Removing and automating the “drudgery” of marketing operations frees up one of a marketer’s most valuable resources, their time, according to Jon Williams, senior vice president international, Aprimo.

Williams talked with Which-50 about the benefits that good marketing operations can bring to an organisation. Chief among them is the ability to minimise the more mundane process tasks of marketers, freeing up time for more value add activities, he said.

“When you go and talk to marketers and spend time with them, a lot of their day to day is actually doing process,” he said.

Process tasks are necessary, everyday requirements for modern marketers and include things like project management, email and dealing with suppliers, Williams said. They need to be done but often take up too much of a marketer’s time, which would otherwise be spent on more valuable, creative tasks.

“Good marketing operations is actually about taking away a lot of that kind of drudgery they don’t want to get involved with and giving them time back to get into the more creative, the more value add pieces of their world,” Williams said.

It’s an attractive prospect and Williams said the value-add activities are what marketers are really passionate about.

But what marketers really want to get after is, “How can I add value to the creative world of delivering really strong marketing to the brand that they’re working for?”

So how much time can good marketing operations free up? According to Williams, it’s possible to reduce and automate process tasks by 30 to 40 per cent.

“People get very little value from following things up in Microsoft Project, trying to see where things are and driving those things. So how do we give them real value?”

“And that’s what marketing operations delivers.”

About the author

Sean Campbell is a solutions consultant for Aprimo. He has worked with leading brands in the US, Europe, and APAC, helping them to transform their marketing operations. Andrew Birmingham is the director of the Which-50 Digital Intelligence Unit, of which Aprimo is a Corporate Member. Our members provide their insights and expertise for the benefit of the Which-50 community. Membership fees apply.