The Essential Role of Organizational Management in Marketing Success

In a previous post, I identified six fundamental competencies necessary for marketers working with marketing technology, which include: a broad understanding of systems, tool management, strategic architectural vision, capability evaluation, and tool acquisition.

This article focuses on the final core competency—organization management—and its significance.

Grasping Organization Management

In the realm of martech, organization management refers to the process of forming and sustaining a team that can effectively manage the existing martech stack, while also adapting to the evolving needs of the organization. This competency is crucial as the structure of martech organizations can differ significantly, necessitating continual evolution alongside technological advancements and changes within the company.

For instance, a small business may have its martech efforts led by one person or a compact core team. Conversely, larger enterprises might necessitate a fully-fledged department focused exclusively on martech. As companies expand and their marketing endeavors become more intricate, their martech structures must scale to keep pace.

It’s not essential for marketers to master every martech competency simultaneously. However, as they progressively develop their expertise, they can significantly contribute to building and honing adaptable and scalable martech frameworks that evolve alongside their businesses.

Further Reading: 7 Strategies to Optimize Your Martech Stack

The Importance of Martech Organization Management for Marketers

While martech organizations comprise more than just marketers, it’s vital for marketers to take an active role in:

• Establishing the organizational framework (e.g., an individual, a collaborative pod, or an entire department) and evaluating if it adequately supports the various marketing processes aligned with the martech stack.
• Identifying how the organization should progress in order to adapt to the company’s evolving needs over time.
• Ensuring that marketers are involved in the martech organization, especially when it comes to decisions around the collection and utilization of customer data for activation and engagement.
• Evaluating whether there is adequate training on relevant martech tools, supporting marketers’ everyday tasks and offering access to greater knowledge and best practices.

Marketers should consistently work with other teams and stakeholders, including IT, operations, sales, and procurement, to foster and sustain this organization.

In this context, the marketer’s function is to advocate for marketing processes and customer-focused communications that are underpinned by marketing technology, while also helping other stakeholders understand these elements.

Questions to prompt marketers as they embark on this journey:

• Can the organization achieve its current business objectives through its martech stack? (Does it facilitate customer engagement, lead management, or conversion goals?)
• Is the organization equipped to evolve alongside the company? Can it expand or adjust to effectively incorporate changes in technology or shifts in the strategic goals behind the martech stack? If the company grows, will the stack be able to grow with it?
• Does the organization have the right personnel in place to optimally support the martech stack? Are there marketing platforms lacking dedicated owners or actively involved teams?

Action Items for Marketers

When discussing the martech organization with relevant stakeholders and teams, marketers should bring tangible examples of processes and customer scenarios that the martech should cater to.

Further Reading: The Role of a Marketing Technology Manager: Insights from MarTechBot