Marketing has changed dramatically for many companies, but not the perception that those who work in marketing operations are “button pushers” – carrying out tasks that require minimum skills.

And that “button pusher” stigma not only devalues what a marketing operations department does, but it hurts businesses that could benefit from marketing operations’  empowerment to do much more, says Dr. Debbie Qaqish (www.drdebbieqaqish.com), ForbesBook author of From Backroom to Boardroom: Earn Your Seat With Strategic Marketing Operations and Partner/Chief Strategy Officer of The Pedowitz Group.

“Too often marketing operations is viewed as a button-pushing department, and now is the perfect time for it to transform into a strategic leader,” Dr. Qaqish says. “Marketing – as a discipline and a function – is changing.

“That evolution correlates to the advancements of technology. At the same time, it is also tied to market shifts and societal upsets such as the pandemic. In this massive upheaval, marketing operations can and should be an accelerator and a guide for harnessing change as well as a new way to drive revenue and growth.”

Dr. Qaqish says the solution for a changed image and overall function of marketing operations is up to leaders in that department. She offers six ways they can influence a bigger impact – and a better perception of marketing operations:

• Become a business leader. Dr. Qaqish says the business-oriented marketing operations leader has an extensive understanding of the business as a whole and is proactive in thinking about the business and bringing new solutions to the table. “They engineer marketing performance and the attainment of business goals through their combined business acumen, technology and data expertise,” she says. “They know how to create partnerships and have the ability to create business insights that can better inform product decisions.”

• Transform from a tech geek into a digital visionary. A digital visionary brings a broader scope to technology, Dr. Qaqish says, understanding both current and future technology and seeing its potential to transform a business and build a competitive advantage. “Marketing operations leaders can step forward to harness technology and data to pursue business goals,” she says. “They can shed the tech geek persona and replace it with a leadership style that is change-oriented and highly strategic.”

• Evolve into a process engineer. “For years, both marketing and sales have been frustrated by their inability to get on the same page in terms of lead flow and lead processing,” Dr. Qaqish says. “Marketing works hard to produce high-quality leads that are often dismissed by sales. In contrast, there is something almost magical when the strategic marketing operations leader takes over reengineering this core process.”

• Become a change agent. The marketing operations leader in this role must be a catalyst who influences change through vision and inspiration, Dr. Qaqish says. “While technology and process are parts of the change, a change agent also focuses on the people aspect,” she says.

• Don’t just hire, but build teams. Dr. Qaqish calls this time “the wild, wild west days of marketing operations as a capability,” and as such, the marketing operations function is defined by the evolving needs of marketing, the needs of the company, and where the talent is located. “Looking at a team structure is easy,” she says, “but building it out is often problematic. The strategic marketing operations leader must determine how to fill in the boxes, help develop skills, focus on the team’s strengths, and bring it all together to deliver for the future.”

• Go from the silo to cross-functional facilitator. “Ideally, you want a collaborative network in which marketing operations works with sales leadership, sales and inside sales, customer success and sales operations,” Dr. Qaqish says. “Marketing operations orchestrates the development and implementation of lead management by involving all the key stakeholder groups.”

“Many marketing operations professionals are tired of the backroom stigma,” Dr. Qaqish says. “They are frustrated, and they deserve to move up, claim a more elevated voice, and a more strategic role.”