With just over a month until Martechopia, we wanted to give you an exclusive snippet of one of our upcoming talks. In their session, Karla Wentworth, Propolis MOPs Hive expert, and “the marketing ops guy” Simon Daniels will host a live podcast episode on marketing operations in the technical landscape. Here’s what you can expect.
How do you solve a problem like MOPs?
“Having had the privilege of being recognised in the B2B Marketing-Harvard PR tech marketing innovators index, there was a bit of pressure on to come up with something different,” Simon quips. “We’re taking our marketing operations podcast What’s Mops got to do with it? in front of a ‘live studio audience’. We’ll be speaking with leading MOPs practitioner Holly Gage, plus MOPs guru Courtney McAra.”
With rotating guest speakers from the people who know MOPs best, their podcast brings in different perspectives, experiences and situations in search of what marketing operations look like in different environments. Their goal? Find the ultimate definition of marketing operations (albeit a never-ending journey). “In the process of seeking a definition and creating that combined view, we’re looking to pass on some of our accomplished and experienced guests’ wisdom,” Simon adds.
In previous episodes they have discussed a range of topics including:
- Why it makes sense to have a marketing operations function and how to create one from scratch.
- How sales enablement platforms can help with sales and marketing alignment (“at the same time we were advised not to worry too much about sales and marketing alignment,” Simon adds).
- How to find the right marketing operations team and hold onto them.
- The importance of engaging with stakeholders from across the business.
- Why dashboards are the beginning of insight and not the end.
So, what will you get out of going?
“Technology plays a key part in marketing operations, it sounds like this is going to fit in really well with the Martechopia audience,” Karla states.
“Whether you’ve got a function or want to build one, defining what marketing operations is, what it should do and how it should fit is something everybody needs to recognise,” Simon agrees. “While there may not be a universal definition, defining what it is for you is crucial.”
Their interactive session will be a novel twist on a traditional podcast format, allowing audiences who experience the same problems to come together, learn from each other and leave with actionable solutions.
As Karla outlines, their session discusses the challenges across the chain. “It’s right for all levels. We’re both continuously hands on, boots on the ground,” she states. “The notion that even with my highfalutin job title that I somehow wouldn’t be tinkering with back-end systems is unrealistic. That’s the case for everybody I think,” Simon continues.
Why martech isn’t just a MOPs topic
“We’ve been careful when putting Martechopia together to not isolate marketing operations. Martech is used in every role in marketing now. It’s not just a marketing operations thing,” Karla continues. Simon elaborates by outlining some of his thoughts on the future marketing landscape driven by martech changes:
- Focus on personalisation.
- Reliance on first-party data.
- Importance of measurement.
- Rise of AI in targeting and response handling.
- Privacy transformation.
- Adoption of agile methodology.
“Everything you just mentioned was almost not marketing operations,” Karla comments. “It’s technology that’s going to support the strategy of any marketing department.”
For Simon, this isn’t going away anytime soon. “The pace isn’t going to let up. It’s only going to get faster.” You need to learn how to organise and orchestrate both your team and your tech or be left “scrabbling around at panic stations [and] unable to do the best job.”
So, what’s the answer to coming out on top? “Martechopia is all about practical guidance, insight and tangible experience,” Simon continues. “Anyone coming along will leave with thoughts, advice and tips on how to do things differently and better.” So, what are you waiting for?
