If businesses have learned anything from the COVID-19 epidemic, it is that you always have to be prepared to expect the unexpected and that you can't very well run a business once the doors are closed. Therefore, there is a big push to reconsider the way that companies are conducting their day-to-day operations. Part of that push includes the handling of the marketing operations, including management and oversight of all marketing-related tasks.
Marketing operations services are all about streamlining your day-to-day operations, including everything from marketing efforts to communication, lead generation, and even delivering physical assets to the customer. The integrated technology solutions include scalable, personalized platforms that allow sales, marketing, and customer success teams to remain on the same page about where things stand and use that information to identify the next best marketing opportunity that comes up.
Marketing has become an integral part of every single step of the customer buying journey. It is the only business function that touches all parts of the lifecycle, and as such, it deserves a little more attention. Marketing control is part of the process of managing marketing efforts, providing a means to determine whether goals have been achieved or not, and setting forth guidelines for applying necessary corrective measures to ensure performance goals are met.
It sounds complicated, but it doesn't have to be. Essentially, it's all oversight and analytics, monitoring, and management. This is a tool used to measure the success of various marketing efforts, identify potential problems or areas for improvement, and help create actionable, achievable goals related to marketing and its connection to the customer journey.
The objectives of marketing operations management are fairly similar from one business to the next, with a general set of goals or intentions available to help you measure whether your efforts are on track. Although you can employ your own objectives in your marketing strategy, as well, most control efforts fulfill the following goals or efforts:
Without a proper marketing operations partner, there is a number of things that could go wrong. However, the biggest reasons why your company is at risk if you don't invest in this service are generally related to surviving in the highly competitive market and making it through the crisis that is the coronavirus lockdown going on in much of the world.
Here are the biggest reasons your business could risk total failure without the enlisted assistance of a marketing operations partner:
Today, technology is taking hold of the business world and some companies have been quicker to adopt than others. In light of the lockdown going on in much of the world, businesses are being forced to reflect on their online presence and response times. In having this extra time to evaluate all aspects of the customer journey, you will be able to identify ways that you can increase response times for your organization and improve the customer experience all around.
Today's customer appreciates a lot of things, but above all else, they want quick responses from brands that they can trust. If it comes down to it, many will choose quick over-trusting, so make sure that you've set up for both. A third-party marketing partner will ensure that you have all of the best tools and tactics in place to generate the best leads and create quick, effective responses to all inquiries. People live in an instant world and if your business is going to survive, it has to get as close to that as possible.
You have a lot on your plate. Especially now, with the coronavirus outbreak causing all kinds of confusion and uncertainty in the economy, business owners are more stressed and overwhelmed than ever before. Right now, you can't afford to be paying a full staff to deliver full-time results, but you also can't just pause your business until things get better. If it's stressing you out to evaluate and monitor your marketing efforts from your home office, consider enlisting the assistance of a marketing operations partner who can keep an eye on everything for you.
When your third-party service is responsible for monitoring your marketing efforts throughout all aspects of the customer journey, you won't have to worry about a thing. You will be notified when something happens that is worth your notice, but that will simply be a courtesy to keep you in the loop as to how things are going throughout the process. Plus, even if an issue is identified, a professional firm will be able to resolve the issue sooner and help eliminate that stress, as well.
The entire world is in a state of flex. We are facing a situation that many people never expected to see in their lifetime. Businesses are shut down and struggling to figure out how to stay afloat. Despite offering online sales, companies aren't succeeding because many customers still just aren't shopping. People aren't sure if they will continue to have employment when this is all over. They worry that now isn't the time to spend money. These are things that are keeping people from shopping.
For a business, it's less about not spending money and about spending the right money. Fixed expenses are no good at a time like this. You certainly don't want to eliminate your entire marketing department, but you should do some restructuring and consider the value of third-party services as opposed to continuing to keep so many people on staff. Even temporary layoffs, although unfortunate, may be necessary in a time like this.
While everyone is saying it, a lot of people have yet to take it to heart. However, the reality is that business intelligence and automated solutions to streamline operations are a must-have for the future success of your business. It doesn't matter what industry you are in or the size of your company, because you have to embrace technology for what it offers. With the right services, you can find scalable solutions that will grow with your business, too, so that you only have to adopt once.
Streamlined operations are no longer an asset for your business—they are a must-have. Without a streamlined, efficient process for marketing operations and other aspects of the customer journey, your customer is going to notice the bumpy ride and that may cause them to go elsewhere. When you are attempting to cut costs, reduce time and effort, and increase your success without spending a fortune on in-house salaries and other expenses, a third-party marketing operations management team is a must.
When you employ the appropriate strategies and services to assist with marketing management and control, you'll enjoy a number of benefits. First and foremost, this process improves the overall effectiveness of the planning of your marketing, and the two go hand-in-hand. You can't have an effective planning process without control and management efforts in place to ensure that everything is accounted for in your new strategy.
Other benefits of using this strategy with a marketing operations partner include:
Previously in business, many companies looked down on third-party service providers and outsourcing their operations. It was a point of professional pride to keep everything in-house and have a full staff that was available to handle anything that needed to be done. However, today, that is not only an expensive way to do business, but it's highly unrealistic. Right now, companies need to save money wherever they can. That includes getting rid of fixed costs in exchange for flexible, scalable solutions that fit a smaller, more uncertain budget.
Having a marketing operations partner will give your business someone who is accountable, experienced, and capable of coming up with unique insights and unconventional approaches to marketing operations to ensure that your efforts are optimal for the current economic climate and still in a position to transition back to the "normal" day-to-day operation of your business once the lockdown is over.
Again, it's no longer about whether you need a partner for your marketing operations management. You absolutely do. The only question is which partner you'll choose and what they can offer your business. As you've seen in this article, there is a lot that you can stand to gain from creating a relationship with a marketing operations partner. However, the fact of the matter is that your business just can't survive today without one.
At FuseBox One, we take pride in helping people reduce their operating costs and save their own time for other endeavors by streamlining and monitoring their marketing operations efforts. Our automated business intelligence solutions offer something for just about every business, no matter what industry you might be in. Plus, you can count on personalized solutions that fit the needs of your organization ideally, no matter what you have in mind.
One of our best features that assists companies with marketing operations is the Project Manager tool. This feature is located in the personalized portal, and will allow you to reduce endless hours of oversight and project coordination, manage your resources, print schedules, and warehouse and inventory levels, and so much more. You can even manage the manufacturing process and approval of certain production efforts, right from the same portal where you're managing every other aspect of your business.
Call our dedicated team today to discuss your needs and see why we're your best choice for a marketing operations partner. We have a full range of solutions at FuseBox One and are committed to helping your business get through this tough time and into the future with better marketing efforts and more streamlined operations. Contact us now to learn more and get started!
Resources:
https://www.ceto.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-using-third-parties
https://www.bcsconsulting.com/blog/using-third-parties-competitive-advantage-cause-concern/