Alignment

Build a marketing organisation where strategy, data, and people work in sync — and where accountability builds confidence, not control.

• Connect brand, demand, and customer success under one shared system
• Align strategy, process, and technology across the lifecycle
• Turn accountability into visibility — so everyone knows what’s working

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There is an enormous amount of insight and information out there about marketing strategy. But we all know that “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”.

So what are the key pillars of great marketing team culture?

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Why is measurement so important for the culture of a marketing organisation?

Measurement plays a crucial role in the culture of a marketing organisation for several reasons.

Firstly, measurements help marketing teams navigate disruptions and market changes — such as mergers and acquisitions, radical budget shifts, evolving go-to-market strategies, or organisational restructuring. Analysing measurements allows companies to adjust their strategies and respond effectively.

Secondly, reviewing measurements like budgets provides hard evidence of what the organisation is actually doing and helps identify misalignments. For example, budget allocation may reveal an imbalance between acquisition and retention, or differences in approach between regions or product lines.

Thirdly, measurements provide key performance metrics — customer engagement, retention, and lead acquisition — that inform decision-making and help prioritise where to focus.

Fourthly, measurement is vital for determining marketing’s impact on revenue. Even if a company lacks a direct marketing-sourced revenue figure, alternative indicators or estimates can still be used to demonstrate marketing’s quantitative value to stakeholders. This strengthens the case for continued investment.

Importantly, measurement isn’t about perfect data; it’s about using what you have, inspecting manually where needed, and refining over time. It enables teams to understand and communicate the value they bring both in the short term (flow measures like MQLs, marketing-generated opportunities, and revenue) and the long term (balance measures like database size, brand awareness, and customer base).

Finally, measurement plays an instrumental role in pricing and strategy discussions. By highlighting brand and product value, it provides leverage in market positioning.

In short, measurement is the key to understanding where the organisation stands, forecasting performance, and guiding adjustments to drive success.

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Why is it important to measure the impact of your marketing operations and data team?

Measuring the impact of your marketing operations and data team is essential for several reasons.

Firstly, it reveals what’s working and what isn’t in your marketing strategy. For instance, you may find that certain channels — such as SEO or social media — deliver higher traffic and lower customer acquisition costs.

Secondly, impact measurement helps justify budget allocations. By comparing spending across acquisition versus retention, or analysing regional differences, you can identify misalignments and make evidence-based adjustments.

Measurement also enables estimation of customer engagement and retention. By tracking performance between touched and untouched leads, marketing teams can focus efforts where they’re most effective.

Moreover, data has direct implications for brand value and pricing power. For example, insights might suggest differentiated regional pricing (e.g., EMEA vs. US) or inform new product packages based on data-driven understanding.

Measurement also supports sales enablement. If your sales team needs to justify higher prices than competitors, they require data-backed evidence of value — not just price.

Finally, connecting marketing metrics to the business metrics that matter most — such as market size, CAC, CLV, revenue growth, and competitive position — allows marketing leaders to communicate effectively with decision-makers.

Overall, measurement provides the foundation for strategic clarity, operational efficiency, and cross-team alignment.

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Why do marketing teams need clear operating rhythms, for example reporting every week or 3 months?

Marketing teams need clear operating rhythms — such as weekly or quarterly reporting — to stay focused, aligned, and adaptable.

Regular, structured reporting enables continuous tracking of achievements: completed campaigns, generated leads, engagement results, and more. Knowing what’s been done and what’s performing well provides a basis for improvement.

Secondly, consistent reporting helps determine future actions. By reflecting on results, teams can plan new strategies, improve campaigns, or test emerging channels.

Lastly, challenges are inevitable. Frequent check-ins surface issues early, enabling teams to respond before they escalate.

Establishing clear operating rhythms aligns everyone toward shared goals, maintains accountability, and fosters a culture of learning and improvement.

In short, rhythm and cadence aren’t just management rituals — they’re the heartbeat of a healthy marketing organisation.

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What are the best ways of organising a marketing team?

Organising a marketing team effectively can be complex but highly rewarding. Unfortunately every organisation is different and has different needs. However the following is a starting point at least:

1. Ops & Analytics Team – Builds experimental systems to evaluate marketing tactics using tools like Google Analytics, HubSpot and so on. This team measures the customer journey, conversions, and brand sentiment, often growing into the largest function in successful companies.
2. Customer Evangelism – Focuses on identifying and nurturing brand advocates. By empowering evangelists to share reviews and stories, they amplify awareness and trust.
3. Content Team – Produces helpful resources for every stage of the buying journey, from awareness to decision. The goal is to educate and position the brand as a trusted advisor.
4. Paid Acquisition – Manages targeted ad campaigns to drive demand efficiently. The focus is on identifying which channels convert best and contribute to brand equity.
5. Website / Conversion Team – Optimises the user journey, experiments with referral programs, new designs, and incentives to improve conversion rates.
6. Product Marketing – Understands customer needs, segments the market, and refines pricing. As Zendesk expanded into enterprise, it used higher pricing to signal quality and strengthen positioning.
7. Lifecycle Nurturing – Maintains relationships through long buying cycles involving 10–30 touchpoints. This team also drives upsell and cross-sell opportunities post-sale.
8. Comms / PR – Shapes the brand narrative, manages public relations, and ensures message consistency.
9. International Marketing – Builds global cohesion by hiring native speakers of target regions at headquarters to maintain integration and connection.

In summary, the most effective marketing teams balance performance advertising, brand building, growth experimentation, and product marketing, ensuring every customer stage — from awareness to advocacy — is supported.

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How do I get a shared understanding of the go to market strategy?

Achieving a shared understanding of the go-to-market (GTM) strategy requires alignment, clarity, and collaboration.

The first step is building strong team consensus. Adopting a “disagree and commit” approach ensures everyone supports the final strategy, even if opinions differ. GTM success depends on full alignment across product, marketing, sales, and people teams.

A sound strategy begins with diagnosing key challenges, setting guiding principles, and then forming an actionable plan. The plan itself is not the strategy — it’s the execution layer.

Factors to consider include stagnant revenue growth, market shifts, and rising costs. Strategic alternatives might involve competing directly with a specific rival or moving upmarket to increase average revenue per customer.

Understanding why you’ve won deals in the past is crucial. If success came from your security value proposition, for example, target similar customers who value that differentiator.

Marketing plays a binding role in GTM strategy. It connects every part of the business to deliver a cohesive customer experience and compelling reasons to buy. Quick iteration, experimentation, and learning from results are vital.

Tracking relevant metrics is equally important. Keep asking: How does this work improve one or more of our key measures?

Finally, GTM alignment depends on open communication and active listening across teams. Success comes from shared understanding, not just shared documentation.

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What is the best marketing culture to build success?

Building a successful marketing culture requires a holistic approach that connects strategy, execution, and learning.

Drawing from Harvard Business Review’s “The Ultimate Marketing Machine”, six areas stand out:

1. Big Data & Deep Insights – High-growth companies don’t just analyse what consumers do — they seek to understand why. They integrate analytics with behavioural insight to predict and shape demand.
2. Purposeful Positioning – Brands that deliver functional, emotional, and societal value outperform others. A clear purpose unites the organisation and aligns every experience.
3. Total Experience – Successful marketers deliver a complete, data-driven customer journey. They personalise engagement and build long-term relationships beyond transactions.
4. Organisational Efficiency – Strong marketing cultures link strategy to execution. They prioritise, run agile cross-functional teams, and build internal capabilities.
5. Building Capabilities – Continuous learning drives marketing excellence. Ongoing training, workshops, and external partnerships help teams stay sharp.
6. The Networked Organisation – Rigid hierarchies are giving way to fluid, networked structures. Teams now assemble dynamically around key initiatives, enabling speed and adaptability.

In essence, a successful marketing culture isn’t just about campaigns. It’s about purpose, data-driven insight, customer experience, and agility. Companies that master these traits combine clarity of direction with the flexibility to evolve — and that’s what sustains long-term marketing success.

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If you’re building or reshaping a marketing organisation and want it to be truly aligned, accountable, and growth-ready, let’s talk.

I work with leadership teams to design operating models, clarify strategy, and create the systems that make accountability a shared advantage.

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FAQ

What does “aligned” really mean in this context?

Alignment means every team — brand, demand, sales, and success — shares the same understanding of goals, metrics, and customer journey. It’s not about everyone doing the same thing; it’s about moving in the same direction with clear intent.

How is this different from traditional marketing transformation projects?

Most transformations focus on structure or tools. Aligned, accountable marketing focuses on outcomes first — then designs the systems, processes, and culture needed to sustain them. It’s practical, not theoretical.

Where should accountability sit — in marketing, sales, or leadership?

Accountability isn’t a department; it’s a shared mindset. Leadership defines what success means, marketing owns how it’s measured, and every team contributes to the same scorecard.

Can smaller organisations use this framework?

Absolutely. The principles scale up or down. In smaller teams, alignment happens faster because communication is direct. The framework simply gives structure to what high-performing teams already do instinctively.

What’s the first step to get started?

Start by defining what success means for your business — revenue, retention, reputation, or reach — and map how each team contributes to it. From there, the gaps in alignment become obvious and actionable.