What Should Your Inbound Marketing Team Look Like?
Some people mistakenly assume that inbound marketing “lets” the customers come to you. The truth is that a skilled inbound marketing team “makes” the customers come to you. Lead generation is not a passive endeavor, and it takes a truly motivated team to continually draw new people in.
It is obviously very important to make sure your team works well as a unit, but each individual will also have their own role to play. Your inbound marketing team can have as many, or as few people on it as necessary for your business, but no matter the size or shape, there are four crucial skills that must be represented by your team members.
Those are...
Writing
Some marketing gurus have fantastic ideas, but struggle when it comes to making those ideas make sense on paper. This is where your writer (or writers) comes in. Never assume that just because someone is good at marketing, they must also be good at writing. Often, these are two completely different skillsets.
Copywriting and content creation serve as both strategic and tactical functions of marketing, and this is especially true if you are doing any online or inbound marketing. Most of the interaction people will have with a business online is through reading. They read your blogs, your website, they read your tweets, they read your emails. Behind all of that content is a writer, so make sure you have a skilled one on staff.
Average Copywriter Salary: $25K - $50K
Web Design
Whether you’re looking for a restaurant menu, store hours, directions, or product review, the first thing most people will do is pull up your website. With smartphones in every purse and pocket, people are able to access your website more frequently and easily than ever before. So, you have to make sure it looks good, and functions without a hitch.
It is sometimes assumed that web design is something “anyone can do”, and indeed, with point and click editing programs out there, it can seem that way. Still, there is an important difference between a good-looking website, and a website that was designed from the ground up with strategy and functionality and lead conversion in mind. A dedicated web designer is the person you will turn to for updates, fixes and improvements, and often, the designer will catch these issues long before you do. Additionally, a legit web designer will be a master of User Interface/User Experience (UI/UX) - a web design skill that can be the difference between site abandonment and say, a new lead or customer. This is definitely a skill you should leave to the pros.
Average Web Designer Salary: $63K
Data Analysis
So far, the inbound marketing skills we’ve covered all have to do with content or production. But you also need insight into how it’s all working. Having a dedicated analyst on your team means you have a person who is able to make sense of tremendous amounts of metrics and data, react to it appropriately, and exploit it for opportunities.
Don’t overlook this position just because you assume this is something a C-level employee can “fold” into their myriad of other responsibilities. There is a difference between general data monitoring and critical analysis. This is not an add-on job for a one of your marketing team members - when done correctly, it’s a job for a highly perceptive and analytical person, someone trained to continually adjust marketing strategies as data changes. Can you survive without this role? Sure. But will your marketing campaigns and strategy thrive without a dedicated analyst? That’s uncertain...and are you willing to take that risk?
Average Marketing Analyst Salary: $60K
Leadership
Yes, believe it or not, the analyst is not always best suited to lead, manage and motivate a team. Leadership is a completely different skillset. In terms of marketing, this is the person keeping the entire team on track, keeping their eyes on long-term goals, and holding team members accountable to achieving them. Coming up with an overall strategy on how best to market your product - across all media - is a big job. It deserves the undivided attention of a highly talented and specialized team member.
Average Marketing Manager Salary: $123K
So now, it’s time for the million dollar question (pun intended): How are you going to pay for all this? You understand the importance of a dedicated marketing team, with highly specialized skills, but hiring these four full-time employees just for marketing is financially unfeasible for many SMBs. Does your company have an extra $304,000 per year just lying around waiting to be spent? The answer for many businesses is a resounding “NO!”
So what can you do if you understand the value in having a well-oiled marketing team in place but don’t have a budget to execute the vision?
Well, much like a good inbound marketing team, you can think outside the box on this one. Maybe you can’t hire four full-time employees - when you’re talking impressive resumes and worth-their-salt talent, four full-time salaries might be out of your reach. But did you know that many companies, especially SMBs, outsource their marketing to an agency? Marketing agencies already have employees who specialize in these crucial skills on staff. They can work for you, and be just as dedicated to your company, for a fraction of the cost you’d be paying otherwise. Many companies (ones with limited budget but also ones with minimal budget restraints) are finding it just makes sense to work with an agency vs. hiring an internal marketing team. Less overhead, less responsibility, less headache. Plus, for what you’d pay for just two full-time marketing employees, you’d get an entire agency that would bring the needed skill set, knowledge and dedication to your company.
However you choose to structure your marketing team, don’t forget that writing, web design, data analysis and leadership are four things you’ll need to be wildly successful. If you’re interested in hearing how a typical outsourced marketing relationship with an agency might work for your business, we can give you the inside scoop.
