Download the PDF: https://www.demandmetric.com/content/selecting-org-structure-marketing Does your marketing department have a solid infrastructure? Do all of your company’s marketing professionals understand their role/function in the organization? Is the chain of command easily understood or only loosely communicated to marketing staff? Organizational (org) structures provide a framework within a company that ensures all employees are aware of their role and how they fit into the ecosystem of the business. Org structures present themselves on a spectrum anywhere from a traditional, top-down approach to more collaborative, flexible approaches. Org structures vary by company size, industry, and business needs. Ideally, each company will create its structure based on their specific requirements, and continue to update the org structure as changes occur, both internally and externally. As marketing departments become more complex, with new technologies and initiatives appearing all the time, it is important that Marketing builds and maintains an org structure that will enhance their current and future plans. This How-To Guide was designed to help you understand what the common org charts look like, the pros and cons of each structure, and how to select the best org structure for your company.

1. SELECTING
AN ORG
STRUCTURE
FOR
MARKETING
HOW-TO GUIDE

2. 2 Selecting an Org Structure for Marketing How-to Guide
Does your marketing department have a solid infrastructure? Do all of your company’s marketing
professionals understand their role/function in the organization? Is the chain of command easily
understood or only loosely communicated to marketing staff?
Organizational (org) structures provide a framework within a company that ensures all employees
are aware of their role and how they fit into the ecosystem of the business. Org structures present
themselves on a spectrum anywhere from a traditional, top-down approach to more collaborative,
flexible approaches. Org structures vary by company size, industry, and business needs. Ideally,
each company will create its structure based on their specific requirements, and continue to update
the org structure as changes occur, both internally and externally.
As marketing departments become more complex, with new technologies and initiatives appearing
all the time, it is important that Marketing builds and maintains an org structure that will enhance
their current and future plans.
This How-To Guide was designed to help you understand what the common org charts look like,
the pros and cons of each structure, and how to select the best org structure for your company.
HOW-TO GUIDE
Selecting an Org
Structure for Marketing

3. 3 Selecting an Org Structure for Marketing How-to Guide
The most common org structures for a marketing department are Centralized, Marketing Services,
Center of Excellence, Decentralized, and Circular. The five figures reviewed in this section do not
show the entirety of each structure; however, they do provide a glance at how each structure is
arranged. Here are graphics of five common marketing org charts:
Common Organizational Structures
FIGURE 1: CENTRALIZED ORG STRUCTURE
FIGURE 2: MARKETING SERVICES ORG STRUCTURE
CMO
CEO
VP,
Demand Generation
President, Business
Unit A
Budget Budget Budget
Director, Content
Marketing
Director, Event
Marketing
VP, Strategic
Communications
President, Business
Unit B
VP, Customer
Success
President, Business
Unit C
Director, Customer
Engagement
VP, Marketing Ops
and Finance
Marketing
Services
HOW-TO GUIDE
Selecting an Org
Structure for Marketing

4. 4 Selecting an Org Structure for Marketing How-to Guide
FIGURE 3: CENTER OF EXCELLENCE ORG STRUCTURE
FIGURE 4: DECENTRALIZED ORG STRUCTURE
CEO
Head of Corporate
Comm and Marketing
VP, Strategy and
Branding
President, Business
Unit A
VP, Marketing
Programs - BU A
President, Business
Unit B
VP, Marketing
Programs - BU B
President, Business
Unit C
VP, Marketing
Programs - BU C
CEO
Business Unit
Head A
VP, Marketing Strat. and
Programs - BU A
Content Marketing
Manager
Content Marketing
Manager
Event Marketing
Manager
Creative Services
Manager
Business Unit
Head B
VP, Marketing Strat. and
Programs - BU B
Business Unit
Head C
VP, Marketing Strat. and
Programs - BU C
Event Marketing
Manager
HOW-TO GUIDE
Selecting an Org
Structure for Marketing

5. 5 Selecting an Org Structure for Marketing How-to Guide
FIGURE 3: CIRCULAR ORG STRUCTURE
CMO
VP, Demand Gen
Event Marketing Manager
Customer Success Manager
Marketing
Ops Manager
PR Manager
VP, Customer Success
VP, Strategic
Comm
VP, Marketing
Ops and Finance
HOW-TO GUIDE
Selecting an Org
Structure for Marketing

6. 6 Selecting an Org Structure for Marketing How-to Guide
Each org chart in the previous section has its own unique attributes. While each org structure has
its pros, there are also cons that should be considered before implementation or restructuring. The
following table details the key attributes, pros, and cons of each chart:
Organizational Structure Descriptions
Figure
#
Org.
Structure Description Pros Cons
Figure 1 Centralized
Is the top-down approach
traditionally used by
mid-sized to large organ-
izations. It relies on a
singular, centralized
marketing department
that reports directly to the
CMO/CEO.
Provides an easily
deciphered chain of
command; Enables
highly specialized job
functions; Allows for
continued growth as a
company expands.
Can create challenges
with communication
and adjustments to
market changes if
all departments are
silo'ed.
Figure 2
Marketing
Services
Marketing Services acts
as an internal agency for
all marketing activities
and programs. This group
obtains budget require-
ments from each Business
Unit (BU), and provides the
Marketing function based
on the requirements for
each individual BU. This
could be considered
"internal outsourcing," BUs
can be based on product,
market segment, or
geographic location.
All marketing activities
are executed and
managed in the same
"command center"; Can
be easily scaled for
growing companies;
Remains cost effective
with one main source of
marketing activity.
Marketing Services
group does not control
the budget; May be
issues maintaining
consistency across
BUs.
HOW-TO GUIDE
Selecting an Org
Structure for Marketing

7. 7 Selecting an Org Structure for Marketing How-to Guide
Figure # Org.
Structure Description Pros Cons
Figure 3
Center of
Excellence
Is similar to the Traditional
model; however, the
origanization is structured
by Business Unit (BU). Busi-
ness Units can be based
on product division, market
segment, or geographic
location. In this model, the
corporation (as a whole)
maintains the strategy
portion of Marketing, but
the individual BU manages
and monitors the unique
programs and budget of
Marketing.
Provides a "command
center" for Marketing
strategy that is filtered
down to each BU,
which maintains some
level of consistency
across the entire
company; Empowers
each BU to market its
product or its segment
on their own with their
unique knowledge.
Can cause serious
communication loss
and transfer of know-
ledge; Can provide
each BU with too
much autonomy and
a chance to stray from
the company's over-
arching strategic goals.
Figure 4 Decentralized
Each Business Unit (BU) is
responsible for Marketing
in its entirety. Marketing
strategy and programs
are run by each BU.
Allows each BU to
utilize their knowledge
of the specific division,
market segment, or
location to drive collat-
eral and marketing
programs that increase
sales opps and closes.
Creates a great deal of
autonomy for each BU;
Can cause an overlap
in work if similar job
roles are implemented
to each BU to do
similar programs.
Figure 5 Circular
Is a more organic organ-
izational structure. It still
provides a loose chain of
command with the exec-
utive/leader at the center;
however, the ideology is
that the exec/leader will
"radiate" their vision and
knowledge throughout
the department. There are
bands for each job level
that indicate different levels
of knowledge transfer and
functionality. This model is
typically seen in SMBs or
start-up companies.
Allows a free flow of
knowledge and ideas
throughout the organ-
ization; Encourages
constant communica-
tion and collaboration.
Employees may have a
hard time deciphering
their place in the organ-
ization; immediate chain
of command can be
difficult to maintain.
HOW-TO GUIDE
Selecting an Org
Structure for Marketing

8. 8 Selecting an Org Structure for Marketing How-to Guide
HOW-TO GUIDE
Selecting An Org
Structure For Marketing
Since there are so many ways that a company can organize their infrastructure, there are several
characteristics each organization must consider in order to properly select the right org structure
for their needs. As mentioned previously in this guide, an org structure must be specific to each
company’s size, industry and business needs. Consider the following items when implementing an
org structure or restructuring your company:
The chain of command indicates exactly how an organization is structured from the top of the
organization (i.e. CEO) all the way down to the bottom. A chain of command can be long (i.e. CEO
to SVP to Director to Manager to Specialist) or short (i.e. CEO to Manager). It can also be rigid (see
Figure 1) or loose (see Figure 5).
How To Select The Right Org Structure
Chain of Command
SMB: The majority of small to mid-sized businesses will most likely see a short chain
of command since there will be less employees than the standard Enterprise. SMBs
should consider the benefits of both rigid and loose chains of command. A loose
structure provides more flexibility with communication, reporting, and adding new
roles. A more rigid structure will provide a solid backbone if your company is gearing
up for rapid growth.
Enterprise: Large corporations will typically have long chains of command as there
tend to be more responsibilities that need to be covered. The majority of Enterprises
will prefer a more rigid structure as well to ensure all employees are aware of their
direct reports.

9. 9 Selecting an Org Structure for Marketing How-to Guide
HOW-TO GUIDE
Centralization
Product/Market/Geographic Needs
Single Product/Market/Location: Organizations that do not handle more than one of
these should not concern themselves with this characteristic unless new products,
markets, or geographic locations emerge.
Multiple Products/Markets/Locations: Companies that handle more than one of these
should consider Figure 2, Figure 3, and Figure 4 from the previous section. Each of
these structures have their merits, and help multi-faceted organizations divide up
responsibilities and knowledge in order to properly serve all customers.
In order to determine how centralized your org structure needs to be, you will first need to under-
stand where the decision-making power lies. A centralized org structure (Figure 1) indicates a main
source of decision-making power, while a decentralized org structure (Figure 4) suggests that the
decision-making power is spread out through different parts of the organization. Figures 2 and 3
show a combination of the two, with parts of Marketing being shared between a “command center”
and other parts of the organization. Both SMBs and Enterprises may fall anywhere on the spectrum
based on the number of business units required, the number of departments needed, and/or the
specialization/formalization of job roles.
Organizations that offer more than one product, serve more than one market segment or do busi-
ness in more than one location (i.e. regions, countries, continents) must consider how marketing
strategy and programs may differ for each product, market, and/or location.
As your company grows, encounters internal changes, and/or sees developments in the market-
place, you will need to re-evaluate your org structure to supplement business needs. An organ-
ization’s marketing infrastructure can help or hinder business development, sales success, and
customer engagement.
Selecting An Org
Structure For Marketing
Organizational structures are a critical asset of any company. They promote an understanding of
job role/function, a guide for how information should disseminated through the company and a
framework for responsibility and reporting. Marketing departments are no exception to the need
for an org structure. In fact, as more technologies and programs are introduced into the marketing
space, it is imperative that Marketing considers how their functions are arranged and managed.
CEOs, CMOs and marketing leaders should review the specific requirements of their businesses
in order to properly structure the marketing function for productivity and growth.
Bottom Line

10. 10 Selecting an Org Structure for Marketing How-to Guide
1
2
3
4
Review Org
Charts In
Figures 1 To 5
Arrange Or
Rebuild?
Build Your New
Org Chart
Share Your
Organizational
Plans
Review the org charts in Figures 1 to 5 and
the corresponding descriptions. Identify
which org chart is most closely oriented to
your current structure.
Action Plan
STEP 1 - Review Org Charts In Figures 1 To 5
Study the Org Charts and
Compare them to Your
Business

11. 11 Selecting an Org Structure for Marketing How-to Guide
1
2
3
4
Review Org
Charts In
Figures 1 To 5
Arrange Or
Rebuild?
Follow the guidelines in the “How to Select
the Right Org Structure” section of this guide
and relate it to the associated org charts
above.
Action Plan
STEP 2 - Arrange Or Rebuild?
Build Your New
Org Chart
Share Your
Organizational
Plans
Plan the Adaptations
or Rebuild of Your
Infrastructure

12. 12 Selecting an Org Structure for Marketing How-to Guide
1
2
3
4
Build Your New
Org Chart
Action Plan
STEP 3 - Build Your New Org Chart
Share Your
Organizational
Plans
Use the Modern Marketing
Department Structure Here
Utilize our Modern Marketing
Department Structure as a
foundation to build your own
organizational plan.
V I E W R E S O U R C E
Modern Marketing Department Structure
Arrange Or
Rebuild?
Review Org
Charts In
Figures 1 To 5

13. 13 Selecting an Org Structure for Marketing How-to Guide
1
2
3
4
Share Your
Organizational
Plans
Share your organizational plans with key
executives and begin to disseminate roles,
functions, and responsibilities through
your new channels of leadership and
communication.
Action Plan
STEP 4 - Share Your Organizational Plans
Build Your New
Org Chart
Set Responsibilities
with Clear Plans and
Communication
Arrange Or
Rebuild?
Review Org
Charts In
Figures 1 To 5

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