Aside from everything in the mix now we had to drop this post because it’s interesting how companies come to us for solutions to all sorts of problems, though one of the biggest requests we get is for help on ways to revamp marketing departments/teams to get things on track.

This can range from certain slices of the pie not performing best (PR, SEO, social media, etc.) or the entire pie isn’t operating properly and you need a team to come in and shake things up to get everything right because you’re potentially missing out on opportunities each day.

As one example, we worked on a variety of fun projects for hedge funds that used our insights before they acquired/invested in companies then we came in afterwards to solve problems in the marketing departments to either improve existing teams or build new ones. The same applies to projects in the restaurant/hotel industry and other adventures in the past.

And that comes down to CEOs, VPs of marketing, etc. and executives from all other walks of life taking a step back, thinking outside of their internal boxes/bubbles, realizing there’s a bigger light at the end of the tunnel then bringing in outside help (if needed) to help guide the next steps. It’s a digital dance.

Going back to the core of this blog post and the question around how to transform marketing departments, based on our experience, here are a few tips for building the best marketing teams:

Identifying the Most Intelligent, Highest Performers
Whether you’re selling food products, luxury goods, real estate or anything else and trying to build a marketing team having people that are very knowledgeable in your particular space and a leader in that is critical. Yes, your neighbor’s friend’s sushi chef that lives near Malibu knows someone that was in marketing 20 years ago, but can you rely on that?

Oscar Wilde’s quote from the early 1900s summed things up best: “I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.” And if you’re a company that’s serious about kicking ass you need to think about this when it comes to everything you do.

People That Play Nice With Others: Team Players
One of the best ways to transform a marketing department at a company or any other department is to implement a strategy that brings people together in a collaborative way where all thoughts can be expressed in a team/group setting and everyone’s feedback is equally as valuable.

This is similar to how Steve Jobs ran meetings with NeXT in the early days before going back to Apple: An employee-centric approach where everyone’s input whether you’re a janitor or VP is worth its weight in gold.

Being Analytical vs Selfish: Believing in Data/Results
The most important thing in building any team is having a group of people that take an analytical approach to their decision-making process where egos and being selfish in either conscious or subconscious go out the window and instead the energy is focused on the success of the company/team as a whole.

The main point: If you open your eyes and ears to the world around you while listening and learning from your surroundings many of the things that may seem complex are often simple. 

This applies to transforming marketing teams, but also so much more in business/life.