Growth or Maintenance: What Kind of Marketing Team Does Your Business Really Need?
Imagine your marketing team is a car.
If you're looking to zoom past competitors, you need an engine built for growth—quick to accelerate, agile on curves, and always scanning for the next lane. But if your business thrives on consistency and efficiency, your marketing team may be better suited for maintenance—delivering steady results, protecting your brand’s integrity, and fine-tuning performance without constant reinvention.
And when business is moving fast, things can become chaotic rapidly. The last thing you need is the wrong driver behind the wheel.
The key is knowing what kind of team you need—and how to keep them on the right road.
Growth-Oriented Marketers: The Architects of Scale
Growth is a mindset. These marketers are your expansion drivers: focused on scale, speed, and measurable impact. They're the ones asking:
“How do we get 10x the reach with half the spend?”
In fact, 89% of senior leaders say that a growth mindset is critical to long-term success, according to Forbes. And in fast-moving industries, it’s non-negotiable.
Characteristics of Growth-Oriented Marketers:
Visionary: They think beyond quarterly goals, always building toward the next milestone.
Data-Driven: Every decision is backed by insights and measured against business outcomes.
Innovative: Comfortable with change, they experiment with new channels, tools, and messaging.
According to McKinsey, 50% of product and service launches fail to meet targets. Growth-oriented marketers help stack the odds in your favor with strategy, speed, and iteration.
“A growth-oriented marketer is not just focused on immediate results—they bring a long-term vision, shaping strategies that align with the future growth of the business.”— Raquel Gallant, Managing Partner, Executive Search at Ascentria Search Partners.
Maintenance-Oriented Marketers: The Keepers of Consistency
These professionals excel in companies with established brand equity and proven business strategies. They don’t chase shiny objects; they protect what’s already working and ensure long-term relevance.
Think Coca-Cola: a brand that has evolved while staying fundamentally the same. Behind that stability? Marketing teams focused on optimization, continuity, and regional execution.
Characteristics of Maintenance-Oriented Marketers:
Process-Driven: Experts in refining systems and ensuring execution stays sharp.
Brand Stewards: Protect the company’s voice, tone, and market position across channels.
Stability-Focused: Best suited for organizations where trust and consistency matter more than speed.
As Harvard Business Review notes, not all value comes from rapid growth. Some of the most resilient companies succeed by optimizing rather than reinventing.
Recognizing the Right Fit
One of the biggest hiring mistakes companies make? Recruiting for yesterday’s needs. Someone who kept your brand humming last year may not be the one to lead your next big initiative, and vice versa.
It’s not about finding a “great marketer.”
It’s about finding the right one for where your business is headed next.
The most effective teams often blend both mindsets, pushing new initiatives while refining what already works.
Takeaways
Clarify your business stage: Are you building, optimizing, or defending your market share?
Align interviews to mindset: Are you evaluating candidates on innovation and adaptability, or process and brand discipline?
Avoid defaulting to the same profile: What worked two years ago may not work tomorrow.
Audit Your Job Descriptions: Prioritize the traits that align with your near-term goals, not just the résumé buzzwords.
Before You Hire
Ask Yourself:
Are we in build, optimize, or defend mode?
Do we need brand awareness or demand generation?
What would we like marketing to do differently next quarter?
Sample Interview Questions
Hiring for growth:
“Tell me about a time you helped scale a new channel from zero to ROI.”
“How do you approach launching in a new market or vertical?”
Hiring for maintenance:
“What process have you optimized that improved efficiency or consistency?”
“How do you ensure brand integrity across multiple campaigns or regions?”
So… Who’s in Your Driver’s Seat?
At Ascentria Search Partners, we help companies like yours hire smarter, matching the right marketer to the right stage of growth.
Whether you need a marketing leader to fuel expansion or one to protect what you’ve already built, we bring the clarity, network, and experience to get it right.
Because your brand deserves more than a one-size-fits-all hire.