a high return on investment. However, modern marketing remains elusive, even for the most experienced executives.
There’s a big hole where the function should exist and filling it provides a pathway to growth. If your company is in this “infancy stage” of marketing, the first step is having access to the right talent and in the right amounts. Here are some considerations for developing a marketing org chart to get your department standing on its feet and toddling towards goal achievement.
Strategic Leadership
Companies in the early stages of marketing need strategic thinking and leadership. This type of marketer is able to map goals to infrastructure to actions. When there has been little-to-no marketing, it’s like dumping puzzle pieces on a table. There are infinite choices which increases the chances of a lot of trial and error and time involved in getting it right.
Strategic marketers, often known as CMOs, can draw upon their experiences to develop a marketing plan that’s practical and actionable. Having this roadmap is a critical piece of ensuring your safe arrival at the growth kingdom. They will also ensure a company’s brand and messaging is differentiated, marketing technology stack is built right, and future hires or external resources align with what’s needed in the plan.
CMOs, however, are expensive hires. Their median salary is $174,360 according to PayScale. Companies looking for aggressive growth likely need better than the average CMO. Enter Fractional CMOs, who are strategic, experienced marketers who contract with enterprises on a part-time basis. I’ve played this role for a number of companies, including EMG (now part of Bureau Veritas), and it works beautifully. Check out this case study to learn more.
Tactical Execution
With a plan and some strategic guidance in place, we need to build-out the tactical portion of the marketing org chart. Caution! Do not over hire during this time! Why? Many of the skillsets needed during the infancy stage may not be needed as much on an ongoing basis. There are two fairly safe choices for plan execution and measurement – all outsourced or a hybrid model with lean in-house resources.
All Outsourced
Many companies choose to outsource their marketing to enterprises specializing in just that. Please note that outsourced marketing companies are different than marketing agencies, which focus on projects like brand development, websites, and collateral. With outsourced marketing, there’s one point of contact that pulls together all the varying talents needed for overseeing projects—such as the implementation of marketing automation software—and executing campaign and channel strategies. They typically work on a retainer basis that scales up or down as the plan dictates. Agencies, on the other hand, are primarily responsible for concrete deliverables.
Marketing outsourcing companies can also provide the same. But ultimately they are tasked with delivering results in the form of filling the sales funnel and increasing the velocity of leads moving through the funnel. With outsourced execution, a company will fulfill their needs for content, social media, email, and search engine marketing with one invoice and a single source of accountability. It’s perfect for enterprises that are used to working seamlessly with external contractors and don’t wish to hire and manage a person or team.
Hybrid Model
Some companies feel that they need an internal marketing point person that will be deeply rooted in their culture, products, people, and solutions. In this case, we suggest hiring a marketing generalist with 3-5 years of marketing experience that includes light graphic design, basic writing, project management, website updates, email marketing & software, and social posting. This person will handle the basic day-to-day blocking and tackling. They will need to find, vet, and manage an outsourced marketing company or multiple sub-contractors to perform the following:
- Website development
- More complex creative design
- Content development: blogs, whitepapers, video editing, guides, tip sheets, and case studies
- Lead scoring and automated workflow development
- Marketing technology integrations
- Advanced analytics and insights
- Search engine marketing
- Paid search and/or ABM (account-based marketing)
With both models, companies in the early stages of building out their marketing functions will have flexibility in the second year and beyond to ramp up various aspects of their program depending on what’s working well and what needs to be dialed back. Alternatively, should external forces drive a market downturn, they also can dial back marketing without having to lay off valued team members.
Are you ready to develop your org chart and move towards scalable, targeted, and measurable marketing with a high ROI?
Download our Guide to Structuring the Marketing Department
Download 5 Questions to Ask When Considering Fractional Marketing
