What's your marketing organizational strategy?

A self-check for business leaders

Over two decades of working with businesses from Fortune 500 giants like AT&T and Salesforce to startups, Avalaunch Media found that one question often reveals the gap between marketing success and failure: "What's your marketing organizational strategy?"

The responses are telling. Business leaders frequently say:

• "Our sales team handles marketing right now."
• "It's more of a shared responsibility across departments."
• "We have a recent graduate heading up marketing, but they're still learning."

Without the right marketing organizational strategy, nobody wins. The consequences include employee burnout, firings, churned agencies, missed opportunities, wasted resources and stunted growth.

As you read, consider whether your marketing organizational strategy sets your organization up for success or sabotages it from within. By the end, you'll know where you fall short and how to confidently move forward using our sustainable growth framework.

What is a marketing organizational strategy?

Your marketing organizational strategy defines how your marketing function is structured, led, and aligned with business objectives. It's your North Star for marketing success, determining leadership, role definitions and resource allocation.

What distinguishes a successful versus losing strategy?

A successful marketing organizational strategy often features:

• Clear, strategic leadership at the appropriate level.
• Roles aligned with skills and experience.
• Defined growth paths.
• Integration between marketing and business objectives.

Losing strategies, however, tend to include:

• Inflated titles without matching capabilities.
• Marketing leadership delegated to non-marketing executives.
• Tactical execution without strategic oversight.
• Over-reliance on inexperienced staff.

A 3-step framework for marketing organizational success

Avalaunch Media developed a three-step framework to address challenges associated with marketing roles, processes, and structures.

Step 1: Validate your marketing organizational strategy model

Effective marketing starts with a clear organizational structure before diving into tactics. A strong marketing organizational strategy includes executive-level leadership, specialists for execution, and alignment with business goals. Without this foundation, tactical investments — like hiring social media managers or running ads — are like trying to build a ship at sea. Reflecting on your structure, leadership, and vision prevents wasted resources and missed opportunities.

Questions for self-reflection:

• Does this company have a dedicated marketing leader with the authority and resources to guide marketing?
• Does our marketing structure support strategic growth and long-term goals?
• Is marketing aligned with business goals and a clear plan or just a random set of tactics?

Step 2: Hire the right people

With the right model, you need the right talent. Great plans fail without proper execution, yet many companies hire based on narrow expertise (e.g., graphic design) rather than strategic capabilities. Prioritize hiring individuals who contribute to the bigger picture.

If your team lacks the strategic guidance to connect daily execution to broader goals, fractional marketing leadership can bridge the gap without the expense of a full-time hire. These professionals offer flexible, senior-level experience to shape strategy, mentor staff, inspire your team, and identify talent for long-term success.

Questions for self-reflection:

• Does this company have marketing leaders who think strategically, not just tactically?
• Is this firm hiring for long-term needs or immediate gaps?

Step 3: Execute the strategy and scale for growth

Execution requires expertise, streamlined processes, consistent implementation, cross-department coordination, and regular audits to ensure your marketing organizational strategy evolves with trends and business needs. Assess whether your capabilities and partnerships meet your strategy's demands.

If not, consider hiring freelance talent or marketing agencies for execution support. Agencies bring proven people, tools, and efficiencies to fill bandwidth or skills gaps, allowing your team to focus on priorities.

Scaling complements execution, requiring investments in tools, technology, and workflows that drive growth without overwhelming staff. A fractional marketing leader can recommend the right tech stack, personnel, and scalable processes for your growth stage.

Questions for self-reflection:

• Does the company track KPIs to measure success?
• Does the company have a process to adjust strategy?
• Is there consistent interdepartmental communication?
• Does the firm periodically review and update themarketing organizational strategy?
• Is the company preparing for future trends and challenges?

A real-world example of marketing organizational strategy success

One of Avalaunch Media's fractional chief marketing officer collaborations involved a sizable financial institution facing a growth plateau. The institution's legacy agency and marketing organizational strategy were no longer effective, and the CEO turned to Avalaunch Media for additional expertise.

Avalaunch revamped their marketing organizational strategy by bringing in a fractional chief marketing officer while its full-service agency filled execution needs within pay per click, social media and marketing automation. Aligning the right people and resources yielded dramatic improvements:

• Lead volume increased by 163.8%.
• Conversion rates rose 28.2%.
• Cost per lead decreased 37.6%.
• Record number of new members set in 2024.

The agency misconception

Many businesses see agencies as temporary solutions when they can be long-term partners. A hybrid model combines in-house resources with customized support at the right levels for scalable, sustainable growth.

Avalaunch Media is a Utah-based solution providing both fractional marketing leadership with full-service agency backing for specialized tasks like advertising buys and web design. Avaluanch seamlessly integrates with client organizations, covering blind spots and driving results.

Moment of truth: Does your marketing organizational strategy help or hurt your business?

The question isn't whether you need a marketing organizational strategy — it's whether your current one sets you up for success. To grow, validate your marketing organizational strategy and ensure you have the right people in the right seats.

Avalaunch stands ready to help whether you need long-term or temporary support. With 20 years of experience, Avalaunch Media has mastered organizational strategy and executed successful partnerships with outstanding results. Contact them for a free consultation.

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