Hiring a marketer is crucial growth step for any startup. Before jumping in and choosing a candidate, startups need to assess their specific needs as rushing into recruitment without clarity can lead to wasted resources and mismatched hires.
Before choosing the type of marketer to bring on board, consider these four essential questions:
1. Biggest Challenge
Every company has unique pain points. What are you struggling with?
- Brand Awareness? You need someone who can amplify your presence.
- Lead Generation? A specialist in demand generation can help.
- Customer Retention? Lifecycle marketers might be the answer.
- Conversion Optimization? Growth marketers excel in this area.
2. Growth Stage of the Company
Your stage of growth impacts the kind of marketing support you need:
- Startup? Fast-paced, experimental growth marketing works best.
- Scale-up? A mix of demand generation and product marketing can refine your messaging and acquisition strategies.
- Enterprise? More specialized roles, like lifecycle marketing or affiliate marketing, become essential.
3. Primary Marketing Goals
Different marketing functions align with different objectives:
- Branding? A content or brand marketer can help establish brand voice, thought leadership and generate more share of voice.
- Demand Generation? A demand gen marketer will build a lead pipeline.
- Product Positioning? Product marketers ensure your competitive advantages and product’s values are known within your market.
- Retention? Lifecycle marketers focus on keeping customers engaged and using the product to its maximum potential.
4. Budget
Hiring a marketer in-house, using an agency, or leveraging fractional talent all depend on your financial flexibility. Startups may also opt for full-time generalists, those who can do a little bit of everything, while enterprises invest in specialists with deep expertise in their marketing area of focus.
Understanding these factors will clarify your hiring decision and set the stage for marketing success.
By taking a step back and analyzing your business’s biggest challenges, growth stage, goals, and budget, you can make a well-informed decision about the type of marketer to bring on board. A well-aligned marketing hire can drive significant impact, ensuring your business grows in the right direction.
Want to dive deeper? Over the next two weeks, we’ll explore the current B2B Marketing Manager compensation as well as they different types of marketers and when in the startup lifecycle to hire them.