--- schema_version: "1" id: 126f0f9b63b04698fbb55ca485681a45e397c0fa36e5167ab49a3599210899b6 title: Examples of Planning Hierarchy Structures in Marketing Planning and Operations collection: admin version: current locale: en-us portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/mktg/264-0-0/mktg_pln_oper_hierarchy_examples.md canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mktg_pln_oper_hierarchy_examples.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 source_site: help.salesforce.com content_type: documentation content_hash: 3a729796b5958d64ab1f8654ed4915b210f2546dd891fb958972108c45b24dd0 description: See how two different marketing teams at the same company structure their planning hierarchies to match how they work. Each hierarchy connects company objectives down to executable marketing plans. products: - Marketing release: "264" --- # Examples of Planning Hierarchy Structures in Marketing Planning and Operations See how two different marketing teams at the same company structure their planning hierarchies to match how they work. Each hierarchy connects company objectives down to executable marketing plans. ### Required Editions
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## Five-Level Hierarchy for Corporate Marketing Team The corporate marketing team operates with a deep hierarchy that connects CEO-level business objectives down through multiple strategic layers before reaching executable plans. **Corporate Marketing Hierarchy** ![Diagram showing a five-level marketing hierarchy. The CEO owns the business objective at the top. The objective cascades down to the marketing directive that the CMO owns. Next, the VP of Marketing owns the initiative. Then, the marketing director owns the program. The marketing manager owns the plan at the bottom.](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-mktg-mktg_all-264-0-0-production-enus/e92be4e1-4bef-47a5-a11d-95f4ea1f7d7a/mktg_all/images/mktg_pln_oper_hierarchy_example_corporate.png) Here's how this hierarchy maps to roles and work: | Level | Role | Example | | --- | --- | --- | | Business Objective | CEO | Increase annual revenue by 15% to $500 million. | | Marketing Directive | CMO | Expand into new European markets to drive $50 million in new bookings. | | Initiative | VP of Marketing | Build a demand generation engine for EMEA, targeting $150 million in marketing-sourced pipeline. | | Program | Marketing Director | Q3 Product Launch Program for EMEA, generating 5,000 sales-qualified leads. | | Plan | Marketing Manager | Digital webinar series plan with 2,000 registrations per event. | Each level owns its part of the overall strategy. Goals and budgets flow from the CEO's $500 million revenue objective. They cascade through Marketing Directive, Initiative, and Program, down to the marketing manager's digital webinar plan. Results roll up through every level. The CEO sees whether the 15% revenue growth objective is on track based on what's running in the market. This hierarchy also supports skip-level relationships. For example, a small pilot plan can roll up directly from Plan to Directive, skipping Initiative and Program entirely. The EMEA team runs a social media pilot plan that rolls straight up to the European market expansion directive. ## Three-Level Hierarchy for Regional Product Marketing Team The regional product marketing team uses a simpler, flatter hierarchy. The team doesn't need the same depth as corporate marketing because it focuses on a specific region and product line. **Regional Product Marketing Hierarchy** ![Diagram showing a three-level marketing hierarchy. The regional VP owns the regional objective at the top. The objective cascades down to the product initiative that the product marketing director owns. The product marketing manager owns the go-to-market program at the bottom.](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-mktg-mktg_all-264-0-0-production-enus/e92be4e1-4bef-47a5-a11d-95f4ea1f7d7a/mktg_all/images/mktg_pln_oper_hierarchy_example_regional.png) Here's how this hierarchy maps to roles and work: | Level | Role | Example | | --- | --- | --- | | Regional Objective | Regional VP | Grow Asia-Pacific region revenue by $20 million through new product adoption. | | Product Initiative | Product Marketing Director | Launch Product X in Japan and Australia, targeting 10,000 new customers. | | Go-to-Market Program | Product Marketing Manager | Partner-led launch program with co-marketing campaigns driving 3,000 qualified leads. | This team uses a shorter, three-level structure: Regional Objective, Product Initiative, and Go-to-Market Program. Fewer levels mean faster decision-making and less coordination overhead, which fits how this smaller, focused team operates. This hierarchy also uses skip-level relationships. A quick partner co-marketing pilot program can roll up directly from Program to Regional Objective, bypassing Product Initiative entirely. The Japan team runs a partner co-marketing pilot. The pilot rolls directly to the Asia-Pacific growth objective, bypassing the Product Initiative level. ## How These Two Hierarchies Work Together Both hierarchies exist in the same company at the same time. Corporate marketing runs a five-level structure to manage global, multi-product work. The regional product marketing team runs its three-level structure to move fast on product launches in specific markets. Results from both hierarchies roll up into the same company-wide dashboard. The CEO sees the corporate Marketing Directive and the Regional Objective together. The CFO sees total spend across both marketing teams.