Step 5
Structure Your Team and Operations
Build a marketing team that gets results. Learn when to hire, when to outsource, and how to create efficient workflows.
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Everyone has an opinion about marketing but few can define what a marketer actually does.
Unlike the sales team focused on closing deals or the product team driven by a roadmap, marketers juggle multiple roles - all at once. One minute it’s positioning and messaging; the next, it’s writing blogs and event coordination. And that’s why building a marketing team can be very hard. You need people who can:
Generate immediate pipeline so that sales teams can keep closing deals
Develop content that captures mindshare even when 95% of your audience isn’t ready to buy
Position your product in a way that hits home with the right folks, for the right use cases
These aren't just different responsibilities - they're entirely different skill sets! So do you hire a generalist first or bring in specialists early-on? Should your marketing lead be a big-picture strategist or a roll-up-the-sleeves executor? What do you keep in-house, and what do you outsource?
In this final step, we’ll break down the building blocks of an effective marketing team - so you can assemble the perfect crew to grow your brand and drive results. We’ll cover:
part 1
Organize Your Marketing Team
While no two B2B SaaS marketing teams look the same, there are common principles you can follow.
As Emily Kramer (former Head of Marketing at Asana and co-founder of MKT1) explains, your marketing org should be shaped by your business model, audience, and growth strategy - not a one-size-fits-all approach. Drawing on Emily’s insights, rather than thinking of marketing as just a pipeline driver, you can break it down into three core sub-functions:
Content & Brand (Fuel)
Growth Marketing (Engine)
Product Marketing (Foundation)
Emily kramer
Fuel: Content & Brand
What They Do: Create the “fuel” (words, designs, videos, events) that aligns with your audience. This includes everything from blogs and videos to brand design and PR.
Why It Matters: You can’t run an effective marketing engine without quality content. Many early-stage teams hire multiple “growth” people but forget to hire anyone who can make the fuel.
Engine: Growth Marketing
What They Do: Distribute the content (fuel) across channels (paid ads, SEO, social, email), optimize it for GTM motions, and set up the data and ops infrastructure.
Why It Matters: Great content stuck on your blog (and never promoted) won’t drive pipeline. Growth marketers set up campaigns, measure ROI, and ensure lead flow is consistent.
Foundation: Product Marketing
What They Do: Conduct product, market, and audience research to inform positioning, messaging, launches, and segmentation. They also collaborate with sales on enablement materials - think product launch strategies, demos/pitches, competitive battle cards, etc.
Why It Matters: Product marketing acts as the “base layer,” ensuring your content (fuel) and growth initiatives (engine) are targeting the right audience with the right message.
The Role of “Producers”
What They Do: Serve as dot connector or the glue on the team. They make sure your content (fuel) and execution (engine) work together - coordinating campaigns, streamlining content creation, and providing cross-team feedback.
Why It Matters: Without producers, marketing teams can become disjointed, and great ideas stall. Producers keep things on track - organizing work, meeting deadlines, and ensuring teams stay aligned.
part 2
Common Roles to Hire (By Growth Stage)
No two B2B marketing org charts are the same, but here’s a rough guide to which roles you should bring on when. Early teams typically need generalists who can handle a broad range of tasks. As you scale, you add specialists in each sub-function (Fuel, Engine, Foundation).
First Marketer / “π-Shaped” Marketer
Why
You need someone who can set high-level strategy and execute on multiple fronts (writing content, running some paid ads, etc.)
Fuel or Engine?
They typically spike in 2 of the 3 functional areas (e.g., Fuel + Foundation), but can pinch-hit across all three sub-functions
Producers / Marketing Generalists (1–2)
Why
They coordinate content creation, manage contractors, handle events, juggle distribution channels - keeping Fuel & Engine, and Foundation aligned.
Fuel: Content & Brand
Content Marketer
Skilled at writing, possibly with video or social know-how
Brand/Design Specialist
(if design is critical): By ~10 team size, you may bring a dedicated designer or brand manager in-house
Engine: Growth Marketing
Demand Gen/Growth Specialist:
Owns inbound campaigns, paid ads, SEO, lead nurturing
Marketing Ops:
May still be a part-time role, but important for automation, attribution, and data hygiene
Foundation: Product Marketing
PMM Generalist:
Owns core positioning, messaging, competitor intel, product launches, and sales enablement
Additional “Producers” (Campaign Managers, Program Managers)
As your Fuel & Engine teams expand, you might add a second or third producer to coordinate big product launches, multi-channel campaigns, or brand revamps
Fuel: Content & Brand Team
Content Lead:
Oversees a team (writers, social media managers, video editors, event organizers, PR specialists, etc.)
Brand Manager or Creative Director:
Oversees brand consistency across all touchpoints.
Engine: Growth Marketing Team
Growth Lead:
Supervises sub-teams like demand gen, ABM, paid ads, SEO, possibly outbound
Marketing Ops:
Usually 1–2 dedicated people plus data analysts to manage complex automation, lead routing, attribution, etc.
Foundation: Product Marketing Team
PMM Director:
Plus multiple PMMs, often assigned by product line, segment, or region
Customer Marketing:
Customer Marketing or Partner Marketing manager if ecosystem growth is crucial
Producers / Program Managers:
More crucial than ever. At 20+ marketers, silos form quickly - producers help unify cross-functional efforts, from brand campaigns to large-scale product launches.
part 3
Outsourcing Tasks
Outsourcing can be powerful, but only if you have a clear strategy and enough internal ownership to guide contractors or agencies. Here’s a quick low-down of what you should keep in-house and what you may want to outsource.
What to Outsource
High-Skill, Infrequent Tasks
Examples: Marquee brand content (industry reports, flagship events), PR bursts for a big launch.
Why: Specialized agencies or contractors who’ve done it many times can be more efficient than hiring someone in-house.
Creative Surge Work
Brand identity, major website redesigns, specialized design tasks, one-off video shoots.
Why: If you only need heavy design work for a short window, an agency can handle it without adding overhead.
Niche Expertise
Campaigns for a highly specific vertical or market, or very technical SEO.
Why: Hiring a full-timer with ultra-niche skills might not make sense unless you have consistent pipeline for that skill.
What to keep In-house
Core Strategy & Leadership
Setting overall marketing and content strategy, positioning/messaging are best handled by people deeply embedded in your company.
Critical Ongoing Functions
Measuring KPIs, brand compliance, or copywriting that requires constant iteration and in-house familiarity.
Cross-Functional “Producer” Roles
People who coordinate Fuel & Engine must be close to your internal teams - regular communication is key.
Best Practices for Working with Agencies
Establish One Point of Contact
Keep feedback streamlined. A single stakeholder ensures consistent communication and reduces confusion.
Share Internal Knowledge
Give your agency all the context they need - product details, buyer personas, brand guidelines - so they can produce relevant work quickly.
Be Prepared to Manage
Set and forget rarely works. Agencies need guidance, feedback, and alignment with your evolving strategy.
Set Checkpoints
Schedule regular check-ins to review progress, metrics, and pivot if needed.
Define Clear Objectives & Scope
Outline deliverables, timelines, and success metrics from the start.
Back to other steps
We've broken down this guide into five steps.
You'll find step-by-step frameworks you can implement today, real campaign examples, and concrete lessons from companies who've been where you are.
Know your Audience, Map Your Strategy
Create Content That Converts
Choose Your Distribution Channels
Measure What Matters
Structure Your Team and Operations
Reaching The right people
With the right messages
With the right messages
Reaching The right people
With the right messages
in the right place
Reaching The right people
With the right messages
in the right place
Reaching The right people
With the right messages
With the right messages
Reaching The right people
With the right messages
in the right place
Reaching The right people
With the right messages
in the right place