Your first marketing hire: what founders should know
- Claire Dibben
- Jul 17
- 8 min read
As the founder of a growing business, you know that you’ll need to invest in marketing at some point.
It’s inevitable, right? That much is clear.
But, what’s less clear is: when should you hire? What skills should you hire for? What level of seniority do you need?
It’s a good sign that you’re reading this, because not reflecting on those kinds of questions can save a lot of regret later down the line.
Let’s get into it.
Are you ready to hire your first marketer?
If any of the statements below resonate, then I’d say you’re ready to hire your first marketer.
Marketing is important to you but you don’t have the time to lead it.
Your marketing activity is a bit stop-start. If you have the time, you’ll put out a quick social post (maybe). You’re frustrated by the lack of momentum and know you should be doing more.
Or, the opposite is happening and marketing is taking up waaaaay too much of your time. As a founder, you need to be focused on other aspects of the business.
You’re consistently generating revenue and want to ramp things up a notch.
Where I’ve seen founders go wrong
There are a few common themes when founders make their first marketing hire. I know this because I've had lots of conversations with founders and marketing peers over the years and the same challenges tend to crop up.
1. Unclear priorities
You hire someone. Hurrah! Then after day one, you leave them to figure it all out.
This means they don't know important stuff like: your business goals, what success looks like, which goals matter the most. And so they just have to try to do everything because they don’t know what to push back on.
Eventually all that well-intentioned marketing activity just becomes lots of spinning plates and no meaningful progress.
2. No clear business strategy
Before your first marketing hire can decide how to reach people you want to get in-front of, you need to tell them who the business is trying to reach and why.
Do you know the answer to these questions?
Who are your priority audiences?
What are you trying to achieve over the next 12 months?
What role do you want marketing to play in getting you there?
If you’ve got the answers to those mastered then you get a gold star from me.
On the topic of strategy, I've also seen businesses change direction every few weeks and expect marketing to keep up. The reality is that good marketing takes time. Campaigns need planning, content needs creating, and results don't happen overnight. So, bear in mind that if you’ve just launched and are going through a period of testing, you might be better off working with a freelancer on those specific projects whilst you’re learning from the outcomes.
3. Expecting one person to do everything
Let me be clear: one person absolutely can do marketing. But only when the strategy is clear and the priorities are realistic :)
What I see far too often are job descriptions looking for someone to set the strategy, write the content, run webinars, manage paid ads, optimise the website, improve SEO, organise events, learn the latest AI tools, analyse the data... and probably plan the Christmas party whilst they’re at it.
It's just not realistic.
Your first marketing hire shouldn't be expected to be an expert in every discipline. Give them a clear direction, help them focus on what matters most, and they'll have a much better chance of making a real impact. I promise.
Ask yourself these five questions (before you hire)
I’m a big fan of reflective questions, so have a ponder on these before you make your first marketing hire.
What are we actually trying to achieve?
Both for your business and from your marketing. This will put lots of other questions into much clearer perspective. If you're clear on where you're heading, it's much easier to work out who you need to help get you there.
What skills do we genuinely need?
Do you want a creative? Perhaps you’re after someone with a keen eye for content that stops the scroll on social. Or maybe you know that paid search is where you need to invest first and you’re after someone with technical expertise, who understands keyword strategy and conversion tracking. One thing to bear in mind is that very few marketers are brilliant at everything. Being clear on the skills your business needs most will help you avoid looking for a unicorn that probably doesn't exist.
What will success look like in 12 months?
Are you looking to launch a new product or service? Expand into a new market? Generate more enquiries? Build awareness in a new sector? Being clear on the outcome you're working towards makes it much easier to understand the kind of marketer your business needs.
Who will manage and support them?
The level of seniority you hire (and let's be honest, the level of seniority you can afford) will influence how much time you'll need to spend managing and supporting them. An entry-level marketer will need more hand-holding and supervision. Whereas a manager with a few years experience under their belt will be able to work more autonomously. Regardless of years of experience, don’t forget that you’ll still need to provide a steer on strategy and priorities (see where founders go wrong section).
Are we ready to lead a marketing function?
To the point I made in the previous paragraph, your marketing hire will need leadership and direction. This will take up your time. Whether that’s through weekly check-ins, input on strategy, acting as a soundboard for creative ideas, signing off on content, reviewing results, or discussing next steps. If you're excited by that, great. If you're already stretched and know you won't have the time to provide that level of support, it might be worth considering whether you need someone more senior, or whether a Fractional Head of Marketing could help with that.
What should your first marketing hire actually do?
In terms of outputs, that's going to look entirely different depending on your business goals and strategy. One business might need someone to launch products, another might need to generate leads or build brand awareness.
The good news is that the outcomes your first marketing hire should deliver tend to stay the same, regardless of the tactics they're using.
So, during the hiring process, keep your eyes open for anyone who talks about ways they will:
Create focus by prioritising the work that will make the biggest difference.
Build consistency so marketing isn't starting from scratch every month.
Support sales with the right messaging, content, and campaigns.
Understand customers and use those insights to improve marketing decisions.
Create marketing foundations that the business can build on as it grows.
Should you hire a Marketing Executive, Marketing Manager or Head of Marketing?
I imagine this will come down to your budget. But let's pretend for a moment that money isn't the deciding factor.
The better question to ask is: what decisions do you need this person to make?
The more senior the hire, the more responsibility they'll take for setting direction, making commercial decisions and leading others. The more junior the hire, the more they'll rely on you to provide that direction.
Role | Best for |
Marketing Executive | Businesses with clear direction that need a doer. You've set your strategy, priorities are clear, and you need someone to come in and make things happen. Depending on their experience, they'll still need regular support, feedback and direction from you. If you're expecting them to work out the strategy as well as deliver it, you're setting them up to fail. |
Marketing Manager | Businesses that have a clear direction but need someone to take ownership of marketing day to day. A Marketing Manager can coordinate activity, manage projects, brief agencies and make tactical decisions without needing constant input. They still benefit from having someone to sense-check priorities and connect marketing back to wider business goals. |
Head of Marketing | Businesses that need leadership, strategy and commercial decision-making. A Head of Marketing should be looking at the bigger picture, setting priorities, developing the team and making sure marketing supports the wider business strategy. I've seen plenty of businesses hire a Head of Marketing and expect them to do all the execution too. It's not impossible, particularly in smaller businesses, but every hour they're spending writing content or updating the website is an hour they're not spending leading, planning or thinking strategically. It's worth being realistic about what you actually need from the role. |
My advice? Try to think longer-term about the business you’re building. Will the person you hire be able to grow with your business, or will your business quickly outgrow them?
When a Fractional Head of Marketing makes more sense
Every business is different so, it might not surprise you to read that there isn’t a ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer to this question.
A Fractional Head of Marketing tends to make the most sense when you're looking for someone to help you decide what should be worked on.
For example, you might find fractional support is a good fit for you if:
You need strategy before execution. You know marketing needs attention, but you're not yet clear on where to focus your time or budget.
You're not ready for a full-time senior hire. You need experienced marketing leadership, but not five days a week.
You want to build the function properly. Rather than hiring quickly and hoping for the best, you want someone to help put the right foundations in place before growing the team.
You're hiring your first marketer. A Fractional Head of Marketing can help recruit the right person, provide leadership and coaching, and make sure they're set up for success from day one.
It's not the right fit for every business, and that's okay. But if you're finding yourself needing direction more than delivery, it can be a great way to access senior marketing experience without the commitment of a full-time hire.
What a good first year looks like
Of course you should measure your marketing success through metrics. KPIs like leads, website traffic, engagement, and pipeline, are all important. However, I like to assess success more holistically too.
When I’m in a business, this is what I’m looking to produce by the end of my first year:
Marketing has a clear plan, and people understand why they're doing what they're doing.
The team knows what to prioritise and what can wait.
Sales and marketing are working towards the same goals.
Decisions are made with more confidence because they're backed by insight, not guesswork.
The founder isn't carrying every marketing decision.
Progress is being measured, reviewed, and used to shape what happens next.
The reality is that good marketing doesn't happen by accident and (this is the point I always drive home to founders) it takes time.
My final musings…
Whatever your first marketing hire looks like, please don’t under estimate the support they’ll need from you when they first join your business. Set time aside in the first 90 days to coach them through your business strategy, your goals, your expectations, what matters most, and so on.
Gradually, they’ll take work off your plate and what you’ll begin to notice is a marketing function that successfully grows with your business. Taking the time to get the foundations right for your first hire is time well-invested. I promise you that.
Thinking about making your first marketing hire?
I'd be happy to talk through where your business is today and whether you're ready to recruit, or whether there's another route that might make more sense first.
