The perfect fix for the one-person marketing function in 2026

DesignMarketing

25 Feb

We enjoy working with a whole lot of solo marketers. A fair portion of our clients sit in single-person brand and marketing roles inside growing businesses and SMEs across the UK, and they are some of the most capable operators we come across.

They often arrive at the point where the remit has expanded significantly, where the business has grown, expectations have increased, and what was once a manageable role has gradually become broader than one person was ever designed to cover.

Brand marketing is outpacing the common structure around it

What may once have been focused on visibility and basic demand generation gradually becomes responsible for shaping perception, supporting sales conversations, influencing recruitment, building credibility, and creating internal alignment. The function expands quietly, and in many cases it expands faster than the structure around it.

In earlier stages, it can be entirely reasonable for one person to hold these responsibilities because the business is simpler and initial expectations are achievable. In 2026, buyers are more informed, competitors more visible, and the requirement for consistency across multiple touchpoints far higher than it was just a few years ago, which means the commercial role brand and marketing play has increased significantly, even if the resourcing model has not kept pace.

Where the cracks start to show

The challenge is not capability, the solo marketers we work with are organised, commercially aware, and deeply embedded in their businesses.

However, when one person is expected to define positioning, plan campaigns, create content, manage social channels, update the website, support sales materials, handle reporting, respond to internal requests, and still think strategically about growth, depth inevitably gets compromised. Even with strong prioritisation, there simply is not enough room to give every area the attention it deserves.

From the outside, the function appears covered, yet internally it is operating across too many areas at once without the space to strengthen any one of them properly.

What's happening underneath

The impact of this is rarely sudden, which is why it is easy to miss. The marketing lead is working flat out, but if too much sits on one plate, something will slip.

Messaging is not regularly revisited because there is no space to step back and rethink it. Campaigns go out and do what they do, but they are not being properly refined because optimisation sits behind whatever is most urgent that week. Sales conversations still happen, but they can take longer if materials are not consistently prepared and aligned.

Meanwhile, other businesses have strengthened the structure around their marketing. They have added depth where it was missing, whether through systems, specialist input, or retained support. Over time, that difference shows. Their positioning feels clearer. Their activity feels intentional. Sales and marketing move together rather than in parallel.

Not because they are better businesses, but because they have given the function enough depth to keep building instead of simply keeping pace.

Hiring doesn’t always solve it

When the scope has slowly outgrown one role, the natural response is to hire, and in some cases that is the right move.

Hiring, however, does not automatically resolve the structural issue. A junior hire adds capacity but also management responsibility, while a generalist broadens coverage without necessarily adding depth across positioning, design, technical delivery, or campaign architecture.

Building a genuinely rounded in-house function often requires more than one additional role, and that level of investment is not always viable at this stage of growth.

Backing the person you already trust

In most growing businesses, the strongest asset in the function is already sitting in that in-house marketing seat. They understand the commercial priorities, the nuances of the offer, and the internal culture better than anyone external ever could. The shift is backing them properly.

That means recognising that asking one role to cover brand strategy, campaign planning, design execution, sales enablement, content production, channel management, and constant internal demand is not how you reach the full commercial potential of the function. Ownership can stay exactly where it is, but depth needs to sit around it, allowing the internal lead to operate at a higher level rather than being bogged down in delivery.

That is exactly why we introduced our Spark, Boost and Propel packages.

Spark supports businesses that know their direction but need consistent creative delivery to keep up with demand. It removes the reliance on one person producing every deck, asset, or campaign just to keep things moving, and replaces it with steady output across sales materials, campaign graphics, social content and branded templates.

Boost adds structure alongside delivery. We build interactive lead generation tools, modular sales libraries, defined content pillars and annual plans that connect activity directly to commercial goals, so the work stops being reactive and instead forms a connected programme across brand, sales and marketing.

Propel is our most involved level of support, where we bring an embedded brand and marketing layer around your internal lead, with strategy, guidance, design and execution handled externally while ownership and commercial understanding remain internal. Campaigns are planned end to end, brand direction is managed, and sales enablement is built without any drain on internal capacity.

Whichever route makes sense, your internal lead stays at the helm, supported by experienced specialist capability across brand, design and marketing, without the cost and complexity of building a full internal department.

If this sounds close to home

If you are a solo marketer lying awake thinking about the growing to-do list, knowing the business expects more than one role can realistically deliver, the answer is not to work harder or carry more, it is to add depth around you so you can operate at the level you are capable of.

If you are a business leader who can see brand and marketing influencing growth more directly than ever, yet sense the function is stretched thin, this is not a people problem. It is a structure problem, and structures can be strengthened without creating unnecessary headcount.

And if you are part of a commercial team feeling the absence of consistent marketing support, but hesitant to build a full internal department, there is a middle ground. Embedding experienced capability around the business gives you the support you need without the weight of permanent headcount.

In each of those situations, the common thread is reinforcement rather than replacement. That is exactly the space we operate in, backing the people already inside the business and helping the function perform at the level the organisation has grown into.

If this feels familiar, it is worth a conversation. To learn more about our Spark, Boost and Propel support packages, take a look here, or contact us to arrange a conversation. We’ll advise on what route best works for you with the resources you have available to you. 