Nani is the Chief Marketing Officer of Channel99 , a leading provider of B2B marketing solutions.
Maverick: bright, confident, highly skilled naval aviator and unforgettable star of Top Gun . Gus: A friendly, reliable, tech-savvy co-pilot whose job it is to make sure every flight goes smoothly.
What does this famous duo have to do with work? Marketing Operations are the Swans of Marketing Mavericks. It is an umbrella term for the people, processes, and technologies that define marketing strategy and support marketing efforts. The marketing operations team oversees the entire marketing program, from strategic planning to campaign execution. He is also responsible for managing the marketing technology portfolio, performance measurement and data analysis.
Will Maverick be able to complete the mission without Goose's control, management and modification controls and technology? no Similarly, without a strong marketing operations team, it will be difficult for marketers to run campaigns effectively and coherently. To achieve your marketing goals, you need to make sure your marketing operations are running smoothly.
Debunking Common Marketing Mistakes
Marketing operations is a broad system. It spans the entire customer lifecycle and requires extensive knowledge of the CRM system and broader business goals. A strong marketing operations team requires a solid understanding of their function and an understanding that it's not just about execution (although execution (increasing campaign activity, setting up email triggers, lead scoring, etc.) is a key component) . Marketing operations professionals possess a wide range of skills as they constantly deal with email operations, key tasks, system analysis and customer data.
But before you plan your marketing efforts, let's clear up some of the most common misconceptions.
Myth 1: Marketing is focused only on traditional marketing metrics
Of course, marketing will look at traditional top-of-the-funnel marketing metrics such as web traffic, email opens, click-through rates (CTR), form-fill conversion rates, etc. However, it is important to remember that all marketing activities must be done to promote the business effectively. Marketing departments need to be able to link specific marketing activities to different outcomes and closely monitor success metrics. Therefore, your marketing efforts should be focused on identifying the types of interactions, programs, channels and service providers that will improve your ability to generate channels and revenue.
Communicating metrics that drive revenue outside of marketing is essential to getting all teams on the same page. Top channel metrics may or may not be an important indicator of future business performance. The marketing department is responsible for isolating the activities responsible for generating the most revenue.
Myth 2: Marketing doesn't have access to important data
Marketing has access to vast amounts of data. Of course, there is a significant amount of "pure" marketing data related to consumer behavior, which has now been expanded to include anonymous activity at the account level, on-site and off-site interactions, scrolls, clicks, opens, etc. But that's not the only data marketing collects. In addition to customer data, the marketing department regularly collects company, sales and purchase data, satisfaction data, competitive data, and market/industry data.
As the steward of vast amounts of information, marketing has a level of power and responsibility that allows it to have a seat at the decision-making table. Marketing leaders rely heavily on their operations teams to provide data to develop strategies that help achieve the company's broader business and revenue goals. For example, your operations team may be better equipped than other parts of the organization to gather the data needed to determine how, when, and where to sell to your most valuable and most likely-to-buy customers.
Myth 3. The main task of marketing activities is the distribution of data
Yes, one of the main tasks of marketing activities is the collection and distribution of data (especially since the previous myth explains how much data is used in marketing). However, marketers must also be active facilitators of strategy, supporting the data with their voice, indicating which activities, channels, or vendors to cut and which activities to cut. When looking at program performance, be sure to survey companies, channels, and vendors so you get a complete picture of the company, not just a snapshot.
Because marketing has a strong understanding of data and systems, it is responsible for improving performance, monitoring goal achievement, evaluating data, and communicating key findings and trends to management. This responsibility goes beyond simple marketing, as they have the data they need to advise other departments on important business strategies. For example, which accounts are most likely to become satisfied and growing customers? What products most often lead to successful sales and renewals?
Marketing is responsible not only for creating demand and interest, but also for a deep understanding of the market. Therefore, marketers should be writing presentation headlines, not just extracting data charts to insert into an app.
It's not so much about structure as it is about communication
You've probably heard a lot of talk about increasing operating income and taking a more centralized approach to internal operations teams for marketing, sales, finance, customer success, etc. Revenue operations may be the way of the future, but that doesn't mean it eliminates the need for all the specialized skills and knowledge that come with marketing operations. In fact, revenue is less about a rigid organizational structure and more about a flexible communication structure: how do we ensure that the paths between these teams (marketing, sales, customer success, finance) are clear so that messages can flow smoothly? Ultimately, the operational structure must consider the needs of communication with other functions. Without clear lines of communication, you'll get stuck in silos or add disparate systems.
As the company grows and expands, each department eventually creates its own task force to ensure the efficient operation of its functions. Equally important is the coexistence and collaboration with all other operational teams in the company, all of whom strive to meet and exceed the company's revenue goals.
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