How to Build a CoE Growth Engine
Identify Needs and Customize
CRM and Analytic CoEs require tailored organizational structures based on the needs, goals, maturity stage, desire for integration and expense parameters of the organization.
For example, to build an external CRM CoE where a large analytics team is already in place, requires understanding how the internal analytic teams were built, “wired” and tasked. Not all analytic teams are steeped in Experimental Design and the rigor required for execution. In this case, CRM strategies and expertise must deeply understand analytics and performance optimization. There must be rituals, processes, and governance to ensure Experimental Design strategies are implemented, executed, and audited across in-house teams.
When building a CRM CoE to support marketing strategists who think in terms of episodic marketing campaigns., you must create a team of CRM specialists that understand the importance of test and learn and support that with analysts who can read the statistical performance output and create data stories that drive continuous improvement. This is important because your team will need to "train" the marketing strategists to think "always on" as opposed to episodic campaigns.
Create Your Strategy
Creating a CoE strategy/vision requires blending vision with operational processes.
Your strategy must integrate data and analytics, be astute to client needs, build trust and create operating models that shape new processes that change behavior. Equally important is creating the foundation of rituals and processes that ensure progress follows the road map laid out and that organizational behaviors change and adopt.
Engage Stakeholders
Think team builder, from top to bottom.
You must clearly articulate the goals and build trust. Working from the highest level stakeholders to the execution teams, create a combined sense of purpose to drive change using milestones in your roadmap. Celebrate small changes along the road to build momentum, trust and enthusiasm and communicate up to maintain momentum.
Organizational Design
Design your structure to shine a light directly on the mission critical components.
Define the roles and responsibilities the organization requires and how they should work together. Working together is critical, function leads should be malleable and empathetic to all stages of the process. Think "Team Ego".
Talent Acquisition
CRM and Analytical leads should be "center-brained" thinkers.
They need to be able to create and design logically from the left brain and use their right brain to creatively apply it and continuously challenge it for ongoing improvement. That needs to be wrapped by social intelligence and empathy.
An example would be an analyst who is also a great data story teller. A person who can translate analyses into simple stories that drive action, drives "next".
Change Management
Change management starts with identifying key stake holders at critical parts of the process, not just process owners but also process executors,
Working with these stake holders is important to build a roadmap to change and identify key milestones along the way. It is important to assign accountability and celebrate progress, not perfection. I find that pursuing a perfect solution unnecessarily complicates the execution plan and creates paralysis.
Knowledge Management
When creating a CoE it is important to have an expert “lead the way to the solution” and bring stake holders along the journey,
Make progress, it won't be perfect the first time. That should be part of the roadmap. Repeating the process will improve the process. Each time, more responsibility should be transferred to the stake holders that will have to sustain it.
In parallel to the solution, create rituals, processes, and training on how the process should work. It is very important to leave a conduit for change and process challenges, so it continuously evolves to fit the needs of the business and/or client.
Technology and Tools
Technology and tools can’t automate bad process.
First, process and rituals must be defined, then a tool to help automate and make them more efficient should be investigated. I like a very pragmatic approach to evaluation with budgets in mind. No tool is going to be a 100% solution. Progress over perfection. If a technology or tool can get you 80% of the way there, that is often good enough. Incremental gains will happen over time as users become better with the tool(s) and processes improve.
Measurement and KPIs
Experimental design thinking is the key to drive continuous improvement.
For over 25 years I have run analytical groups for growing agencies, large agencies and for large clients. Identify a key KPI and "sub-KPI’s" that can be optimized to drive improvement in the overall KPI. A "test and learn" environment like this is this will drive continual optimization.
The most important aspect of enabling data-decision making is the nature of the analysts hired who are leading it. It is important they are steeped in Experimental Design and are Data Storytellers. A data storyteller can analyze the KPIs and can interpret what it means and what you should do based on developing additional hypotheses for testing.
Project Management
Celebrate progress.
I have used a wide range of solutions from Smart Sheets to JIRA. The key is building the project plan and timeline in collaboration with stake holders including those in execution roles. Managing to the plan requires establishing rituals including daily/weekly stand ups, weekly progress reviews and escalation pathways. While "project managing", celebrate progress!
Training and Development
Ensure team members understand the overall vision and objectives.
Establish that they are critical and valuable to achieve that vision. It is important to establish baseline knowledge levels. Training is a never-ending process and should include surveys of the industry and regular "pull ups" on "what have we learned and what might we change?".
The teams should look at emerging best practices and how they might be used to change how we work today.
Ongoing Improvement
Always enroll teams to challenge how they do their craft today and how they can make it better.
Ask, "what would it take to multiply our efficiency/throughput? Not just increase it but how do we double it?"
This will drive bigger thinking, it enrolls the team in the effort and creates excitement and therefore support.
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