BrandMaker Research Reveals Marketing Operations is Top Priority for Global CMOs

BrandMaker, the leading innovator in Marketing Operations and Marketing Resource Management solutions, today announced the first in a series of findings of its independent research study on experiences and attitudes of top marketing executives around marketing operations. The research revealed marketing operations (marketing ops) has become the top priority for marketing leaders in 2021, ahead of key areas such as brand building and lead generation.

The research surveyed more than 100 VP or C-level marketing executives at retail, financial services, and FMCG global companies with more than 500 employees. In the study, the majority [94%] of marketing executives reported that inefficient marketing ops and workflows are barriers to effectively responding to changing market environments.

Marketing Operations Equal Importance to Strategy

When asked which activity they would like their teams to spend more time on, 62% of marketing executives said marketing ops was a priority alongside marketing strategy [62%]. These areas were higher priorities than brand building [41%], campaign management [35%], and pipeline and lead management [26%]. People management topped the list of areas marketing executives [26%] wanted to spend less time on.

Soaring Demand for Marketing Ops Specialists 

When questioned on their marketing operational skills, only 38% reported it was their core strength, with most marketing executives [64%] citing marketing strategy as their forte. 

Marketing leaders recognize they need a marketing ops running mate and team members with analytical, left brain-led skills to manage and optimize operations. Compared to traditional marketing team members, 42% of marketing leaders said individuals working in marketing ops were more logical and less emotional, and 42% reported that they were more likely to want a structured management style.

Martech Solutions Need to Improve Marketing Agility

Almost all [99%] of marketing executives indicated they want to see their marketing operations improve, especially the martech stack. The biggest area of improvement cited was better integration of martech stacks to gain visibility and control across stand-alone systems [51%]. This was followed by improvement in campaign management to easily deploy and adjust campaigns in response to market feedback and changes [46%]; and real-time transparency on status – across in-house, external agencies, and freelancers [39%].

By providing a single, integrated SaaS platform to manage, simplify, optimize, and automate the entire marketing value chain, BrandMaker addresses these needs. The platform brings much-needed collaboration, visibility, and agility to marketing ops and the ability to manage, measure, and continually improve marketing return-on-investment.

Said Mirko Holzer, CEO of BrandMaker: "This research shows a sea-change in the way senior marketing executives now view marketing ops as a critical function. They realize the huge opportunity marketing ops presents to enable efficient and agile marketing organizations that deliver measurable results for their business. The research affirms our mission to continue working with global customers to solve the complexity of their marketing ops by removing silos and providing seamless marketing ops orchestration."

Research Methodology
A total of 100 qualified individuals completed the survey conducted by Dimensional Research. All were VP or C-level marketing executives at a retail, financial services, or FMCG company with more than 500 employees and all had responsibility for marketing operations.

Source: BrandMaker