We’re bringing the ClearEdge team directly to you with our new short-form video series, Spark the Space, designed to energize and elevate your marketing game!
In this episode, Lesly Cardec, CMO and SVP of ClearEdge Recruiting joins Devyn Gaydos to share the key questions to ask when building out your marketing team, how you can know whether to hire an in-house marketer or turn to an agency for support, and more.
How to Build a Marketing Team with Lesly Cardec
Key Questions to Ask When Building a Marketing Team
When you’re building out a marketing team for the first time or you’re looking to expand your capabilities, you need to start by asking yourself some important questions.
- What’s your overall marketing budget?
- What is your headcount budget?
- What are your company’s key goals?
- Where are the gaps in your team expertise or tools when it comes to hitting those goals?
By starting with these questions, you can take a step back and understand whether you’re doing the right activities for your goals and who you need on the team to make it happen.
The Pros and Cons of In-House vs. Outsourced Marketing Teams
When it comes to in-house versus outsourced marketing support, it’s not really about one or the other. It’s about using each one when it’s most impactful for your business.
In-house teams often have a deep integration into your company culture and long-term goals. They have the institutional knowledge for success and can ensure alignment to make sure that every marketing project comes to life beyond just marketing.
Outsourced teams or agency support can provide you with specialized skills to help projects scale quickly. You can select an agency that has deep expertise in your niche and make sure that you’re getting the best experience possible while freeing up internal teams for other critical tasks.
At ClearEdge, we often support our clients from a hybrid approach: We act as an outsourced marketing agency, and we can also source and place marketing talent either on a full-time or a fractional basis into companies to fill those critical gaps alongside an existing team.
Instead of thinking of it as in-house versus outsourced, consider thinking of it as in-house AND outsourced.
Unifying In-House and Outsourced Teams for Marketing Success
When you’re using both in-house and outsourced teams, you need to define your core marketing functions and be clear about who is responsible for what. There should be consistent and clear communication between the teams about what is happening so nothing ever falls through the cracks.
The most successful partnerships happen when internal teams see their outsourced team as a true partner and part of the team. Consider how you can make that happen through things like weekly check-ins, knowledge sharing, and even team-building exercises.
Ultimately, the right marketing team structure is personal to your company’s unique goals, team capacity, and stage of growth. Taking the time to define those will help guide you to the exact right team to make it happen!
If you want more Spark the Space, see all the videos here!