Mark Mahoney, head of marketing operations and SME Marketing at Clear Channel shares what it is like to be in the burgeoning role of marketing ops, a new function many progressive marketing departments are exploring.
How would you describe what you do?
I have two roles at Clear Channel. I joined four years ago as the SME Marketing Manager, building a marketing team to promote out-of-home [advertising] as a solution for SMEs and local organisations. As I progressed and implemented new tech to help, I established a marketing operations team. My team recommend, test and then implement martech solutions to help Clear Channel UK.
How did you get into marketing operations?
Our CMO was instrumental in this journey. He recognised how marketing ops has been growing in importance in recent years. At the same time, I was implementing tech solutions for the direct side of Clear Channel [its outdoor advertising arm]. This led to my current position, where I lead marketing operations and SME marketing.
How has your role evolved since you started?
It evolves as we improve what we have and implement new tech. Last year, [2019] was spent attempting to make marketing automation a normality at Clear Channel. We implemented Showpad in early 2019, rolling this out to field sales people across the UK. We’re now implementing a social solution, and looking at how we can transform into a data-led marketing team. This year’s main challenge is implementing a business intelligence tool – not easy when you have legacy systems in place.
What are the biggest challenges?
Implementing technology. This may sound controversial – but it would be really helpful if tech companies (and there are some good ones) were completely transparent. Every tech company suggests their solution is super simple to integrate and it very rarely is. I’d also like tech companies to be honest with upfront costs. It makes life so much easier when putting together a business case.
Reporting is another huge challenge – especially when, as mentioned above, there are legacy systems in place, which are tricky to adapt. Another area is stakeholder approval. This is so important because marketing ops works across many different areas of a business. How and when you involve stakeholders is vital.
What lessons have you learnt in your time in marketing operations?
Ask suppliers a lot of questions throughout the process and make sure you have access to support. A question that stands out is one I heard at B2B Get Stacked Marketing Conference in 2019: ask the supplier what tech they use to help with their tool. Also involve key stakeholders in the decision-making process from an early stage. You’ll see from their reaction whether it’s worth pursuing.
Don’t expect everything to work seamlessly. Spend time working through why you want a piece of tech, what solutions it will provide and the benefits for its users. Also, be patient. I started speaking to Showpad in 2014, changed organisations and finally implemented this tool in 2019.
Invest in continual training for you and your team. Constantly think of how you can upskill yourself and your team. It’s simply not good enough to expect people to learn some of the systems they will have access to without quality and consistent training. The key is not to give up, and to have smart people on your team who have certain characteristics – like curiosity, determination, perseverance and patience!
What advice would you give to those considering a marketing ops role?
Be patient, curious and don’t expect everything to be perfect. Go for it, it’s a fascinating role. You’ll be constantly learning and adapting.
