6 Teams You Need For Your Small Business To Prioritize For Growth

6 Teams You Need For Your Small Business To Prioritize For Growth

Finance, marketing, operations, and more - learn which teams are critical to your business's success and how to get them right from the start.

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Big budgets and large teams aren't the norm for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) anymore. You have to be smart about where you spend and who you hire. That's why many businesses today are running with smaller teams, outsourcing work, or going fully remote. It helps cut costs and keep things flexible. But it also means you need the right people handling the most important parts of your business in the right way.

No matter how small your business is, some teams are non-negotiable. You need a team to handle money, another to bring in customers, and one to keep them happy. The way you set up your teams can decide whether your business stays stuck or moves forward. Let's break down the most important ones and how to get them right.

What you'll learn:

• What teams are needed to run a small business?
• What's the best organizational structure for your SMB?
• Build a business that grows with you

What teams are needed to run a small business?

Small businesses don't usually have the same resources or objectives as their larger counterparts and occasionally have to be creative with their departments. According to the United States Census Bureau, most businesses in the U.S. have fewer than five employees. This means that a small team or even a single person is responsible for handling various duties. That said, there are six essential departments needed to run your small business.

1. Sales and customer acquisition team

Your sales team is responsible for driving business growth. They identify potential customers, build relationships, and guide them through the buying process. Without a clear plan, it's easy to miss good opportunities or lose track of leads.

A structured sales process keeps everything on track. It helps your team focus on the right opportunities, follow up at the right time, and close deals with confidence. But doing it all manually can quickly become overwhelming. This is where a customer relationship management (CRM) tool comes in handy. It keeps all your sales activities organized in one place - so your team always knows who to reach out to, what to say, and when to follow up.

To grow your sales and bring in more customers, here's what your team needs to focus on:

• Figure out who needs your product or service and where to find them.
• Use social media, word-of-mouth, and simple marketing strategies to attract potential buyers.
• Don't let interested customers slip away. Check in, answer questions, and build trust.
• Listen to customer needs and guide them to the right decision.
• Keep in touch, offer great service, and encourage repeat business.

Keeping up with all these doesn't have to be complicated. Tools like Starter Suite help you manage your entire sales process in one place. It simplifies lead tracking, automates follow-ups, and gives you insights driven by artificial intelligence (AI) to close deals faster. It's a smart way to grow your business without the sales chaos.

2. Finance and accounting team

Your finance team plays a key role in keeping your business running smoothly. When you know where your money is coming from, where it's going, and what's ahead, you can make better decisions. A solid finance and accounting setup keeps you in control, helps avoid mistakes, and supports your growth. Here's what your team needs to focus on:

• Keep a record of the income, expenses, and profits so you always know where your money is going.
• Ensure customers pay on time and vendors are paid without delays to maintain good relationships.
• Track deductions, file taxes on time, and avoid penalties that could hurt the business.
• Use your financial data to set goals, spot trends, and make smart investment decisions.

Your team doesn't have to do all of this manually. Tools like QuickBooks and Wave can help them send invoices, track expenses, and manage cash flow. They take care of the numbers, so you can focus on growing your business.

3. Marketing and branding team

The marketing team is key to helping people find your business. Even if you have the best product or service, it won't matter if no one knows about it. Good marketing gets the word out to the right audience, showing them why you're the best choice and turning them into loyal customers.

Branding is part of your marketing and helps set you apart. It's how your business is seen and how customers feel when they engage with you. A strong brand builds trust and keeps people coming back. Here's what your team has to do to get it right:

• Understand who your customers are, what they need, and how your business solves their problems.
• Share useful information through social media, blogs, or videos to build trust and attract customers.
• Not rely on just one platform. Reach customers through email, social media, local events, and word-of-mouth.
• Use the same colors, voice, and messaging everywhere so people recognize and remember your business.

Marketing takes time, but automation can make it easier. Salesforce marketing for small business helps you send personalized emails, track campaigns, and manage everything in one place. With Agentforce, you can launch campaigns in minutes. Just give the AI a prompt, and it will create the campaign, draft emails, and send them at the right time to boost engagement. This makes the marketing team for small businesses more productive and effective.

4. Operations and logistics team

Operations keep your business running smoothly. They handle everything from managing inventory to ensuring the supply chain is efficient. If operations aren't running well, it can affect your ability to serve customers and impact your profits.

For example, your team needs to:

• Keep track of inventory levels to avoid running out of stock or overstocking
• Manage the suppliers and deliveries to ensure timely and accurate shipments
• Optimize the logistics to reduce shipping costs and delays

Tools like ShipBob or Ordoro can help automate these tasks. They can assist in managing inventory, tracking orders, and streamlining logistics, helping you take control of your operations.

5. Customer support and success team

Customer support and customer success might sound similar, but they're different. The customer support team is there to solve problems when customers have questions or encounter issues. On the other hand, the customer success team focuses on helping customers get the most value from your product or service to meet their goals. Both are key to keeping your customers happy and coming back for more.

When you offer great service, customers feel valued, and that leads to repeat business. Happy customers are also more likely to recommend your business to others, which means free word-of-mouth marketing. Here's what your team can do:

• Respond to customer inquiries quickly and clearly.
• Reach out to check in with customers and ensure they're getting the most out of your product.
• Offer easy-to-access help, like FAQs or tutorials.
• Keep track of customer feedback and use it to improve your service.

To make this easier, Agentforce can support your customers 24/7. It is fully automated and requires minimal human involvement. You can customize it to answer frequently asked questions, solve simple issues, and even escalate more complex problems to a human agent when needed. With prebuilt skills and easy setup, it gets started quickly, offering your customers fast and efficient support.

6. People and culture team

People and culture creates a great team and work environment where everyone feels supported and motivated to succeed. It's not just about finding skilled individuals. They hire people who share your company's values and vision. A great team is motivated, works well together, and is committed to the same goals.

Once your team is in place, managing human resources (HR) tasks is crucial for smooth operations. Here are some key areas they focus on:

• People and culture team ensures new employees feel welcome and know what to do from day one. This helps them get up to speed quickly and feel part of the team.
• They ensure payroll is accurate and timely. This keeps everyone happy and avoids any unnecessary stress.
• They create a positive work environment with everyone engaged and productive. They encourage teamwork, open communication, and a supportive atmosphere.

It's easy to handle all these tasks with Salesforce Employee Service Management. It helps your HR team automate processes like self-service and case management, all in one place. Employees can access what they need quickly, while HR can save time and focus on the important stuff.

What's the best organizational structure for your SMB?

Your small business may have fewer resources than a bigger company, but that doesn't mean it should lack structure. Having a clear organizational framework helps define roles, improve efficiency, and streamline operations. Instead of replicating a corporate hierarchy, you should focus on essential business functions. Identifying key roles allows for strategic delegation, whether through in-house resources or outsourced support.

Steps to decide on the right structure

The best organizational structure for SMB is one that maximizes efficiency while remaining flexible. Here's how to determine the right setup for your business:

1. Identify core business functions: Determine what's essential to keep operations running smoothly. Typical functions include bringing in customers, supporting them, managing daily operations, taking care of your team, and handling finances.

2. Assign key roles: Decide which roles are crucial and if they should be handled in-house or outsourced. Marketing, sales, service, and commerce, design, social media, and even thinking about content and promotions. Assign away!

3. Stay flexible: You may need to merge roles or departments, such as combining HR and customer service into operations. You may also require additional units, like a dedicated IT team.

4. Team up: Encouraging collaboration across departments can help your team work more efficiently and share valuable insights.

5. Use technology: You can implement automation tools to streamline operations. For example, if you don't have an IT department, you can use cloud-based solutions and no-code platforms like Salesforce's Lightning Platform to create custom workflows.

How to build and maintain your structure

Once the right structure is in place, you should focus on agility and continuous improvement. A functional organizational structure (where people are grouped by expertise) is a common approach. However, fostering cross-department collaboration can help your business get the most from your teams.

Flexibility is key. Upskilling and cross-skilling your people allow you to take a hybrid approach to structuring your workforce. Digital learning platforms like My Trailhead provide an easy way to train teams on demand, ensuring they stay adaptable to evolving business needs. A good structure makes work easier, keeps your team focused, and helps your business grow without unnecessary complications.

Build a business that grows with you

A small business should be able to transform its organizational structure to keep up with new objectives and needs, so maintaining flexibility is crucial. As technology and customer behavior change, so will roles and responsibilities. And as you grow - or use technology to streamline their operations - your organizational structure should evolve along with you.

Starter Suite helps you do just that by bringing sales, service, marketing, productivity, and commerce together in one easy-to-use platform. With the right foundation, you can stay organized, automate key tasks, and build teams that grow with you.

Start your journey with a free trial of Starter today. Looking for more customization? Explore Pro Suite. Already a Salesforce customer? Activate Foundations today.

AI supported the writers and editors of this article.

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