There’s not just one role or job description associated with martech professionals. We are called “Demand Generation Managers”, “Marketing Operations”, “Marketing Revenue Ops”, or “Marketing Technologists.” It’s a role that has been around for a few years but is still evolving in terms of organisational hierarchy and areas of expertise.
When I tell people what I do outside of my industry, I usually get one of those confused, quizzical looks and I have to pretend I’m talking to an eight year old (no offence to you folks, we just use way too many jargon terms in our line of work).
However, there seems to be a common misconception about the skills and capabilities of martech pros. And this isn’t just me talking. I decided to poll quite a few of my colleagues to see if we were all seeing the same pattern. And I came up with a few mythbusters of my own...
Myth #1 - MarTech = Tech Support
For some reason, just because I work with technology, I seem to be able to debug, troubleshoot, migrate, integrate, and calibrate any and all systems. There’s a reason there’s so many community forums for us. We’re all being asked these highly, HIGHLY technical problems to solve and everyone looks to us to get it done. Thank God for the forums!
Myth #2 - I “heart” _______ (insert platform name)
Everyone has a platform of preference at some point. After working with so many martech stacks, you tend to develop your own wish list based on prior experiences. The really smart, savvy professionals will focus more on the business outcomes and what needs to be accomplished. AND... then find the tools that best suit the business case.
Myth #3 We are very one dimensional
Most people tend to think we eat, sleep, and drink all things marketing technology related. We all come from very diverse backgrounds (psychology, marketing, sales, analysts, engineering, product development) and the more multi-faceted we are, the better. Personally, my interests vary from studying topics on technology to behavioural science, social sciences, sustainability, and health and wellness. Variety is good. (And I’m in self-quarantine so I’m trying to be more productive:)
Myth #4 We geek out on the technology more than the business side.
WRONG. In our work, we have to be strategic and balance both sides. Our jobs are to align and enable both marketing and sales to show revenue growth. We define the processes, technology, and support and train the people involved. We have to understand how sales is interacting with customers, prospects and strategise with marketing teams on how to use technology to create a seamless customer experience throughout the buyer’s journey. No small feat indeed.
I honestly love what I do. Will I be doing this same thing in the next 5-10 years? Our industry is constantly evolving and changing but that is what makes our roles so valuable for organisations.
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