WHAT TO DO WITH MARKETING… NEXT?
Every B2B CEO asks himself this question after starting a business once every year or two. The promotion budget is minimal, and you must know what to invest it in. When there is no marketing director around, there is no one to turn to.
Marketing is not just a set of tools you configure once and then forget about. It’s a living system that needs to evolve; what you do with it depends on your business’s stage.
Marketing is not just a set of tools you configure once and then forget about. It’s a living system that needs to evolve; what you do with it depends on your business’s stage.
Stage One: The Very Beginning
At the start, the CEO handles all the marketing himself, possibly with the help of one or two outsourcers. Marketing actions are often random: writing a social media post, launching ads on Google, sending an email blast to clients, or setting up a booth at the corner of an industry trade show.
The impact of this “pre-marketing” phase is difficult to measure. If there is any effect, it’s likely coincidental. The first clients usually come from existing contacts or, at best, word of mouth.
So, when should you change your marketing approach? When the CEO gets tired of doing it alone, runs out of time, or starts thinking something needs to change. That’s when it’s time to hire your first in-house marketer.
The impact of this “pre-marketing” phase is difficult to measure. If there is any effect, it’s likely coincidental. The first clients usually come from existing contacts or, at best, word of mouth.
So, when should you change your marketing approach? When the CEO gets tired of doing it alone, runs out of time, or starts thinking something needs to change. That’s when it’s time to hire your first in-house marketer.
This initial stage can last several years, but if your business hasn’t grown enough to need a dedicated marketing person within a year or two, it might be time to question the scalability of your business idea.
Stage Two: Marketing Maturity
Congrats, you’ve hired your first marketer! The key to selecting this person is their versatility. They’ll handle a bit of everything, yet you must focus them on one or two key areas instead of covering everything at once. The main goal at this stage is to stabilize demand generation from both new and existing clients.
Notice I said stabilize, not “massively increase.” Set realistic goals. Hiring a marketer isn’t likely to result in immediate revenue growth, especially if you’ve already surpassed the low-hanging fruit stage. At this stage, marketing projects and campaigns tend to become longer and more complex, requiring thoughtful planning, testing, and continuous tweaking.
Notice I said stabilize, not “massively increase.” Set realistic goals. Hiring a marketer isn’t likely to result in immediate revenue growth, especially if you’ve already surpassed the low-hanging fruit stage. At this stage, marketing projects and campaigns tend to become longer and more complex, requiring thoughtful planning, testing, and continuous tweaking.
“The Evolution of a Marketer“
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ChatGPT
That said, bringing in a marketer can still dramatically change the picture. A new person means a more systematic approach (hopefully!), added marketing experience, and a fresh perspective. So, exponential growth could happen—just not right away. It’s worth noting that the marketing team is often under the sales department’s leadership at this stage, which is normal.
As clients and revenue increase, the marketing team will gradually expand. It’s worth investing in channel specialists, depending on what works best for you. Global trends show that with revenue of $10 Million, a B2B marketing team usually includes 5-7 specialists, and the site and content remain outsourced.
As clients and revenue increase, the marketing team will gradually expand. It’s worth investing in channel specialists, depending on what works best for you. Global trends show that with revenue of $10 Million, a B2B marketing team usually includes 5-7 specialists, and the site and content remain outsourced.
Eventually, product-oriented companies will need a product marketer. Product marketing is vital for B2B, including technology companies with complex products and a long sales cycle. The product marketer should track market demand, customer needs, pricing, and competitors—in other words, they’ll own the product marketing strategy.
Beyond the core “pure marketing” roles, adding a marketing analyst and developer to integrate marketing tools, develop analytical reports, and analyze data is also helpful.
How to set priorities? Scale what’s already working while experimenting with new channels. A business can’t grow and improve its results without ongoing experiments and data analysis.
Your most competent team member can become the formal or informal leader of the team. However, the role of the CEO or sales leader remains crucial—the marketing team still needs guidance and development. You might even hire an outsourced marketing director at this point. Quite the twist, eh?
When marketing consistently supplies the sales department with high-quality leads and revenue and profits grow, it’s time to move to the next stage.
How to set priorities? Scale what’s already working while experimenting with new channels. A business can’t grow and improve its results without ongoing experiments and data analysis.
Your most competent team member can become the formal or informal leader of the team. However, the role of the CEO or sales leader remains crucial—the marketing team still needs guidance and development. You might even hire an outsourced marketing director at this point. Quite the twist, eh?
When marketing consistently supplies the sales department with high-quality leads and revenue and profits grow, it’s time to move to the next stage.
It’s fascinating how much things have changed in the past 30 years. In David Maister’s iconic 1997 book Managing the Professional Service Firm, which is as boring as most iconic staff, he didn’t mention the marketing function at all: marketing happens as if by itself. Back then, everything seemed to happen on its own!
Stage Three: A Separate Function
Once your team grows to 5−10 people, it’s time to appoint a leader, make marketing independent from sales, and have the marketing leader report directly to the CEO. This is a critical moment, and here’s why.
From a sales perspective, marketing’s only goal is to generate ever-growing demand. However, at this point, demand and revenue growth stop being directly tied to the success of individual marketing initiatives. The customer journey becomes increasingly complex, with clients interacting with the company through various channels. Marketing effectiveness no longer scales linearly with budget. Sales teams might start feeling that marketing is doing things wrong. At this moment, it’s crucial to properly allocate responsibilities and strategic goals between departments—which is impossible if one is "more important" than the other.
When structuring your marketing team, ensure balance. Communications must cover all touchpoints in the customer journey, and a marketing strategy and plan are essential.
From a sales perspective, marketing’s only goal is to generate ever-growing demand. However, at this point, demand and revenue growth stop being directly tied to the success of individual marketing initiatives. The customer journey becomes increasingly complex, with clients interacting with the company through various channels. Marketing effectiveness no longer scales linearly with budget. Sales teams might start feeling that marketing is doing things wrong. At this moment, it’s crucial to properly allocate responsibilities and strategic goals between departments—which is impossible if one is "more important" than the other.
When structuring your marketing team, ensure balance. Communications must cover all touchpoints in the customer journey, and a marketing strategy and plan are essential.
“Goal Setting“
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ChatGPT
What Comes Next?
Next comes the fulfillment of the owners’ wildest dreams! Revenue hits billions of dollars, the company becomes a market leader and starts acquiring competitors. Dividends rolling in, and the owner begins investing in new unicorns.
What does marketing have to do with this? Well, that’s a story for another time. 🙂
What does marketing have to do with this? Well, that’s a story for another time. 🙂
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