The Growth Lever You're Probably Ignoring
Why internal communication is your first - and most important - campaign
In the words of RuPaul: “If you can’t market yourself, how the hell can you market somebody else.” (Or something close to that I think…)
Yes that’s right. The growth lever you’re probably ignoring isn’t a channel or some secret hack. It’s…
Internal marketing.
And it’s the skill I see most marketers struggle with the most.
But, I’m not just referring to status updates or documentation.
I’m talking about how you get people across the org to understand, believe in, and support your strategy before anything launches.
Because strategy doesn’t succeed just because it’s good. It succeeds because people believe in it.
And if you’re in growth marketing, you’ll most likely want to implement change, accelerate campaigns, or scale your impact beyond what you can do alone.
But in order to do that, you need to know how to communicate the why.
💬 You Can’t Implement Change Without a Clear Narrative
One of the hardest parts of marketing leadership?
Driving change inside the org.
And the biggest blocker usually isn’t developing the strategy.
It’s fighting against the dreaded mindset of: “But this is how we’ve always done it.”
People hate change. Especially if it feels unsure, untested, or like more work.
Whether you’re working at a scrappy startup, or a well-established corporation - resistance will always be present. Somewhere.
Your job? To create a narrative strong enough to move people with you.
Not just what you’re doing. Not just how you’ll do it
But why now, what’s at stake, and what it unlocks.
🧲 Internal Marketing Builds Buy-In
You want leadership to support your strategy.
You want sales to actually use your messaging.
You want cross-functional teams to rally around a massive campaign.
They won’t do it just because you said it’s the priority.
They’ll do it because you made them believe it is.
Here are some things that have worked for me (and others):
Translating your ideas into outcomes they care about
Framing changes in terms of efficiency, alignment, or risk mitigation
Bringing people into the process early - so they feel ownership, not whiplash
Repeating the narrative consistently
You don’t need more meetings.
Bring people in early. Show how it will help them. Be clear on your communication.
🚀 Scaling Campaigns Starts Internally
The best external campaigns all started with internal clarity.
Making sure the wider team is aligned is crucial - but often an overlooked step. People often mistake “moving fast” with “I don’t have time to share what I’m doing - I just have to do it.”
But I’ve seen campaigns stall (and fail) simply because of lack of internal communication.
And I’ve seen huge campaigns move faster, get out the door sooner, and surpass expectations because the team was aligned and coordinated. All due to internal communication with one another.
Before launching, get aligned on:
What the campaign is solving
Who it is for & why they’ll care
How its connected to pipeline or business goals
What other teams need to know or assist with
Because nothing kills momentum faster than launching externally when you're still messy internally.
Some tools I use to help coordinate campaigns internally:
Kickoff calls with key stakeholders, bringing them up to speed on the campaign
Launch briefs for teams to review and refer to
Internal updates on the status (either weekly or biweekly)
And yes - repetition, repetition, repetition
📣 How You Know It’s Working (And If It’s Not)
Internal communication doesn’t show up on a dashboard.
But the signals are everywhere.
It’s working when:
Sales starts using your messaging before enablement hits
Execs echo your narrative in meetings
Cross-functional teams ask, “How does this align with our strategy?”
People are sharing your work with others without needing you to
My favorite moment, when I’ve been working on an internal change, is when I start hearing others repeating my words or strategy back to me. Almost like its their own idea. That’s when I know I’ve started to make progress.
But even more important, is identifying when you need to be doing more around your internal communication.
Signs that you may need to do more include:
You keep re-explaining the same campaign 1:1
People say “Wait - we launched that?” or “I didn’t know about this”
Different teams are working against one another, but for the same goal
Leadership isn’t sure what you and your team are focused on
Alignment isn’t a one-time announcement.
It’s a loop you have to keep running.
And if you’re not hearing your strategy reflected back to you, that’s your cue to turn up the volume.
🧾 Final Thought
If you want your strategy to succeed, don’t just build it - sell it.
Tell the story.
Repeat it.
Make people care before you ask them to act.
Because the best strategies don’t just live in slides - they live in people’s heads.
Over to you:
What’s one internal comms habit that’s helped your team scale or get buy-in?