Hub-and-Spoke and Lean Marketing

Why the Right Mix of Hub-and-Spoke and Lean Marketing Is a Win-Win for Mid-Sized IT Services Companies 

The combination of a hub-and-spoke marketing operating model and lean marketing principles is fast emerging as a win-win, especially for mid-sized IT services companies navigating their next phase of growth. 

The reality is that large IT services firms with revenues exceeding five billion dollars view marketing very differently from companies in the mid-market segment. For large organizations, marketing is about long-term brand stewardship, market shaping, analyst influence, and sustained positioning. 

For companies in the mid-market segment, the expectation from marketing is far more direct. Marketing is expected to generate leads. Period. 

This expectation is understandable. 

Mid-Market Segment: The Growth Imperative from Repeat Business to New Client Expansion 

Most companies in this segment have already built strong credibility with their existing clients. They have gone deep within a specific set of accounts or industries and have grown through long-standing relationships, referrals, and repeat business. Many of these organizations operate in niche segments and are trusted specialists within their space. 

However, at some point, they reach an inflection point. 

To grow further, depth alone is no longer sufficient. These organizations now need visibility beyond their current ecosystem. They need to be known, not just trusted by a few. This is where marketing becomes critical and, at the same time, increasingly complex. 

What Is the Real Constraint? 

The real constraint at this stage, many times, is not the budget. More often, it is mindset. 

It is not that companies cannot afford marketing. Rather, they struggle with the confidence to invest consistently and with clarity. Questions begin to surface around what skills should be hired, which platforms should be prioritized, and whether it is the right time to build a full-fledged internal marketing team. The pressure to show immediate returns further amplifies this hesitation. 

Faced with this complexity, many organizations choose to hire a Chief Marketing Officer or a senior marketing leader. 

However, hiring a CMO alone does not solve the problem. 

The Value of the Right Marketing Operating Model 

The marketing leader must be able to design and implement the right marketing operating model and be empowered to do so. Without the right operating model and a strong partner ecosystem, even an experienced marketing leader will find it difficult to deliver outcomes that are both fast and sustainable. 

This is where the combination of the hub-and-spoke model and lean marketing works particularly well. 

Hub-and-Spoke Model 

In this model, a small and senior in-house marketing team acts as the hub. This team focuses on strategy, brand stewardship, go-to-market priorities, and return on investment governance. Execution is driven through a carefully curated external partner ecosystem that brings specialized capabilities across content, demand generation, digital marketing, design, public relations, and analyst relations. 

Compensating for the Absence of Digital Memory on the Internet 

It is important to emphasize story-building before deciding on the marketing model to adopt, whether lean or traditional. 

Stories must be the first priority as mid-market IT services companies shift gears in their marketing journey. If organizations have not published the full breadth of their success stories and capabilities, their expertise remains a best-kept secret, and they have already lost a significant share of their digital memory on the internet. This makes it extremely difficult for in-house teams or external agencies to adopt any marketing model effectively. 

In addition, the absence of analyst rankings or engagement, prolonged silence on public relations, and a lack of third-party validation across websites, social platforms such as LinkedIn, and the broader internet create a substantial credibility gap that takes significant time and effort to bridge. 

Lean Marketing 

Lean marketing is strongly recommended over traditional marketing principles to ensure that investments are phased and deliberate. And here is why. Traditional marketing is largely plan-driven and campaign-centric, with investments committed upfront and success measured through periodic campaigns rather than continuous learning.

As a result, it tends to be less flexible in environments where speed, rapid learning, and adaptability are critical. Lean marketing enables experiments to be small, measurable, and outcome-driven. Decisions to scale are based on learning and evidence rather than assumptions. Over time, marketing earns trust through results, not promises. 

This approach allows organizations to build visibility and demand without committing to heavy fixed costs or prematurely scaling internal teams. 

Another Reality That Deserves Attention 

In IT services organizations, marketing leadership roles are often among the first to come under scrutiny during cost-cutting cycles. This is especially true when marketing is perceived as a cost center rather than a growth engine. 

This is why empowerment is critical. 

If a CMO or senior marketing leader is expected to drive growth, that leader must be supported by leadership conviction, a flexible execution model, and the freedom to test, learn, iterate, and course-correct. Without these conditions, even the strongest marketing talent will struggle to deliver long-term impact. 

For mid-sized IT services companies at this stage of growth, the question is no longer whether to invest in marketing. The real question is how to do it intelligently and confidently. 

This is where Toss the Coin becomes a natural partner. 

Toss the Coin’s CMO offering is designed specifically for organizations transitioning from relationship-led growth to market-led growth. It provides senior marketing leadership without the risk and overhead of building a large internal team from day one. 

By combining CMO-level strategic thinking, a lean and outcome-driven approach, and a strong partner ecosystem aligned to a hub-and-spoke model, Toss the Coin helps companies build visibility, generate demand, and scale marketing in a way that is measured, confident, and sustainable. 

For organizations ready to move from being trusted by a few to being known by many, the right operating model and the right partner can make all the difference. 

 

Storyteller