It rarely happens overnight.
A marketing role is scoped clearly at the start. There’s a focus, a purpose, and a sense of where value will be created. Then slowly, without much ceremony, the role stretches.
A bit more ownership here.
A temporary gap there.
One extra channel. One extra system. One extra “could you just…”.
Before long, one role has absorbed the work of several.
And often, no one has stopped to recalibrate.
How it usually starts
Most marketing role creep isn’t the result of poor planning. It comes from good intentions.
Teams are lean. Budgets are tight. Someone leaves and isn’t replaced straight away. A marketer proves they’re capable, adaptable and willing, so more naturally lands with them.
The work still gets done, which is exactly why the change goes unnoticed.
But over time, a role that was meant to be focused becomes fragmented. Strategy sits alongside execution. Creative sits alongside reporting. Long-term planning competes with constant delivery.
What was once one job quietly becomes three.
The hidden impact on performance
When a role expands without clarity, it doesn’t just affect workload. It affects quality.
Important work becomes rushed because urgent work dominates. Strategic thinking gets squeezed out by delivery. Creative energy drops because there’s no space left to think.
From the outside, it can look like a performance issue. In reality, it’s often a capacity and expectation issue.
Good marketers don’t suddenly become less capable. They become spread too thin.
Why this matters for retention
This is where frustration often builds, even in otherwise positive roles.
People feel busy but not effective. Responsible but not supported. Trusted, yet stretched beyond what’s sustainable.
Eventually, they start to question whether the role still plays to their strengths, or whether they’re doing several jobs moderately instead of one job well.
When marketers leave roles like this, it’s rarely about ambition alone. It’s about balance, clarity and the ability to do meaningful work properly.
What strong teams do differently
Healthy marketing teams don’t avoid change, but they do pause to reassess.
They regularly revisit role scope.
They separate strategic ownership from day-to-day delivery where possible.
They’re honest about what can realistically be done well by one person.
Sometimes that means hiring additional support. Sometimes it means redefining priorities. Sometimes it means letting go of work that no longer adds value.
The key difference is awareness. Nothing is left to drift indefinitely.
A useful checkpoint for marketers
If you’re in a role that feels heavier than it once did, it can help to step back and look at it clearly.
Not emotionally, just practically.
What were you hired to do?
What are you actually responsible for now?
Which parts of the role create the most impact, and which simply take the most time?
That clarity isn’t about blame. It’s about understanding where the role has evolved and whether it’s still structured in a way that sets you up to succeed.
And for hiring managers
If a vacancy has been difficult to fill, or a role has seen high turnover, this is worth considering.
Roles that try to cover too much often attract fewer strong candidates, not more. The best marketers are usually looking for clarity, focus and the chance to do their best work, not to carry everything at once.
Sometimes the solution isn’t a better candidate. It’s a better-defined role.
Final thought
Marketing will always evolve. Roles will always shift.
But when responsibility grows without structure, even great roles can become unsustainable.
Clarity, revisited regularly, is one of the most effective tools a team can use, for performance, retention and long-term growth.
At Kin, this is something we help both candidates and businesses navigate every day. Not to overcomplicate things, just to make sure the right people are set up to do the right work, well.
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Photo by Sergey Zolkin on Unsplash