10 Roles of a Successful Marketing Operations Leader
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Transcript of 10 Roles of a Successful Marketing Operations Leader
10 Roles of a Global Marketing Operations Leader By Mayer G. Becker, Senior Director Head of Global Marketing Operations, Fortune 300 Company
© 2013 Mayer G. Becker May Be Used with Permission: [email protected] 4/3/13
Marketing Operations, as a discipline of marketing is relatively new, having been called out first in 2005 by analysts IDC. Reflecting back on my first three years as a marketing operations leader in a large, global company, I thought about the different roles I have had to play. No one role is more dominant, but I have to be ready to assume any of these at a moment’s notice. A member of my team coined the one I’m most proud of, which is, symphony conductor. While also most closely associated with drill sergeant, symphony conductor is the role I enjoy most. Talking with other marketing operations leaders, I discovered that each company defines our responsibilities differently. Some focus on shared services, some on strategy, planning and budgeting, and some only work with demand generation activity. I put this list together to help those interested in marketing operations as a career better prepare for what lies ahead. I hope other practitioners will add to this list through various discussion groups. I remind myself every day that I am not the CMO, nor the head of brand or e-‐commerce. My many roles help these executives to be successful and the department to achieve its mission. In doing so, I myself am successful.
1) Symphony Conductor – the CMO writes the music and the marketing operations leader conducts the marketing orchestra by ensuring the team is focused on what is important (see also Drill Sergeant)
2) Traffic Cop – keeps project traffic moving smoothly through a team of project managers
3) Mechanic – fixes a process when it breaks, and helps keep the “wheels on the wagon”
4) Sage and Seer – anticipates the needs of the CMO, and stays a step ahead as chief of staff
5) Bean Counter – watches over the marketing budget, measures return on investment and makes reports to other stakeholders
6) Ambassador – maintains and facilitates relations with other departments, especially with other operations leaders and/or chiefs of staff
7) Best Friend Forever (BFF) – listens when a peer or team member has issues, and helps to resolve them (“the door is always open”)
8) College Professor – trains and mentors members of the team in process excellence, and advises other team leaders on how to develop plans and strategies
9) Drill Sergeant – ensures schedules are kept and deadlines met
10) Switchboard Operator – soaks in information and readily transfers it to those who need it, or to those who ask for it