Being productive and efficient in the new workplace – with multiple teams and projects in digital, hybrid, and geographically distributed work environments – requires marketing teams to work more efficiently, agile and collaboratively.

Marketing teams turned to workflow and collaboration management platforms to meet the challenge. These platforms offer distributed, multi-stakeholder marketing teams the ability to streamline processes and track the need for end-to-end agility and visibility. Some of the promised benefits include:

1. Smooth, streamlined, documented and transparent processes across all global operations.
2. Easier collaboration keeps everyone on the team on the same page, makes time to market easier, and speeds projects up, allowing more voices to be heard in the process.
3. Transparent planning and resource management for optimal efficiency on multiple projects.
4. Better accountability with easier ways to identify and remove process bottlenecks.
5. Smarter automation of tasks that frees up employees’ time and promotes better decision-making.
6. Better security and access management for data and assets.

While multichannel can be great for customers in the digital age, it can be confusing in the workplace. Sprawl of teams and sprawl of tools makes communication and collaboration difficult, said Esther Flammer, CMO at Wrike. She stressed the need for a strong collaborative work management platform to manage all marketing activities. The increasing availability of vertical or function-specific workflow management tools, such as tools specifically designed for creative agencies or focused on marketing-specific use cases, poses an additional challenge for business specialists. marketers to find options that provide tangible business benefits.

Marketing effectiveness in a hybrid, distributed, and agile world depends in part on finding and using the right content and workflow management (CWM) platform. Here are some key considerations for marketers during the selection, adoption and expansion phase:

1. Selecting the content and workflow management platform

How can marketing managers facilitate collaboration for their hybrid and global marketing teams? Leena Iyar, brand director at Moxtra, a customer engagement platform designed for the mobile world, recommends starting by assessing the needs and weaknesses of the marketing team rather than the technology or platform they are using. -same. To manage business processes more efficiently and deliver a high-value customer and employee experience in today’s distributed environment, said Iyar, centralizing all tools, documents and assignments under one hub and integrating workflows in the overall digital strategy can strengthen the results of collaboration.

Vendors offer a range of features, but when it comes to choosing what’s most important to your goals, Noa Kind, product manager for data and ML at Monday.com, recommended making sure that the platform can integrate with your existing tools and platforms. If you need workflow automation customization, check out no-code or low-code capabilities. Flammer adds configurable reports and advanced analytics as another consideration for increased visibility. Specific needs based on your business model (B2B, D2C, etc.), usability, and the ability to scale up or down based on dynamic business and team needs are also factors to take into account.

Finding the right balance between marketing and organizational needs is a tricky task. A tailor-made solution for marketing might be a good solution, but it might also deepen the silos. A more generic solution will promote broader collaboration, but may not address all marketing use cases. Many platforms offer a generic platform for collaboration and task management, as well as functionality specific to specific functions for marketing, finance, etc., and this can be a good place to start, suggested. Kind. Iyar added that if marketing requires a lot of external collaboration, then consider factors such as the ability to control and manage external processes. In such cases, a specially designed marketing workflow platform can better help streamline these processes.

When it comes to selection, marketing has a better understanding of how to manage, delegate and automate workflows for the best employee experience. But for greater organization-wide ownership, investing in external resources to renovate existing technology or assess and implement new solutions can be a solid approach, said Rob Kunzler, CMO of OnBoard, a board management platform.

“Some of the most successful collaborative / workflow platform deployments I’ve seen have been led by external agencies, who have spent time with each team / individual to understand how to best design a tool that works effectively for everyone. world. You will never make everyone 100% happy, but this approach gets more people on the path, and inclusion can be half the battle, ”he said.

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2. Adoption of the MCG

Let’s face it – even emails have faced adoption issues in the past that come along with paper memos. Today, as hybrid workforce models and cloud adoption become mainstream, what are the typical and emerging challenges of adopting workflow automation platforms?

Iyar said that proper workflow analysis is the key to success. “A common misconception is that automating an inefficient workflow will create an efficient process. However, this will only further highlight the inefficiencies of the process, not optimize the process. “

To streamline processes, Kind also recommended establishing clear definitions for key metrics, data protocols, and KPIs to keep everyone on the same page and minimize frustration in complex projects. This seems all the more important as teams are increasingly dispersed geographically and culturally, and communication and collaboration take place, in many cases, without any face-to-face contact.

Also consider the detrimental effects of scattering information across too many platforms. While workflow automation platforms do not fully meet all use cases, they encourage fragmented use of tools and the creation of even more silos. Kunzler suggested introducing a policy requiring all communications to take place on a single, designated platform to avoid confusion when multiple platforms are used.

Flammer reminded us of the fundamentals of adopting any new technology: communicate early and regularly, educate, consciously integrate, and consciously create a culture that promotes sharing and cross-functional teamwork.

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3. CWM extension

AI and ML are changing dynamics and possibilities beyond the most obvious use cases of workflow and collaboration platforms. What are the most exciting and promising use cases as companies plan and prepare for the future of work?

• Use cases for data analysis: Beyond personalization, AI will continue to scale up global marketing efforts through the collection, management and analysis of data. “Features like project risk prediction, which processes massive behavioral data sets across the organization to glean complex information, can simplify decision making and allow marketers to focus, execute and deliver the work that matters most, ”said Flammer. AI can also help identify red flags and outliers earlier in the process, and proactively alert affected teams so they can create alternative solutions.
• Break down silos to create and communicate a single source of truth: So everyone has a full context for whatever they need. For example, in the Kind organization, this approach already enables marketing teams to communicate across channels, connect the dots between marketing initiatives, manage spend, and overall make better decisions that drive to more effective campaigns.
• Improve the effectiveness of marketing and sales: CWM platforms can go beyond efficiency to impact revenue by providing one-stop control over campaigns, budgets, and resources. Unique centralized sales pipeline workflows can give everyone real-time visibility, with faster GTM. With improved ease of use, marketing teams can create more campaigns while improving operational efficiency for internal and external stakeholders, especially traditional bottlenecks such as creative approvals.
• Management of external collaboration: AI-enabled workflow and collaboration platforms have the potential to act as private digital channels, especially in high-impact verticals such as finance and education. Inviting external teams (agencies, contractors, consultants, key clients) in one tool – with the right amount of security and access rights – can be a real game-changer for larger collaborative efforts and co- creation.