Marketing operations is different in every industry. That’s no less true for healthcare, a space notorious for stringent conditions on compliance. Of course, that adds a very important layer to consider when developing a robust strategy.
Good thing there are people like Mark Clark, Senior Manager Marketing Operations at Indivior, who get the value of cross-collaboration and breaking down barriers within a company. Mark has been in the sales field, marketing, and marketing operations his whole career. But he’s also worked in compliance-heavy industries that whole time, making him uniquely qualified to bring all parties to the table to mitigate risk in profound ways.
Join us as we discuss:
- Developing a “big picture” mindset for the whole company
- The intersection of risk management, revenue, and operations
- Managing the evolving field of marketing operations
Creating a Big Picture Mindset and Sharing It
Too many organizations embrace a singular mindset. They place marketing in one category, people ops in another, production in another, and so forth. By doing this, they miss out on one of the essential keys to organizational success.
Marketing Operations should embrace the interconnectedness of each moving part of the business machine.
While it is important to hone in on the more focused aspects of business, it’s also vital to step back and understand the big picture of what is working and what isn’t. Without a big-picture mindset, teams and aspects of the business will get left behind, ultimately slowing organizational growth and dampening success initiatives.
“When you talk about scale, the things that aren't working are going to far overshadow the things that are working- because it magnifies.” —Mark Clark
Even when there are parts of the organization that are thriving, if there are aspects that are failing, there won’t be any clear path to success. In fact, the inefficiencies holding the business back will magnify, affecting even the most successful operations.
Ensuring the marketing ops embrace this big picture mindset and address issues, regardless of categorization, is the only sure way to scale a successful long-term business.
The Intersection of Risk Management, Revenue, and Operations
In addition to seeing the big picture, organizational leadership must also recognize the intersection of each portion of the business. This is especially important in high-compliance industries like healthcare.
Marketing operations have to be built around the company in a way that elevates intersections and supports the business in its entirety.
“Operations is all about process improvement, efficiency, making sure that things are working well all the time. And if they're not, where are the gaps? Where are the risks? How can we fill those in and fix them?’” —Mark Clark
Although organizations can successfully do this internally, there can be some benefits to incorporating an outside opinion. Mark suggests hiring a third party to assess the perceived gaps, as it can be difficult to identify inefficiencies from the inside out.
While working with outside experts may require an initial investment, identifying the addressing inefficiencies can save hundreds of thousands in ROI, according to the experiences Mark has had.
Any adjustments or marketing plans need to be built according to the organization's needs in revenue, management, compliance, risk management, and operations. None of these factors can function adequately without the other.
Identifying strengths and weaknesses, then building a structure that enables the wins and supports the inefficiencies simultaneously can help catapult organizational success.
But how do you manage these assessments and adjustments to operations over time, especially considering the speed at which the industry evolves?
Managing the Evolving Field of Marketing Operations
While marketing operations evolve quickly, Mark offers insight into several factors that will always support scalable endeavors.
1. Keep what works well and change what doesn’t
The first step in building a scalable marketing strategy is to remember that your business doesn’t need a complete overall. You don’t have to start from scratch each time you update how you operate.
“It's an evolution, not a revolution.” —Mark Clark
Instead, you can determine strengths and weaknesses and rebuild portions of a strategy to enhance what already exists and improve previous inefficiencies. While revamping or building a marketing strategy can seem intimidating, taking things one step at a time is important.
2. Abolish the silo mentality
Creating true cross-functionality within an organization helps to improve each team and function. Unfortunately, while many organizations claim to be collaborative, most teams are very distinct.
Work to see beyond traditional ways of business function to create innovative connections and collaborations that aren’t bound by job description or hierarchy.
3. Reestablish the human parameter
Rather than sending 15 emails back and forth throughout the day, focus on connecting directly to people outside your immediate team. Pick up the phone, stop by their office, or meet them in person.
4. Strengthen connections
Regardless of industry, there is always a convergence of different roles and teams. Identify where these connections are and strengthen them for increased collaboration and improved workplace culture.
5. Invest in data tracking and analysis
You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken. Ensuring you can accurately gather, track, and analyze data is the basis of improvement and growth. While implementing a tracking system may come at a cost, these investments will pay off in the long run.
While each organization may differ in the specific steps in which their marketing operations will lead them to success, Mark has found that these five factors exist at the foundation of every scalable business.
