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Choosing the right structure for your marketing team takes a little thought. Maybe you’ve been doing it a certain way for some time or you’ve had disruptions due to team members leaving, layoffs, cutbacks, or remote/hybrid work arrangements. Regardless, it’s time to take a fresh look at the way your marketing teams are organized to create effective campaigns.
Even in organizations where things have run smoothly in the past, it’s worth considering whether you need a different approach in the future.
Generally, marketing teams are structured in one of three ways:
- By discipline
- By function
- By product
Let’s take a look at how each of these structures helps create and execute successful campaigns.
By Discipline
This is the most common structure, often used by mid-sized companies. Teams are built around specific marketing skills, like social media management, content creation, and product marketing. Teams may have their own structure as well. For example, a social media team might include a content creator, graphic designer, and social media manager.
However, effective teams collaborate to execute campaigns to achieve goals.
| PROS | CONS | CONSIDERATIONS |
| Efficient use of resources | Can silo team members, limiting creativity | Works well for companies with a variety of marketing needs |
| Clear division of labor | Challenges communicating across disciplines | Requires strong leadership to drive collaboration |
| Specialists develop deep expertise | Can be slow to adapt to changing market conditions | May be more difficult to scale as company grows |
By Function
This structure is similar to a marketing agency and works well for small teams. It focuses on the core functions of marketing, like project management, creative development, and operations. A creative team might include a graphic designer, copywriter, and videographer who works across campaigns, products, and disciplines.
| PROS | CONS | CONSIDERATIONS |
| Streamlined workflow | May lack product-specific focus | Ideal for small businesses and startups |
| Effective use of limited resources | More challenging to measure campaign-specific impact | Less bureaucratic than other marketing structures |
| Encourages broad collaboration across marketing functions | Requires team members to have broad skill sets | May not be suitable for complex marketing campaigns |
By Product
This structure is ideal for large companies with predictable revenue. Teams are built around specific products, allowing for deep product expertise and targeted marketing strategies. For example, a brand team might be responsible for brand strategy, messaging, and customer experience for a specific product.
| PROS | CONS | CONSIDERATIONS |
| Fosters deep product and audience knowledge | Requires more resources, depending on product lines | Works well for companies with large product portfolios |
| Allows for highly targeted marketing campaigns | May be less adaptable to change | Encourages product-focused, data-driven decisions |
| Creates “ownership” of ideas and campaigns | Can lead to competition for resources between teams | Requires strong product marketing leadership |
Which Structure Is Right for You?
Which organizational structure is right for you will depend on a few key considerations.
Company Size and Resources
One way to evaluate which structure is right for you is to think in terms of company size and structure.
| BUSINESS TYPE | STRUCTURE | WHY? |
| Small businesses | Functional Structure | Optimizes limited resources and streamlines workflow. |
| Mid-sized businesses | Disciplinary Structure | Leverages specialists with deep expertise in a collaborative approach. |
| Enterprise businesses | Product Structure | Efficient for managing complex product portfolios and campaigns |
However, company size is only one of the considerations. You should also look at your marketing goals and industry dynamics.
Marketing Goals
You should consider how your goals and objectives impact your organizational structure. Different approaches generally work better for different goals.
| GOALS | STRUCTURE | WHY? |
| Brand awareness and lead generation | Disciplinary Structure | Works across disciplines to coordinate marketing messages |
| Product-specific growth | Product Structure | Allows hyper-focus on particular product lines. |
| Streamlined operations | Functional Structure | Promotes efficiency and tight teamwork. |
Industry and Market Dynamics
You will also want to assess industry and market dynamics before settling on a structure for your marketing team.
| GOALS | STRUCTURE | WHY? |
| Fast-growth industries | Functional Structure | More adaptable to rapid changes and opportunities |
| Predictable markets | Product Structure | Leverage established marketing strategy for predictable results |
| Competitive environments | Disciplinary Structure | Can focus on the competitive environment with targeted strategies |
The One Thing All Marketing Teams Have in Common
Regardless of which structure you develop, there’s one thing that all marketing teams have in common: the need to collaborate among team members. It’s the collaboration that often sparks that creative streak and innovative ideas to develop unique marketing campaigns.
Collaboration is also crucial to ensure consistent messaging across platforms and campaigns, ensuring everything aligns with the company’s brand. Working in silos makes it easy to get off track.
You need a structured way to communicate, including all of your team members regardless of where they are working or what they are working on. The best team communication apps will simplify your marketing team’s communication and collaboration, let them communicate in their preferred method (video, audio, messaging, alerts, intranet, etc.), and organize conversations into groups and projects.
No matter what structure works best for you, make sure you have the tools your marketing team needs to work efficiently and effectively.