The Structure to Keep Pace with Business Expansion
There’s a single common question I’ve been asked by SMB ownership and executive leadership across manufacturing, software and professional services industries. They all want to know how marketing should scale to meet revenue objectives. “What should the marketing org look like?” they ask. It’s a good question, as businesses risk revenue target misses and inefficiencies, like wasted marketing budget on misaligned campaigns or underused tools, when marketing doesn’t keep pace with growth plans.
Unfortunately, there’s no magic bullet. Scaling marketing isn’t a simple formula—what works for a $30M company won’t necessarily work for a $120M company. From the outset, though, it would seem as if there was a magic bullet. You’ll find similar marketing tactics deployed, such as PPC campaigns, videos, eBooks, case studies, account-based marketing (ABM), etc. across companies of all sizes. You may even find a similar department structure comprising a generalist marketing manager or director at the helm, overseeing a mix of agencies, interns, contractors or perhaps one or two FTEs.
But it’s the unique marketing strategy, matched with an appropriate budget and position of executive authority, that determines how (and how fast) the company’s marketing department should scale to meet your revenue targets.
Of course, marketing teams can skate by without a strategy in place for a bit. But when rapid growth hits, competition ramps up or your series funding is in full swing, suddenly everyone will want to know about your go-to market (GTM) strategy. Running marketing without a scaling strategy is like upgrading a plant’s machinery but keeping the same outdated processes—you won’t get the profitability or efficiency gains you expect.
The Plan to Achieve Plan
So how DO you properly scale your marketing department for the next stage of your business? The process typically starts with an assessment. As a fractional marketing leader, I evaluate the existing marketing, sales and customer success organizations and their respective data to learn what’s worked, what hasn’t worked, why and when. This analysis is conducted in tandem with the company’s strategic and operating plan to ensure alignment across objectives and culture. Competitive and market research helps to round out the assessment to identify gaps and recommend actions to link your revenue aim. Such outcomes can include:
- Tightening up the roles and responsibilities of the org chart
- Scouting for specialist talent in areas like demand generation, product marketing, content marketing or marketing operations
- Re-allocations within the marketing budget to properly assign true marketing costs
- Expansion or optimization opportunities within the martech stack, including CRM, marketing automation, sales enablement, project management and other platforms
- Seizing marketing tactic and process efficiency opportunities
- Creating or updating the GTM strategy, annual marketing plan or scorecard
The assessment may only be the beginning, but it’s an important first step to map out your path to reach goal. Follow-up actions should be agreed upon with the full understanding that marketing scaling is a continuous process, much like quality, that requires agility. Companies that fail to adjust their marketing strategies as they grow often see wasted spend, declining lead quality and stalled revenue growth. Don’t wait—get ahead of your next growth stage now. Contact Towers Fractional Marketing to learn how your marketing organization can scale to reach your next milestone.
