the future of marketing operations: predictions for 2015

The Future ofMarketingOperations:Expert Predictions for 2015

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Over the past couple of years, the visibility and responsibilities of marketing operations have expandeddramatically as more companies require the marketingfunction to run as a fully accountable business unit.

In fact, the role and discipline of marketing operations becoming more ubiquitous is one of the common themes revealed in this eBook, The Future of Marketing Operations: Expert Predictions for 2015.

To learn more about the state of marketing operations heading into 2015, we reached out to content marketing, demand generation and, of course, operations thought leaders for their top New Year’s predictions.

As you read through these predictions, you might notice some other common themes, such as the emergence of a “Chief of Staff” reporting to the CMO and the necessity for all marketers, regardless of function, to understand process, technology and data as part of their overall skill set.

While predictions and opinions will vary about the future of marketing operations, we can say for sure that there’s plenty of optimism surrounding this important function as we head into 2015.

We hope you enjoy The Future of Marketing Operations: Expert Predictions for 2015.

The ProofHQ Team

Do you have a prediction of your own about the role and discipline of marketing operations in 2015?Visit our blog at bit.ly/operations2015 and leave a comment.

Introduction

The Future ofMarketing Operations:

Expert Predictions for 2015

http://bit.ly/operations2015

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Carlos HidalgoMarketing Operation’s

Role in Business Success

Will Increase

For years, organizations have built up and invested in sales operations. Now we’re seeing the same investment being made in marketing operations. Increasingly, CEOs are demanding that CMOs demonstrate the value of their respective marketing departments and be held accountable for the revenue those departments help drive for the company.

In today’s business environment, the key to ultimate success of this directive will be the role of marketing operations and its use of advanced analytics, predictive tools and big data to run the marketing machine. I believe that marketing operations will play a pivotal role in the maturation and recognition of

the marketing department as a fully accountable business unit, elevating the role from cost center to valuable business partner.

Carlos HidalgoCEO & Principal | ANNUITAS

www.annuitas.comTwitter: @cahidalgo

JaschaKaykas-Wolff Marketing Operations: The Lynchpin of a Strong Marketing Team

More and more, I see the function of operations (process engineering, data, technology and development) becoming the lynchpin of a strong marketing team. As we move into 2015 and beyond, I expect demand generation to find a home as a speciality within marketing operations. When a strong operations team exists within a marketing group, the ability for the organization to drive strategy based on empirical data is heightened. A data-driven marketing team can benefit the company through its positive influence in sales, product and more.

It’s my opinion that the maturation of marketing operations over the last handful of years has secured its place at the proverbial leadership table. What’s

most interesting to me, right now, is how we willfind and nurture the next generation of marketing operations professionals and what kind of new perspectives they will bring to the discipline.

Jascha Kaykas-WolffCMO | BitTorrent

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www.marketingiteration.comTwitter: @kaykas

The Future ofMarketing Operations:Expert Predictions for 2015

Jenna Keegan Marketing Operations Will Become the

Cool Kids at the Table

The processes and technologies that marketing operations staff manages empower the marketing department to measure its performance in quantifiable numbers, which makes the entire department more strategic and effective over time. And because the insights and data that marketing operations gathers, analyzes and presents to every level of the organization are hot commodities, visibility of the operations function is at an all-time high. It’s in this data that marketing departments−all the way up to the CMO−prove their worth.

Consider marketing operations the glue that holds marketing and sales together. Touching every department within the organization, marketing operations gains unique perspective into the needs of sales and can translate that back to marketing.

Further cementing our new status as members of the “in crowd,” we’re at the forefront of emerging

technology that can change and even improve the way a company generates revenue. That can turn some heads on the executive floor.

So in 2015, I see marketing operations becoming the “cool kids’ table.” Why? The world’s become more data-driven, and guess what? We’ve got all of the numbers.

Jenna KeeganMarketing Operations Manager | Lattice Engines

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www.lattice-engines.comTwitter: @jennakeegs



Allison MacLeodFrom Backstage to Center Stage: How the

Role of Marketing Operations will Emerge

The role of marketing operations will be much more visible in 2015 as it strengthens its position as a strategic partner that helps the CMO and marketing team drive the marketing strategy of a company. I see marketing operations as more than managing process and systems; it’s an up and coming function that uses data, analytics and technology to enhance how and when a company targets and markets to prospects and customers, and ultimately contributes to the business. I also see marketing operations professionals taking on a greater advisory role by helping the rest of the marketing team determine where they can be most effective. And, with a focus on data and use of predictive analytics, I think we’ll see an even larger shift to quality over quantity in 2015.

Marketing operations skills will no longer be the exclusive domain of marketing operations specialists. All marketers, regardless of function, need to understand process, technology and data in today’s business environment.

Allison MacLeodSr. Director, Demand Generation & Marketing Operations |Rapid7

www.rapid7.comTwitter: @allib1121

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Jon MillerMarketing Operations

Follows Adoption of

Marketing Automation

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The concept of marketing operations is still a new one for most companies, and so the discipline of marketing operations more often than not follows the adoption of marketing automation. As more companies adopt marketing automation, then, we’ll see marketing operations establish a stronger foothold.

A lot of companies buy marketing automation first to solve specific business problems — lead nurturing, lead scoring, lead management, marketing analytics, etc. And, most of the time, companies adopting marketing automation for the first time haven’t yet established formal marketing operations processes.

As companies use automation and mature in their use of the technology,

that’s when they start embracing marketing operations as a more formal discipline.

What marketing operations can do is become the “Chief of Staff” for the CMO. And in companies where marketing operations isn’t yet thriving, the question becomes, what can they do to step up their game?

Jon MillerVP & Co-Founder | Marketo

www.marketo.comTwitter: @jonmiller

The Future ofMarketing Operations:Expert Predictions for 2015 6

17



GerryMurrayThe Rise of the

Marketing Chief

of Staff

The responsibilities associated with marketing operations — campaign management, marketing technology, data and analytics, budgeting and planning — are becoming more complex, spanning multiple departments, divisions and geographies. As that complexity increases, the role becomes divided among specialists in each of these areas. That creates the need for a more senior role that can coordinate global marketing operations. In 2015, we’ll see more companies establishing a “Chief of Staff” role that reports directly to the CMO and who manages the various specialties, freeing the CMO to focus on facilitating growth, sales and marketing strategy.

Gerry MurrayResearch Manager, IDC | CMO Advisory

www.idc.comTwitter: @murray_gerry

David M. RaabThe Marketing Operations Function

Becomes More Complex

Marketing operations will continue to become more important as marketing systems and programs become more complicated. In particular, cross-channel projects will require marketing operations professionals who stand outside the channel-specific departments such as Web site management, email marketing or advertising media. New types of training will be needed to help marketing operations staff run new types of systems and do more complex analytics needed to evaluate and optimize the more complex programs.

But marketing will continue to be run by people with strategic vision and deep customer insights. That’s not the skill set of marketing operations.

David M. RaabPrincipal | Raab Associates, Inc.

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www.raabassociatesinc.comTwitter: @draab


Kathleen SchaubOperational Excellence

will Separate the Leaders

from the Laggards

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Marketing leaders dramatically outspend their peers in marketing technology. Companies just can’t reap all of the benefits of marketing technology without proficiency in operations. Collaborative, systems-oriented approaches go hand in hand with content marketing, data-driven marketing and other modern marketing competencies. Leading organizations are operationally effective – laggards are not, simple as that.

Every marketing professional would benefit from having a working understanding of core operational constructs. It should be part of a marketing leader’s repertoire along with things like finance, people management and data/technology. Not every CMO needs to be an operational expert or specialist, but every CMO

should have a key member of their senior team who is responsible for improving operational competency in the organization.

Kathleen SchaubVice President, IDC CMO Advisory Service | IDC

www.idc.comTwitter: @kathleenschaub

The Future ofMarketing Operations:Expert Predictions for 2015 9

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