Back in 2018, when I took over marketing at a Series B startup, my first task was to restructure our team. We’d grown from 3 to 12 marketers in 18 months, and things were… chaotic. People stepped on each other’s toes. Campaigns launched late. Some tasks fell through the cracks entirely.
I called up five CMO friends for advice. Each suggested a completely different structure. That’s when I realized there’s no universal “right way” to organize a marketing team.
Instead, I’ve learned that the best marketing structure depends on your company’s growth stage, business model, and specific challenges. Let me share what I’ve seen work (and fail) across dozens of companies I’ve worked with and advised.
The One-Person Marketing “Team”
Most startups begin with a founding team wearing multiple hats. Eventually, they hire their first dedicated marketer. This person needs to be a Swiss Army knife.
My friend Raj was that first marketing hire at a healthtech startup. He told me over beers: “Monday I’d write blog posts. Tuesday I’d design social graphics. Wednesday I’d analyze our funnel. Thursday I’d plan an event. Friday I’d update our website. I wasn’t great at everything, but I was good enough at most things.”
That’s typical. Your first marketing hire shouldn’t be a specialist. They need to be:
- Comfortable with ambiguity
- Scrappy and resourceful
- Willing to learn new skills quickly
- Able to prioritize ruthlessly
They’ll rely heavily on:
- Freelancers for specialized skills
- Simple, flexible tools
- Templates and frameworks
- The founder’s vision and insights
One warning: this phase often burns people out. Raj lasted 18 months before hitting a wall. Set realistic expectations and provide support.
The Tiny-But-Mighty Team (3-5 People)
As you gain traction, you’ll add a few more marketers. This is where I’ve seen many companies stumble.
The mistake? Hiring multiple specialists too soon.
“We hired a social media manager, SEO specialist, and content writer,” admitted Elena, a founder whose startup ultimately failed. “Each was great at their specialty, but nobody owned the overall strategy or connected the dots.”
A better approach for this stage is what I call the “core four” model:
- Marketing Lead: Owns strategy, budget, and results
- Content/Brand Person: Handles your voice and story
- Growth/Acquisition Marketer: Drives leads and customers
- Marketing Generalist: Flexes where needed
This team can handle most marketing needs while maintaining a cohesive approach. They’ll still use freelancers for specialized tasks like design or video production.
Jane, a marketing VP at a successful fintech startup, told me: “We kept our core team small but mighty through Series A. We’d bring in experts for specific projects, but our in-house team stayed focused on the big picture. That flexibility let us pivot quickly when we needed to.”
The “Pod” Structure (10-25 People)
Around Series B, marketing usually grows to 10+ people. This is when specialization becomes crucial.
I’ve seen two approaches work well at this stage:
Functional Pods
This organizes teams around marketing functions:
- Content & Brand Pod: Storytelling, content creation, brand identity
- Demand Generation Pod: Lead generation, nurturing, conversion
- Product Marketing Pod: Positioning, sales enablement, launches
- Marketing Ops: Systems, data, analytics
Each pod has a leader who reports to the head of marketing. The pods work together on campaigns and initiatives.
Rob, a CMO who’s built several teams this way, explained why it works: “Each pod develops deep expertise in their area. But our weekly ‘pod leader’ meetings ensure everyone stays aligned. When we launch something big, we form temporary cross-pod teams.”
The key is balance – enough specialization to build expertise, but enough coordination to maintain cohesion.
Customer Journey Pods
Other companies organize around customer journey stages:
- Awareness Team: Handles top-of-funnel marketing
- Consideration Team: Manages middle-of-funnel activities
- Decision Team: Focuses on converting prospects to customers
- Loyalty Team: Works on retention and expansion
This works especially well for companies with clear, linear customer journeys.
Melissa, who uses this structure at her B2B company, told me: “It forces us to think from the customer’s perspective rather than our internal functions. Each team understands their role in moving customers to the next stage.”
The Divisional Structure (25+ People)
As you continue scaling, you’ll likely need another restructuring. Companies with multiple product lines, audience segments, or geographies often adopt a divisional approach.
Here, you might have:
- Central Marketing Team: Handles brand, shared resources, and governance
- Divisional Teams: Support specific business units, products, or regions
This is what we did at that Series B startup I mentioned earlier. We had three distinct product lines, each with different audiences and sales cycles. Our centralized team handled brand, content, and marketing ops, while product-specific teams managed campaigns and sales enablement for their areas.
The trick is deciding what to centralize and what to distribute. There’s no single right answer, but I’ve seen these guidelines work:
- Centralize: Brand, major content production, marketing technology, analytics
- Distribute: Campaign execution, product-specific content, sales support
The biggest challenge? Politics. Divisional marketers often feel pulled between their business unit and the central marketing team. Clear decision rights and budget ownership are essential.
The Matrix: Not Just a Movie (Enterprise Level)
The largest companies typically adopt matrix structures, where marketers have dual reporting relationships – to both functional leaders and business unit leaders.
For example, a product marketer might report to the VP of Product Marketing and also to the business unit marketing director for their product line.
Honestly? This gets messy. I’ve seen it work, but it requires:
- Extremely clear roles and responsibilities
- Careful coordination of priorities
- Regular communication between managers
- A culture that embraces complexity
Mia, who leads marketing at a Fortune 500 company, was candid: “Our matrix structure isn’t perfect. People sometimes get confused about priorities. But it’s the best solution we’ve found for balancing functional excellence with business unit relevance.”
Breaking the Mold: Alternative Approaches
Some companies don’t fit neatly into these traditional structures. Here are a few alternatives I’ve seen work well:
The Agile Marketing Team
Borrowed from software development, this approach organizes marketers into cross-functional teams that work in short sprints.
Each team includes various skills (content, design, analytics, etc.) and focuses on specific initiatives rather than ongoing functions.
This works well for companies that need to move quickly and iterate frequently. But it requires a collaborative culture and solid project management.
Pete, a marketing director who implemented this model, warned: “It’s not for everyone. You need marketers who thrive on change and can work closely with others. Some specialists hate the constant context-switching.”
The Growth Team
Some companies, especially in tech, blur the lines between marketing, product, and engineering with integrated growth teams.
These cross-functional teams focus on optimizing specific metrics rather than traditional marketing functions. They typically include marketers, product managers, engineers, data scientists, and designers.
This approach works best when your product and marketing are deeply intertwined – think subscription apps, social platforms, or marketplaces.
“Traditional marketing structures created artificial boundaries,” explained Sanjay, who leads growth at a popular app. “Our most successful initiatives touch both marketing channels and product features. Having everyone in one team removes those boundaries.”
Finding Your Perfect Structure: Real-World Considerations
When I advise companies on marketing structure, I ask these questions:
- What’s your biggest marketing challenge right now? Structure should solve problems, not create them.
- How do your customers buy? Your structure should align with your customer journey.
- What’s your company culture like? A structure that works at a hierarchical financial services firm might fail at a collaborative tech startup.
- What talent do you have – and can you attract? Design around the strengths of your team and the realities of your talent market.
- How quickly does your market change? Faster-changing markets may benefit from more fluid structures.
I’ve seen companies with similar sizes and products thrive with completely different structures because their cultures, challenges, and talent pools differed.
Restructuring Without Chaos: Lessons from the Trenches
If you’re considering a marketing restructure, here’s my hard-earned advice:
- Start with problems, not solutions. Identify what’s not working before grabbing an org chart template.
- Involve your team. They know the day-to-day realities better than anyone. Plus, people support what they help create.
- Overcommunicate. Explain the why, not just the what. Address concerns openly.
- Implement in phases. Big-bang reorganizations rarely go smoothly. Consider a gradual transition.
- Revisit after 90 days. No structure is perfect on day one. Plan to make adjustments.
Amy, a CMO who’s led several restructures, shared this wisdom: “I used to announce new structures with grand presentations and expect immediate results. Now I treat reorganizations as ongoing processes, not one-time events. We make incremental changes, learn, and adjust.”
The Only Constant is Change
What works today probably won’t work in 18 months. The most successful marketing leaders I know revisit their team structure regularly, making incremental adjustments as their business evolves.
When I look back at my own career, I’ve reorganized my marketing teams about every 12-18 months. Not wholesale restructuring, but thoughtful adjustments to address new challenges and opportunities.
Your marketing structure isn’t set in stone. It’s a tool to help your team execute effectively. When it stops doing that, it’s time for a change.
Whether you’re a solo marketer or leading a team of hundreds, remember: the right structure is the one that helps your specific team achieve your specific goals in your specific market at your specific growth stage.
No pressure, right?