Small marketing teams can get visibility and execute effectively due to their size, but the right strategies can make them thrive amidst competition and even outperform it. To facilitate this, the marketing leadership must cultivate a growth mindset, identify opportunities for collaboration, and strengthen their culture so that everyone is on the same page.
In this article, we explore a few best practices to help small marketing teams perform like a marketing leader.
Culture First
Numerous analysts point out how work environments impact productivity. If your team members feel they have a great environment to work in, they are more likely to be engaged in it. This, in turn, will lead to greater ownership of projects, higher productivity, better results, and a loyal work presence.
When creating or strengthening your team’s culture, consider where your team members are coming from. What their backgrounds, interests, and passions are? How does this influence their work? When you have those things established, it will be easier to spot signs of a negative culture and nip them in the bud.
Collaborate With Other Teams
Small marketing teams may not have the resources to create everything they need from scratch, nor should they try to. Instead, marketers should think of ways to collaborate with other teams and get the resources they need to succeed. The more you collaborate with other teams, the more you will find that other teams see you as a valuable resource. This will help you create a more effective product as you draw on the strengths of multiple departments while helping you find support when you need it and build stronger internal relationships. At the end of it all, it inculcates a unified thought process, making everyone in the organization work towards the mission and vision of an organization. .
Getting The Priorities Right
If you want to increase your lead volume, you must know where you are currently getting leads from and the areas you are falling short. If you are getting inbound leads but with low conversion rates, you need to strengthen that channel. If you get leads from paid channels, but your budgets are too low, you must advocate for increased investments. Wherever you see a need for growth, that is where you should focus your attention and time.
Before growing in any specific area, you need to know where you are currently. For each of your most important metrics (for example, visits to your site or sign-ups for your product), you need to know the numbers and how they compare to your competitors (link to our Digital Maturity Assessment Page).
During this process, you can also consider ways to measure some of your less quantitative goals, such as brand awareness. It may be challenging to develop formulas for brand awareness, but there are ways to keep track of it. For example, you can look at brand-related metrics such as geographic location.
Also Read: 10 Struggles Faced by Small Marketing Teams
Identify Your Biggest Growth Opportunities
With a small marketing team, it is quite natural to leave content creation out of the radar, given the immensity of the task. In your limited schedule, you may find yourself struggling to write blog posts, create videos, promote yourself on social media, or create lead-converting campaigns or other promotions – all of which require finesse and consume a lot of time. You may overcome this by prioritizing your content efforts or outsourcing the same to spaces that can help meet your content objectives. This helps in not only receiving the required engagement or reach through content but enables you to focus better on other tasks that your team can handle quite well.
Find Efficiencies Within Your Team
Whether you are working with a small or massive marketing team, you need to be aware of inefficiencies and find ways to address them. You may initiate the process by merely conversing with your team members about what they are working on and the challenges they face. This will help you understand their workflows and identify where there might be room for improvement. If you find that certain tasks take longer than they should (or shorter than you would like), try coming up with some solutions. Some measures that can help here include switching up your workflow, adding automated processes, or asking your team members to take on additional responsibilities.
Summing Up
If you have ever worked on a smaller-than-ideal team, you know how important it is to make the most of every team member. Collaboration is key, but so is measuring progress to understand where you stand. Checking your progress will make it easier to make adjustments and improve performance, opening doors to endless possibilities. This will make it easier for everyone to work together efficiently. At the end of the day, the key to success is to be strategic and focused in your efforts.
