Until recently, my only recollections of Summer Camp were from childhood experiences with poison ivy, mosquitos, campfires, and canoes.

Now when I think about Summer Camp, I’ll think about Marketing Operations, the brilliant young professionals that specialize in it, and the exciting new organization that is promoting professional development in the field.

Before I tell you about my experience at the 2021 MO PROS Summer Camp recently at Lake Lanier Islands Legacy Resort north of Atlanta, let me explain how I happened to be there.

As a founding partner of MLT Creative, an Atlanta-based B2B Marketing Agency and HubSpot Partner, I was encouraged by Maggie Butler and Christina Garnett to attend the event. They knew it was happening in my “neck of the woods” and as leaders of HubSpot’s Operations/RevOps community development efforts, they knew I would be interested.

As it turns out, I was very interested. And I enjoyed meeting and learning from a brilliant group of MO PROS ambassadors and Marketing Ops experts. The MO PROS community is agnostic when it comes to what tech stack they recommend. For example, both Marketo and HubSpot users were well represented as well as other solutions.

To my surprise and delight, my seat happened to be next to Ali Schwanke and it was the first time we had met and I knew I was in good company. Ali is the CEO & Founder of Simple Strat and the world-renowned host of HubSpot Hacks.

I quickly realized that Ali knows more than I ever will about Marketing Operations and I knew HubSpot has recently added an Operations Hub solution as part of their ecosystem so I wasn’t at summer camp for the s’mores. I was there to learn.

What exactly IS Marketing Ops?

“Marketing is Operations. Operations is Marketing”

Scott Brinker, VP Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot

Marketing ops is the practice of creating and executing marketing initiatives that generate business results. It is a comprehensive approach to marketing that includes the creation, implementation, and measurement of marketing.

Creation

Just as an Art Director doesn’t have to be a photography expert or copywriter to know how to work with them, a Marketing Ops pro isn’t usually part of the creative team but they do know how to work with them. They understand why and how creative content fuels the marketing engine and where to put the nozzle.

Implementation

This is where the Marketing Ops pro rolls up their sleeves and does their best work. They understand all the moving parts of your marketing and sales process and all the machinations and integrations of your tech stack.

Measurement

Measuring marketing ops is a challenge. It’s not just a numbers game. It requires a real understanding of what the numbers represent, and how they can be used to inform your marketing decisions.

Here’s what some of the smart and happy campers I met at MO PROS Summer Camp had to say about Marketing Ops:

“After a day and a half of listening to presentations and conversations at the MO Pros Summer Camp in Atlanta, I had an observation to make.”

“I have been to countless vendor conferences,” I told the room, “at which I heard how their solutions could create seamless, delightful customer experiences. Here, however, I’ve heard that things break, APIs don’t work, there’s no customer service at weekends and deadlines for projects are impossible anyway.”

Kim Davis, MarTech

“Marketing Ops has moved into the mainstream. In the past, marketing teams may have had a member who could find their way around the CRM or a marketing automation tool. Now marketing operations is recognized as a role and as a career and a wide set of skills, not just the ability to operate one solution.”

“Marketing Ops is central to the overall business strategy and not just window-dressing”.

Mike Rizzo, MO PROS

“It’s more than just the technical skills and curiosity that are in high demand. Add to this mix the desire to be forward thinking and ready to take strategic action, and you’ll begin to get the fuller picture of the Marketing Ops Unicorn.”

Dr. Debbie Qaqish, The Pedowitz Group and author of “From the BACKROOM to BOARDROOM”

Does your organization have the resources for Marketing Operations?

Marketing ops requires a considerable investment. You need to invest in the right people and the right technology solutions. And if you are just getting started, you may have limited resources at your disposal. However, there are ways to get started with marketing ops and grow your business without spending money in the wrong places and on the wrong things.

• Start with the basics
• Start with a strategy
• Align the right people
• Align the right technology
• Implement your strategy
• Analyze your results
• Continuously improve based on data-driven insights

Why are Marketing Ops Professionals such a rare breed?

It’s a critical and unique role unlike that of Marketing Director or CMO, a Marketing Ops Professional must: 

• Understand every aspect of marketing and sales agreement.
• Possess an insatiable curiosity.
• Have the desire to learn new things and take on new challenges.
• Be creative, innovative, analytical, and detail-oriented.

In other words, a unicorn.

If you haven’t found your own Marketing OPS Pro and don’t know where to start your search, I suggest you take time to meet some of them where they meet. You should join MO PROS.

What is MO PROS?

MO PROS is a leading provider of professional development for marketing ops. It’s a membership organization that offers a wide range of courses, events, and programs to help its members grow in the field. Learn more about MO PROS at themopros.com.

Established in 2017, MO PROS is the only organization dedicated to marketing ops. There are other organizations that provide training in other areas of marketing, but none that is solely dedicated to marketing ops. MO Pros currently has 1800+ members.

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