In 2011, I worked with a large tech firm on their martech stack. This was years before marketing operations (MO) was cool or the term martech or stack was in play. During our meeting, my contact handed me a single sheet of paper with 20 different logos representing all the technologies they used to support […]
Is your customer the unifying thread? How to do martech right Read More »
In last month’s article, I introduced an updated marketing operations (MO) maturity model defining the five stages of maturity: Unaware, Efficient, Effective, Customer-centric and NextGen. The last two stages of maturity — Customer-centric and NextGen — are particularly important as marketing takes on the massive responsibility of helping the company pivot to a customer-centric strategy.
Becoming customer-centric: A tale of a NextGen MO organization Read More »
In under a decade, we’ve seen the martech space explode in size, from just 150 solutions in 2011 to more than 6,800 as of this year. In this next phase of martech’s evolution, we’ll see a much-needed consolidation. It’s already happening, not only through mergers and acquisitions, but also as brands begin to realize the
Managing martech relationships: Partnerships and agility in marketing Read More »
I’m going beyond B2B marketing tactics in this column to challenge all of us, including myself, who can easily get stuck in the day-to-day grind, heads down. Physicist, cosmologist and author Stephen Hawking died last month. There are so many lessons we can take from his legendary life and impact on society. Upon reflection, a
Another day, and another survey showing organizational uncertainty about preparation for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), now less than three months away. In this one, enterprise data management firm Solix conducted an online survey with more than 100 companies. While the sample was relatively small, the respondents were all IT professionals, thus giving some
Solix survey supplies more evidence of GDPR unreadiness Read More »
Marketing operations (MO) as a capability has exploded onto the scene because of fast-changing technology, the need for a more transparent, efficient, and accountable view of marketing and big-time pressure from the C-suite for marketing to contribute to the bottom line. Three years ago, very few companies had a dedicated marketing operations team. Today, a
The pros and cons of marketing operations as a corporate vs. field function Read More »
With the launch of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) only about a hundred days away, a key question is how many companies are ready to comply. A recent report from Forrester Research, based on a survey of 3,195 security decision-makers in companies with more than 20 employees in the US and nine other countries,
About a third of companies say they’re ready for GDPR but may not be Read More »
A few years ago, direct response marketers primarily focused on cost-per-acquisition (CPA) metrics — how much it cost to drive a sale. In the partner and affiliate realms, that cost was reflected in the bounty that the advertiser was willing to pay for each sale. CPAs and bounties are still primary considerations in partner marketing.
How customer lifetime value analysis is transforming partner marketing Read More »
When I saw this video of cadets helping each other scale a high wall, I was immediately struck by how planning, preparation and teamwork can clearly blow away making it up as you go. It’s a simple demonstration of the executional power of repeatable processes that can scale (pardon the pun). It reminded me a
“Unless structure follows strategy, inefficiency results.” Alfred Chandler As marketing operations (MO) capabilities mature, it’s up to the MO leader to modify the organizational structure to ensure it’s meeting current and future marketing strategies and goals. Nothing says commitment like an organizational chart, and we all know how challenging it is to develop a dedicated
