Marketing teams drive growth and customer engagement to fuel business success. However, structuring them can be challenging for startups and established companies.
Building an effective marketing team means defining roles, sizing the team and ensuring sales and marketing alignment.
In this guide, you’ll learn how marketing teams are structured, the roles that make up a marketing team and how to build a team from scratch.
What is a marketing team and what does it do?
A marketing team is a group of professionals that promotes a company’s products or services. Marketing teams develop and execute a marketing strategy to connect businesses to customers, build awareness and drive business growth.
Marketing team names may vary. They may be known as growth teams, demand generation teams or brand teams. Regardless of the name, this team is responsible for designing and executing effective marketing efforts.
They create marketing materials that educate and persuade, run marketing campaigns that generate interest and perform data analysis to understand what works.
Modern marketing teams also embrace “smarketing” (sales + marketing alignment). The collaboration helps nurture leads and ensure consistent messaging that turns interest into revenue.
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How is a marketing team structured?
Marketing team size and structure can vary dramatically. It might range from a single business owner wearing several hats in a small business to large marketing departments with multiple specialists.
What matters most is having clear ownership of vital marketing roles that align with your business goals.
Here are three common ways to structure a team:
1. By function
A functional structure groups marketers by their skills and focus areas. It creates clear ownership and helps the entire team build deep expertise.
Here’s an example of functional organization for a typical marketing team:
Each team has a specific role in the marketing department. In this case:
Digital marketers manage online channels – social media, email marketing, paid ads and search engine optimization (SEO) – ensuring platforms work together to reach customers
Brand marketers shape company culture, voice and visual style
Product marketers become experts in specific offerings and target audiences
Content teams handle content creation and content management for blogs, guides, podcasts, webinars and educational materials tailored to different stages of the customer experience
Marketing operations handles marketing automation, data and campaign execution
Marketing analytics employs data analysts to measure performance and find opportunities
Communications manages public relations (PR) and external messaging
Note: The emphasis on each function depends on business priorities. For example, a B2B software company might prioritize video marketing, while an e-commerce business focuses on digital marketing to increase online sales.
Functional marketing team structures work well for larger organizations but can create silos between departments. Implementing regular cross-team check-ins, shared goals and collaborative tools helps mitigate this risk.
2. By discipline
Discipline-based teams master specific marketing channels and balance deep expertise with agility.
Each discipline focuses on a specific channel or marketing approach:
Content teams create, manage and distribute valuable information that builds trust, drives engagement and moves audiences through the marketing funnel
Paid media specialists run advertising campaigns across search, social and display networks and measure campaign performance through detailed marketing reporting
Inbound marketing attracts and engages target audiences
Email specialists nurture leads through targeted messaging
Marketing research studies market trends and customer interactions
Social media builds community and manages brand presence
Customer marketing develops programs for existing customers
The “discipline” approach works well for companies looking to grow their business while maintaining agile, self-contained teams. However, coordination between disciplines is crucial to prevent fragmented strategies.
3. By product
Product-based marketing teams dedicate their marketing efforts to specific products, services or business lines. These teams focus on particular market segments.
Each product team manages everything from positioning to promotion, with deep knowledge of their product, customers and competition.
Product marketing teams oversee activities that ensure their product’s success in the market, such as:
Market research for their specific segment
Product messaging and positioning
Sales enablement materials
Customer case studies and success stories
Product launch campaigns
Note: Some organizations add a regional focus and tailor teams to geographies like Europe or Asia to blend product expertise with cultural insights.
Dividing by product helps companies with diverse lines meet customer needs using targeted strategies and specialized teams. Technology companies often assign dedicated teams to each product or platform.
Using shared guidelines, workshops and communication tools helps keep the brand consistent and encourages creativity.
Essential marketing team roles
To build a marketing team, focus on roles that shape strategy, handle execution and deliver results. From leaders to specialists, every role plays a unique part in driving business growth.
Leadership positions
Marketing leaders set the vision, guide marketing management and oversee team execution. These roles require marketing expertise, business acumen and communication skills to inspire teams and align with company goals.
Chief marketing officer (CMO)
The Chief marketing officer (CMO) steers the overall marketing direction and connects it to business goals. They manage multimillion-dollar budgets, build executive relationships and make strategic brand decisions. CMOs also:
Monitor market trends and competition
Lead innovation in marketing approaches
Build and develop high-performing teams
Define marketing metrics and ROI targets
Contribute to the company’s business plan and 5-year plan
CMOs turn business strategies into marketing initiatives that drive growth.
Marketing director
Marketing directors turn strategy into action, leading teams to execute campaigns and initiatives.
Day-to-day tasks differ based on company size, but typical responsibilities include:
Setting campaign direction and measurable goals for demand generation or brand awareness
Managing team performance through regular coaching and feedback
Ensuring all projects align with broader company objectives and timelines
Allocating budgets across marketing initiatives and tracking ROI
CMOs focus on strategy and alignment, while directors handle campaign execution, team management and process optimization.
Directors often specialize in areas like demand generation, brand building or product marketing based on company needs and structure.
Marketing manager
Managers ensure that strategic marketing plans are executed flawlessly and yield measurable results. Their hands-on role bridges high-level strategy with daily execution.
They own essential marketing programs – such as email campaigns, content calendars or paid media initiatives – and guide specialists in executing them. They need both tactical expertise and project management skills to:
Develop campaign timelines and workflow automations
Provide day-to-day guidance on campaign execution
Track metrics and adjust tactics
Meet regularly with stakeholders to report on progress and results
Unlike directors, who focus on aligning campaigns with high-level strategy, managers are in the trenches. They review campaign assets, refine tactics and ensure deliverables meet deadlines and quality standards.
Specialist positions
Specialist positions focus on specific marketing disciplines, bringing deep expertise and innovation to critical areas like content, SEO and paid media. These roles require technical knowledge and creative skills to execute specialized marketing activities.
Content marketing manager
Content marketing managers develop and execute content strategies that attract, engage and convert target audiences. They:
Plan content calendars and topics
Guide writers and designers
Ensure content aligns with brand voice
Optimize content for search and conversion
Create long-form and short-form materials
Beyond creation, they analyze content performance, looking at things like page views, bounce rates and lead generation metrics to identify opportunities for improvement. Content marketing managers work with subject matter experts and graphic designers to create materials that highlight company expertise.
Their work forms the foundation for many other marketing activities, powering social media, lead generation and sales enablement efforts.
Social media manager
Social media managers build online communities and amplify brand presence on social media marketing platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. They create engaging content that sparks conversations and drives meaningful engagement.
Daily responsibilities include:
Creating platform-specific content
Responding to comments and messages
Monitoring brand mentions and trends
Managing paid social campaigns
Social media managers excel at quick, timely interactions. They need strong writing skills and cultural awareness to navigate online conversations.
These professionals shape the brand’s digital persona by creating relatable posts, engaging in trends and humanizing its voice.
SEO specialist
SEO specialists boost organic growth by improving content visibility in search results. They blend technical expertise with content strategy to help businesses rank for valuable keywords.
Their core responsibilities include:
Conducting keyword research
Analyzing search trends
Optimizing website structure
Tracking search rankings
SEO professionals work closely with content teams to create search-optimized materials. They partner with web developers to fix technical issues like broken links, site speed or mobile responsiveness that might affect rankings.
Email marketing manager
Email marketing managers design and execute email campaigns that nurture subscriber relationships. They turn email into a powerful channel for driving engagement and revenue.
Key responsibilities include:
Creating email automation flows
Testing subject lines and content
Maintaining deliverability standards
Beyond basic newsletters, these specialists build sophisticated journeys that guide prospects toward purchase decisions. They track email analytics like open rates, click-through rates and conversion data to refine their approach.
Digital marketing manager
Digital marketing managers orchestrate online campaigns across multiple channels to reach business goals. They oversee tactics like:
Paid advertising, like pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns and display ads
Organic content strategies such as SEO-optimized blogs and social media
Conversion optimization through landing pages and A/B testing
Their work covers optimizing landing pages, tracking digital metrics and managing advertising budgets
Unlike channel-specific roles, digital managers need broad knowledge of many platforms. They track performance, find opportunities and identify impactful activities.
These professionals analyze performance metrics and data, using real-time insights to test, adjust and refine strategies that improve ROI and drive growth.
Supporting roles
Supporting roles in marketing teams provide the foundation that allows core marketing functions to focus on strategy, creativity and execution. These positions ensure smooth operations, actionable insights and effective project delivery.
For companies practicing remote team management, these supporting roles become even more critical in maintaining smooth operations and clear communication channels.
Marketing operations manager
Marketing operations managers ensure the team’s processes, systems and technologies run smoothly.
Their core responsibilities include:
Managing marketing automation platforms
Setting up tracking and reporting systems
Creating workflows for campaign execution
Documenting standard operating procedures
Evaluating and implementing new marketing tools
They work closely with IT on system integrations, with sales operations on lead management and with finance to ensure accurate campaign ROI calculations.
Marketing analytics manager
Marketing analytics managers turn data into insights to refine strategies, manage budgets and achieve measurable business outcomes.
They monitor performance across channels, spot opportunities in the data and help teams understand which activities create the most impact. Without solid analytics, marketing teams risk misallocating resources, missing growth opportunities and relying on gut feel instead of data-driven evidence.
Analytics managers typically:
Track campaign metrics and KPIs
Create automated performance dashboards
Develop attribution models
Forecast marketing results
Build custom reports for stakeholders
Analytics managers work with marketing operations to ensure accurate tracking, seamless data flow and reliable insights.
Note: Pipedrive’s Insights and Reports help analytics managers track campaign performance in real time. Use it to generate custom reports tailored to stakeholder needs and visualize critical sales and marketing metrics for better decision-making.
Project manager
A marketing project manager coordinates campaigns and initiatives from concept to completion, ensuring everything stays on track and within budget.
Teams without strong project management often struggle with missed deadlines, unclear priorities and wasted resources. Project managers bring order to complexity and help teams deliver consistent results.
Their daily work includes:
Planning project timelines and milestones
Allocating team resources effectively
Managing project budgets
Running team meetings and check-ins
Documenting decisions and next steps
Balancing competing priorities
Project managers serve as the central point of contact, coordinating between creative teams, external vendors and stakeholders. They need organizational skills, the ability to inspire collaboration and the ability to motivate teams without direct authority.
How to build a marketing team from scratch
Building a marketing team from scratch is no small feat, especially with 82% of marketing and creative managers reporting challenges in finding skilled talent. The following strategic steps can help you overcome this hurdle and assemble a high-performing team.
Assess your marketing needs and gaps
Start with an honest assessment of gaps and priorities to ensure your initial hires contribute to solving them.
Look at your existing marketing activities and results to identify:
Channels that drive the most value, such as email or social media
Where customers discover your business, like search engines or referrals
Content and campaigns that perform best based on engagement or ROI
Time-consuming tasks with low returns
Areas where you lack expertise, such as SEO or analytics
Match these findings against your business goals. A software company focused on enterprise sales needs different marketing capabilities than an e-commerce brand targeting consumers.
Focus on filling critical gaps first. Identify two to three roles that would create the biggest impact – such as a content marketer to build your brand – and then expand from there.
Note: For early-stage companies, hiring versatile generalists ensures broad coverage across channels. As you scale, hiring specialists in areas like paid media or content allows for more profound expertise and greater efficiency.
Create your hiring roadmap
A hiring roadmap is your plan for growing a marketing team. It maps out which roles to hire, in what order and when.
Without a roadmap, teams risk skill gaps, inefficiencies and higher costs.
A basic hiring roadmap includes:
Key milestones and timing | Hiring a content marketer within three months to improve brand visibility, followed by a paid media specialist within six months to drive conversions. |
Budget allocation per role | Budgeting $60,000 for an email specialist vs. $90,000 for a digital manager based on ROI. |
Required skills and experience | Hiring a paid media specialist with expertise in Google Ads and Meta Business Suite or a content marketer skilled in SEO and storytelling to optimize engagement. |
Training and onboarding plans | Creating a 90-day plan that includes tool training, brand guidelines review and mentorship pairings. |
Dependency mapping between roles | Hiring a social media manager before a content creator is necessary to ensure a targeted plan for content creation and distribution. |
The most effective roadmaps are flexible and evolve as business needs change. For example, they might shift focus to product marketing during a launch or prioritize hiring a generalist over a specialist when resources are limited.
Plot your first three to four hires based on current priorities to address your most critical gaps. Outline later phases as your team matures to prevent overwhelming your resources while ensuring steady progress toward a complete marketing function.
Structure your recruitment process
A recruitment process creates a consistent system for finding, evaluating and hiring marketing talent. It turns hiring from guesswork into a repeatable method that identifies the best candidates.
Without structure, teams waste time and miss great talent. A clear process ensures fairness and speed.
Make sure you include:
Resume screening criteria like SEO experience, familiarity with tools like Google Analytics and a track record of measurable results
Skills assessment methods like portfolio reviews, case studies or practical tasks like creating campaigns or analyzing datasets
Standard interview questions like “How would you increase organic traffic by 20% in six months?” or “Describe a campaign you managed and its results”
Evaluation scorecards to rate candidates on technical skills, cultural fit, problem-solving and communication
Reference checks should assess the candidate’s ability to meet deadlines, collaborate, handle challenges and verify achievements or metrics shared in interviews
Keep it simple at first by focusing on core requirements and cultural fit. Add complexity as your team grows and needs to become more specialized.
Use employee referrals and specialized platforms like Pipedrive for recruiting to recruit and find qualified candidates. Involve current marketing team members in interviews to evaluate collaboration potential and ensure cultural alignment.
Develop your onboarding process
An onboarding system guides new marketing hires from acceptance through their first 90 days. It turns raw talent into productive team members while reducing stress for everyone involved.
Unfortunately, only 12% of employees think their company excels at onboarding new employees. Poor onboarding leads to slow ramp-up times and early turnover. A structured system helps new hires contribute faster and feel more connected to the team.
Essential onboarding elements include:
Week 1 |
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First month |
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90-day plan |
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Once you’ve created a 90-day roadmap, take it a step further by refining your onboarding process.
For example, create clear documentation for everyday tasks and procedures. Assign an experienced team member as a mentor to guide the new hire through processes, answer questions and provide feedback. Implement a learning management system to standardize training and track progress.
Establish your team workflows
Team workflows create clear, efficient paths from idea to completion while keeping everyone aligned.
Random processes waste time and create confusion. Structured workflows help teams collaborate smoothly and deliver consistent results.
Core workflows include:
Project management |
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Communication channels |
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Tools and templates |
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Start with simple workflows that cover basic needs. Add more structure as your team grows and projects become more complex.
How to improve sales and marketing alignment
Poor sales and marketing alignment creates friction that wastes resources, frustrates customers and undermines revenue growth.
Bridging this gap is critical to closing more sales, and 29% of respondents in our “The state of sales and marketing 2023/2024” report have implemented “smarketing” as a new approach.
Here’s how you can improve marketing-sales alignment:
Define shared goals and metrics. Both teams need to rally around the same performance objectives, such as achieving $1M in quarterly revenue, generating 500 marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) monthly or maintaining a 90% customer retention rate. Shared targets help unify teams and ensure accountability.
Implement regular communication channels. Set up structured meetings where the sales team shares customer feedback and marketing presents campaign results. Slack channels, weekly stand-ups and monthly reviews create ongoing dialogue and prevent misalignment.
Standardize lead management processes. Create clear definitions for marketing qualified leads (MQLs) and sales qualified leads (SQLs) so both teams know when leads are ready for sales contact. Document steps, criteria and timeframes to prevent qualified leads from slipping through the cracks.
Create unified customer journeys. Map unified customer journeys, covering touchpoints like marketing emails, sales calls and follow-ups. Align messaging across campaigns and sales conversations to avoid mixed signals and create seamless transitions as prospects move between marketing and sales.
Build technology bridges. LinkedIn’s research shows that 85% of marketing and sales teams rely on centralized customer data tools like customer relationship management(CRM) software to align their efforts. Invest in a CRM that facilitates sales team collaboration and enables content marketing automation for better efficiency.
Final thoughts
A well-structured marketing team creates the foundation for sustainable business growth. However, structure alone doesn’t guarantee success. Teams need transparent processes, shared goals and the right tools to reach their full potential.
Start by understanding your core marketing needs and build from there. Focus on establishing strong alignment between sales and marketing early since this connection becomes more complex to fix as teams grow.
Ready to improve sales and marketing alignment in your organization? Pipedrive helps teams collaborate better with shared dashboards, automated workflows and integrated customer data. See how it works with a free trial today.
