Should content teams report into marketing or sales?

Where content teams should sit sounds like a simple org chart question. But in practice, it cuts to the heart of one of the biggest tensions in B2B growth today: what exactly is content for?

Is it a top-of-funnel magnet for attention and engagement – a tool of brand building, storytelling and long-term trust? Or is it a tactical resource designed to drive conversions, overcome objections and accelerate deals?

As B2B content matures from a supporting act to a strategic growth driver, this question is becoming harder to ignore. And the answer, increasingly, says a lot about how your business views marketing, sales and the space in between.

The traditional view: content as a marketing function

Historically, content has sat squarely under the marketing umbrella. In this model, content teams support campaign execution, lead generation, and brand development. They own the tone of voice, the messaging framework, the content calendar. They produce blog posts, ebooks, guides, reports, social copy, email sequences – and everything else that builds and reinforces the brand narrative.

This structure makes a lot of sense. It allows for strong alignment between content and the broader marketing strategy. When content sits within marketing, it tends to be consistent in style and voice, coherent across channels, and well-integrated with SEO, paid media, and inbound tactics. It supports the long game – establishing a point of view, growing brand equity, and capturing early-stage demand before the buyer even speaks to sales.

But problems arise when this setup leaves sales teams underserved. All too often, salespeople report that they can’t find the content they need for real-world conversations. They struggle with outdated decks, overly generic assets, or materials that speak to awareness rather than purchase. Marketing may be publishing regularly, but none of it feels built for the moment when a prospect asks, “Why should I choose you?”

The sales enablement argument

On the flip side, some organisations have flipped the script – placing content under the remit of sales, or at least tying it tightly to sales enablement functions. This structure treats content as a revenue-driving asset. Its job is not just to engage, but to equip. Content becomes part of the sales toolkit: case studies for competitive conversations, objection-handling one-pagers, vertical-specific brochures, tailored landing pages, and follow-up sequences that move deals forward.

When content is embedded within sales, it often gets created faster, iterated more often, and shaped by frontline insight. The feedback loop is shorter. The focus is sharper. Instead of writing for a vague persona, content creators write with a specific deal, account, or stakeholder in mind.

But this approach brings its own risks. Without close ties to marketing, content can become reactive, fragmented or overly tactical. Brand consistency can suffer. The longer-term strategy may fall away. And without the structure and editorial standards of a marketing function, content quality can become patchy – especially in growing teams without dedicated content leads.

The emerging solution: content as a bridge

As content becomes more central to how B2B brands attract, convert and retain customers, a third approach is emerging: content as a strategic bridge between marketing and sales.

In many high-performing teams, content still reports into marketing, but is jointly accountable to sales stakeholders. There’s frequent collaboration, shared planning cycles, and even dedicated roles within the content team who specialise in sales enablement. Rather than being pulled entirely to one side, content functions as connective tissue – helping marketing and sales speak the same language.

Some organisations go further still, adopting dual-reporting structures or centralised content operations that serve both departments. In this setup, content is not owned by marketing or sales alone, but by a cross-functional growth or revenue team. Its remit stretches from thought leadership and inbound to buyer enablement and post-sale expansion. It’s given commercial KPIs – pipeline impact, deal acceleration, sales adoption – alongside traditional metrics like engagement, reach and conversion rate.

What the org chart doesn’t tell you

Where content sits is important. But where it sits isn’t as important as how it functions. A content team embedded in marketing can still serve sales brilliantly – if there’s a culture of collaboration and shared goals. Likewise, a content team under sales can fail to deliver if it lacks strategic alignment or editorial rigour.

What matters more than reporting lines is intent. Does your content team have visibility into the full buyer journey? Are they involved in sales planning conversations? Are they briefed on objections, competitor positioning, and win/loss data? Do they know which assets get used – and which get ignored?

And perhaps most importantly: are they measured on outcomes that matter to both marketing and sales?

How high-performing teams are structuring content

In practice, many B2B organisations are settling on hybrid models. Content remains a marketing function, but with a sales enablement arm that works closely with revenue teams. These roles often act as liaisons between the content strategy and what’s actually happening on the ground. They bring back insight, request bespoke materials, and ensure that assets are built with the sales process in mind.

Others are experimenting with dual reporting – where content teams answer to both the head of marketing and the head of revenue or enablement. This helps maintain balance, though it requires clear governance and prioritisation to avoid conflicts or dilution.

Still others are taking a more radical approach, centralising content under operations or growth leadership, treating it as a standalone discipline that supports the entire customer lifecycle – from awareness to onboarding to advocacy.

There are also examples of content pods being created within larger organisations, with different teams focused on different content goals: one team for top-of-funnel and thought leadership, another for sales enablement, another for customer success. This model allows for depth and focus, but requires tight coordination to maintain a unified voice.

So, where should content sit?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. If your content is primarily focused on brand storytelling, awareness, and early-stage education, it probably belongs in marketing. If your content is being used as a lever to close deals, handle objections, and personalise outreach, a closer tie to sales may be appropriate.

But increasingly, content is doing both. It’s not about choosing brand or performance – it’s about integrating the two. And that means building a content function that’s cross-functional by design, not just by aspiration.

The best content teams in 2025 are those that move fluidly between departments. They understand the brand narrative, but also the sales reality. They care about impressions, but are obsessed with pipeline. They don’t just publish – they influence, enable, and accelerate.

Final thought: content serves the buyer, not the org chart

Ultimately, the real question isn’t “Should content report to marketing or sales?” It’s “What role should content play in driving business growth – and are we enabling that role effectively?”

Because content doesn’t exist to serve internal structures. It exists to serve buyers. To help them make sense of complex problems, evaluate their options, and choose with confidence.

Wherever content sits, its success depends on how well it bridges the gap between awareness and action – and between marketing and sales.

If your content team can do that, the reporting line is secondary.

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