Download building a modern marketing dream team

BUILDING A
MODERN
MARKETING
DREAM TEAM
Creating the Modern Marketing Team
Amidst an everchanging technology landscape, marketers have shown great resiliency and resolve to reach
target audiences across a variety of media channels. As new marketing channels emerge, organizations are
presented with unparalleled opportunities and unforeseen challenges.
Technology has greatly influenced audience behavior, and audience behavior greatly influences how
organizations go to market. It’s a game of follow the money, of bringing the marketplace to where the people
are. The bottom line is marketers will go wherever their audience is. The organizational challenge is “how will we
get there and who will lead?" or "do I have the resources to market effectively in today's world?"
Today’s modern
marketing team is a
fusion of marketing and
technical acumen.
It wasn’t that long ago when organizations thought of marketing and technology as separate business
disciplines under one roof. The lines between marketing and technology have steadily blurred as organizations
strive to keep pace with evaluating and capitalizing on new marketing technology tools and channels.
Marketing teams have reinvented themselves time and time again, determined to achieve the perfect balance
of bandwidth, experience and expertise in cross channel marketing. The demands on the marketing team
require strategy, skill, and competency in using technology to execute efficiently and effectively. Today’s modern
marketing team is a fusion of marketing and technical acumen. If the landscape of your marketing team looks
the same as it did 10 years ago, you need to reevaluate. It's time to create the modern marketing team.
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Centralized vs. Decentralized Communications
Traditionally many organizations have followed a
centralized communications approach. In a centralized
marketing team structure, outbound communications are
created, reviewed, and published by a few designated
resources. Organizational growth, new market channels,
and increased demand for content prompted many
organizations to move to a decentralized team structure.
In a decentralized structure, subject matter experts create,
review, and publish their own communications.
Decentralized communications structures are appealing.
 More content can be sent out at a faster pace.
 Less pressure is placed on one employee, and
dependence on that one person is alleviated.
 Multiple team members can step in to send
communications.
But it also comes with risks, such as:
 Over-emailing your audience, creating email fatigue.
 Subscribers reading multiple emails from different
departments on the same day, sometimes even at
the same time.
 Lack of personalized content.
 Insufficient awareness of frequency and
inadequate reporting.
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Organizations operating under a
decentralized communications structure
often find themselves with a gap in their
strategy: there's a clear absence of a "traffic
cop" -- or someone who knows what's
being sent out and when, and controlling
the number of emails a subscriber
receives. View analytics holistically and set
parameters around message frequency with
neveroversend™ from Informz.
Building the right strategy begins with putting your audience at the center. Constituents don’t care about your
organizational structure. They care about getting communications that make sense for where they are in their
relationship with you. They expect you to see them as individual entities, just as they see you as one entity.
That means taking a holistic view of audience engagement across multiple channels, and using what you
know to further the conversation. Constituents form opinions of your brand by their cumulative experience.
Everyone that interacts with your audience needs a thorough understanding of audience personas and
member lifecycle stages.
If your organization is making the shift to decentralized communications, awareness and understanding
of your brand is critical. Brand continuity is a foundational pillar that needs to be purposefully built into
the strategy. Every interaction someone has with your organization is a reinforcement of your brand. Does
your website, email, print, and social presence represent your brand and personality? A significant number
of organizations lack brand continuity and don’t have a formal communication strategy in place. Whether
an organization is for-profit or nonprofit, every organization needs to be purposeful about building and
promoting their brand.
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The most effective strategies are built with the objective of getting the most from the technology investments
you’ve already made. Taking inventory of all your data assets and technology tools is a good place to start.
Challenge yourself by asking if your organization is truly leveraging business intelligence across integrated
systems. If you find that you're not making the most of what you already have, or if you're contemplating
purchasing new marketing technology, remember that your organization’s priorities should drive technology
purchases. You don’t want to purchase technology just because you think you need it or because it will
resolve a single specific function or challenge.
Ask yourself these questions:
 What is our organization/team/department currently challenged with?
 Will upgrading our technology give us a significant boost with this challenge?
 What tools are available that can solve these organizational goals?
 How can I integrate my technology to eliminate gaps that can threaten structural stability?
Finally, the move to decentralized
communications will be made easier
with integrated technology. Integrated
marketing technology will save
countless hours by eliminating manual
work and ensure data integrity, which
is especially important when multiple
departments are relying on the same
data for marketing purposes.
Once you've carefully considered
which type of communications
structure works best for your
organization and you've identified
gaps, you are poised to create your
marketing dream team.
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Creating the Modern Marketing Team
With advances in marketing technology and decentralizing communications, the structure of your marketing
team will need to shift and reshape to maximize your organization's efficiency and effectiveness. Historically,
organizations have been very siloed in their approach to team structure. Sales, Marketing, Information
Technology, Advertising; they all operated independent of one other. As marketing has evolved, this approach
makes it very challenging to have consistent messaging that creates a unified customer journey.
Key Qualities of a
Modern Marketing Team
Collaborative
Diverse
Open communication
Cross-departmental input
Common goals
Technologically savvy
It is difficult to break that mold and transform
internal operations, but it is necessary to think
differently and adjust to meet the changing needs
of your audience. When it comes to building your
modern marketing team, there are six must-have
roles you should be sure to include
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
TEAM LEAD
Example Job Titles: Marketing Manager,
Director of Marketing, Marketing Lead
The team lead is the dedicated point person for the
marketing team and its efforts. The role does not have
to be a CMO or a Director of Marketing, but they need
to be skilled at directing people, having a vision, and
thoughtfully crafting a strategic plan.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
REQUIREMENTS
The team lead will oversee the daily operations and
 Degree in Marketing or equivalent work experience.
workflow of the marketing department, including
the planning, scheduling, implementing and tracking
of marketing activities, as well as assisting with the
management of the marketing operations staff. The
team lead needs to be comfortable working in a fastpaced environment and can simultaneously manage
multiple projects.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
 Owns and manages the strategic marketing vision
and plan execution.
 Coordinates marketing initiatives across the entire
organization.
 Lead market research projects to assess current
marketing strategies and identify opportunities to
grow and improve.
 Work with partners to identify opportunities
to expand market presence and increase
organization visibility.
 Experience working with WordPress, Adobe Creative
Suite, HTML a plus.
 Deep understanding of traditional and emerging
marketing channels.
 Excellent communication skills.
 Experience managing staff and/or coordinating
complex marketing plans across multiple
departments and channels.
 Strong aptitude for marketing automation and
marketing plan execution via the latest marketing
technology software.
 Possess the ability to think creatively and adjust
quickly to react to market behavior/trends.
STORYTELLER
Example Job Titles: Content Architect, Content Specialist,
Content Director
Creating great content is hard. Gone are the days
of “here is a list of member benefits” or “these are
the reasons you should attend our conference." The
most effective messages are told through stories. The
storyteller is someone that understands the strategic
direction and is skilled at crafting the content in a way
that supports the message and executes that vision.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
REQUIREMENTS
The storyteller is responsible for building and
 Degree in Marketing, Journalism, or equivalent
maintaining relationships with our members through
strong, relevant content. They will be responsible for
the development, implementation, and execution of the
content strategy for our organization across all channels.
Working with all departments in the organization to drive
content development, the storyteller must have excellent
communications skills and the ability to manage large
projects across diverse roles.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
 Drives content strategy.
 Ensures that content supports strategic plan and
promotes a positive user experience.
 Leads content creation across all channels
including email, social media, and direct.
 Works closely with the Analyst to understand audience
behavior and adjust content strategy accordingly.
work experience.
 Possesses an in depth understanding of UX.
 Excellent written and oral communication skills.
 Ability to think creatively and frame content within
a compelling story.
 Understands the latest marketing channels
and content trends within them to keep the
organizational message relevant.
DESIGNER
Example Job Titles: Digital Marketer, Designer,
Creative Manager
Strong content is not just about the message. Content
design and layout is just as important as the messaging
itself for content adoption. The designer takes your
organization's content and crafts creative elements that
enhance the content, bringing the message to life.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
REQUIREMENTS
The designer will be responsible for managing visual
 Degree in Marketing or Graphic Design.
assets across all channels in support of the strategic
marketing plan. By owning the visual identity of the
organization, the designer must possess a mix of
creative, design, and marketing skill. They must possess
a clear understanding of current design methodologies
and how to leverage them within robust marketing plans.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
 Manages the visual representation of organization
content through images, videos, infographics, etc.
 Consider both the content as well as the
strategic plan.
 Responsible for the visual identity of the brand
across all channels.
 Ensures that content is presented in an appealing
and clear way to encourage member engagement.
 Possesses an in depth understanding of UI/UX.
 Creative thinker that can translate the strategic
plan visually.
 Understands design requirements for all channels
the organization has a presence to ensure content
adoption is high.
 Deep understanding of Adobe Creative Suite and HTML.
MARKETING TECHNOLOGIST
Example Job Titles: Marketing Technologist,
Technical Marketing Officer, Marketing Engineer
The technology budgets of marketing departments now
are close to or larger than those of their IT counterparts.
This increased dependency on technology has created
a gap in traditional marketing departments and where
the role of marketing technologist has emerged. The
marketing technologist is charged with understanding
the technology that your organization is currently
utilizing, how it operates, and how they integrate. They
might have a background in database administration.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
REQUIREMENTS
The marketing technologist will direct the technological
 Degree in Information Technology or Marketing with
infrastructure of the marketing team. They must align
organizational and departmental goals with technology
to maximize the effectiveness of the strategic plan.
They will manage and coordinate current and future
technological solutions to keep the organization on
pace with the ever-changing digital landscape.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
 Manage and continuously optimize marketing
technologies to achieve departmental and
organizational objectives.
 Manage the marketing technology stack including
leading solution evaluations, integrating new
technologies into existing systems and processes,
and providing ongoing support
 Translate marketing plans into systems strategies by
driving the architecture, design, and implementation
of marketing systems and programs.
 Pursue the most innovative and cost-effective
marketing solutions and lead all solution
evaluations by defining business, functional, and
technical requirements that ensure tools and
systems effectively enable marketing operations.
relevant work experience.
 Experience managing marketing systems across
organizations.
 Strong attention to detail, project management, and
data analysis skills.
 Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.
DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER
Example Job Titles: Social Media Manger, Online
Community Manager, Digital Marketing Specialist
With your modern marketing team pumping out
carefully crafted content and valuable resources to
keep your audience engaged, you need a digital content
manager to distribute the content digitally and bring
prospective and current members to your website. The
digital content manager will be skilled in developing
strategies for various channels to maximize content
exposure and engage with your audience.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
REQUIREMENTS:
The digital content manager plays a key role on
 Vast understanding of SEO and its impact on your
the modern marketing team. This person will be
responsible for coordinating, supporting and executing
marketing initiatives directed and conceptualized from
other members of the team through various online
marketing channels to drive engagement in support
of organization goals. The digital content manager will
manage your brand’s image online and engage with
your target audience through various online channels.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
 Manage content distribution to online channels,
including social media networks, website and blog,
and online community outlets.
 Create and publish engaging content, optimized
for SEO.
 Drive engaging conversations in the online community.
 Represent the organization and professionally
respond to online community and social media
customer support.
 Monitor web, social, and online community analytics
to understand trends and improve engagement with
target audience.
online strategy.
 Experience in customer service a plus.
 Ability to produce content on-the-fly.
 Experience with social media management,
including dashboard creation and reporting.
 Exceptional written communications skills.
ANALYST
Example Job Titles: Marketing Analyst, Data Analyst,
Marketing Strategist
It is not just about getting your message out, it’s also
about understanding how it performed. By using the
technology at their disposal, and understanding all the
ways that content is being distributed, the analyst can
discern what is most effective.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
REQUIREMENTS
The analyst owns the analysis of all marketing efforts.
 Strong analytical skills required.
They are responsible for understanding organizational
KPIs as well as how key metrics measure against
industry standards. The analyst must have an eye for
detail as they review reports and identify opportunities
for revisions and improvement. They will also be
responsible for production of marketing reports to be
used in team and organization meetings.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
 Performs data analysis using query and reporting
tools to answer marketing questions.
 Produce standard and ad-hoc reports.
 Drive recommendations based on content adoption
and strategic plan performance.
 Works closely with all team members to understand
the strategic vision, content plan, and relate results
to overall goals.
 Experience with numerous query and reporting
tools as well as various spreadsheet applications.
 Excellent written and oral communication skills.
 Self-motivated as it is their job to continually
analyze communication performance.
 Ability to create clear reporting dashboards for
use in meetings and communicating results to the
organization.
Skillset Inventory
Strategic planning is critical to the success of any organization, not just for communications. When determining
who best fits the roles of your marketing team, it is important to have a clear plan for evaluating the skills
needed. A skills inventory is a great way to be able to quickly and accurately identify the availability of internal
resources that can assist in meeting the goals of your organization.
A skills inventory is a tool that summarizes the skills, experience, education and interests of current employees.
Depending on the size and complexity of the organization, it can be built and maintained through third-party
software or you can create your own via any number of word processing or spreadsheet software options. If
building your own, be sure to include the following:
 List each of the key skills for all roles in your organization. Include things like management, software
creation, and content authoring. This will allow you to identify employee experience and interest,
regardless of the role that they currently occupy.
 Have a rating system that allows for in-depth classification for each component. Not every skill listed
is going to be a strength, but that doesn’t mean it is a weakness either. Giving employees the ability to
rate each skill will help identify experts and those that have some level of experience. Adding a level
of interest component allows for even more detail to be captured, as it would help identify people that
would be interested in assisting with tasks should the opportunity arise.
 Periodically review the list of skills as well as have each person update their experience levels. Keeping
your skills inventory updated is crucial for understanding gaps in your organizational skillset and
meeting its needs.
Sometimes the best teams are built with people from various backgrounds that each bring a fresh, unique
perspective to the role. Instead of trying to find marketing people with the required skillset, simply find the best
people for the role.
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Getting Buy-In from Key Stakeholders
A full-fledged modern marketing strategy requires collaboration and commitment across an organization to
achieve a semblance of success. Getting buy-in from board members, upper management, and even team
members who will be implementing the strategy is critical. The team lead will lead the charge with this effort.
Everyone needs to be on the same page and reach the same understanding about the importance of these
changes and benefits of the new strategy.
Convincing internal stakeholders to get onboard with a new marketing structure and tactics can be a challenge,
but there are ways to prepare.
TAILOR YOUR PITCH
New marketing strategies and technologies can seem like a burden until you
illustrate how it supports a strategic goal, like bringing in new members or
retaining current ones. When you’re preparing to win over different groups around
your organization, focus on the “why” for each group. Just like you focus on the
“why” in your marketing message when speaking to different personas, honing in
on the “why” with different stakeholders will help you to effectively drive home
the benefits of the change. Understanding each group’s own challenges and
addressing how the new strategy and structure will solve those challenges can
help ease your colleagues in to changes.
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IT CAN GET EMOTIONAL
Not all decision makers come to conclusions rationally. In fact, you can expect
that emotions may come in to play. Be prepared for emotional stumbling blocks.
The most important thing to remember here is that you address concerns with
a solution. Acknowledge the potential roadblocks – such as implementation
setbacks, getting support from new providers, etc. – and propose a course of
action based on your plan.
HAVE A THOROUGH PLAN
The adage “fail to plan and plan to fail” couldn’t be more true when it comes to
overhauling your marketing team’s structure and strategy. Implementing new
technology is not something to take lightly, especially if your organization is
making a large financial investment. Take the lead on establishing processes,
timeframes, training, and resource allocation, and present a cohesive plan for the
transition. Work in conjunction with providers on best practices for implementing
the tools you have purchased. In the end, it might not go exactly as planned, but it
will go a long way in getting you on track. Leadership needs to realize and accept
that technological advancement will inevitably bring errors along the way, but
contingency plans are in place if you need them.
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Measuring the Effectiveness of
your Team Structure
Once your modern marketing team is in place you
must, must, must evaluate how things are going
periodically. Find a cadence that works for you,
whether it is monthly, quarterly or yearly.
Here are the overall questions you should ask each
time you evaluate how your team is performing:
Is your current team alignment helping you
achieve your goals?
What areas of the team are really driving success
and getting positive results?
Are there certain areas that are not having a strong
impact on your goals or not being addressed?
Basically, you need to find out what is working
and do more of that. Then figure out what is
NOT working and stop doing that. Seems simple,
right? Sure, it can be if you take the time to
analyze how your efforts are impacting your
goals and remain flexible.
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What’s working and what’s not?
Communicate
What changes that you implemented had a
Don’t overlook the importance of effective
positive impact? Are there certain roles that don’t
communication within the team. Are the proper
seem to be working as you had hoped? Are there
team members aware of the information they need
areas that need to be shifted and focused on?
to do their jobs? Often in marketing, a task by one
team member will trigger the need to perform a
Look at each team members’ position and think
task by another team member. Look at the flow
about what seems to be working and what is not.
of information to make sure that everyone on the
Continue focusing on areas that are proving to
team feels well informed and has the information
be successful and allocate more resources to this
they need to complete their job. With solid
area if necessary. Examine the tasks that are not
communication and collaboration, the team will be
having a positive impact or proving to be worthy of
able to perform like a well-oiled machine.
the teams’ time and effort.
Innovate
Be Agile
It is not only essential to remain agile with
Are certain goals not being met? If so, examine
where each team member focuses but also what
these areas as options to shift some of the
the team focuses on. Are you staying ahead of
members of the team to focus on improvement. Be
the curve and trying new ways to reach your
sure to remain agile and work to shift your focus
goals? For example, the use of visual content
as needed.
has skyrocketed. In today’s increasingly busy
and distracted society, catching your audience’s
Have you noticed a member on the team has
attention requires visually appealing and
shown great potential in a certain area? Make
personalized content. Is your team creating
sure to leverage their expertise and shift their
enough visual content? Are you using images and
focus to that area. Do not be afraid to shift
videos to get your message across? What about
team roles based on the areas that each team
mobile optimization? Everywhere you turn people
member thrives.
are looking at their cell phones. Are you making
it easy for your audience to view your content on
mobile devices?
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Data Says
To provide the information that your audience
wants, when they want it you must understand
how they engage with the content. Make sure to
look at your data to see what content is most
popular to your audience and what devices they
use to consume it. Take a content inventory so
see what content can be reused and identify any
gaps where content may need to be created. By
continuously being aware of how your audience
engages with you, you will be better able to focus
your marketing efforts and develop a strategy to
really speak to your audience in a compelling way.
Lastly, take a good solid look at your marketing
channels to see how they are performing. Are
they driving traffic the way you hoped? Is your
audience engaged and interested in what you are
providing them? Do you have clear and easy to
follow calls to action?
It can be easy to sink into a routine and forget to
take a step back and evaluate how your efforts
are impacting your goals. Don’t forget to take
a moment and really evaluate how the team is
doing. Is there anything that can be shifted to
achieve greater success? Are there areas that
you are spending substantial amounts of time
that aren’t advancing you towards your goals?
It is so important to trim the fat of unnecessary
tasks to focus on the tasks that are helping you
successfully reach your goals.
Building a Modern Marketing Dream Team
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Your Modernized Marketing Team
Now and in the future, technology has
a spot at the table with your marketing
team. With new roles, new technology, and
new strategy, now is the time to consider
whether it's a centralized or decentralized
communications strategy that works best for
your organization.
Marketing Sophistication
Made Simple
Email Marketing and Marketing Automation tools
that drive engagement and deliver results.
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