Today’s marketing teams are under more pressure than ever to be agile, tech-savvy, and ready to adapt. It’s not just about investing in cutting-edge tools — it’s about having the right people in the right roles to make those tools work harder for you.

In this blog, we’ll dive into the roles that matter most in marketing technology and operations—the areas where brands often need the most support. That said, no team exists in isolation. Effective marketing organizations also rely on strong leadership, strategic lifecycle marketers, collaborative IT partners, and data analysts who bring customer insights to life. 

Every organization is unique, so the roles we highlight here may need to be tailored to fit your team’s needs and resources.

We’re going to walk through:

• Getting the right people at the table: Key roles and functions for a modern marketing team
• When to consider building a Center of Excellence: Exploring the pros and cons of CoEs for matrixed organizations
• Working with partners: How consultancies like Stitch can support

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Getting the right people at the table

Every successful marketing technology team balances expertise with operational excellence. Think of it this way: having the most advanced martech stack without the people to run it is like owning a jet with no pilot. Marketing technologists and project managers are the crew that keep your marketing engine running smoothly. They ensure your tools are being used effectively, campaigns are delivered seamlessly, and your investment translates into impact.

These are the key roles and functions to consider when building your modern marketing team:

Enterprise Architect, Marketing Technology

‍This role ensures your martech stack works together seamlessly. They’re the ones mapping out the big picture and piloting new ideas.

Key responsibilities:

• Driving the evolution of your martech stack
• Piloting integrations and new use cases
• Managing data flows and system architecture
• Collaborating with IT and marketing teams
• Overseeing vendor evaluations and new tech adoption

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Campaign operations team

‍This team transforms your vision into reality, ensuring campaigns are built, launched, and measured with precision. Their expertise minimizes errors, accelerates timelines, and brings your customer engagement strategy to life.

Depending on your needs, this team might include:

• Senior CRM Manager/Strategist: Designs campaign strategies and lifecycle journeys, informs content direction, and more.
• CRM Managers/Solution Architects: Handles the day-to-day campaign building, audience segmentation, and performance analytics.
• Developers: Tackles HTML/CSS for messages and more complex coding tasks.

Shameless plug: This is also a great area to bring in a partner like Stitch. We can support hands-on campaign work or offer strategic guidance to optimize your team’s operations.

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Project/Program Manager‍

This role is the glue that holds everything together. They streamline processes and facilitate collaboration across teams.

Key responsibilities:

• Managing timelines and resources
• Coordinating vendor evaluations
• Communicating with stakeholders
• Building cross-functional workflows
• Identifying and mitigating risks

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Lifecycle Marketing Strategist‍

A lifecycle marketing strategist is pivotal in translating customer data into personalized, relevant experiences throughout the customer journey. They are a linchpin to the team: building the customer data strategy, helping drive the direction of the martech roadmap in tandem with optimizing the customer lifecycle, and leading campaign strategy.

Key responsibilities include:

• Owning the lifecycle marketing strategy and key customer touchpoints
• Optimizing key touchpoints from customer acquisition and onboarding to re-engagement, retention, and loyalty
• Working in partnership with your loyalty and e-commerce team to integrate loyalty into your customer experience
• Understanding your customer’s needs and behaviors to drive marketing strategies

Altogether, these roles commonly come together under the umbrellas of CRM, lifecycle marketing, or marketing operations teams within larger marketing organizations. 

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The pros and cons of building a Center of Excellence

Sometimes, it makes sense to bring these roles together into a ‘Center of Excellence’ — a centralized team focused on offering shared resources and services across the organization to drive martech initiatives. 

For matrixed organizations with multiple marketing teams with extensive martech needs, a Center of Excellence (CoE) can be a powerful way to drive alignment, consistency, and innovation across marketing technology initiatives. However, establishing one isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Let’s weigh the pros and cons:

Pros:

• Consistency and Standards: A CoE establishes best practices for everything from campaign execution to data governance, ensuring uniformity across teams.
• Improved collaboration: A CoE can help break down siloes across different marketing teams to help inform a more unified strategy and customer experience.
• Centralized Expertise: By consolidating martech expertise, you reduce redundancies and make advanced technical skills accessible to everyone.
• Scalability: A CoE can streamline onboarding and enable your team to scale initiatives faster while maintaining quality.
• Innovation Hub: With a dedicated focus on martech, a CoE can pilot new tools, test cutting-edge features, and share successes across the organization.

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Cons:

• Resource Intensive: Building and maintaining a CoE requires significant upfront investment in personnel, processes, and technology.
• Risk of Bottlenecks: Centralization can slow down projects if the CoE becomes overwhelmed or too focused on governance.
• Challenges in Adoption: If not implemented carefully, teams outside the CoE may resist centralized control or feel disconnected from decision-making.
• Balance of Autonomy: Striking the right balance between centralized oversight and team-level flexibility can be tricky in matrixed environments.
• Difficulties Putting Strategy First: CoEs can sometimes present challenges when it comes to being seen as a strategic function versus being in ‘order-taking’ mode. When not positioned well internally and armed with the right processes, a CoE can be seen as adding another layer of bureaucracy rather than adding strategic value.

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When to Consider a CoE:

A CoE works best for organizations with:

• A complex martech ecosystem requiring consistent oversight.
• Multiple business units or regions needing shared standards and resources.
• Intentionality about investing in, scaling, coordinating, or consolidating martech stacks.
• A focus on scaling martech initiatives without sacrificing quality or speed.
• Leadership commitment to establishing clear business goals for the CoE and building processes and internal positioning demonstrating the value of the CoE  

Whether you’re considering launching a CoE or optimizing an existing one, Stitch can help you design a framework that works for your organization. From defining roles and workflows to driving adoption across teams, we ensure your CoE is set up to succeed.

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How Stitch Can Help

Building a modern marketing team can feel overwhelming, but that’s where we come in. With decades of experience across industries, we’ve seen what works—and what doesn’t.

Here’s how we help:

• Hands-on support: We’ll handle your campaign operations, from building and deploying to QA and optimization.
• Team design: We’ll help you identify the right roles and responsibilities for your unique needs.
• Hiring support: From writing job descriptions to onboarding new talent, we’ll make sure your team is built for success.