Marketing Team of One
Here's what you are saying about being a Marketing Team of One:
💪 Exciting. Being in control. Always learning.
😞 Not enough time. Burn out. Not sure if you're working on the right stuff. Worried about not being an expert in any one thing. Lonely.
That's not telling you anything you didn't know, though.
You can thrive as a solo marketer, but it's not for everyone. Here is a checklist of 11 questions to ask yourself to see if you are in the right situation, and how to remedy problem areas.
Checklist for Thriving as a Marketing Team of One
☑️ Is there an agreed-upon "North Star"?
The "north star" of marketing should be closely aligned with the company's main goal. It is the one thing that keeps you guided and helps you make decisions. Most importantly, the CEO should agree with you on what your north star is. Typical north star's for marketing leaders are:
- grow revenue
- cut expenses
- increase qualified leads
Remedy: Have a conversation with your boss to remedy this. If there is no guidance from your boss, present your best guess and get buy-in. Reference your north star when discussing tasks you are working on to tie your priorities together and reinforce it.
☑️ Do you have measurable goals?
You should have goals that are measurable, within your control, and reasonable to attain within a defined time period.
Remedy: If you do not have measurable goals and instead they are fluffy ("be the best") or unreasonable ("grow 1000% with $0 in 1 week") then you need to redefine them so you are not set up for failure.
☑️ Are there visible KPIs?
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the metrics used to measure if you are meeting your goals. Typical KPIs for marketing are:
- revenue generated from marketing
- return on marketing investment
- cost per qualified lead
- number of leads
Remedy: Create a dashboard that is available to everyone. The source of the data should be transparent so that there is trust in the KPIs, and trust in the results that you are producing.
☑️ Do people trust in your expertise?
If you are a Marketing Team of One in a company, nobody knows more about marketing than you. Do people trust in your expertise or are you being dictated to do things against your better marketing judgment?
Remedy: Take control. It may take some time to build trust. Ensure your north star, goals, and KPIs are defined and visible. As you meet your goals, trust will build. In addition, educate the people you work with on why you are doing what you are doing. Position yourself as the expert.
☑️ Is there a partnership with Sales?
If Sales points the finger at you and says "your leads suck" and you say "you're burning through my good leads" then there is a problem.
Remedy: It may take time to build the partnership, particularly if there is a difference in power within the company. Ensure your goals and KPIs are defined and visible to sales. Make sure there is an objective definition of a qualified lead so there are no arguments. Shared common goals will align you and put you on the same team.
☑️ Do you have control to implement tech solutions?
Tech solutions can help you both with efficiency and better marketing results. Having the flexibility to quickly try new tools and build the martech stack that is right for you is critical to your success.
Remedy: Develop a separate budget into your marketing plan that you can use to build your martech stack.
☑️ Have you automated everything you can?
You are time-starved and every minute you can save matters. Automating manual tasks, setting up email marketing automation, repurposing content, reusing evergreen materials will all free up your time.
Remedy: Track your time for a week and pinpoint tasks that are repetitive and time-consuming. Find the appropriate tools, such as Zapier, to automate.
☑️ Are you able to outsource when necessary?
No one is great at everything. Most marketers can be considered a "T-shaped" marketer - general knowledge across all marketing skills but expert depth in one. But if you have the experience as a Marketing Team of One, you will most likely be a "Comb-shaped" marketer - breadth and depth in many things. Even so, you will need the ability to outsource your weaknesses and double down on your strengths.
Remedy: Develop a separate budget for freelancers or agencies to use when necessary in your planning. Compared to the cost of another full-time employee, it is much cheaper to use on-demand resources. If you get pushback, get permission to dip your toe with a small freelance project.
☑️ Is there potential to grow your internal team?
As the company continues to grow, you may need to start growing your internal marketing team.
Remedy: Pre-plan the role of new team members by tying the timing to company milestones. For example, when revenue hits $x we will hire a new marketing team member.
☑️ Do you have a budget for learning?
You are in the trenches every day, but you need to be able to have time and money to learn and develop your own skills. This includes courses, podcasts, events, newsletters, videos, and micro-lessons.
Remedy: Start with 5-minute micro-lessons that you do each day. Find a daily email course. Block out time on your calendar once a month for a longer investment.
☑️ Have you found your community?
It can feel like you are all alone as a Marketing Team of One, but you are not. Having a community of peers to talk about ideas, best practices, and common challenges helps your sanity and helps you grow. Finding an outside mentor, coach, or "sparring partner" brings you expert knowledge that you would normally find on a larger marketing team.
Remedy: Search Twitter & reddit for these communities. I am part of a private discord group for Marketing Teams of One (email me if you want information on an invitation). Also, check out the Swipefiles.com community.
How did you score?
Did you get 11 out of 11? It is rare for any situation to be perfect, but hopefully this gives you a roadmap and remedies to help you thrive in your role of Marketing Team of One.
