Marketing operations is a term that encompasses the technology, the people and the means that drive an organization’s general marketing strategy and how likely it is to thrive in the future.
The specialists behind marketing ops are the fuel and the center of all marketing activity, and their importance shouldn’t be neglected as they oversee the whole marketing activity and guide the marketing team from start to finish. In fact, a recent survey found that around 93% of B2B marketers view marketing operations as an essential and crucial activity to deliver unparalleled digital transformation.
In today’s world where technology is an essential component of every marketing and business activity, your organization must understand the significance of marketing operations and the challenges it comes with to ensure its fully optimized.
The key components of a marketing operations strategy
Here are the 7 must-have ingredients that make marketing ops run smoothly:
1. Process management
Marketing teams are often reluctant to stop, reflect and update their day-to-day tools and processes or find better ways of working. Not only is it hard to step back to look at the bigger picture, but time-poor marketers are mostly task-orientated.
This is where marketing ops brings a great deal of value. Their focus is on the wider strategy as well as the overall goals of the business, and this means they’re the perfect changemakers to tweak and adapt marketing processes for maximum efficiency and scalability.
2. Project management
Good campaign management ensures that the campaign objectives and the critical goals of the business are fully aligned. A project manager also brings leadership, vision, quality control and realistic timescale planning into the mix.
The role of marketing ops is to oversee projects and keep teams on track and motivated, while guaranteeing campaigns can be delivered on time and within budget.
3. MarTech management
Another vital component for marketing operations is being able to source, manage, maintain, review and update the technology stack. Does the team have the tools and software they need to perform their jobs? Is your existing MarTech making life easier or just clunky to use? Are there easier solutions that can save time, improve team collaboration and decrease app sprawl?
As mentioned above, driving forward change for tools and processes can take a backseat when there isn’t a dedicated marketing ops function to push things along. A marketing ops specialist will look at CMS and CRM systems and social media management tools, as well as tools for email and marketing automation, and find ways to improve technology integration so that data can be shared seamlessly. This is especially crucial when, according to recent IFP research, a huge 71% of VPs believe that their current marketing automation strategy is only somewhat effective.
Learn more: How to Build the Most Efficient MarTech Stack For Your Money
4. Content management
While marketing operations professionals aren’t usually the content creators, they’re the ones to facilitate content generation via tools, technology and processes.
Not only do they review content channels and help to create strategies and realistic campaign timelines, but they’re also there to make sure the back-of-house is organized, efficient and accessible. For instance, they’ll look after content management systems and create suitable processes for storing, sharing and editing.
5. Brand management
Businesses without a dedicated brand manager will often rely on marketing to take care of how the brand is presented – this can be both internally and externally. For many organizations, this is usually the case, and this is where marketing ops can shine.
Governing how the brand interacts with the outside world requires a combination of Digital Asset Management (DAM) tools and legal compliance efforts, as well as seamless brand management with external stakeholders, marketing partners and collaborators.
6. Data analytics and management
Utilizing data in the most consistent way should be integral to any organization, enabling collaboration and breaking down data silos that only hold the business back. Having a dedicated marketing ops team ensures data reliability – their role is to provide easy access to the right data, at the right time and for the right users.
To do this, there needs to be effective management of both customer data and performance data, such as KPIs and metrics. Not only will marketing ops govern how all of this is done, but they’re responsible for making sure the technology lives up to requirements. This includes a strong CRM setup that allows for data segmentation, as well as the management of individual channels and tapping into their analytics. This is a priority to marketers according to IFP research, which found that 74% of respondents believe that analyzing data effectively and fully understanding what it means is their main barrier to success.
7. CX management
Nothing is more important than customer experience (CX). This applies to both B2B and B2C businesses. In fact, a study by SiriusDecisions tells us that 80% of all B2B buying decisions are based on the buyer’s direct or indirect experience with the brand – that means only 20% of buying decisions are based on the offering itself or price.
Marketing operations teams are usually responsible for overseeing the strategy for CX, and this can include managing demand and lead generation techniques as well as sales and marketing integration to ensure that customer experience is front of mind across every touchpoint.
Final thoughts
The marketing operations’ function creates value not only to the marketing team, but also to the organization’s overall smooth functioning, and helps it achieve its business goals and objectives.
Therefore, it’s essential you review and optimize these core ingredients into your teams to ensure you’re getting the most out of marketing operations.
To learn more about the importance of marketing ops and how to optimize it in your business, read our full research report, The State of Marketing Operations
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