How to Build a Winning Marketing Team by Treating Marketing Like a Product

In this video, you'll learn why marketers should structure their teams like a product organization, focusing on cross-functional collaboration and long-term strategy. Discover how to approach headcount planning, marketing goals, and growth in a way that ensures your marketing team can adapt and thrive in fast-paced environments.

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Full episode: https://humansofmartech.com/2024/06/0...

Emily highlights an interesting approach in marketing by equating it to managing a product. This analogy is profound because it shifts the traditional perception of marketing from merely serving sales to being a complex, self-sufficient entity crucial for a business’s holistic growth. She expresses concern that many still view marketing as a subordinate to sales, aimed only at fulfilling immediate sales targets. This misconception, she argues, limits the potential scope and impact of marketing.

Marketing, according to Emily, encompasses a range of disciplines that require a synergy similar to a product team, which includes engineers, designers, and project managers, among others. This multifaceted team is responsible for both short-term achievements and long-term strategic goals, mirroring the dual focus on immediate outputs and future feature developments in product management. By adopting a product team’s structure, marketing can more effectively plan, execute, and measure its initiatives, leading to better alignment with the overall business objectives.

Emily extends the product analogy to individual marketing components, such as the company’s website and content, which she describes as products themselves. This perspective encourages a more strategic approach to marketing planning, akin to how product teams prioritize feature developments and enhancements. Viewing each piece of content as a feature allows marketers to strategize on what to enhance, what to maintain, and what new ‘features’ to introduce, ensuring that each element aligns with the overarching business goals.

She draws an insightful parallel between marketing and product development, suggesting that just as product teams rely on a clear strategy and roadmap, marketing teams require a well-defined plan that outlines not only key performance indicators but also major projects and initiatives. This approach ensures that marketing efforts are not only aligned with immediate business objectives but also poised to address long-term goals.

The analogy extends to categorizing marketing roles into three functional areas: fuel, engine, and foundation. Emily explains that these categories help clarify the roles and responsibilities within the team, facilitating more effective recruitment and resource allocation. For instance, ‘fuel’ roles focus on content creation and direct marketing efforts, ‘engine’ roles pertain to growth and lifecycle marketing, and ‘foundation’ roles could include marketing operations or market research. This framework aids in identifying gaps in the team’s capabilities and planning for future needs.

Emily advocates for a flexible approach to hiring, recognizing that the dynamic nature of marketing roles often requires adaptability in both planning and execution. She suggests that roles should be defined broadly enough to allow for changes as the team evolves, which not only accommodates the diverse skill sets of potential hires but also aligns with the changing needs of the organization.

Her insights into marketing workforce planning highlight the importance of a strategic, adaptable approach that mirrors the methodologies used in product development. By considering marketing as a complex system requiring diverse skills and flexible planning, organizations can better prepare to meet both current and future challenges.