As an organization grows, the marketing departments should grow with it. This creates an evolution in marketing inside organizations from a limited and restricted role to a fully integrated role inside a firm.
Even though marketing is one of the key factors of success for a business in today’s age, only a small number of firms have an equipped team of marketing specialists. Most organizations, especially in the professional services sector, don’t have a well implemented marketing department.
Brand new firms usually have the very same founders doing the first marketing strategies. A little while later, a trained specialist will take on most of the work, but these activities will be limited by a small, almost non-existent, team. Finally, as the firm gains size, reputation, and growth, a fully integrated marketing department is created, beginning to take part in every aspect and department of the firm. Very large firms could have up to 500 employees focused on marketing.
We can divide the evolution of marketing in organizations into three separate phases:
Phase one:
In this phase the company is just starting out and the marketing department is not a priority. Because of this, another employee will begin to perform marketing strategies and tactics apart from his role. Sometimes, the founders of the firm are the ones that take on the job. Although, for the most part, people with good administration skills begin to carry out these tasks. Because of this, there are no solid marketing strategies or tactics in place.
Phase two:
The second phase of the evolution takes place when the superiors begin to realize that they need some kind of marketing specialist to be able to implement successful strategies and improve revenue. Most of the time, these specialists are either consultants or marketing specialists from consumer goods industries. As we know, the marketing strategies from a consumer goods sector vs the professional services sector are radically different. At the same time, in this stage of evolution marketing is still not considered a priority and leaders are still skeptical of the benefits.
Phase three:
At this stage of the evolution, the effectiveness of marketing begins to become clear. The firms are beginning to seek marketing professionals qualified in the professional services industry. At the same time, strategies that maximize the business’ growth are being implemented.
Another factor worth discussing about the evolution of marketing is the research by Nigel Piercy. This research concluded that marketing departments inside organizations barely perform common activities with each other (Piercy, 2001). In his research he witnessed these different types of marketing departments…
Types of marketing departments in organizations:
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Integrated/full service:
This type of department is just as important and integrated as other departments in an organization. They have a wide range of tasks, responsibilities, and power inside the organization.
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Selling overhead:
This type of department can have many different members, but these are dispersed throughout the firm and their strategies primarily serve in support of the sales activities.
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Limited staff role:
This department typically has very few members with few responsibilities and generally participates in specific supporting activities like market research, media relations, etc.
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Strategic/services:
This type of department consists of a smaller team. They generally have less power and are not very integrated inside the firm. They usually perform support services or implement specific policies/strategies.
These are only a few of the key aspects to look at in terms of the evolution of marketing inside organizations, not only how marketing changes over time, but also from one organization to the next.
Source:
Piercy, Nigel, Market-led Strategic Change: Transforming the Process of Going to Market, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2001.
Young, L. (2005). Marketing The Professional Services Firm. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.