Ops Cast

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!On today's episode, Mike Rizzo talks with Martin Pietrzak, founder and president of Pinch Marketing, to unpack what Google and others have called “the messy middle” of today’s buyer’s journey.Gone are the days of the simple, linear sales funnel. Instead, buyers loop through endless cycles of exploration, evaluation, and self-education before they ever talk to sales — if they do at all. Martin shares how marketing ops pros can embrace this new reality by becoming strategic partners who help build flexible data-driven systems that enable real-time insights, better attribution, and scalable growth.You’ll hear:Why the messy middle exists — and how buyers’ behavior has changed forever.How technology, data, and AI are reshaping go-to-market architecture.The critical role marketing ops plays as the “marketing scientist” in modern organizations.Practical steps to capture buyer signals and turn them into actionable insights.Why marketing ops leaders must think like product managers to architect the GTM stack.Whether you’re building your ops career or leading teams through complex martech stacks, this episode is packed with insights you can apply right away.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In today's episode,  we talk with Irwin Hipsman, founder of Repititos, to explore the often-overlooked world of customer marketing and the critical role of customer contact data. Irwin shares findings from his recent research report on the state of customer contact databases, revealing why so many organizations struggle with poor data quality and how it impacts customer communications, renewals, and crisis response.Together, they dive into:The definition of customer contact databases and why focusing on individuals—not accounts—is crucial.Key findings from Irwin's research, including an industry-average database health score of just 47%.The importance of cross-functional teams in maintaining healthy customer data.Actionable steps ops professionals can take to assess, clean, and maintain customer data health.Why better customer data translates directly into stronger customer relationships, higher retention, and better crisis management.Whether you're in marketing ops, customer marketing, or revenue operations, this conversation offers practical insights that can help transform your organization's approach to customer data management.Access the customer health score assessment here.Access Irwin's report here.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show

In this conversation with Rick Collins, Vice President of Demand Generation at ConnectWise, he details his unique journey from IT to marketing leadership. He emphasizes the importance of curiosity and relationship-building in career growth. Rick shares invaluable lessons on navigating transitions within organizations, managing change, and expanding influence. He discusses the balance between technical skills and business acumen in hiring, as well as the complexities of moving from a contributor to a leader. This dialogue is packed with insights for anyone looking to advance in marketing operations.

Mustafa Saeed, co-founder and CEO of Luella, shares insights on the evolving landscape of email marketing shaped by AI. He highlights the dangers of reckless automation, where valuable communications get caught in spam filters. Saeed urges a collaborative approach, mixing human intuition with AI's analytical prowess for genuine outreach. He also delves into strategies for email reputation management and the importance of maintaining human connection in a tech-driven world, ensuring successful and ethical marketing practices.

Nicole Alvarez, a Solutions Architect at ClearPivot with a background in psychology and cognitive science, dives into the often-overlooked "ugly work" in marketing operations. She shares insights on the importance of field audits and data cleanup, revealing how these foundational tasks lead to successful marketing initiatives. Nicole discusses using flawed data reports to persuade executives about the need for investing in operational quality. With her unique blend of skills, she emphasizes creativity in overcoming data challenges and enhancing CRM systems for better decision-making.

In this discussion, Garrath Robinson, co-founder and head of marketing for RevXL, and Sebastian Hidalgo, co-founder and head of sales at RevXcel, dive into the evolving landscape of go-to-market strategies. They emphasize the necessity for speed and trust in today’s market. The duo advocates for breaking down silos between sales and marketing and introduces frameworks like STRIKE and SWAT for effective collaboration. Their insights challenge traditional methods, stressing that better execution can dramatically reshape how teams engage with buyers.

Tarun Arora, a marketing tech veteran and founder of RevCrew, dives into the transformative power of AI in streamlining operations. He explains how 'agentic AI' can function as virtual team members, tackling tasks that require judgment. Tarun shares compelling examples, from inbox management to campaign optimization, highlighting AI's capacity to eliminate busy work. He offers pragmatic advice on starting small, emphasizing the importance of addressing significant needs and exploring real use cases for effective automation.

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!When your marketing team needs to produce thousands of content pieces each month, the operational challenges can become overwhelming. In this eye-opening conversation with Satej Sirur, founder and CEO of Rocketium, we explore the emerging field of Creative Operations and how it's transforming how enterprise brands manage their content production.Satej shares how his "pet project" evolved into a platform that now helps performance marketers and creative teams work more efficiently together. We unpack the fundamental tension between creative expression and performance optimization - a struggle familiar to anyone who's tried balancing brand guidelines with marketing results.The most fascinating insights come when we discuss what makes creative content perform well. While marketers claim to be data-driven, few have systematically analyzed which creative elements drive results. Should your logo be larger in awareness campaigns? Does showing a product outside its packaging perform better than inside? Most decisions rely on gut feelings rather than data. Rocketium changes this by extracting creative attributes and correlating them with performance metrics to identify winning patterns.For organizations producing high volumes of content (2,000+ pieces monthly) with substantial teams (10+ members) and significant ad spend ($5-10M minimum), Creative Ops solutions offer a way to eliminate repetitive tasks and focus on strategic decisions. Satej emphasizes that technology alone isn't enough - implementing these solutions requires a cultural shift toward data-informed decision-making while still respecting creative expertise.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show

AJ Driscoll shares how understanding product marketing transformed his career from a system administrator to a marketing leader. He stresses the importance of data-driven insights in refining Ideal Customer Profiles and emphasizes collaboration within teams. Unique methodologies for evaluating customer demographics and win rates are discussed, along with the role of AI tools in enhancing data analysis. AJ advocates for a service-oriented mindset in marketing operations, fostering relationships that drive business success.

Eric Westerkamp, CEO of CaliberMind and a veteran in marketing analytics, delves into the chaos of marketing data. He highlights the 'data dumpster fire' many marketers face and offers practical ways to build trust in data storytelling. Emphasizing starting with specific reports, he shares insights on normalizing data across systems and combating unique job title variations. The conversation also touches on the revolutionary role of AI in marketing operations, improving customer journey mapping and enhancing overall efficiency.