If you’re exploring the idea of adding more Marketo experts to your team, you’ve probably already thought long and hard about the onboarding process. Enabling folks on how your instance is set up and how it’s leveraged for day-to-day operations can feel overwhelming, especially if it comes at an inopportune time. Maybe you’re undergoing a company reorg, or perhaps it’s the “busy season” for your industry. Or maybe you’re just not sure how you could possibly train someone new while trying to keep the lights on!
Here are four best practices you can start implementing today that will help new users get up to speed more efficiently:
#1: Leverage program templates
- Program templates are the foundation of your Marketo instance. They include the key workflows, emails and landing pages for each type of program your team runs. These can be cloned by your users and will ensure everyone is following the same framework for all programs in your system.
💡 PRO TIP: Consider setting up program template user guides to streamline the onboarding process even more!
#2: Enforce platform governance
- Keep your Marketo instance clean by creating and enforcing rules around platform governance. Here are a few areas to get you started:
- Users & Roles – It’s important to know who has access to Marketo and what the roles and permissions are for your users.
- Folder Structure – How are things organized in your instance? Streamline where someone will find programs and assets by creating a set of folders that reflect how your company organizes its marketing efforts.
- Naming Conventions – Standardize the approach for naming programs, assets, files, and more to help keep consistency across your instance. It’s helpful to have a unique identifier in that naming convention. (Contact your CSM to learn about our program name-o-rater solution!)
💡 PRO TIP: Appoint someone on your team to monitor platform governance and to perform regular compliance checks.
#3: Host regular office hours
- Provide ongoing support for your users by holding regular office hours. These meetings can be hosted by your Marketo admin and/or Power User(s) and should be available to anyone using the platform. Users can ask questions, learn about new features, and discuss use cases.
💡 PRO TIP: Love this idea but don’t have the bandwidth on your team? Leverage the Marketo community and join your local MUG (Marketo User Group) instead.
#4: Document everything
- Okay, maybe not everything, but I would encourage you to try to document as much as you can – and be sure to put it somewhere that’s easy for new users to locate. This might include information about the way your instance is set up (like how the CRM sync is structured or decisions you’ve made around platform governance) or how your instance is used on a day-to-day basis (like what Channels and Tags to use or what Email Template is the most up to date).
Onboarding new team members can be a challenge, but with a little preparation and planning, you can help ensure the process goes quickly and smoothly.
Happy hiring!
⚠️ Interesting in learning more about Marketo best practices? Connect with your CSM to learn how Adobe Consulting Services can help you get the most out of your investment.
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