The marketing concept should primarily be based on the company's goals and needs, its internal and external environment. The marketing department must ensure that market needs match the company's offerings and products. That is why the web marketing department must have the most up‑to‑date information, which should undoubtedly be expanded by web analytics.
Key approaches to create a web marketing department:
- A fairly high status for the online marketing department manager is required, allowing active influence over all company activities. This includes influencing internal processes as well as external ones.
- All important decisions must be approved after analyzing relevant information about benefits and consequences, with the involvement of the marketing department. Marketers cannot be held responsible for decisions made without such coordination.
- Uncertainty in the functions of the online marketing service must not be allowed. The service's scope should include all functions with appropriate authority to solve the department's problems successfully. This includes access to all corporate websites, analytics systems, and the company's organizational structure.
- It is difficult to adhere to standard staffing schedules for the web marketing department. Special working conditions must be created, some functions duplicated, staff given time for self‑learning, and authority delegated.
- The department's organizational structure must be tightly linked to the chosen marketing strategy and goals, and should be updated promptly as they change.
- In medium and large companies, independent subdivisions should be created, with appropriate financing and flexible authority.
- Mismatch between the marketing department's structure and company objectives can lead to excessive costs (if overstaffed) or overload and unmet goals (if understaffed).
As the product line expands, competition intensifies, and the environment changes, the need for centralized marketing control grows. Some marketing functions are unique; they can only be performed by qualified marketers, and neglecting them after a certain point is no longer permissible. In such situations, employing non‑marketing specialists will be narrow‑focused, potentially leading to unforeseen negative consequences. Also it should not be forgotten that cutting marketing budgets often results in lost profit or even direct losses for the company.