Last week, I flew to Indianapolis to attend the ExactTarget Connections 2013 conference. As I stepped into the convention center for the opening ceremonies on the first morning of the event, two thoughts hit me: first, this is a “big deal,” and second, I didn’t register for nearly enough sessions.

 

What made Connections 2013 feel like such a “big deal?”

 

Everything was big. The opening ceremonies took place on a huge stage. The supporting projection screens were enormous. Billboard adverts near the Indianapolis Convention Center were several stories high, and the line at the JW Marriott Starbucks—was the longest I’ve ever seen.

 

It was a “big deal” because six thousand people took time out of their schedules and prioritized attending because they know Marketing is rapidly evolving and Connections 2013 helps them embrace the evolution through education and opportunities to connect with peers.

Leading up to Connections 2013 my focus was on leadership and change management. I’ve found that the biggest hurdle facing marketing teams trying to transform themselves is, well, themselves. So, I registered for Building & Maintaining a Customer-Centric Culture and A CMO’s Guide to Transforming the Organization.

 

The best laid plans...

 

I decided to make a last minute change to my schedule, and with the help of the Connections 2013 App, I jumped into a session within the Product & Innovation track called Email — The Cornerstone of Your Marketing Strategy.

 

I made this change because I was dying to find out more about Exacttarget’s new tool, Journey Builder. When I first saw Journey Builder I thought it was the answer to something that I’ve wanted for a very long time—an easy (two clicks) way of understanding where someone is in the demand funnel (aka their journey to purchase). I’ve found that complete funnel reporting (marketing funnel + sales) can be very challenging component of sales/marketing alignment.

A 45-minute session does not make you an instant Journey Builder believer. However, my first impression was that Journey Builder is ExactTarget’s impressive answer to Eloqua’s Campaign Canvas (full disclosure: I previously worked for Eloqua). I’m eager for Journey Builder to exit beta so I can sink my teeth into the tool and provide a more informed assessment.

 

I did attend Lead from the Marketing Cloud, and thought it was a great session. Here are my top three takeaways:

• How to structure your marketing team
  
  Everyone is trying to figure out how to structure their marketing teams based on current needs and organizational maturity. So far no one has the answer, however, there are a few common growing pains: 
  • Young companies should shift focus from lead generation, to visibility efforts like SEO, SEM, and PR
  • Older companies concentrate on branding and need the expertise of seasoned brand marketers to execute on-brand, innovative campaigns
  • Global, decentralized companies may need to form a Center of Excellence, a centralized global marketing hub overseeing operations and governance
• Innovation and training
  
  It is clear, however, that marketers need to learn new skills. Top among those new skills are technology and analysis skills. Senior marketing leadership must commit to updating the skills of their marketing teams if they want to improve performance and retain staff.
• Leadership and transparency
  
  Switching from solution to solution is expected as companies’ needs evolve. Senior marketing leadership can successfully manage obsolescence by being transparent, honest, and open with their peers about the technology decisions their are making.

Connections 2013 drove home the realization that the Chief Marketing Officer is transforming into the Chief Customer Officer, responsible for entire customer journey. To support this shift, marketing automation is evolving beyond the marketing team. It’s becoming the experience engine, owning each customer moment throughout the buying process. ExactTarget’s innovative products certainly reflect this movement.

See how you can transform your customer journey in our new guide, The 3 Pillars of Modern, Digital Marketing.