In recent years organisations have been investing in DevOp’s maturity to increase the velocity of product or service delivery. Yet marketing, which is arguably one of the most important components to an organisation’s longevity, has no whisper of an operating model at all!
In fact, MI Academy has recently completed a survey of over 100 brands to find out the state of Marketing Ops in Australia and found that less than 80% of brands have a Marketing Ops model at all.
We found it’s what separates the market leaders from laggards, the super creative teams from the ones who follow the status quo and what takes a place from a good place to work in a marketing team to a great one.
In the fast-paced world of eCommerce and retail, marketing operations is the secret weapon that empowers businesses to thrive amidst fierce competition.
As a founder or marketer in this dynamic industry, understanding and implementing effective marketing operations strategies is crucial for achieving sustainable growth and staying ahead of the curve.
In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the concept of marketing operations, its key pillars, and the stages of marketing ops maturity, providing you with the insights needed to unleash your business’s full potential.
What is Marketing Operations?
Marketing operations is a holistic approach to managing and optimising all aspects of marketing activities. Its increases an organisation’s ability to campaigns and incredible customer experiences at high velocity with greater accuracy for success.
It involves aligning marketing strategies with overall business objectives, streamlining processes, leveraging technology and data, integrating Customer Experience (CX) and Employee Experience (EX), and fostering collaboration among teams. By implementing a robust marketing operations model, businesses can drive efficiency, improve customer experiences, and deliver impactful campaigns that fuel growth.
The Pillars of Marketing Operations:
Business & Leadership: Aligning marketing efforts with business goals, prioritising initiatives, optimising resources, and accurately measuring impact.
Customer & Customer Experience: Gaining deep insights into customer desires, preferences, and pain points to create personalised experiences that make customers feel like a celebrity.
Marketing Tactics: Supercharging your marketing campaigns by leveraging targeted tactics. Developing a deep understanding of the customers journey to optimise channels, personalisation, strategic testing and focusing on activities with maximum impact.
Marketing Tools and Technology: Equipping your business with cutting-edge tools and technology to enhance functionality, user experience, and gain a competitive edge. It’s important to utilise technology to it’s fullest capabilities and cull tech that’s not adding value or streamlining your CX
Project Management: Mastering time management and efficiency through effective project management, allocating resources wisely, and delivering campaigns with high speed.
Team: Building a collaborative team that fosters a culture of ownership, breaks down silos, and leverages the diverse skills of each team member.
This is all underpinned by three critical components of Audit/Understanding, Analytics and Optimisation.
Learn more about the 6 Pillars of Marketing Ops here.
Stages of Marketing Ops Maturity:
Foundations: Establishing the groundwork for marketing operations by defining objectives, aligning teams, and implementing basic processes.
Alignment: Start to align marketing activities with business objectives. Build alignment by setting budgets, and strategic goals develop consistency and introduce project management.
Optimisation: Begin to strive for continuous improvement. Budgets are optimised through data-driven decision-making, ensuring maximum return on investment. A critical shift towards Customer Experience (CX) insight becomes a priority.
Integration: Integration marks a pivotal stage where business objectives, budgets, project management, CX and the marketing operating model become seamlessly interconnected.
Transformation: Achieving a fully integrated and agile marketing operations model that drives strategic growth, adapts to market changes, and delivers exceptional customer experiences. At this stage you are a true innovator.
Learn more about Marketing Ops maturity and what to focus on to progress through the stages here.
Conclusion:
In the fast-paced world of eCommerce and retail, mastering marketing operations is essential for driving growth and staying ahead of the competition.
By implementing the pillars of marketing operations and progressing through the stages of maturity, businesses can unlock their full potential.
Remember, marketing operations is not a one-time endeavor but a continuous journey of improvement and innovation. So, gear up, embrace the power of marketing operations, and propel your eCommerce or retail business to new heights of success.