Jonathan Harmon Marketing Operations Portfolio

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Marketing Operations Center of Excellence

Timeline

Ongoing (launched 18 months ago)

Scope

Global organization (6 regions)

Impact

Standardized best practices globally

Project Overview

This strategic initiative established a Marketing Operations Center of Excellence (CoE) to standardize processes, share best practices, and build capabilities across a global organization. The CoE serves as a hub for knowledge, training, and continuous improvement.

Challenge

The organization faced significant challenges with inconsistent marketing operations across regions:

  • Each regional team had developed their own processes and tools
  • Limited knowledge sharing and best practice adoption
  • Inconsistent customer data quality across regions affecting reporting
  • New team members took months to reach productivity due to lack of standardized training
  • Difficulty scaling successful initiatives from one region to others
  • Compliance and audit concerns due to process variation

Solution

I designed and implemented a comprehensive CoE framework:

  • Conducted process audits across all regions to identify best practices and gaps
  • Developed standardized marketing operations playbooks covering:
    • Lead management and qualification
    • Campaign execution and governance
    • Data management and hygiene
    • Reporting and analytics
    • Technology platform management
  • Created comprehensive training program (onboarding, advanced, and certification)
  • Established community of practice with monthly knowledge sessions
  • Built CoE governance structure with regional representatives
  • Developed templates, tools, and resources for common tasks
  • Implemented quarterly process improvement cycles

Results & Impact

  • 80% adoption of standardized processes across regions
  • 40% reduction in new hire ramp time
  • Significantly improved data quality consistency globally
  • Faster deployment of successful initiatives across regions
  • Improved audit and compliance scores
  • Stronger cross-functional collaboration between regions
  • Continuous improvement culture established
  • Better cost efficiency through process standardization

Key Learnings

Building a Center of Excellence requires careful balance between standardization and flexibility. By creating a framework that allowed regional customization within guardrails, we achieved consistency without stifling innovation or ignoring regional differences. Ongoing governance and engagement from regional leaders was essential to sustainability.