Question

Topic: Career/Training

How To Start A Marketing Department?

Posted by Anonymous on 10/15/2008 at 4:09 PM ET 250 Points
I am wanting to propose to my company to start a marketing department. We are a service company with about 500 employees. We are rare in the services that we provide. I am wanting to know where to start and how I should go about presenting this to my company.
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  • Posted on 10/15/2008 at 4:16 PM Member
    Good god man, you have a 500 person company that doesn't have a marketing department? Please tell us more--who does your marketing now--you must do some marketing, promotion, or advertising. It must sucking the time from various people in the company who should be doing other things, it probably has no continuity, and isn't very effective. This should be very easy to prove.

    Find a way to show how the business could grow with an effective branding and messaging strategy.

    Please tell us more about the business and what is being done now and we can better help you.
  • Posted on 10/15/2008 at 4:28 PM Author
    We have one girl that is really a graphic designer that they call the marketing department. We have a brochure that we finally made for the sales department to use. Which was created with several people from sales, the graphic design person, and me. That is the problem. We have people doing marketing activities that should be doing other things. You are correct that we do not have continuity.

    Basically all we have now is templates that people use with our logo and they put information on them. So who knows what goes out. We do have the brochures and a sales presentation that is somewhat consistent.

    So far this has worked for the company and the owners believed it is enough. We are growing even more and the original owners are fading out so I am wanting to take this opportunity of time of change to open up the idea that we need an actual marketing department.

  • Posted on 10/15/2008 at 5:43 PM Accepted
    The change from a product oriented company to a marketing oriented one can be traumatic if the original owners are still around. When the new generation takes over with the old owners still in command it can become a huge task to convince the latter on the advantages of marketing. I understand your concern because in the past I have experienced those transactions. The first step is to convince the high command not to interrupt and give you the opportunity to show the benefits of the proposed change. If you get a lukewarm welcome your fight is for long and you need to be strong to survive. Providing you get a green light these are my suggestions:1) Contact a personnel recruitment company and ask them to get for you an experienced Marketing Director that includes in its background how to start a marketing departments.
    2) Providing I am that person (just to follow up the exercise)
    3) I will propose you an organization chart of the various areas required in the department.
    4) Prepare with you a department budget.
    4) You will need an advertising agency to support the communication program your marketing department will implement.
    5) You need market research in the category your company operates.
    6) Develop the segments there and develop strategy.
    7) The people you have now from the information you provide do not seem the kind you will need in the marketing area. A designer is mostly for ad agencies unless you want to include a house agency (I do not recommend it) in your reorganization.
    Your key step is to get the marketing savvy through a Marketing Director then things will take shape.
    There are many other recommendations but I would need to know more about your company, products, market, etc.
    Good luck!


  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 10/15/2008 at 7:40 PM Member
    Instead of growing the department yourself, why not initially bring in some consultants/agency for a brief period. Let them propose a marketing strategy and structure that's appropriate for your business culture. Ideally they would be able to share best practices and even hire the necessary talent for your in-house department.
  • Posted by Frank Hurtte on 10/16/2008 at 11:53 AM Accepted
    Present a Focus on what would happen:
    * if sales got 10% more effimcent
    * if we got 10% more leads
    * if we were 10% more effective with our leads

    Point to Targeting - According to expert research, companies who actively Target are 47% more effective in reaching their financial goals than organizations that do not develop plans and processes around target customers. Then ask what is our target process.

    I am a missionary for Targeting - contact me if you want to spend 10 minutes on what exactly Targeting is.
  • Posted on 10/16/2008 at 2:37 PM Author
    Thank you for all of your help!
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