So, Marketer, what would you say you do here?

Name Chandler Bing’s Job…

…And this is how it feels most of the time working in Marketing Automation (MA). For those who aren’t die-hard FRIENDS fans, just know that nobody ever remembers what Chandler does for work. I don’t know about you, but I usually spout out a description of my work and my friends nod aimlessly and then forget a minute later. So let’s talk about being new to Marketing Automation.

The One with the Introduction

Out of curiosity in thinking about this blog, and because I had a company full of Marketo experts at my fingertips, I thought it would be interesting to survey how my coworkers got started in this field. Personally, I got started working in Marketo years ago when a co-worker went on maternity leave and day-of there was no replacement (yikes!).

The majority of the answers had to do with working in a different area (PR, general marketing roles, interning, etc.) and being put into the ops role to oversee the implementation and roll out of newly acquired Marketo or Eloqua instances. Common theme? Most of us were unfamiliar and definitely spent lots of time drinking out of the fire hose! Something of importance is that we all found value in this tool and space immediately and that made us stay in this strange world that is MA.

The One Where They Took the First Steps

“I’ll be sending emails” – that’s a common first thought when acquiring such a tool. However, you quickly hear about things like “RCM”, “Lead Scoring”, and other fancy features (Tech Stack integrations, reports, etc.) and realize that this is a little more than a batch and blast. So what do you do? Where to begin? A few things to keep in mind:

• This is a great space to be in and a great time for it – Marketing Automation continues to be adapted and stay relevant
• Everyone started at the beginning (even all of our amazing consultants)
• There are plenty of resources out there to help!!
• You will make mistakes – it’s how you will learn

The One Where I Tell You Helpful Stuff

There are many resources out there to get you moving and an expert in no time!

• Product Docs: This is the best place to look up any single function in Marketo.
• Need to get more in the weeds? Here’s the developers area!
• Marketo Community: This is a fantastic resource that is always accessible – allowing you so search for questions/issues or post your own. There are experts and employees in the Community providing answers. It’s also a great place to just get ideas and see how others are using Marketo.
• Marketo Summit! Learn and get more ideas and get all the purple.
• Partners. We’re here to help – training, implementations, execution, strategy – we’ve got you covered!

Now get out there and get to work!