head of marketing

The 2 types of head of marketing



There are two types of head of marketing we typically encounter in B2B organizations.

The “Marketing Communications/Demand Generation” Head of Marketing

Justin is the prototypical head of marketing. He is expected to focus on building the pipeline and to generate demand. This is his portion of the business. His background is in marketing communications and demand generation, and he can effectively employ marketing strategies and tactics to promote solutions and contribute to the brand. He takes charge of marketing at his company and decides to update the website and to run email blasts throughout the year. Whether or not these activities prove valuable and generate desired outcomes is up in the air, because he does not have much buyer insight from which to operate, nor is he working toward an overarching program or theme but rather practicing his and his team’s strengths.

The “Solution Marketing” Head of Marketing

Shauna is another kind of head of marketing. Her background is in solution marketing. She has perhaps had some product and/or sales experience — most definitely she has had experience in building relationships with buyers and clients. She focuses less on the direct activities and campaigns to build pipeline but rather looks to the overall themes, vision, messaging to unite her teams and to engage in meaningful ways with target buyers. Her concern is not the nitty gritty of marketing activities but the overarching picture of the business and where it is going.

The Power of Combined Head of Marketing

The majority of marketing departments have just one of these roles accounted for in its head of marketing. And while these two roles can work together to generate big results without a formal framework, the best companies we have worked with over the decade that generate sustainable revenue performance recognize the need for pairing a solution marketing head with a marketing communications/demand generation head.

Check back next week or follow Mereo on LinkedIn to learn how one company implemented this head of marketing partnership — and the impressive results that followed.

FOLLOW MEREO