Marketing shared-services design

The question it helps answer

Use the marketing shared-services design to organise the reasoning behind this question: Which marketing capabilities should be centralized, embedded, or shared across business lines? The working view makes capability, scale benefit, and local context visible so discussion can move from general opinion to a specific action or decision.

When to use it

Use the marketing shared-services design when people working on marketing and communications are using different mental models for capability, scale benefit, and local context, and that difference is changing choices or coordination.

What it is

The marketing shared-services design is a set of connected concepts for examining one situation from several necessary angles. Its core working elements are capability, scale benefit, local context, and demand pattern. Those elements belong together because each changes how the others should be interpreted or acted on.

Core elements

Capability

Describe the capability as observable work, cite evidence of current proficiency, and choose a practical next development action. Within the marketing shared-services design, connect this entry to scale benefit so the relationship can be reviewed rather than inferred.

Scale benefit

Capture scale benefit only at the level needed to answer: Which marketing capabilities should be centralized, embedded, or shared across business lines? Use observable evidence, name any unresolved judgment, and state what action or choice this entry can change. Within the marketing shared-services design, connect this entry to local context so the relationship can be reviewed rather than inferred.

Local context

Record only the context that changes the work, separating verified facts from interpretations and assumptions. Within the marketing shared-services design, connect this entry to demand pattern so the relationship can be reviewed rather than inferred.

Demand pattern

Capture demand pattern only at the level needed to answer: Which marketing capabilities should be centralized, embedded, or shared across business lines? Use observable evidence, name any unresolved judgment, and state what action or choice this entry can change. Within the marketing shared-services design, connect this entry to ownership so the relationship can be reviewed rather than inferred.

Ownership

Assign one accountable owner and distinguish final accountability from contributors, reviewers, and people who must be informed. Within the marketing shared-services design, connect this entry to service model so the relationship can be reviewed rather than inferred.

Service model

Describe credible alternatives on the same basis so that benefits, costs, risks, dependencies, and reversibility can be compared fairly. Within the marketing shared-services design, connect this entry to prioritization so the relationship can be reviewed rather than inferred.

Prioritization

Capture prioritization only at the level needed to answer: Which marketing capabilities should be centralized, embedded, or shared across business lines? Use observable evidence, name any unresolved judgment, and state what action or choice this entry can change. Within the marketing shared-services design, connect this entry to metrics so the relationship can be reviewed rather than inferred.

Metrics

Define the measure, population, period, source, owner, calculation, baseline, target or reference range, and counterweight. Within the marketing shared-services design, connect this entry to prioritization so the relationship can be reviewed rather than inferred.