How to build a high-performing marketing team on a budget

Brand and marketing are important elements of sustainable business success. But what's the best way to go about getting an effective marketing team in place? For many companies, establishing an in-house marketing team can be expensive and time-consuming. Luckily, there are plenty of options available that can provide strong results without breaking the bank. At AXD, we work with many businesses that have established a hybrid marketing team, internal members & outsourced marketing experts to support them and lead the strategy.  Having a hybrid marketing team in place can free up your time so that you can focus on other aspects of running your business.

Plan your team structure

Hiring a digital marketing apprentice is a good place to start if you don’t already have a marketing function and want to be tactical with your budget. An apprentice is paid £6.40 per hour (or anything above) and will spend 20% of their time training off the job. They will be responsible for a range of activities, including social media management, boosting brand recognition, paid campaigns, website management and using other marketing tactics to get your company name out there. And, because they are employed by you, they will always be on-hand to deliver marketing activities and feedback.

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Perhaps you already have a small or one-person marketing team, busy with content creation, social media, internal marketing and more.  They are achieving great things but there are not enough hours in the day and they don’t have the knowledge or expertise to take your marketing to the next level.

Hiring a part-time independent Marketing Director is a great way to establish a successful marketing function.  Someone with sector contacts and experience will give you a leg up on the competition without having to spend hours sifting through CV’s and carrying out interviews.  It’s cheaper than hiring, in-house, and less hassle.  Their daily rate is usually between £500 - £800 per day typically working 2 - 8 days per month for a specific business. Compared to a Marketing Directors' average salary of £75,000 per annum.

An outsourced Marketing Director can help you target your market, optimise your marketing communication, reach and help convert your audience. They'll craft an effective strategy so prospects know the products or services that might interest them most. They also provide coaching and leadership to your in-house marketing team driving results whilst leading the strategy. By hiring an in-house marketing apprentice/marketing executive and an external Marketing Director you can have the best of both worlds. Strong Marketing expertise with board-level experience and a creative, marketing employee with the time and support to deliver the tactics.  

So, what are the main benefits of this hybrid team?

1. Increase your marketing capacity for less.
2. Add fresh ideas and perspectives to your team.
3. Embed the latest best practices within your marketing
4. Establish a culture of continuous learning and development
5. Add senior marketing knowledge, experience and leadership for less
6. Remove the marketing headache so you can focus on your business.

At AXD, we want to help businesses of all sizes find the best digital talent and give them the leadership they need and establish a successful marketing function. We provide director-level marketing experts with SaaS & tech experience, and we'll help recruit and manage your in-house marketing function. If you would like us to help you get started, please get in touch.