13 Essential SaaS Marketing Roles You Need On Your Team

The marketing team is one of the most important teams in a SaaS business. After all, they are the ones who are in charge of getting the word out about your SaaS product.

They are the ones getting people aware and even interested in your SaaS solution. And as such, their performance directly affects the amount of revenue that your SaaS business makes.

That’s why it’s so important to have a strong marketing team in place.
But what exactly are the essential SaaS marketing roles that you need on your team?

In this article, we will talk about the different essential marketing roles that you need to fill in order to have a strong SaaS marketing department.

Now, take note that we are talking about roles here, not people. One really talented person may perform two or more of these roles at the same time.

And there can be a lot of possible roles in a marketing team. So in this article, we’re going to divide them into two groups: the leadership roles and the implementation roles.

Let’s get to it.

SaaS Marketing Leadership Roles

The marketing leadership roles are the ones that are more strategic and directional in nature. These roles are more focused on coming up with the plans and strategies for the marketing team and setting goals.

For startups and small SaaS businesses, people in marketing leadership roles may themselves be handling the execution of these plans and strategies.

But as the business grows bigger, they will eventually need to delegate these tasks to other members of the team and focus on coming up with new plans and strategies.

Here are some of the most essential marketing leadership roles:

1. Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

The Chief Marketing Officer is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s marketing strategy.

That includes the following:

➡️  Tapping Into The Latest SaaS Marketing Trends: SaaS marketing works a lot differently from traditional marketing. The most effective strategies are mostly for inbound marketing, such as content marketing and social media marketing.

But even trends change over time.

So it’s the job of the CMO to keep up with these changes and adapt the company’s marketing strategy accordingly.

➡️  Creating & Casting The Company’s Marketing Vision: Every company has its own marketing vision. This is the overall direction that the company wants its marketing efforts to go.

For example, a SaaS company may want to “build a world-class brand” or “dominate a particular market niche”.

It’s the job of the CMO to come up with this vision and make sure that everyone in the marketing department is aligned with it.

➡️  Coming Up With The Marketing Goals & Objectives: The CMO is responsible for coming up with the marketing goals and objectives. These are the targets that the marketing team needs to hit in order to be successful.

Some examples of marketing goals and objectives include the following:

• Increasing brand awareness
• Increasing website traffic
• Generating leads
• Converting leads into customers
• Reducing churn rates
• Upselling to existing customers

It’s up to the CMO to come up with specific and actionable goals for the whole department.

➡️  Demand Generation: The CMO is also responsible for demand generation. This is the process of generating interest in the company’s products or services.

Some common demand generation activities include content marketing, social media marketing, and email marketing. The messaging for these activities should focus on educating your target audience about potential problems in their lives, thus making them see the need for a (SaaS) solution.

The CMO needs to come up with strategies to effectively generate demand for the company’s SaaS products.

➡️  Assessing & Optimizing The Marketing Strategies: The CMO is also responsible for assessing the company’s marketing strategies with the right key performance indicators (KPIs).

Are the current marketing strategies working? Are they achieving the desired results?

If not, then it’s up to the CMO to come up with new plans and strategies or adjust your current ones. This includes coming up with new campaigns, trying out new channels, and so on.

2. Marketing Director

While the CMO’s job is to set the direction of your overall marketing operations, the marketing director manages the day-to-day operations of the marketing department.

Their responsibilities include the following:

➡️  Hiring & Managing The Marketing Team: It’s the job of the marketing director to build strong marketing teams. That includes hiring the right people for the right roles, as well as managing and motivating them.
They should also be able to provide adequate resources for the team to do their job properly.

➡️  Developing & Implementing Marketing Plans: The marketing director is responsible for coming up with the company’s marketing plans and strategies.

But they don’t work in a vacuum. They will need to consult with other members of the management team, such as the CEO and CMO.

Once the plans and strategies are finalized, it’s up to the marketing director to make sure that they are properly executed.

➡️  Monitoring & Reporting Marketing Results: The marketing director needs to track the progress of the marketing team and report their findings to the management team.

They should also be able to identify any problem areas and recommend solutions.

3. Brand Manager

The brand manager is responsible for managing and developing the company’s overall brand. That includes the following:

➡️  Developing & Implementing Brand Strategy: The brand manager is responsible for developing a comprehensive brand strategy. This includes coming up with the company’s overall positioning, as well as its messaging and target audience.

Once the strategy is finalized, it’s up to the brand manager to make sure that it’s properly implemented across all channels.

➡️  Creating & Managing Brand Identity: It’s the job of the brand manager to create a unique and consistent brand identity for the company. This identity should be reflected in everything that the company does, from its logo and website to its marketing materials.

The brand manager is also in charge of necessary brand changes over time.

➡️  Promoting Brand Growth & Expansion: The brand manager should always be on the lookout for opportunities to grow and expand the company’s brand.

This includes launching new products and initiatives, as well as entering new markets.

4. Content Director

Content marketing is one of the most potent inbound marketing strategies for SaaS businesses. That’s why you need a dedicated content director to stay on top of these efforts.

The content director is responsible for managing the company’s overall content strategy.

That includes the following:

➡️  Looking Out For Content Marketing Trends: The content director needs to be up-to-date on the latest content marketing trends. They should also have a good understanding of how these trends can be applied to the company’s overall content strategy.

➡️  Creating & Managing The Content Calendar: It’s the job of the content director to create a content calendar that outlines the company’s content strategy. This includes what type of content to create, when to publish them, and which channels to use in distributing them.

The content director is also responsible for managing the necessary changes to the calendar over time.

5. Product Marketing Manager

Product marketing is one of the most important aspects of SaaS marketing. This is especially true if your SaaS business is still in the works or in its early stages.

Product marketing sets the foundation for all the other marketing programs you’re going to have. What’s more, it bridges the gap between marketing, product, and sales teams.

That’s why you need a product marketing manager that’s up to the task.
Whoever is taking this role is in charge of the following:

➡️  Knowing Your Market Positioning: The product marketing manager is responsible for determining the company’s market positioning. This includes understanding the competition and what makes your SaaS product unique.

➡️  Creating & Managing Product Launch Plans: It’s the job of the product marketing manager to create a comprehensive launch plan for every new SaaS platform. This plan should include everything from market research to creating promotional materials.

➡️  Developing & Implementing Your Go-To-Market Strategy: The product marketing manager is responsible for developing a comprehensive go-to-market strategy. This includes deciding on the right pricing, packaging, and distribution channels for your SaaS product.

Once the strategy is finalized, it’s up to the product marketing manager to make sure that it’s properly implemented.

SaaS Marketing Implementation Roles

Now let’s go down to the roles that are more implementation-focused.
One thing you need to know about these roles is that they don’t have to be a part of your in-house marketing team. In fact, it’s common practice to outsource these tasks to skilled freelancers.

1. Copywriter

A SaaS copywriter is responsible for creating all the written content for your promotional materials. This includes everything from website copy, to ad copy, to email subject lines.

The SaaS copywriter needs to have a deep understanding of your target audience. They should also be able to write in a style that’s both engaging and persuasive.

2. SaaS Content Writer

Yes, the content writing role is different from the copywriting role.

Copywriting mostly involves coming up with promotional messages, while your content writer is mainly in charge of creating blog posts.
Again, it’s possible for a single talented writer to fill both these roles. But we need to understand the differences between the two.

After all, we want our promotional copy to be actually promotional rather than just informative. And we don’t want our content to sound too sales-y either.

Here are some things you can expect from your content writer:

➡️  Receiving Instructions From The Content Director: Your content writer mostly receives instructions and plans from the content director or content manager.

With the right planning, your content calendar will set the topics while your writer(s) focus on doing what they do best – writing.

Still, it doesn’t hurt if your content writers come up with their own ideas from time to time. They are the ones “on the ground”, so to speak. So they may have useful insights into current trends in your niche.

➡️  On-Page SEO: It would also help if your content writer has some knowledge and skills in search engine optimization (SEO). This way, they can ensure that your blog posts are optimized for the right keywords.

Having on-page SEO roles can also mean having them add high-quality links throughout your blog posts and writing the meta titles and descriptions for each of them.

Speaking of SEO…

3. SEO Specialist

Like content marketing, SEO has become one of the most effective tools in creating brand awareness for SaaS products.

SEO works hand-in-hand with content marketing so that your blog posts would be visible on search engines.

So, not only do you need a rockstar content team. You also need a talented SEO specialist.

Your SEO specialist is responsible for the following:

➡️  Keyword Research: It all starts with keyword research. Your SEO specialist will find the right keywords that your target audience is searching for.

➡️  On-Page SEO: Once you have the right keywords, it’s time to optimize your website and blog posts for those keywords. This includes everything from titles and meta descriptions to H1 tags and Alt text.

But it depends on the dynamics between your SEO specialist and content writers. If your writers have some on-page SEO roles as well, your SEO specialist can simply give them pointers and recommendations.

➡️  Link Building: Link building is the process of getting other websites to link back to your website. This is important because search engines use links as a way to determine the quality and relevancy of a website.
The more high-quality links you have, the higher your website will rank on search engine results pages (SERPs).

➡️  Tracking Your SEO Performance: Your SEO specialist will also track your SEO performance using tools like Google Analytics. This way, they can see what’s working and what’s not. They can then make the necessary adjustments to improve your SEO strategy.

4. Graphic Designer

Your SaaS marketing team also needs a graphic designer. This is someone who will be responsible for creating visuals for your website, social media, email marketing, and even your blog posts.

Some of the things you can expect from your graphic designer include:

➡️  Designing Website Graphics: A big part of a SaaS graphic designer’s job is to design websites. This includes everything from the homepage to the pricing page.

➡️  Creating Logos And Brand Assets: Another important task for your SaaS graphic designer is to create logos and other brand assets. This way, you can maintain a consistent look and feel across all your digital marketing materials.

➡️  Designing Visuals For Social Media: As we all know, social media is a very visual platform. So, it’s important to have graphics that stand out.

That’s where your SaaS graphic designer comes in. They will create eye-catching visuals for your social media posts.

➡️  Designing Email Marketing Templates: Email marketing is another effective digital marketing tool for SaaS products. And like social media, it’s also a very visual platform. So, you need someone who can design beautiful email templates.

5. Video Editor

Your content marketing team could also use a video editor. This is someone who will be responsible for creating and editing videos for your SaaS product.

Some of the things you can expect from your video editor include:

➡️  Creating Product Videos: One of the best ways to showcase your SaaS platform is by creating promotional videos. This could be anything from a simple demo video to a more complex explainer video.

➡️  Editing Videos: Of course, simply creating videos is not enough. You also need to edit them so that they are high quality and engaging.

➡️  Adding Visual Effects: Depending on the type of videos you want to create, your video editor might also need to add visual effects. This could be anything from simple animations to more complex special effects.

6. Social Media Manager

Social media is another powerful digital marketing tool.

But it’s not something you can just set and forget. You need someone who can actively manage your social media accounts.

That’s where your social media manager comes in.

Some of the things you can expect from your social media marketer include:

➡️  Posting Updates: One of their main tasks is to post updates on your social media accounts. This includes everything from blog posts to product announcements.

➡️  Engaging With Your Audience: Another important task for your social media manager is to engage with your audience. This means replying to comments, answering questions, and even running social media contests.

➡️  Growing Your Social Media Following: A big part of social media is growing your following. And that’s something your social media manager will be responsible for. They will use different strategies to win you more followers.

➡️  Moderating Your SaaS Communities (If Any): One of the best ways to foster loyalty and advocacy among your existing customers is to have them in a community.

One of the most popular platforms for these communities is a Facebook Group. If you have such a community, you may also put your social media manager in charge of moderating this group.

7. Email Marketer

Email marketing is another one of the most effective and proven SaaS marketing strategies out there. And just like social media, it’s not something you can set and forget. You need someone who specializes in email marketing to get the most out of this strategy.

Some of the things you can expect from your email marketer include:

➡️  Building Your Email List: The first step in any email marketing campaign is building your email list. Your email marketing specialist will be responsible for this.

They will use different strategies to grow your email list. They may use lead magnets, pop-ups, or even SaaS affiliate programs.

➡️  Segmenting Your Email List: Any email marketer would know that you can’t simply have one huge email list that receives the same thing. You need to target your emails so that they would be more relevant to your recipients.

The first step to doing that is segmentation.

Your email marketing specialist should know the right demographic, firmographic, and psychographic factors to use in segmenting your contacts.

➡️  Working With The Copywriter To Create Compelling Emails: As we mentioned earlier, your email marketer will need to work closely with your copywriter. This is because they need to create compelling emails that will convert.

➡️  Plan And Set Up Drip Email Campaigns: Drip Emails are a series of pre-written emails that are automatically sent out over a period of time. They are usually used to nurture leads or keep existing customers engaged.

Your email marketing specialist will be responsible for planning and setting up these drip campaigns.

➡️  Analyzing Email Marketing Data: After each email campaign, it’s important to analyze the data so that you can improve your future campaigns.

Your email marketer will be responsible for this. They will track things like open rates, click-through rates, and even unsubscribe rates.

8) PPC Specialist

Pay-per-click (PPC) is one of the most effective SaaS marketing strategies out there. But it can be complex and time-consuming. That’s why you need someone on your team who specializes in PPC.

Some of the things you can expect from your PPC specialist include:

➡️  Creating Compelling Ads: One of their main tasks is to create compelling ads that will grab attention and convert clicks into leads or customers.

This will involve working with your copywriter. And maybe your graphic designer and video editor as well.

➡️  Optimizing Ads: Another big part of their job is to continuously optimize your ads. This means testing different ad copy, images, and even landing pages.

They need to track the performance of each ad so that they can determine which ones are performing well and which ones aren’t.

➡️  Bidding On The Right Keywords: In order for your PPC campaign to be successful, you need to bid on the right keywords. You don’t want to waste money on keywords that no one is searching for.

Your PPC specialist will be responsible for finding the right keywords to target. They will use different tools and strategies in order to find these keywords.

In this area, your PPC specialist may want to collaborate with your SEO specialist.

Final Thoughts About SaaS Marketing Roles

As you can see, there are a lot of essential SaaS marketing roles that you need on your team. These roles will help you execute all the different SaaS marketing strategies out there.

Of course, you don’t need to have all these roles filled immediately. You can start with just a few and then add more as your SaaS company grows.
And as we mentioned earlier, one person doesn’t have to be locked into a single role.

If you are in the earlier stages of your SaaS company’s growth, you may still have relatively lower targets and smaller goals. So the CMO might still be able to do some hands-on work, like writing content and managing your social media accounts.

But as your business grows, these jobs become harder and harder. Each person will have to focus on what they do best.

Looking for more strategies to help you grow your SaaS business? Visit our blog here.