Step-by-step on how to ask for a data investment and what the best MOPs have in common

Also - the most important value marketing ops provides

In this edition:

1. How to Get Executives to Invest in Better Data 

2. What the Best in Marketing Ops Have in Common

3. Best Ops Advice on Linkedin This Week

4. Poll: What is the Most Important Value Marketing Operations Provides?

5. For Paid Subscribers: Why is Marketing Ops so Under-Appreciated?

I’m speaking at the marquee marketing operations conference this November. Make sure to register to attend Mopsa-palooza.

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Thanks to our sponsor, Uptempo, for making this newsletter possible!

7 marketing planning mistakes you’re probably making (and how to stop)

These blunders are hurting your bottom line. Here’s the kicker: it’s not the market, your competitors, or even your budget holding you back—it’s these seven common mistakes.

1. Focusing Too Much on Tactics, Not Strategy
Diving into tactics without a strategy is like trying to build a house without a blueprint. Sure, you might get some walls up, but the whole thing will collapse under pressure.

2. Ignoring Data and Insights
Ignoring customer data and insights is like ignoring your GPS on a road trip and then wondering why you ended up in the middle of nowhere.

3. Lack of Flexibility
Congratulations, you created the perfect marketing plan! Too bad the market, customer behavior, and your boss's priorities just changed . . . again. Marketing plans need room to adapt, pivot, and stay relevant.

4. Overestimating Resources
“We can totally pull this off in two weeks with three people and a shoestring budget,” said no successful marketer ever. Overstuffing your to-do list leads to sloppy work and campaigns that fall flat.

5. Not Setting Clear, Measurable Goals
Launching a campaign without defining measurable goals is the marketing equivalent of playing darts blindfolded. You’ll hit something, but probably not what you were aiming for.

6. Not Aligning with Sales and Other Departments
It’s 2024—why are marketing and sales still operating like rival high school cliques? Your marketing plan should align with sales, product launches, and overall business objectives.

7. Overloading Campaigns
More campaigns = more results, right? Wrong. Trying to do everything at once spreads your team too thin and waters down your focus. You’re more likely to burn out your team and churn out half-baked initiatives that don’t move the needle.

Download The Blueprint for Marketing Planning and get the tools you need to build smarter, more strategic marketing plans.

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How to Get Executives to Invest in Better Data 

Many teams complain about dirty data but nothing ever changes.

Business-minded marketers and ops pros make business cases to secure data investments.

Here is a sample B2B business case - pro tip - if you know these numbers you can plug them into ChatGPT to create the table.

Assumptions
Investment in Data Enrichment: $40K
Avg Deal Size: $20K
Deals Per Year: 50
Conversion Rate Increase: 15%
Sales Cycle Reduction: 10%
Revenue before investment: $1M
Cost Reduction: 5%

Step 1: Estimate the Revenue Increase
1. Baseline Annual Revenue Before Enrichment
- 50 deals * $20,000 = $1,000,000
2. Expected Increase in Conversion Rate:
- Current conversion rate: Assume 10%
- New conversion rate after enrichment: 11.5% (10% * 1.15)
- Leads to additional deals: Assume 1000 leads per year
- Additional deals: (11.5% - 10%) * 1000 leads = 15 more deals
3. Revenue from Additional Deals:
- Additional revenue = 15 deals * $20,000 = $300,000

Step 2: Estimate Cost Savings
1. Sales Cycle Reduction Impact:
- Assume the average sales cycle is 6 months, reducing it by 10% saves 0.6 months per deal.
- Faster closes could result in higher efficiency, allowing sales reps to handle more deals.
2. Sales Team Cost Reduction:
- Current sales team annual cost: $200,000
- Savings: 5% of $200,000 = $10,000

*NOTE: This assumes cutting $10K for misc data and sales costs. This part is optional.

Step 3: Calculate the Total Benefit
- Total Revenue Increase: $300,000
- Total Cost Savings: $10,000
- Total Annual Benefit = $300,000 (revenue) + $10,000 (cost savings) = $310,000

Step 4: Calculate ROI
1. Total Investment in Data Enrichment: $40,000
2. Net Gain: Total Benefit - Investment
- $310,000 - $40,000 = $270,000
3. ROI Formula: (Net Gain / Investment) * 100
- ROI = ($270,000 / $40,000) * 100 = 675%

Summary
- Initial Investment: $40,000
- Revenue Increase: $300,000
- Cost Savings: $10,000
- Total Benefit: $310,000
- Net Gain: $270,000
- ROI: 675%

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What the Best in Marketing Ops Have in Common

I have some of the brightest marketing ops minds in my network.

I was thinking about it, and here are the things they invariably have in common:

- They are always curious and learning
- They think "outside of the box" beyond what vendors tell them
- They have deep expertise in specific platforms, but can easily learn others
- They are strategic first, technical second
- They think about the business holistically
- They devote time to teaching others

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The Best Ops Advice on Linkedin This Week

Best advice from 20 RevOps Leaders from Janis Zech. 

The most annoying things about Martech by Scott Brinker.

Clarity on intent-based data by Gabe Rogol.

A lightweight ABM stack by Andrei Zinkevich.

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Poll: What is the Most Important Value Marketing Operations Provides?