As marketing has come to the forefront, there is often a debate about the relationship between demand generation and marketing operations. Should demand generation and marketing operations work as individual units, or should demand generation report to marketing operations or vice versa? They appear to be fully independent functions of B2B marketing, with unique standards, skill sets, and dispositions, but they frequently appear to be muddled or referred to in the same breath. This is deceptive because the contrasting features highlight the necessity to keep them apart and focus on their own aims. But this doesn’t mean that they can function separately in the silo.
A modern marketing team must balance creative ideas (demand generation) and perfect execution (marketing operations). Hence, there’s no doubt both teams should work in sync as they are key to any mid-sized to large company’s marketing teams.
That being said, why exactly do Demand Generation and Marketing Operations need to work together to ensure the marketing team works as a well-oiled machine?
What Is Demand Generation?
Demand Generation is a long-term approach that addresses all stages of the buyer’s Journey. It is responsible for increasing brand recognition, cultivating trust, and creating a strong relationship with the target audience. It is all about consistently giving the audience the appropriate information at the right time. Demand generation is critical to the success of a high-growth organization.
Top Skills Needed to Create an Efficient Demand Generation Team
- Creative verbal and textual communication
- Thorough knowledge of marketing tactics
- Knowledge of CRM and marketing automation systems
- A meticulous, effective, and persuasive personality
What is Marketing Operations?
Marketing operations might well drive the future of the marketing industry. Due to their strong skill set in using data, comprehending technology, and coordinating the efforts of sales and marketing teams, marketing executives predict that today’s marketing operations specialists will eventually replace CMOs. Marketing Operations are the foundation of any successful department, especially with the MarTech environment having exploded over the past ten years. Better campaigns, workflows, and outcomes are finally produced through the function. It serves as the overarching framework for making B2B marketing initiatives successful and efficient.
Top Skills Needed to Create an Efficient Marketing Operations Team
- Analytical approach, data-driven, and tech-savvy
- Communicating complicated data insights in a simple way
- Knowledge of project management
- Knowledge of marketing automation tools
Demand Generation
- Campaign Strategy - inbound marketing
- Content Management/ Strategy
- Campaign Budgeting
- TAM/ ICP Data Segmentation
- Knowledge of CRM/ MarTech
- Branding
- Communication - sales and marketing alignment
Marketing Operations
- Campaign Management
- Technology Development
- Process Development and Documentation
- Campaign Analysis and Reporting
- Communication - sales, marketing, and IT alignment
How Demand Generation and Marketing Operations Can Work in Sync
Instead of focusing on day-to-day operations, marketing operations should be a hub that enables and drives the company’s go-to-market strategy and execution. Data-driven programs, marketing automation, and analytics are all areas where the demand generation team may benefit from the guidance of the marketing operations department. In turn, marketing operations should be relied upon to supply the necessary resources for demand generation to function effectively.
This partnership should be mutually beneficial, with one part relying on and improving the work of the other to achieve success. To allow demand generation to concentrate on positioning, messaging, content, and execution, marketing operations must implement the most suitable marketing technology, data-driven techniques, efficient processes, and effective measurement. Concurrently, demand generation should drive marketing operations to provide the best possible tools and infrastructure, as well as adoption assistance, to maximize the results of these efforts. In a productive back-and-forth, the two roles can ask each other questions like “can we do this faster?” and “how can we enhance this?” to spur a never-ending loop of new ideas and higher-quality work.
