In the ever-expanding Silicon Valley, companies scramble to acquire new technologies to supplement their sales and marketing teams in hopes of gaining more quality leads and faster results with the click of a button. From surfing the Salesforce Appexchange to reading the hottest tech news on Mashable, there is no question that companies can find benefits from numerous new technologies that hit the Silicon Valley asphalt. But, as marketers, we know that there’s a secret to balancing the marketing technology landscape — which, at times, can be very overwhelming. 

More specifically, marketing operations is faced with the task of selecting among these limitless options to complement the product marketing team. How do we discern the right technologies for our unique business? 



In this short clip from the PFSK conference this year, Abe Burmeister, founder of the clothing line Outlier, states, “When marketing is good, it’s indistinguishable from pure communication.” True marketing effectiveness, the backbone of any marketing campaign, depends on how personally and seamlessly you communicate with your audience. Technology should simplify and personalize the line of communication between your team and your customers, not to complicate it.



Yes, as marketers, part of our core responsibilities is to keep up to date with marketing automation technologies. It’s imperative, however, to approach new marketing technology with critical questions: How will this help our company’s message? What is the experience that I want to provide for our customer? If you're unable to respond, you need to step back and reassess your business goal and communication strategy — buying a new technology will not help you.



I argue that healthy communication begins internally within your own organization. Here are my three basic tips to drive clear, communicative, and goal-driven marketing initiatives:

1. Align team goals
   
   Before beginning any marketing campaign, you first need to set up a kick-off conversation between your operations and product marketing team. This brainstorming session should outline the overall content of each campaign, and align your team’s goals on both a messaging and operational scale.
2. Communicate face to face
   
   Secondly, make sure this kick-off conversation happens face to face. Avoid email check-ins on campaign progress and have a conversation in real time to assess project management flow.  Set timelines and hard goals to meet for each step of the way.
3. Report out on results
   
   And finally, round out your campaign plan by reporting out on campaign success. This conversation should circle back to your initial sit-down and shape future projects. The final metrics benchmarked against your initial goals will give you greater insight into the overall effectiveness of campaign specifics and will continue to serve your team as a strong assessment tool to revisit for any future conversation. 

If your team is communicating the right info at the right time with other colleagues, you are not only streamlining your own internal process between members of your marketing department, but you're also actively engaging your audience by setting out with a more focused approach and message. Only after accomplishing this can your team focus on choosing a shiny new marketing tool.

Want to learn more about marketing effectiveness? Contact us to connect with one of our marketing experts, or download our 3 Pillars of Modern, Digital Marketing Guide to learn more.