Marketing Ops Capabilities — 6 Core Capabilities for Marketing Ops

In preparing for a Martech meeting, we decided to reflect on the role of Marketing Operations (Ops) and how it has evolved. Not that long ago, the scope of Marketing Ops was typically marketing project management and/or marketing governance. With the pressure increasing on Marketing to measure its value and contribution, Marketing Performance Management (MPM) continues to be front and center. To support this work associated with performance management, the role of Marketing Ops continues to expand.

Today, the Marketing Ops function encompasses the development and implementation of processes, systems, tools, and skills necessary for Marketing to drive business results, to manage and measure performance, and to facilitate the usage of data to make strategic decisions related to customers, the market, and products, program direction, and investments. In many organizations, Marketing Operations is the function responsible for Marketing Performance Measurement (MPM), strategic planning and budgeting, process development, professional development, and marketing systems and data.

The Various Roles of Marketing Operations

Since 2001, we’ve been exploring the role of marketing ops in our annual MPM study. Our research reveals that the role of Marketing Ops now includes the following (in no particular order):

• Performance measurement and reporting
• Campaign analysis and reporting
• Technology & automation & pipeline management
• Budgeting and planning; financial governance and reporting
• Data management
• Workflow process development and documentation
• Project management
• Strategic planning
• Organization benchmarking & assessments
• Customer, market, competitive intelligence, research, and insights
• Analytics and predictive modeling
• Talent and skills development

From this list we can see that the role of Marketing Ops expands beyond budgeting, planning, and market research. When we delve further into the results we can learn what Best-In-Class (BIC) Marketing organizations (those that earned a 90 or better score from their leadership for their ability to prove their value and contribution) are doing in the realm of Marketing Ops. Of note is how committed the BIC group is to using data to make market, customer, and product/service decisions that create value for customers and shareholders.

Incorporate These Six Roles into Your Marketing Operations

Six roles surfaced for the Marketing Ops function among the BIC emerged (in priority order):

1. Customer, market, competitive intelligence, research, and insights
2. Analytics and predictive modeling
3. Data management
4. Campaign analysis and reporting
5. Budgeting and planning; financial governance and reporting
6. Organization benchmarking & assessments

If you aspire to remain or join the ranks of the Best-in-Class marketers, it is essential that you integrate these six capabilities into your Marketing Ops function. Learn more about marketing operations.

FAQ:

(written by Penn of Sintra.ai)

Q1: Why has the role of Marketing Operations expanded so significantly?
A: Because pressure on Marketing to prove value and contribution continues to rise, keeping Marketing Performance Management (MPM) front and center. To support performance measurement and decision-making, Marketing Ops has expanded beyond project management and governance into a broader, strategic capability set.

Q2: What does Marketing Operations encompass today (in a modern organization)?
A: The processes, systems, tools, and skills Marketing needs to drive business results—manage and measure performance—and use data to make strategic decisions about customers, markets, products, program direction, and investments. In many organizations, Marketing Ops owns MPM, planning/budgeting, process development, professional development, and marketing systems/data.

Q3: What are the major responsibilities Marketing Ops commonly includes (per the MPM study work)?
A: Performance measurement/reporting; campaign analysis; technology/automation/pipeline management; budgeting/planning and financial governance; data management; workflow/process documentation; project management; strategic planning; benchmarking/assessments; customer/market/competitive intelligence; analytics/predictive modeling; and talent/skills development.

Q4: What distinguishes Best-in-Class (BIC) organizations in how they use Marketing Ops?
A: BIC organizations are highly committed to using data to make market, customer, and product/service decisions that create value for customers and shareholders—and they structure Marketing Ops accordingly.

Q5: What six roles should Marketing Ops prioritize to operate at a Best-in-Class level?
A: In priority order:

Customer/market/competitive intelligence, research, and insights
Analytics and predictive modeling
Data management
Campaign analysis and reporting
Budgeting and planning; financial governance and reporting
Organization benchmarking and assessments

Q6: What is the practical implication for leaders building or modernizing Marketing Ops?
A: If you want Marketing to be viewed as a value creator (and to earn high leadership scores for proving impact), Marketing Ops must be built to deliver intelligence, analytics, and data discipline—not just execution support—while also enabling planning, governance, and continuous improvement.