Why Marketing Ops Professionals Should Understand Product Marketing with AJ Driscoll
Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!What does it take to elevate marketing operations from a technical support function to a strategic business driver? AJ Driscoll reveals how understanding product marketing fundamentals transformed his career trajectory from system administrator to co-leader of an entire marketing department.The journey begins with a data-driven approach to validating and refining ideal customer profiles (ICPs). Rather than accepting conventional wisdom about target markets, AJ demonstrates how combining quantitative analysis with qualitative research creates powerful insights that sales teams can actually use. He walks us through his methodology for evaluating historical win rates, customer demographics, and industry trends to identify where businesses should focus their efforts.Most remarkably, AJ shares his unique philosophy on cross-functional collaboration. "My job is to help other people be better at their jobs," he explains, detailing how this service-oriented mindset helped him build relationships throughout his organizations. From creating automated alerts for sales teams to designing ROI tracking systems with finance, these collaborative efforts eventually earned him company-wide recognition typically reserved for top salespeople.For marketing operations professionals looking to expand their impact, AJ offers practical advice on developing business intelligence skills and becoming industry experts. He shares how new AI tools have accelerated the research process, allowing ops professionals to quickly gain domain knowledge that enhances their strategic contributions. The combination of technical expertise, product marketing understanding, and collaborative spirit creates the foundation for a marketing operations professional who can truly drive business success.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show
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41:21
Taming the Data Dumpster Fire: How to Make Marketing Metrics Make Sense with Eric Westerkamp
Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!Marketing leaders face a painful dilemma: they need to prove their impact through data, but marketing data is notoriously messy compared to the cleaner, more discrete data available to sales and finance teams. This gap creates what Eric Westerkamp, CEO of CaliberMind, calls a "data dumpster fire" that marketing operations professionals must somehow transform into credible reporting.Drawing from 20 years of executive leadership experience spanning sales and entrepreneurship, Eric offers a refreshingly practical perspective on how marketing teams can build trust in their data and storytelling. Rather than attempting to fix all data quality issues before beginning reporting initiatives, he advocates starting small with specific reports that deliver meaningful insights. This approach allows teams to identify which data elements need fixing while simultaneously delivering value.The conversation explores how marketing operations teams can effectively normalize data across systems, enabling consistent reporting even as organizations migrate between platforms or evolve their naming conventions. Eric shares a striking example where analysis of 1,800 job titles revealed that 80% were unique variations of essentially the same titles—a common challenge that undermines segmentation and reporting efforts.The episode also examines how AI is revolutionizing marketing operations. While AI tools may struggle with complex calculations, they excel at transforming buyer journey data with thousands of touchpoints into credible stories. Organizations embracing these capabilities are gaining significant efficiency advantages, with SDRs able to cover 20% more accounts and marketing teams generating insights faster than competitors.Whether you're a marketing operations professional struggling to build reporting credibility or a CMO needing to better demonstrate your team's impact, this conversation provides actionable guidance for taming your data dumpster fire and transforming it into powerful, trusted insights that drive business decisions. Connect with Eric Westerkamp on LinkedIn or visit calibermind.com to learn more about building marketing data you can trust.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show
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47:16
Practical Tips for First-Party Data and Identity Resolution with Jeremy Katz
Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!What happens when all your digital breadcrumbs—personal emails, professional accounts, device IDs, and physical addresses—get connected into a single identity? Jeremy Katz, SVP of Product Solutions, Identity and Data at Merkle, takes us deep into the fascinating world of identity resolution and first-party data.Starting with his unconventional path from English major to data analytics leader, Jeremy shares the pivotal moments that shaped his understanding of how organizations can build comprehensive customer views. He breaks down complex concepts like identity graphs, customer data platforms, and the technical challenges of defining seemingly simple terms like "customer." Through real-world examples from his experience implementing enterprise-wide customer data hubs, Jeremy illustrates how companies struggle with and ultimately solve the puzzle of connecting fragmented customer information.Looking toward the future, Jeremy identifies emerging trends that will reshape how organizations manage and leverage identity—from AI-driven audiences and synthetic data to retail media networks and data collaboration through clean rooms. Whether you're a marketing operations professional trying to implement a CDP or a business leader trying to understand the strategic value of your first-party data, this episode offers crucial insights into one of marketing's most foundational yet complex challenges.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show
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46:43
Tips and Tricks for Finding a New Ops Role with Ryan Murphy
Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!The modern job hunt is broken—but Ryan Murphy, Managing Partner at UpfrontOps, has cracked the code. After being forced to resign from his position during a cross-country move, Ryan found himself frantically applying to hundreds of jobs with zero responses. Through experimentation and insight from HR professionals, he developed a revolutionary approach that transformed his results from 0% to a 50% interview rate.He reveals why most job seekers fail before they begin. Your resume likely scores terribly with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), the digital gatekeepers rejecting your applications before human eyes ever see them. The solution isn't just tweaking your resume—it's understanding the psychology of hiring managers and the hidden mechanics of job platforms like LinkedIn. Ryan shares the exact strategy for optimizing your resume for ATS using JobScan.co, how to craft personalized connection messages that bypass premium LinkedIn requirements, and the precise phrase to use in interviews to discover a position's true salary range before revealing your expectations.Ready to transform your job search? Whether you're currently looking or preparing for future opportunities in marketing operations, these battle-tested techniques will give you a significant advantage in a competitive market. Connect with Ryan at UpfrontOps.com to learn more and access templates that have helped professionals secure immediate salary increases and land roles they love.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show
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47:52
Garbage In, Garbage Out: How Bad UTMs Wreck MAP, CRM & CDP Attribution with Dan McGaw
Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!Ever feel like your marketing data is giving you half-truths? You're not alone. In this eye-opening conversation with Dan McGaw, founder and CEO of UTM.io, we dive deep into the critical but often overlooked foundation of all marketing attribution: UTM parameters and proper data governance.We explore the real challenges marketing ops professionals face in implementing consistent UTM parameters across global organizations. Dan shares practical insights on how to transform your approach from the ubiquitous "UTM spreadsheet" to more robust systems that enforce taxonomies and ensure data quality. His advice comes with empathy for the marketing ops professionals caught between demanding VPs and busy campaign managers who "just want to get their job done."Whether you're struggling with attribution models, considering a CDP, or simply trying to bring order to chaotic UTM parameters, this episode offers practical wisdom from someone who's seen it all. Dan's parting advice? Start with a spreadsheet to solve 85% of the problem, then iterate until you're ready for specialized tools. It's a refreshing reminder that sometimes the simplest solutions lay the groundwork for sophisticated attribution strategies.Ready to bring order to your marketing attribution? Listen now and discover the power of proper data governance.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show
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