Marketing Operations Images

Adobe • Automation • Benchmarking
Best Practices • Budget
Cisco Systems • CMO
Data Privacy • Data Quality
Data Warehouses • Database Marketing
Demand Generation
Digital Asset Management
Enterprise Marketing Management
Flow Charts • Forrester Research
Gartner • IDC • Infrastructure
Lead Generation • M&A Integration
Marketing Automation
Marketing Operations
Marketing Chief of Staff
Marketing Operations Management
Marketing Performance Measurement
Marketing Resource Management (MRM)
Process Optimization
Organizational Development
Process • Professional Development
Strategic Planning
Web Content Management

Marketing Operations is a relatively new discipline within the Corporate Marketing function. Its existence was first recognized 15 years ago by research firms such as IDC and SiriusDecisions. Early adopters were high tech companies such as Cisco Systems, Symantec, and Adobe. Today, hundreds of companies across a variety of industries staff a Marketing Operations role within the Corporate Marketing function.

The scope of responsibilities varies across Marketing Operations teams and so, therefore, does the definition. Here are definitions of the discipline. Examples include:

Typically, Marketing Operations is the function responsible for marketing performance measurement, strategic planning and budgeting, process development, professional development, and marketing systems and data. This work either connects closely to, or includes, demand generation. It also involves the alignment of Marketing with Sales, Business Units, and Finance. Marketing Operational professionals are not classical marketers. Instead of coming from PR or branding backgrounds, they typically come from Finance, IT, Sales Operations and other analytical or process-oriented roles.

Months of work go into building a company’s annual plan. Ideally, it is fed by functional plans that include goals, objectives, strategies, measures, and tactics. All functions require input from senior management on the company’s goals and overarching strategies. In addition, a company’s Marketing team requires input from: