marketing agency, b2b marketing agency for startups, startup marketing, digital marketing agency, seo marketing, marketing for your business, small business marketing, new business marketing plan, content marketing, email marketing, marketing to small businesses, content marketing management, digital marketing, social media marketing, growth marketing, startups, vc, tech, tech startups

What Is Marketing Operations and Why Every Startup Needs It

Founder of Orchid Agency
Carla Sinfon
September 12, 2022
b2b marketing agency, startup marketing, b2b internet marketing, b2b brand strategy, b2b marketing channels, b2b marketers, effective marketing,  b2b email marketing, startup marketing agency, marketing agency for startups,  demand generation, lead generation, revenue marketing, content marketing, email marketing, lead generation, b2b marketing, agency, marketing, startup marketing, marketing plan

Marketing operations is a crucial capability for all businesses. However most companies are still struggling with lead scoring, measuring ROI for marketing - in general and per channel - lead flow and accuracy, segmentation, tracking and analytics and more - most companies are still struggling with up-leveling marketing operations function. 

What Is Marketing Operations? 

Marketing operations is the process of planning, executing, and measuring marketing activities to achieve marketing objectives. It sounds simple enough, but in practice, it’s a complex and ever-evolving process. 

As a startup, you can’t afford to overlook the importance of marketing operations. Without it, your marketing efforts will be disorganized, inefficient, and ineffective. A strong marketing operations function will help you optimize your marketing budget, choose the right marketing mix, track your marketing performance, and much more. 

What Does Marketing Operations Cover? 

affiliate marketing, growth marketing, pig,  marketing, digital marketing, vector marketing, social media marketing, marketing agency, international marketing, digital marketing agency, what is marketing, marketing mix, marketing definition, network marketing, content marketing, marketing funnel, marketing strategy, email marketing, 4 ps of marketing, marketing plan inbound marketing, seo marketing, internet marketing, facebook marketing, marketing consultant, b2b sales, internet marketing, marketing agency, digital marketing company, marketing strategies, what is b2b, b2b marketing, account based marketing, ABM, , marketing agency near me, social media marketing agency, marketing digital, digital agency, marketing companies, social media agency, marketing firm marketing agencies, what is b2b marketing, business to business marketing, market strategy, top marketing agencies, best marketing strategies, best marketing companies, customers buyers journey, buyer journey, what is marketing strategy, types of marketing strategies, b2b marketing strategies, email marketing agency, startup marketing agency marketing agency for startups, b2b marketing definition strategic marketing plan, b2b vs b2c marketing, marketing strategy plan, lead gen, lead generation, revenue marketing, b2b email marketing, b2b marketing funnel, marketing strategy consultant, chief marketing officer, demand gen, demand generation, effective marketing, top marketing companies, different marketing strategies, b2b marketing examples, b2b content marketing, b2b marketing strategy, b2b advertising, b2b marketing agency, effective marketing strategies, marketing strategies for small businesses, b2b social media marketing, startup marketing, marketing and advertising agencies, b2b marketing planning, web flow, hubspot, parrot, , b2b marketing automation, marketing strategy framework, marketing strategies for startups, b2b marketing plans, b2b marketing companies, 4ps of marketing, , b2b marketing company, marketing for startups, b2b marketing plan, marketing channels, marketing b2b, digital marketing for startups, marketing kpis, marketing operations, sales operations, brand, brand strategy, brand marketing, b2b digital marketing, marketing budget for startups, b2b marketers, b2b inbound marketing, inbound marketing b2b, b2b digital marketing strategy, marketing campaigns,  marketing tools, demand gen campaigns, demand gen marketing, marketing tactics, b2b internet marketing, b2b campaign, saas marketing, tech marketing, b2b web marketing, best b2b marketing strategies, b2b marketing best practices, best b2b marketing, b2b sales and marketing, sales and marketing alignment, b2b marketing platform, b2b marketing and sales, b2b marketing platforms, marketing strategies for b2b, b2b campaigns, business to business, digital marketing, best b2b campaigns, b2b performance marketing, b2b marketing magazine, paid marketing , paid ads, Facebook marketing , Facebook ads, linkedin marketing, linkedin ads
source: Bizzable

The scope of marketing operations varies from company to company, but there are some shared core functions. At minimum, marketing operations covers: 

  • Campaign management: Planning and executing marketing campaigns that align with business objectives. Specifically channel mix, persona targeting, segmentation, buyers’ journey, alignment with sales and key stakeholders, etc. 
  • Budgeting and forecasting: Planning and managing the marketing budget to ensure efficient spending. Specifically ROI per channel, per marketing campaign, per tactic, with accurate and data-driven forecasting of leads, net new leads, marketing and sales stages, progression through the pipeline, closed won/ lost, etc. 
  • Performance measurement: Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge the effectiveness of marketing activities.
  • Technology management: Selecting, implementing, and maintaining the technology platforms needed to support marketing operations.
  • Data management: Collecting, storing, and using data to inform marketing decisions. Lets face every company struggles with  data quality and management , especially for net new sales. 
“Data management is a critical function and building a rigorous discipline around it will significantly accelerate revenue growth for any business. Otherwise it's garbage in and garbage out”. Mariya Finkelshteyn, Founder and CEO of Orchid Agency.

The Benefits of Marketing Operations 

There are many benefits of having a strong marketing operations function in your startup. With the main goal to drive growth for your company, here are some of the most important benefits:

  • Improved efficiencies: From day-to-day improved business operations, to higher efficacy of marketing campaigns, and data-driven ROI for marketing initiatives. Marketing operations brings structure and organization to your marketing efforts, resulting in improved efficiencies and cost savings. 
  • Better decision-making: With access to data and performance insights, you can make more informed decisions about where to allocate your marketing resources. 
  • Increased agility: A streamlined process ensures that you can quickly adapt to market or business landscape changes. 
  • Improved alignment with business objectives: By aligning your marketing activities with business objectives, you can better show the impact of your work on the bottom line. 
  • Greater insights into customer behavior: By tracking customer behavior data, you can gain valuable insights into what they want and need from your product or service. 

How to Set Up Marketing Operations 

If you’re starting from scratch, it can be daunting to set up a comprehensive marketing operations function, but it’s most definitely doable!  Here are some tips to get you started: 

1. Define your objectives: 

What do you want to achieve with your marketing efforts? Keep in mind that marketing operations functions as support for the whole marketing organization. It’s important to be specific as possible when defining your objectives

2. Outline your process: 

It’s time to get organized! Specifically, map out each step you will need to take to achieve your objectives

3. Identify your resources: 

What human and financial resources do you need to execute your plan? Within marketing operations, there are different roles from marketing operations managers to SEO specialists. Make sure to align the roles you’d like to hire with the size of your startup.

4. Create a budget: 

Take a good look at your budget and think through how much you need to spend on each activity. Make sure to allocate enough funds for each stage of the process. 

5. Set up tracking mechanisms:

Don’t forget about how you will track progress and measure success. Choose KPIs that align with your objectives. 

6. Implement technology platforms: What technology do you need to support your process? This could include campaign management software, budgeting tools, performance tracking systems, etc. 

7. Collect and analyze data: How will you collect data? What data do you need? How will you use it to inform your decisions? 

Getting Started with Marketing Analytics 

One of the most important aspects of marketing operations is analytics. By collecting and analyzing data, you can gain valuable insights into your customers’ behavior, preferences, and needs. This information can then be used to inform your marketing decisions. 

There are many different types of data that you can collect, but some of the most important ones for marketers include website traffic data, conversion data, customer purchase data, and social media data

 There are numerous ways to collect this data; however, many startups lack the resources or expertise needed to do this effectively. Luckily, there are a number of software platforms that offer comprehensive data collection and analysis tools specifically for startups.

The new age of digital marketing is moving faster than ever before. To keep you it’s important that your start-up has a proper team of marketing operations professionals in place. If you are just getting started down this road, reach out and we can help.

B2B MARKETING TIPS