Expansion is an exciting milestone. If you’re reaching that point, congrats! However, growth often brings new challenges, especially for smaller B2B companies that don’t have the resources to scale their marketing efforts as quickly as demand increases.
This “in-between” stage is the trickiest. Your products or services are gaining traction, but your team, internal processes, and marketing capacity are still catching up. And you know you can’t skate by with a one-person marketing team or no dedicated team at all.
The good news is that you don’t have to overburden your existing employees. With the right strategy and support, businesses can scale their marketing efforts efficiently while allowing internal teams to stay focused on what made them great in the first place.
Before you charge into supersized marketing efforts, there are a few key steps to put into place. Without the right processes and strategy in place, growth can create even more confusion and leave your team overwhelmed.
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Bonus Context: Think in “Rocks” In Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), “rocks” are the high-priority goals that matter most over the next 90 days. The idea is simple: stay accountable to the big-picture priorities that move the company forward instead of “chasing squirrels.” Rocks help keep the team focused on what will actually move the needle. |
Implementing a new internal process can feel overwhelming under any circumstances. When you’re trying to do it while your business is growing, the challenge becomes even greater. As more customers come on board, workloads increase, priorities shift, and your team can quickly become overworked. Marketing is often one of the first areas where these growing pains surface.
Simply telling your team to work harder isn’t the answer. Instead, these challenges are often signs that your current marketing approach can no longer support the pace of your business growth.
A wise man once said, “To be everywhere is to be nowhere.”
You know your marketing efforts need additional support, but where do you start? Instead of trying to fill every marketing role at once, prioritize the positions that will have the biggest impact on your business goals.
You also have a few different options for where you’re sourcing your marketing team. Should you hire internally, partner with an agency, or work with freelancers? Understanding the pros and cons of each approach can help you choose the best fit for your business.
Common indicators that it’s time to outsource include:
Scaling your marketing doesn’t have to mean adding more work to your team’s to-do list. The right tools, processes, and automation can help your team work more efficiently. By using a few smart strategies, you can grow your marketing efforts without overwhelming your employees.
Regularly measure results as you go to refine your approach to eliminate what isn’t working, and focus on what’s delivering the greatest results.
When figuring out a new marketing infrastructure, include the employees doing the work! Whether you’re expanding your internal team or partnering with an external agency, clearly communicate what is changing, why it’s changing, and what everyone can expect.
It’s also important to set realistic expectations. While it’s tempting to tackle every marketing goal at once, trying to do too much too quickly can result in mediocre or unfinished work. Instead, break larger objectives into manageable milestones and spread them across each quarter. This approach creates steady progress and sets your team up for long-term success.
Set a consistent cadence for team check-ins at every level of the organization. Depending on your company’s size and structure, that might mean quarterly 1-on-1s with leadership, biweekly check-ins with department leads, and weekly meetings between team leads and their teams. Just as important, ensure an environment where employees feel comfortable starting conversations as needed, ensuring they have the support, resources, and clarity to reach their goals.
As you introduce new processes and tools, provide employees with proper training and support. Foster an environment where your team feels it’s safe and worthwhile to give open feedback about what’s working and what isn’t, then be willing to adjust your approach.
The people closest to the work are often the first to see where a new process is creating unnecessary friction. Leadership needs to actively ask what’s working and what isn't, and more importantly, be willing to listen without immediately defending why things are done a certain way. You won’t always implement every suggestion, and that’s okay. What matters is closing the loop and acknowledging the feedback so your team knows their input is valued, considered, and worth sharing.
Improving your processes is an ongoing effort, and making changes early when something isn’t working is far more effective than forcing your team to stick with an inefficient system for 5-10 years.
Scaling your marketing plan will be an ongoing process, not a one-time project. The right strategy, processes, and support allow businesses to grow without overloading their existing team. Depending on your B2B’s needs, this could mean creating a team internally or partnering with an external agency.
To find out what’s holding your marketing growth back and discover your next best step, take our coaching quiz.