A well-defined marketing organisation structure is crucial for the efficient functioning of a business, ensuring that marketing efforts are streamlined and goal-oriented. Selecting the appropriate structure depends on the company’s specific needs and objectives. Here, we explore six common marketing organisation structures.
Approximately 80% of companies have dedicated marketing teams, 60% of these businesses have centralised teams, whilst others use a decentralised approach.
6 Potential Marketing Organisation Structures
1. Product-Based Structure
Ideal for companies offering diverse products or services, this structure assigns teams to individual product lines. Each team operates autonomously, focusing on specialised marketing functions related to their product.
2. Customer Stage Structure
This structure segments teams based on the customer journey stages: brand awareness, customer conversion, and retention. Each team tailors its strategies to address its specific customer stage, ensuring cohesive messaging.
3. Customer-Type Structure
Organising teams by customer segments, such as industry or business size, allows for tailored marketing efforts that address the unique needs and preferences of different customer groups.
4. Functional Structure
Teams are divided based on specific marketing functions like digital marketing, content marketing, and creative marketing. This structure groups employees by their skillsets, enabling focused and specialised marketing initiatives.
5. Geographical Structure
Suitable for large organisations operating in multiple regions, this structure divides marketing efforts by territory. This allows teams to create campaigns that resonate with local audiences.
6. Cultural Structure
In this structure, the company culture is integrated into all marketing activities. Employees promote the company’s values through their work, ensuring that the brand’s lifestyle and community are effectively communicated.
Selecting The Right Structure
Choosing the right marketing organisation structure depends on the company’s size, industry, and communication strategies. Engaging with employees to understand their insights can help in selecting the most effective structure for achieving consistent and impactful marketing efforts. Following a methodological approach when determining the best structure may also be beneficial, the following steps are a good starting point:
1. Understand the Company’s Goals and Strategy
- Ensure that the marketing organisation supports the overall business strategy and goals, whether it’s growth, brand awareness, market penetration, or customer retention.
2. Analyse the Market Environment
- Consider the complexity and competitiveness of the market. Rapidly changing markets might require a more agile and flexible structure.
- Understand the target audience and their needs, which can influence whether a centralised or decentralised structure is more appropriate.
3. Evaluate Current Organisational Structure
- Review the existing structure’s strengths and weaknesses. Identify gaps in skills, processes, and resource allocation.
- Analyse current performance metrics to understand which areas need improvement and which are performing well.
4. Evaluate Resource Availability
- Determine the financial resources available for restructuring and ongoing operations.
- Assess the skills and expertise of the current marketing team and identify the need for any new hires or training. Also consider whether you need to consider a senior hire to lead the function.
5. Prioritise Agility and Scalability
- Choose a structure that can adapt to market changes, technological advancements, and evolving customer preferences.
- Ensure the structure can scale with the company’s growth without requiring frequent overhauls.
6. Collaboration and Communication
- Facilitate effective communication and collaboration between marketing and other departments such as sales, product development, and customer service.
- Establish clear reporting and accountability mechanisms to avoid confusion and ensure efficient decision-making.
7. Implement and Monitor
- Introduce the new structure gradually to manage change effectively and minimise disruption.
- Regularly review the effectiveness of the new structure through performance metrics, feedback from team members, and alignment with company goals.
8. Be Open to Change
- Create mechanisms for continuous feedback from employees and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement.
- Be prepared to make iterative changes to the structure as the company grows and the market evolves.
Developing a marketing organisation structure that is well-aligned with its strategic goals, market environment, and internal capabilities is not an easy task – you may want to consider getting some specialist support on how best to design your marketing organisational structure.
