Scenario 3: You Have a Team, But ROI is Dropping — Organization Design

1. The Situation

• Role: Marketing Director.
• Change: You used to do everything yourself with a 3.0 ROI. To scale, you hired a designer, a copywriter, and a media buyer.
• Expectation: 3 people = 3x output = 2x revenue.
• Reality: Output increased, but CTR dropped from 2% to 0.8%. Communication overhead is huge, and ROI is tanking.

2. Constraints

1. Intention Loss: Your sharp sales angle becomes a “feature list” in the copywriter’s hands and “minimalist art” in the designer’s hands. The final ad looks like your child, but nothing like you.
2. Aesthetic Tyranny: The designer hates “ugly red buttons”; the copywriter hates “crude sales language.” They work with a “Portfolio Mindset,” while you need a “Product Mindset.”
3. The Blame Game: When ads fail, the buyer blames the creative, and the designer blames the targeting. Everyone has an excuse; only you lose money.

3. Strategy Design

You face a classic dilemma:

• Option A: Micromanage. You review every pixel. Result: You burn out; the team becomes passive.
• Option B: Systematize. Build a cold, hard SOP, even if it hurts feelings.

The Correct Strategy: “Data as the Common Language” + SOP

You choose Option B, focusing on “De-subjectification”:

1. Define Standards: Kill “Is it pretty?” Replace it with a Checklist: Is the Hook in the first 3s? Is the pain point clear? Is the CTA visible? If not, reject it.
2. Data Transparency: Designers must see the ad dashboard. Show them that their “beautiful masterpiece” has a 0.5% CTR.
3. The Pod Structure: Break departmental walls. Group the designer, copywriter, and buyer into a “Growth Pod.” Bonus is tied to ROAS, not output volume.

4. Simulation

Day 1: The Clash

• Event: Senior designer refuses to add a giant red arrow, saying it’s “too cheap” and hurts the brand.
• Decision Point: Don’t argue aesthetics; argue tests. You say: “Fine. Let’s run two versions. Your ‘Art’ version and my ‘Ugly’ version. $100 each. Loser buys coffee.”

Day 3: Data Speaks

• Result: ‘Ugly’ CTR 2.0%, ‘Art’ CTR 0.6%.
• Action: You display the data in the weekly meeting. You don’t need to scold; the data establishes authority.
• Subtext: Here, the only God is market feedback. Not the Director, not the Designer.

Day 14: Internalization

• Change: The team stops waiting for orders. The designer asks the buyer: “Why did that yellow background work last week?”
• Result: Communication costs drop 50%. ROI climbs back to 2.5. The machine starts humming.

5. Debrief

You lost a “happy family” team and gained a “military unit.”

1. A Team is not an Amplifier; Process is: Adding people creates chaos. Only when people follow an efficient SOP does growth happen.
2. Kill “Aesthetic Tyranny”: The enemy is “I think.” When designers care about CTR, your team is real.
3. Closed Loop: Let the person making the bullets (Designer) hear the gunshots (Data). If you cut this loop, you are creating blind soldiers.

The Cold Reality: During this process, your most talented but stubborn designer might quit. Let them go. An “artist” who cannot be accountable for business results is a liability in a growth team.