Marketing is the homework that we do before we have a product.
– Philip Kotler
Consumers are surrounded by numerous brands in today's world. From buying a smartphone to getting a car, they have various options. For companies, marketing is one thing that could set them apart from their competitors. The question is, what makes marketing tick? Well, optimized marketing operations are the main factor in the success of marketing activities. In this explanation, we will discuss the concept of marketing operations in detail.
Marketing Operations Definition
Let's assume a company has the technology to implement the marketing plan. Do you think it is enough to get the processes right to ultimately achieve marketing objectives? The answer is a clear "no." Marketing technologies alone cannot help a company reach its marketing goals. Marketing teams must follow specific processes, and there should be skilled marketers to perform them. In short, the effective functioning of marketing operations enables a company to plan, execute, and evaluate marketing activities.
Marketing operations means the people, processes, and technologies required to execute a company's marketing strategies and perform at an optimum level.
Marketing operations provide a structure through which firms can execute marketing strategies to deliver customer value. It allows companies to optimize their operations. Its utilization starts from the planning stage and goes until the evaluation stage. Effective marketing operations ensure efficiency in the processes. They help marketers achieve their marketing objectives. Marketing operations also allow companies to design the proper infrastructure and processes and hire expert marketers to implement marketing strategies effectively.
Coca-Cola is one of the leading beverage brands in the world. It has the largest beverage industry market share in many regions. Coca-Cola's marketing success is a testament to its immaculate marketing operations. There is a reason it has been able to keep its brand identity consistent for many decades. It focuses on market research and data management to optimize its market operations and provide value to its customers. It uses AI technology to gather data about consumers to deliver tailored experiences to them.3
Difference between Marketing and Marketing Operations
People tend to confuse marketing and marketing operations. However, there is a crucial difference between these two terms.
Generally, marketing is about selling and promoting the right product to the right person at the right time. It deals with communicating and delivering value to customers.
On the other hand, marketing operations combine the operational and human resources needed to achieve marketing activities. It involves marketing planning, technology development, analysis, performance measurement, and reporting. It is more inclusive in approach. It is concerned with marketing infrastructure and processes. To get the desired results from marketing activities, companies must ensure the smooth running of marketing operations.
Marketing Operations Plan
The marketing operations plan is a comprehensive plan of action that includes designing the right marketing infrastructure, optimizing the processes, and hiring skilled marketers to execute the marketing activities effectively. Here are some of the critical components of a marketing operations plan.
Identify purpose – A company needs to identify the plan's purpose first. The plan should indicate the company's direction with its marketing efforts. It gives clarity about the areas they want to focus on. For instance, a purpose could be optimizing the marketing processes.
Find out resources – Once the company knows the plan's purpose, it can begin finding the resources required to execute it. These resources could be some tools, employees, or essential software.
Set KPIs – Marketers must set the key performance indicators (KPIs) at this stage. These indicators assist companies in keeping track of their performance. It also helps direct the efforts to the required areas, for instance, achieving a certain return on investment for marketing campaigns.
Implement – At this point, the execution stage starts. It is time to take action in the selected direction. The company would want to use its resources effectively to meet the set KPIs and to ensure that the purpose is fulfilled.
Evaluate – It is essential to evaluate performance regularly. Marketers check performance against set KPIs to assess marketing operations' success so they can find timely solutions to any issues.
Fig. 1 - Marketing operations in action
Types of Marketing Operations
The types of marketing operations are based on their functionality. Here are some of the common types.
Project planning – The manager decides on the core aspects of a project. Project planning includes setting the budget, determining the KPIs, and assessing performance. The focus is on ensuring all aspects of the project are running optimally.
Technology management – Marketers use technology management to manage tools such as search engine marketing (SEM), customer insights, etc. Managers also search for new technologies to optimize marketing operations.
Data management – Data is integral to the success of marketing operations. Marketers use data to provide tailored solutions to their customers. Data is also used to improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Therefore, data management is necessary to get better results.
Content development – Content is another crucial aspect of marketing operations. It is a common saying in marketing that "content is king." Content development ensures the company can attract customers and communicate consistent marketing messages.
Marketing Operations Strategy
A marketing operations strategy requires marketing employees to work collectively. It is essential to understand the objectives of the marketing plan and its KPIs to implement the plan without any issues. Here are the steps through which marketers can execute it.
Identify goals – The first step is to identify the goals a company wants to achieve through its marketing operations strategy. It involves the objectives of the company and the goals of key stakeholders. For instance, if the goal is to reduce the cost of marketing campaigns, the manager would search for better resources to optimize the operations.
Set a plan of action – Now, the marketing operations team can work collectively with other key stakeholders to develop a plan of action. Managers assess the strengths and weaknesses of marketing operations to set realistic benchmarks.
Implement – In this step, the team starts implementing the strategy. The implementation stage depends on the marketing operations infrastructure and the team's expertise. It is essential to update key partners about the implementation progress.
Performance measurement – At this last stage, the company measures the strategy's performance. Managers evaluate performance with the determined metrics to identify the strategy's effectiveness.
Marketing Operations Examples
From project planning to data management, marketing operations cover various activities. Here are a couple of examples related to marketing operations.
Marketing Operations Examples: Content creation
Content is one of the foundations of marketing. A company cannot expect to achieve desired results without having solid and engaging content for its target audience. Content creation is about creating textual and visual content across marketing channels. The company analyzes the potential audience, plans the message it intends to convey, and makes the content.
Marketing Operations Examples: Data Analytics
Data is key to reaching target audiences. In marketing operations, data is used to study and extract customer insights. Data strategy is integral to marketing operations' success because it helps optimize them.
Fig. 2- Data Analytics Optimize Marketing Operations
Marketing Operations - Key takeaways
- Effective marketing operations enable a company to plan, execute, and evaluate marketing activities.
- Marketing operations provide a structure through which firms can execute marketing strategies to deliver customer value.
- Marketing operations provide a basis for companies to design the proper infrastructure, processes, and hire expert marketers to implement the marketing strategies effectively.
- The marketing operations plan is a comprehensive plan of action that includes designing the right marketing infrastructure, optimizing the processes, and hiring skilled marketers to execute the marketing activities effectively.
References
- Figure 1. https://pixabay.com/photos/marketing-digital-marketing-office-3724797/
- Figure 2. https://pixabay.com/photos/analysis-analytics-business-charts-1841158/
- Coca-Cola example: https://business.blogthinkbig.com/coca-colas-use-of-ai-to-stay-at-the-top-of-the-drinks-market/
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