Building Growth Function From Ground Zero

Summary

The goal was to create a Growth function that combined efforts from Sales and Marketing. They focused on the 3 Ps - Product (defining the Growth function's value proposition), Process (developing structured planning and measurement processes), and People (maximizing the team's potential with clear roles and accountability). This approach aligned with the Predictable Pipeline methodology, emphasizing five pillars: Target Audience, Sales Process, Content, Tools and Technology, and Metrics.

By Payal Parikh, Director of Client Engagement and Head of Growth at Heinz Marketing

Before I was assigned to be the Head of Growth at Heinz Marketing, I had no experience in how to build something that didn’t exist. Basically, building something from Ground Zero. Matt Heinz trusted me for the job, I wore my ‘Head of Growth’ hat and I knew I didn’t want to let him down. This is a hat I wear when I am not wearing my ‘Director of Client Services’ hat.

I do have experience working with B2B organizations for their demand generation, cross-functional alignment, etc. But building something from ground zero was not one of them.

How do we define Growth here at Heinz Marketing? Growth for us is a combined effort of Sales and Marketing. We look at different revenue contributors as a part of the overall company revenue. This includes net new sales coming in from marketing, sales, partners, etc.

How did I start thinking about it?

If you have read my other blogs, you’ll notice I keep coming back to the 3 Ps.

Product

In this case, my Product is the Growth function. Determining its value proposition and how it is in alignment with the organization’s overall strategic initiatives. It’s how marketing and sales work together, how we can leverage partners for a mutually beneficial relationship, and what is the contribution of each to our funnel. The journey started with defining the overall goal that is measurable and that could keep us all accountable.

Defining this goal is crucial so you don’t start shooting in the dark with ad hoc marketing campaigns and ad hoc initiatives.

Process

Next up was defining processes. We needed a structure that would increase our ability in planning, problem-solving, and decision-making for the organization. We pilot-tested a campaign back in 2021, learned our lessons, and documented our lessons and our processes for planning, executing, measuring, and collaborating.

The next part of the process is to see how you measure up against your goals. We started with monthly accountability meetings – KPI review meetings. I think it is important for any organization to involve folks at different levels and to provide them visibility into how their contributions affect the bottom line of the business. And for a marketing agency like ours, it is even more important for people to understand the connection better so we can serve our clients better.

These monthly meetings provide us with insights into what’s working and what needs problem-solving. And it keeps the teams pumped and involved. Gives them a sense of ownership. This brings me to my last P.

People

Any great product or process will fail if you don’t have the right people in the right seats. We are all experts in what we do here at Heinz Marketing and are constantly learning. Maximizing my team’s potential was what I wanted to do next. Having clear accountability was critical for the success of the growth initiative. We started this year with a very defined organizational structure in Marketing. We have clear responsibilities for project management, content, sales enablement, social media, marketing operations, and some others. This doesn’t mean we went on a hiring spree to fill up all these roles. We are a very nimble and agile team, where everyone wears more than one hat. Defining clear roles for everyone on the team helps create a sense of ownership and accountability.

Once the 3 Ps were established, we developed our target market and other foundational elements. We had our theories, but it was important to test them against our own data and trends in the market. Developing ICP and buying committee is important for your sales and marketing teams. Marketing knows exactly who they should reach out to for generating inbound leads. Sales have a clear definition of who they should reach out to outbound.

We strongly believe in the Predictable Pipeline methodology where we focus on its five main pillars:

• Target Audience
• Sales Process
• Content
• Tools and Technology
• Metrics

We have a fantastic resource for you to get started on your journey to building a predictable pipeline for your organization. We developed this workbook in partnership with ON24. You can get started by yourself or let us know if you want our team of experts to build one for you. Let me know and we can set up a free 30-minute consultation.

How have you built your function from ground zero? What were your obstacles and what did you learn from them? Would love to hear from you below.