Understanding Marketing Operations sometimes leads to more questions than answers. Uncovering all the dirty little secrets a company holds near and dear can be frightening & challenging, but also hopeful and exciting at the same time. Fortunately we were able to catch up with the only person who could navigate such a tricky/challenging discussion, VSSLs own Marketing Operations Strategist, also known as the MOps wizard, Lisa Sydes. Lisa sat down with us to discuss strategies, definitions behind common Marketing Operation FAQs, as well as complex operations & ideology.
You can watch a short clip of the interview below followed by a short transcription of the Marketing Operations interview with Lisa Sydes.
If you want to dive deeper, here is the transcript for the entire interview.
Dwayne: Hello Lisa, it’s a pleasure to have you here. Obviously, I know you, so I get to witness your amazing work firsthand, but for the readers & watchers could you please let them know who you are and some cool things you do here at VSSL as well as how Marketing Operations relate to a company’s overall health.
Lisa: Hi, I’m Lisa Sydes and I’m the marketing operations strategist here at VSSL. Marketing Operations plays a significant role in a company. I like to think of it as the central hub. It really impacts every department that it touches.
What Are Some Common Marketing Operations Misconceptions?
Dwayne: Considering the title of the eBook, “Marketing ops demystified”, in your opinion, what are some big/common misconceptions about MOPs that you think people should realize?
Lisa: Some common misconceptions about marketing operations would be that it’s not a one and done project. It’s also not a one size fits all approach. You really should look for a team that’s willing to sit down and understand all the nuances that you have as a company and all your little quirks and tailor a solution for you and for your unique problems.
When Should You Start Focusing on CRM?
Dwayne: You might have a different or biased opinion, but at what stage does a company really need to focus on their CRMs and implementing proper operations processes?
Lisa: I believe companies should start considering their CRM and processes and documentation from day zero, if not sooner. To be successful, it’s important to start thinking about these strategies and processes from day zero, day one, as soon as you can. It sets you up for success so that if you hit a big peak, a big spurt in growth, you’re not going to struggle. Good processes that are well documented – it’s going to set you up to have scalable growth over time.
How Has Marketing Operations Evolved?
Dwayne: How do you think MOPs has evolved over the last few years? Do you think it is still evolving, if so how?
Lisa: Has marketing operations evolved over the years? Well, I would say yes, it absolutely has, and it continues to evolve even today. It’s becoming more complex, it’s becoming more sophisticated. Some things that we might need to do manually could be automated, and that makes our day easier.
But other things, that’s a way of thinking. Business to business, and business to consumer marketing, and what data do we need, and how do we segment these audiences, and how do we distribute content to them? Now, it’s just human to human. I’m excited about how it’s continuing to grow, and it’s fun to look forward and see that.
But definitely changing, and you know, always gonna be different.
—
If you want to dive deeper on the nuances of what goes into Marketing Operations, download the eBook Marketing Operations Demystified and uncover all the ins and outs of this often misunderstood part of companies.