Resume
Clean up and organize your marketing systems, learn from the previous year and prepare for what’s to come.
By means of Lisa Hey, Director of Operations at Heinz Marketing
It’s another new year, and every January serves as a fresh start: a chance to set your intentions and goals for the next 365 days. We’ve returned from the holidays refreshed and rested, and for Marketing Operations people, this is a great time to clean and organize your systems, learn from the previous year and prepare for what’s to come.
Here are 11 things you can do now to succeed on your marketing automation platform in the coming year.
1. Update the copyright dates displayed in the footers of your email and landing page
If you don’t have any tokens set up, updating the copyright year is a hassle. Every email template, scheduled or triggered email, active landing page, and landing page template needs to be updated. I’ve done this task manually, and it’s tricky to say the least.
As I said in a previous blog post, if you don’t use global tokens, you should. Take the time to understand it hierarchy of tokens and how they are transferred into the folder tree. If you plan your folder structure and tokens correctly, updating the copyright year should take about 30 seconds.
It’s not difficult to get started with global tokens. We have a “!Universal” folder within Marketing Operations where everything else lives. The sole purpose of that folder is to set up global tokens that apply to each marketing campaign or asset we have set up.
2. Archive last year’s programs
Save last year’s email programs, webinars, and events to clear the clutter for 2024. It’s best to mirror your folder structure in the archives so that you can easily reference old programs later if necessary.
Please note that archivers do not automatically disable these. Be sure to disable any triggers or disable scheduled batch runs before moving your programs to the archives.
3. Set up your folder structure for new programs
If you organized your copy by folders and archived last year’s programs, create your new 2024 folders now so it’s clear where new programs should be stored. For me, when I’m busy setting up programs, my organizational skills fall by the wayside, but if I’ve successfully set up my structure in advance, things usually stay neat and tidy. Not to mention, I get fewer questions from others about where things should go or where to find things.
4. Merge your duplicates
Prepare your database for success in the new year. Do you have duplicate leads taking up space? If you stay on top of it, this doesn’t have to be a big task. We review our system’s duplicates monthly. Whatever your cadence, this should be part of your regular maintenance.
If you manage a large database (and have a large budget), a duplicate management tool may be the right choice.
5. Clean and add your database
We all know that people are constantly taking on new roles and that data can quickly become outdated. Now is the time to review your database to determine who is communicating with you, how many leads you have within your ICP, and where the gaps are. You should end this exercise with lists of leads that you can delete (if they’re not attractive and not a target, they don’t need to take up valuable space in your database!), and lists that need an update or addition of missing data to fill in.
6. Review your parenting content
Nurture programs are often set up and then forgotten. If you haven’t been checking what you send on a regular basis, take this opportunity in the new year to read through each email to ensure the content and your messages are still relevant, current and in line with the objectives of your organization for the coming period. year.
Also check your entry and exit programs. Are the right leads on the right track? Are your parenting streams successfully meeting their original objectives? Is there an opportunity to build tracks to help support new business objectives?
7. Check lead scores
Are the scoring attributes you used still relevant for marketing and sales? Do they match your ICP? Do the triggers work as you planned? Do the point values associated with each value still make sense? Take this opportunity to review your scoring programs and the MQLs they produce. Do they meet the right expectations? Is there an opportunity for improvement?
8. Contact your sales team
What works? What not? Are they getting the quality of leads they expect? Are lead alerts, tasks, points of interest, and lead assignments working as desired? Is the SLA followed between both teams in terms of who should do what at each stage of the lead flow? Staying aligned with your sales team builds trust and alignment between teams.
9. Review the new data privacy regulations
The world of data privacy continues to evolve rapidly. Make sure you are aware of the laws that affect your organization. You’re probably familiar with GDPR, CASL and CCPA, but many US states are also introducing their own versions. At the time of writing it is Thirteen US states have signed their own privacy lawsand 14 more are in progress.
10. Reporting
You may be finalizing the previous year’s reporting, but make sure you align the system with the new year’s KPIs. Understand which reports are important to see, who needs to see them, and make sure your system is set up accordingly. This year’s goals will likely be different than last year’s, so prepare now.
11. Check your user list
Take a look at your list of users. Have there been people who have moved on from your team? Contractors you no longer work with? Are there team members whose roles have changed? Are there people with assigned licenses who haven’t logged in for a while? Now is the time to clean up your user list; you can always add someone again later if necessary.
Take the time now to set yourself and your marketing team up for success by regularly assessing your systems. Happy new year!
