This article aims to give founders, talent teams and CEOs of start-ups a guide to building y...
This article aims to give founders, talent teams and CEOs of start-ups a guide to building your first marketing team. If you're ready to expand your team, read our article detailing the five steps to scale.
Recruiting the first marketing hire is a huge step for any growing businesses. You're not only introducing a member of the team, but setting your first marketing budget.
When you've never hired marketing talent before, you'll have a lot of questions to answer:
This guide answers each of these questions and more to support you as you invest in your first marketing hires.
"The first marketing hire is more than just a new addition to the team. They symbolise the creation of your very first marketing budget. As a result, it’s important to be confident of the value marketing will bring your business before investing."
Rowan Fisk, Partner at 3Search Executive
So, how do you know when the time is right?
The answer to this question is largely dependent on your business model and target audience.
For B2B businesses that are sales-intensive, it's unlikely that marketing would need to be an early hire as your salespeople sell your product/service. In fact, it’s not until B2B brands have reached Series-A funding that we’re engaged to support with marketing recruitment. At this point, they have the right support to start structuring the business and making those important appointments.
B2C companies will need marketing support much sooner. According to the IPA's 'How brand building works’ report, brand awareness is vital for consumer-facing companies' long-term success. Hiring marketing early on allows the team to engage with the brand’s development from the start.
Regardless of business model, however, companies need to ensure that their product is selling before introducing marketing. A marketer’s job is to increase sales rather than bring them in in the first place.
 | While many believe that the first hire should be a marketing leader, we recommend that your first permanent marketer be a Manager. You can then bring in a senior marketing leader on an interim or part-time basis (depending on the level of support required). We'll discuss those options later on. |
At first glace, your first marketing hire can be complicated. You need someone with the knowledge, experience and confidence to lead marketing growth. But, they must also be able and willing to execute the marketing strategy. That's why you need to hire a Marketing Manager.
Marketers at the manager level have the right level of experience and knowledge to deliver on marketing campaigns, understand strategic thinking and manage stakeholder expectations. Another benefit is that they will be able to learn and grow with your business. A major draw for many candidates is the chance to lead the development of the marketing department.
More junior marketers are lacking the strategic outlook to develop marketing plans. Plus, they will require more training than start-ups will be able to provide them. On the other hand, senior marketers need time to strategize. Campaign delivery sits outside a Head of Marketing's responsibilities and, having progressed their career, they will lack experience.
Meanwhile, Marketing Managers have experience in executing campaigns and communicating their results to the wider business. This experience is vital in a team of one.
The first marketer in any business will need to take ownership of the entire strategy. As a result, you'll need to hire a well-rounded marketer with the following soft skills:
“It’s difficult to find a marketer who specialises across multiple digital skill sets. Finding someone experienced in multiple facets is possible, but they are unlikely to be an expert. As a result, it’s important to prioritise the skill sets needed."
Michael Judkins, Director of specialist marketing recruitment
A (Digital) Marketing Manager is a generalist marketing role with a range of skills in their arsenal. However, you may choose to focus on hiring specific skills. This can help improve your marketing efforts, engage your audience, and achieve quick wins. To understand what skills to prioritise, you need to answer one important question - where are your customers?
Knowing how your customers are organically finding and interacting with the business, allows you to understand where to invest your first marketing budget.
For example, if your website drives most of your revenue, hiring a Digital Marketer with SEO skills could be a good choice. They will be able to focus on optimising the site and increasing its traffic. However, if your customers’ journeys start on Instagram, a marketer with social media management experience is best.
No matter the product or business model, attracting new audiences should come secondary to interacting with the audience you already have. This approach allows marketing to have a quick impact on the business as they will:
If you need more support in answering this question in detail, it will be important to engage a senior marketer first. They can support with business audits, setting marketing strategies and hiring your first permanent marketer.
With most Chief Marketing Officers (CMO) able to ask for a salary of £130,000+, most start-ups don’t have the budget to hire a marketing leader on a permanent basis until they’ve seen marketing ROI. However, it's still important to engage a senior marketing leader early on in your journey. Their support is instrumental in conducting marketing audits, setting up effective strategies and mentoring junior members of the team.
We recommend engaging these experienced leaders on an advisory basis as a Fractional CMO or an Interim CMO. An interim hire is a far more affordable way to access industry-leading marketers who are excited to support start-up growth. Day rates are as follows:
We hope this guide provided a good starting point for your marketing recruitment journey. For more support with your talent search, get in touch with our consultants.
