“Let us think about this for a moment. We are in business to sell. To do that, I need to get clients and customers. Are you saying the function responsible for outreach, engagement, and creating leads with prospects we don’t need? How will I get customers?”
It is terrific if customers walk through the door without you doing anything, which may be enough for you. However, there will be much-untapped potential if you don’t do marketing. You will seriously impact your business in terms of what it could achieve if you don’t do marketing. But do you need a marketing department?
You may need to wear many hats if you are a one-person band or a small business owner. You may not be able to afford a marketing team, but you still have options to make marketing happen. First, you work with freelancers or subcontract work to specific clients. You could train some employees to do aspects of marketing or engage students. Let’s look at this more deeply.
Many businesses might assume they need a team of marketing professionals to grow, but this may not be necessary. Here’s why:
1. Outsource Aspects of Marketing
- Agencies, freelancers, and fractional CMOs provide expert marketing support at a fraction of the cost of an in-house team.
- You gain access to specialists (SEO, PPC, content, branding) without the overhead of salaries, benefits, and management.
2. AI and Automation Reduce the Need for a Team
- AI-driven tools like ChatGPT, HubSpot, and Canva simplify creating content and engaging with customers.
- With minimal human intervention, marketing automation software can handle email campaigns, lead nurturing, and analytics.
3. How can Cross-Functional Teams get involved in Marketing Activities?
- Sales teams may contribute by generating leads through outreach or via social channels.
- Sales, Service, and Customer Support teams can contribute ideas and insights to help create content.
- All staff could support building the brand through LinkedIn or other social channels.
- Exploiting internal talent can help you build a profile as a thought leader in your industry and enhance your personal brand.
4. Marketing is Everyone’s Responsibility
- Try imagining the marketing team as a slice of every employee. Sales will increase if all your staff contribute to marketing and business development. They can help with brand visibility by posting on social channels like LinkedIn, talking to people they meet, or asking existing clients to consider referring you.
- By supporting and educating your staff on marketing knowledge and how to use it, you can empower internal teams to be more authentic. You can also enhance your brand positioning by sharing stories that support your brand identity and ideal customer.
5. A Leaner Approach May Be More Cost-Effective
- A dedicated marketing department requires salaries, tools, training, and constant innovation.
- A well-structured marketing strategy, executed by key players within the business or external experts, often delivers better ROI.
Options to consider
You could opt for a hybrid solution where you have a dedicated member of staff, and they are support with external experts or agencies who can take on part of the marketing processes. Perhaps you do web updates and content marketing but outsource SEO and PPC.
As your company gets bigger, it becomes more efficient and less costly, to own marketing internally.
However, this doesn’t mean marketing isn’t essential—it just means you don’t always need a full-time department to do it effectively.
Conclusion
What ever you do, make sure marketing gets done. Its the activity that generates leads and enquirie snad can shift your business to a new level if done right.
As you grow, bring aspects of marketing in house.
Thanks for reading!
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Phil Howell