Good morning Marketer, let’s talk about martech roles.
Marketing Land columnist Steve Peterson wrote that marketing teams often have assumptions about team members with specialized roles – and that those individuals can perform all functions. But when it comes to martech roles, what works in one situation may not make sense in another. Here’s why.
“There are at least two types of assumptions,” said Peterson. “First, the T-shaped team member is someone who is able to perform all of the functions and skills required of the team (programming, QA, infrastructure maintenance, etc.), but they specialize in one but can at least satisfactorily perform the others. Second, the I-shaped member not only specializes in one function/skill, they can only perform that one. No one perfectly fits into one type.”
But in either case, Peterson said that clear expectations of responsibilities are crucial. “For instance, who is primarily responsible for a task? When is it OK for someone to step out of their specialty to get something done quickly? On a side note, a RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed) analysis and chart can help with this.”
The important thing to consider, he said, is that there are advantages and disadvantages to adopting either of these models. As most of us marketers know, what works in one situation may not make sense in another.
Taylor Peterson,
Deputy Editor
