Building Your Marketing Team Strategically
Many of the decisions you make in your business will affect your overall business strategy, but some will make more of an impact than others. Which brand of printer you purchase may affect your team’s productivity, for example, but not anywhere near as much as the impact of who is on your Marketing Team.
This team is central to your company’s growth, and the tasks and projects they take on are multi-faceted and often fast-paced. In order to keep your Marketing Team running smoothly and profitably, you need not only the right systems, but the right people.
And even more importantly, you need both in place at the right time.
This is easier said than done, but with the right systems and hiring strategy, it is definitely possible. Want to know more how to implement this in your own business? Check out the replay of our free July training, Building Your Rockstar Marketing Team As You Grow!
The Evolution of Your Marketing Team
Your Marketing Team will probably be one of the most diverse teams within your company, and for good reason. There are a lot of moving parts involved with your marketing strategy, and as you grow, you will need to strategically hire the right people to take on different responsibilities.
When you first started out, chances are that you were your marketing team. Things may not have been perfect, but you got it done! As you began to grow, however, you just didn’t have time to keep everything going. I’ve been there – and believe me, I get it!
At that point, you have two options: you can either allow your marketing to be hit and miss (i.e., you’ll get to it when you get to it, at least until your sales start to drop) OR you can hire a Marketing Assistant. This rockstar will keep your marketing wheel turning, allowing you to step back from handling the everyday tasks.
There will come a point, however, when you’ll need to expand your Marketing Team. Perhaps you will hire a copywriter, a graphic designer, or a video editor – and eventually, you may hire all three. If you have one or more social media groups or communities, you may need to hire a community manager to keep your members engaged.
There’s also the tech team to think about; marketing funnels don’t build themselves, so you’ll want to make sure you have someone on hand who understands all the platforms, integrations, and troubleshooting methods.
And once you decide to venture into ads, you will probably want to hire an ads manager to handle the back end tasks like setting up the ads, determining your target audiences, and monitoring the results in order to make the necessary tweaks.
More and more, all of these people will need to work together on a variety of projects – and if the right oversight and systems aren’t in place for them to do so, things can begin to fall apart quickly.
This is a sign that it’s time to bring on a Marketing Coordinator, both to free you up from multiple meetings every week (at one point, I was up to 14!) and to act as a project manager, keeping everything on track.
And believe me, there’s a lot to manage!
The Importance of Personalities and Skill Sets
Remember when I said that your Marketing Team will be one of the most diverse teams in your company? It’s true – and there’s a good reason for it.
As you can see, there are a lot of things that go into your marketing strategy; as you grow, it will become essential to have the right people in the right places.
For example, your Marketing Assistant will need to understand social media strategy and the best practices of each platform you’re on. This person should be someone who is able to do both the behind the scenes tasks like sourcing images and scheduling posts and someone who is able to engage as you (at least somewhat) on social media.
In other words, they need to be organized and somewhat outgoing – and they need to be able to handle multiple tasks throughout the day.
Your copywriter, on the other hand, should be someone who is both creative and analytical (as well as being a strong writer). This person should be able to understand your brand and voice, analyze the needs and wants of your audience, and craft copy that resonates. It’s fine if they’re introverted as long as they’re flexible and focused.
Other areas of your Marketing Team will need strong “doers” and “list checkers” – people who may not be as analytical or creative, but who can jump in and get things done quickly and efficiently. And your Marketing Coordinator? This person will need to be a strong people manager and project manager, able to work with a wide variety of personalities and skill sets in order to keep everything running smoothly!
If we can help you clarify and navigate your marketing strategy and hiring needs, please let us know – we have a number of solutions to fit your needs and a rockstar team to help you succeed!