Marketing operations elevate PR and communications professionals
Is your marketing department taking advantage of MOM and MRM? Do you have
Are there BAM and DAM systems? Do you know how to measure the NPV? At least
You know what I’m talking about?
If so, you may not be a “Quant” (marketing scientist or marketer
analysis) but you are certainly ready to take a leadership role and stimulate your
company into the new world of marketing operations.
Marketing Operations (AKA MOM or Marketing Operations Management) seeks
improve performance and measure ROI through sustainable processes, better
clearly defined practices and metrics. Admired technology companies (such as Intel, IBM
and Adobe) are hiring people at the VP or director level to refine and hone their
marketing organizations to function with an operational focus. Market research companies like
Gartner and Forrester are also rolling out new research services with a strong focus
in Marketing Operations. And the first US conference on marketing operations was
held in New York last May.
Marketing operations address:
(1) measure marketing effectiveness performance;
(2) ensure an adequate marketing organization;
(3) implement marketing processes, tools and infrastructure;
(4) managing the development of marketing skills; Y
(5) build a sense of community through the discipline of marketing.
Why should you care?
For starters, Marketing Operations is a great vehicle for becoming more strategic.
and less buried in the task. It equips you to speak the language that C-level executives
appreciate, take control of your destiny, and ultimately become more valuable to
their organizations. Best of all, you can tackle the issues that affect you head-on.
directly and also represent the biggest challenges for corporate America, including how
for:
(1) define meaningful success metrics from which performance can be measured
(one type of measure, NPV or net present value, calculates the present value of a
the future net cash flows of the investment less the initial investment);
(2) make optimal use of resources in shrinking marketing departments
(MRM or Marketing Resource Management focuses on workflow, role definition,
project management, planning, budgeting and other resource allocation strategies);
(3) more effectively manage shared knowledge so that information is preserved even after the key
employees advance, allowing for more informed decision making (knowledge
Management strategies include BAM or Brand Asset Management and DAM or
digital asset management); and perhaps the most important
(4) replicate successful marketing programs so that best marketing practices are
institutionalized (and you are not).