Optimize Your Marketing Operation: The Crucial Role of Marketing Team Structure

“If you want to go far, go together.” We’ve all heard this saying before. If you don’t have a capable marketing team with the right individuals in the appropriate roles, your efforts and execution won’t make a significant impact, regardless of how hard you work or how effectively you operate. Achieving the desired 10X return on marketing investment and scaling your business will remain elusive in such circumstances. A well-designed team structure not only ensures smooth operations but also maximizes the collective potential of marketing professionals, enabling them to deliver impactful campaigns and drive business growth.

Setting Up the Right Team

Marketing Team Structure is the fourth pillar of the Great 8 Pillars of ROI-Driven Marketing. The success of your marketing endeavors heavily rely on having a strong marketing team with individuals who are well-suited for their roles. Marketing teams should imitate the structure of a sports team. You need coaches, A-team starting players, developing team players, and logistics team members. In general, the ROI-driven marketing team has accountabilities that fall under each of the four categories:

• Strategists = Coaches 
• Project Managers = Logistics 
• Specialists = A-Team Starting Players 
• Implementers = Developing Team Players

Before we give the breakdown of each member’s roles, it is important to take note that your own team is largely going to be built around the size of your organization. For more information on how to assemble your marketing team and how marketing budget affects your team’s structure, purchase our book “The Great 8 Pillars.”

Roles in a Marketing Team

A successful marketing campaign is often the result of a well-organized and collaborative team effort. In this section, we dive into the various roles that make up a marketing team and explore how their collective efforts contribute to the overall success of a campaign.

Strategists 

Strategists are simply the coaches. They have a strong grasp of ROI-driven marketing and can provide a strategic direction in multiple verticals. Strategists provide guidance to project managers, marketing specialists, and implementers. Their expertise and leadership contribute to the team’s success and help drive sustainable growth in today’s competitive business landscape. 

Project Managers

Project managers are the logistics people who set timelines, establish budgets, and task out work to ensure proper execution of marketing efforts. In addition, project managers task out work to specialists and implementers to meet the goals and incorporate the tactics outlined by the strategists. They bring structure, organization, and effective management to the marketing team. 

Marketing Specialists 

Specialists are your marketing team’s A-team starting players. They typically have an advanced degree of specialization in a chosen field. When considering specialists, think of the main tenets of digital marketing:

• Search engine optimization
• Web development
• Social media 
• Email marketing 
• Content writing and editing 
• Graphic design 
• Video production 
• Paid media and advertising
• Analytics and reporting 
• Conversion rate optimization 

Without strong specialists, your marketing will be weak. Note that when hiring a specialist, look for those who have a passion and exude excitement for their area of expertise. The marketing specialist should contribute specialized knowledge, skills, and expertise to the team. If you have a consistent workload that can keep a full-time specialist busy, you have the option to hire them as a permanent team member. However, in many cases, specialists are hired as contractors (or through a marketing agency) for specific projects or tasks.

Implementers

Implementers are the developing team members. They are typically generalists who implement the strategies and timelines dictated by strategists, project managers, or specialists, and are accountable for publishing and executing the work developed by the specialists. Implementers are the driving force behind the execution and implementation of marketing strategies.

In-House Vs. Marketing Agency

When it comes to hiring a marketing agency or going with an in-house marketing team, there are a few things you should consider. 

First, if you have the resources to hire all the help you need in-house and through contractors, then going in-house may help you increase efficiency and returns. That said, even the largest teams can often benefit from the expertise and resources a marketing agency can bring. Here are some of them:

• Time and Focus - Building an in-house team requires time and effort in recruitment and training. If your company has the resources to do so, going in-house can provide control and collaboration that aligns closely with your overall business goals. However, if your time is limited or your focus is needed elsewhere, outsourcing an agency allows you to leverage expertise while freeing up internal resources.
• Expertise and Specialization - Marketing agencies have employees with a wide range of expertise and specialized skills. A strong agency can allow you to access specialists without you needing to hire multiple full-time employees or spend time managing multiple contractors.

The Power of an Optimized Marketing Team Structure

Investing in a well-designed marketing team structure , whether through internal hiring, agency collaboration, or a hybrid approach, is essential for achieving your goals. A sound team structure serves as the backbone of a successful marketing operation, fostering collaboration, maximizing efficiency, and driving exceptional results. 

Purchase the Great 8 Pillars of ROI-Driven Marketing to learn more about how your marketing budget can guide the structure of your marketing team. In addition, get in contact with a G8P coach to get tailored guidance on how to structure your marketing team.