What is a marketing operations manager? (Duties and skills)

Updated 1 June 2023

Marketing operations managers are crucial to the success of marketing campaigns and a company's overall growth. They leverage technology to increase the effectiveness of the campaigns that the marketing team produces. If you wish to advance your marketing career, knowing how to become a marketing operations manager can help you prepare. In this article, we answer the question 'What is a marketing operations manager?', list their key responsibilities, requirements, duties, and skills, highlight the tools and technologies they use and provide some tips to succeed in this role.

Please note that none of the companies, institutions or organisations mentioned in this article are affiliated with Indeed.

What is a marketing operations manager?

The answer to the question ‘What is a marketing operations manager?' is they're individuals who ensure the success of a company's marketing campaigns. Marketing involves more than just creativity and strategy. A marketing operations manager oversees the marketing team's daily operations and helps with the effective execution of campaigns. Their primary role is to integrate technology and automation to make sure the business achieves its goals.

A marketing operations manager coordinates and optimises marketing efforts by improving their efficiency, effectiveness and scalability. They work closely with various marketing teams to ensure that marketing activities align with the company's overall objectives. From managing budgets and timelines to analysing data and metrics, they play a vital role in keeping the marketing team on track and making sure that campaigns deliver the desired results.

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Key responsibilities

Here's a list of a marketing operations manager's primary responsibilities:

Process management

Marketing campaigns often involve multiple departments, such as sales, product development and customer service. A marketing operations manager coordinates with these departments to ensure that campaigns align with business goals and that all departments are working together effectively. They design and implement processes and workflows that enable marketing teams to execute their daily tasks efficiently, curating and integrating the best applications and technologies to support each step in the process.

Campaign management

This role involves being the project manager for integrated marketing campaigns, overseeing the execution of various processes and measuring results. You set goals and benchmarks for each upcoming marketing programme or campaign. You then monitor and analyse marketing activities' performance, providing insights and recommendations to optimise results.

Lead management

Another critical responsibility of a marketing operations manager is to support marketing and sales revenue goals by maintaining lead management processes, including lead scoring and sales alerts. You track and adjust the infrastructure and marketing tech stack to improve overall workflows, ensuring their seamless integration with other business systems. You also manage list segmentation and scoring for targeted messaging to improve engagement and conversion rates.

Data management

Marketing operations managers frequently collaborate with business operations teams to maintain accurate data and ensure updated reporting. This involves tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), such as conversion rates, click-through rates (CTRs) and engagement rates. By analysing this data, you can identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to optimise campaigns.

Budget and timeline management

One of the most important responsibilities of a marketing operations manager is managing budgets and timelines. They ensure that the marketing team stays within budget and delivers all campaigns by the deadline. This involves working closely with the finance department to set budgets and track expenses and with the creative team to ensure the timely delivery of work.

Requirements to become a marketing operations manager

To become a marketing operations manager, you typically need a degree in marketing, business or a related field. Many companies also value practical experience, so a prior marketing role can be highly beneficial to help impress a potential employer. Focus on the knowledge you acquired in managing budgets, timelines, technologies and campaigns and on your experience working with data and metrics. Here are some more details about these requirements:

Education

The education requirements for a marketing operations manager can vary depending on the hiring company and the specific job responsibilities. In general, a bachelor's degree in marketing, business administration or another related field is necessary. Some companies prefer candidates with a master's degree in marketing or business administration.

Experience

Organisations typically require candidates to have a minimum of five years of experience in marketing operations or a related field to work in this role. Because the industry increasingly relies on automation and technology stacking, most companies prefer to hire people with at least three years of business-to-business tech marketing experience. This can include proficiency in marketing automation platforms and customer relationship management systems.

Skills and competencies

Here's a list of some core skills that hiring managers look for in candidates:

Strong analytical skills, with the ability to draw insights from marketing data
Understanding of lead scoring, lead nurturing, segmentation, personalisation and other lead/customer management practices
Knowledge of database structures, data hygiene, analytics and attribution
Proven experience managing and overseeing large marketing automation platforms
Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment
Technical aptitude, excellent communication skills and a desire to improve processes
Familiarity with General Data Protection Regulations and other relevant data protection laws

Primary duties

Some of the daily duties and tasks of a marketing operations manager include:

Supporting marketing teams: Marketing operations managers play a vital role in supporting marketing teams by providing valuable insights, resources and tools to improve their performance. They act as a liaison between marketing and other departments, such as sales and business operations.
Driving growth and efficiency: By optimising marketing processes and infrastructure, marketing operations managers help drive growth and efficiency within the organisation. They ensure that marketing efforts align with company goals and contribute to overall success.
Managing vendors and teams: Marketing operations managers also liaise with vendors, social media managers and brand ambassadors to ensure that marketing initiatives are cost-effective and produce results. They negotiate contracts, track expenses and make sure that vendors deliver quality work on time and within budget.

Tools and technologies of marketing operations managers

Marketing operations managers use a wide range of tools and technologies to manage campaigns effectively, including:

Project management software: Some of the most popular project management software include Trello, Asana and Basecamp.
Analytics software: To analyse data and metrics, marketing operations managers use analytics software, such as Adobe Analytics and Mixpanel.
Marketing automation software: Marketing automation software, such as HubSpot and Marketo, automate repetitive tasks, including email marketing and lead generation.

KPIs for measuring success

To measure the success of marketing campaigns, marketing operations managers track a range of KPIs. Some of the most common ones are:

Conversion rate: The conversion rate measures the percentage of people who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.
CTR: The CTR measures the percentage of people who click on a marketing campaign's link.
Engagement rate: The engagement rate measures the audience's level of engagement with a marketing campaign by looking at the number of likes, shares and comments on social media.

Career progression for marketing operations managers

Marketing operations managers typically start off as marketing coordinators or project managers and work their way up to a management role. From there, they may progress to become a director or vice president of marketing operations. Some may also move to other areas of marketing, such as digital or product.

As marketing operations managers advance in their careers, they may take on more strategic tasks, including developing and executing marketing plans, analysing market trends and customer behaviour and identifying new growth opportunities. They may be responsible for building and managing high-performing teams, mentoring and training junior staff and collaborating with cross-functional teams across the organisation to achieve marketing goals.

The challenges of marketing operations managers

This career can be incredibly dynamic and exciting, with marketing operations managers facing various challenges, such as:

Evolving technology: Keeping up with the latest marketing tools and technologies can be challenging with the constant introduction of new solutions.
Data influx: Ensuring data accuracy and proper attribution across multiple systems can be complex and time-consuming.
Cross-functional collaboration: Marketing operations managers have strong communication and collaboration skills to work closely with various teams.
Balancing creativity with the process: Marketing operations managers ensure the effective execution of campaigns while encouraging creativity and innovation.
Managing collaborators' expectations: Marketing campaigns often involve multiple collaborators. Operations managers manage expectations and ensure that everyone aligns with the overall business goals.

Tips for how to become a successful marketing operations manager

Stay up to date. Be up to date with the latest marketing tools, technologies and best practices.
Develop strong analytical skills. The ability to analyse data and draw insights from them is crucial for optimising marketing efforts.
Cultivate relationships. Build strong working relationships with team members and collaborators across the organisation.
Be adaptable. Embrace change and be willing to adapt your strategies and processes to meet evolving business needs.