What is a good approach to structuring a growth marketing team?

Building a successful growth marketing team involves a number of key roles which vary based on team size, product and growth strategy. Here are some essential roles to consider:

• Head of Growth: Responsible for developing and executing the comprehensive growth marketing strategy. This individual should be data-driven, analytical, and proficient in identifying growth opportunities across various marketing channels.

• Product Manager: Collaborates closely with the growth marketer to manage the product or services promoted by the marketing team, ensuring it meets the needs of the target audience and holds a strong market position.

• Data Analyst: Analyzes data from diverse sources to identify trends and areas needing improvement, thereby aiding in the formulation of informed marketing strategies.

• Content Marketer: Creates engaging content that attracts and retains customers across various platforms such as blogs, social media, and email.

• User Acquisition Specialist: This person is a do-er. Drives traffic and user acquisition through channels like paid advertising, SEO, and social media, with a focus on targeting the right audience for the product or service.

• Conversion Rate Optimization Specialist: Optimizes websites or landing pages to enhance the conversion rate, using methods like A/B testing to improve user experience and increase customer conversions.

• Marketing Automation Specialist: Automation is key for efficient growth. This role builds and manages automation tools to streamline marketing processes and enhance efficiency.

• Developer: Ensures the flawless execution of the technical aspects of the growth strategy, working closely with other team members to implement technical solutions effectively.

• UX Designer: Focuses on aligning the strategy with the needs and behaviors of the target audience, playing a crucial role in optimizing user experiences and customer journeys.

• Integrated Campaign Marketer: Focuses on creating and executing integrated marketing campaigns that align with the overall growth strategy, leveraging various channels and touchpoints to drive engagement and conversions.

To build the right team, here’s a few other things I would keep in mind:

• Prioritize culture fit and work ethic when hiring: Hire people who align with the company's values and can work well with the existing team. Good skills are important, but the right attitude and values are the most critical. A-players with bad attitudes bring down the whole team.

• Foster a growth mentality: Create a culture where experimentation and learning are the norms. Your team doesn’t always have to be right. Failure should be seen as an opportunity to learn, not something to avoid.

• Create opportunities for collaboration and co-creation: Encourage team members to work together to develop solutions. Open communication and active listening should be standard practice. Build informal pairings within the team to maximize speed and impact of key projects.

• Invest in professional development and shared learning systems: Encourage team members to improve their skills through relevant training, workshops, and mentorship programs. Make resources available for self-guided learning while also asking the team to contribute to a centralized platform where everyone shares their learnings.

• Be extremely clear around goals and ownership: Set up clear systems for tracking performance and providing feedback. Your teams’ job is to grow the business so make it clear what is expected and put systems in place to monitor attainment of goals.

I'm of the perspective that a growth marketing team should be cross-functional, especially in the initial stages. From my experience, this dynamic evolves as the organization and marketing department mature.

One version of what this could look like is:

• Growth Marketer

• Designer

• Engineer

• Data Analyst

It is critical for this team to collaborate with other departments, including sales, customer success, and content, among others. The rationale for this cross-functional approach is that it enables the team to move faster in the spirit of growth marketing. Otherwise, the growth marketing function takes the shape of demand generation, requiring a slightly different set of skills, mindset, and approach.

In structuring a growth marketing team, it's essential to tailor the approach to the specific context and maturity of the organization. In startups or smaller organizations, where agility and innovation are paramount, a 'growth pod' model can be highly effective. This model typically consists of a cross-functional team of experts, including a growth marketer, product manager, engineer, data scientist, and designer. This diverse team collaborates closely to ideate, execute, and iterate on growth initiatives rapidly. By combining expertise from various disciplines, they can identify opportunities, test hypotheses, and optimize strategies in a dynamic environment.

On the other hand, in larger and more established organizations, a standalone growth marketing function may be preferable. This team operates as a specialized unit focused on driving scalable and high-growth opportunities through data-driven insights and experimentation. While still collaborating closely with other cross-functional teams such as product, marketing, sales, and design, the growth marketing team takes a holistic approach to identify and capitalize on growth opportunities across the entire customer journey.