Marketing is an exciting field because there’s no shortage of things to do and ideas to implement. This can make staffing a challenge, however, especially when you enter the realm of people-based marketing. Many marketing leaders in this arena struggle to figure out how to build their people-based marketing teams to connect with consumers in a one-to-one manner and uplevel their people-based measurement game.
While we wish there was one perfect way to build a people-based marketing team, there isn’t. How you hire and develop your team depends on what you’re trying to achieve.
Let’s consider two scenarios specific to people-based measurement and how to staff against them: cross-channel attribution and A/B testing.
Cross-channel attribution
Getting a pulse check on how people react to your campaigns across channels is a common marketing goal. Here are three approaches to strategically build a people-based marketing team staffing against this capability:
1. Hire a contractor
If you’re in the test -and -learn phase of attribution, bring on one full-time internal dedicated team member for attribution initially, and then move to her to a full-time role after the implementation is completed and early tests yield promising results.
2. Hire one full-time employee
If analytics is something you want to invest in for the long term, start with hiring one full-time employee specifically for the initiative, so that there is an ongoing focus and dedication on how data will inform current and future campaigns.
3. Hire a consultant
If you’re using an external third-party measurement provider, consider outsourcing consulting services to that partner. In this option, you can find support models varying from extensive implementation support to a dedicated business analyst who will mine insights and continually improve models throughout the project.
Regardless of which approach you choose, don’t underestimate the resources and time you will need to commit to a successful attribution program. There are no quick fixes in marketing measurement!
A/B Testing
If you’re interested in changing up your creative and differentiating your customer experience, people-based A/B testing may be more up your alley. From copy to special offers to the entirety of your marketing mix, marketers are in a constant state of testing and optimization. Still, getting a true understanding is no easy task—it takes commitment to the process.
To understand how to assemble the right people-based marketing team for people-based A/B testing and ensure alignment on roles and responsibilities, we turned to Ovative/group, a digital marketing and analytics firm. Their preferred structure involves the client, agency, an identity resolution provider (like us!), and a publisher or DSP.
The approach to this team should be consistent, even if the agency and/or publisher/DSP differs between tests. Ideally, a consistently used partner (such as the agency or identity resolution provider) or an internal resource manages and oversees this effort, ensuring consistency between tests.
Interested in learning more about what these people-based marketing teams can achieve? Download our ebooks on cross-channel attribution and people-based A/B testing.
The people-based A/B testing use case is typically for companies with defined teams and agency support. The chart above is something to keep in mind if your current team is small but mighty, and wants to grow to handle more sophisticated tests with defined hypotheses on ways to achieve organizational KPIs.