For some context here, I’ve (Edward Unthank) been playing around with AI writing assistant tools for a few months, especially to fulfill our potential woe that all teams have: our SMEs don’t have the time to write good, valuable, substantive posts. The question addressed in this example: “Help! My MOPs team is all gone; what should I prioritize?”

So, I took to Jasper.AI, took the entirety of our prompt, and fed it into some subheadings and paragraphs, and below is what we got. My take? AI voices are all starting to share the same metallic twang about them–you still have to bring your own intellectual insights, and AI writes like a blowhard.

Note: I don’t endorse the paragraphs below at all. They’re entirely AI-written, using the subheaders as the writing input for the paragraphs. Consider this an interesting experiment and snapshot of marketing technologies in early 2023.

[Prompt 1]

Help! Help! My MOPs team is all gone (due to Great Resignation, layoffs, etc); what should I prioritize?

[jasper.ai]

“Are you looking for ways to make your marketing technology investment go further? In times of budget cuts, it can be a challenge to get the most out of every dollar. But don’t worry, I’m here to show you how to intelligently cut costs on your subscriptions and investments without sacrificing quality.

With the MOPs team gone, it’s important to prioritize the most valuable projects and tasks first. The best approach is to take a step back and evaluate the current technology investments in light of market trends and customer needs. This will ensure that you’re making informed decisions about where to allocate your resources.

When it comes to budget cuts, it’s important to focus on the technology that you must have to remain competitive. This includes any customer-facing technology as well as internal systems used to support customer engagement and operations. Look for opportunities to upgrade existing software or subscriptions, instead of investing in new ones. Focus on leveraging automation wherever possible to minimize manual labor costs.”

[Prompt 2]

Gather/Document processes happening today

“Organizations should take the time to document current processes and how they use their existing technology investments. This can help them identify areas for improvement, where additional automation or other cost-saving measures can be implemented. Additionally, understanding the current process also allows organizations to consider alternative solutions that could achieve better outcomes.

Analyzing the data gathered from these processes can reveal areas of inefficiency or waste, while also uncovering opportunities to streamline operations and reduce costs. For example, if an organization is finding that staff are manually entering the same information through multiple systems, there may be an opportunity to automate this process with APIs or webhooks.

In addition to documenting current processes, organizations need to stay on top of changing customer demands and new technologies that could improve customer engagement or increase operational efficiency. Taking the time to research and stay up-to-date on trends in the industry can help ensure that investments are being made in the most effective solutions possible.

Finally, when it comes to cutting costs, it’s important to keep communication open within teams and across departments. This will allow everyone involved in decisions around technology investments to understand not just why certain cuts were made but also how those choices will impact operations and customers.”

[Prompt 3]

Identify the top need for business to keep rolling (e.g. is it sending new leads, keeping customer comms going…)

“When it comes to staying competitive in business, having a clear understanding of the top needs that must be met for success is essential. Identifying these needs can help organizations prioritize their efforts and resources, ensuring that they are focusing on the areas which will have the greatest impact on their bottom line. For example, sending new leads and keeping customer communications going are two of the most important tasks for any organization looking to stay competitive in today’s market.

Evaluating what tasks need to be prioritized to keep your business moving forward, there are several factors you should consider. First and foremost is identifying who your target audience is and understanding their wants and needs so that you can craft marketing messages accordingly. You’ll also want to consider how often you need to reach out with those messages to maintain engagement with customers or prospects. Additionally, assessing current trends in your industry can provide insight into what strategies may work best when it comes time to send new leads or follow up with existing ones.

A key factor when determining top needs for keeping businesses rolling is analyzing current data around customer engagement levels as well as sales performance metrics such as conversion rates or average purchase values over time. This information can help identify areas where improvements could be made.”

[Prompt 4]

Have a PM manage to-dos you uncover

Having a project manager manage the tasks and to-dos that you uncover during your operations can be extremely beneficial for any organization. By taking on this responsibility, a project manager can ensure that projects are completed in an efficient and timely manner while also providing important insights into how teams can better manage their workloads. Additionally, having a dedicated person overseeing these tasks ensures that everything is done correctly and according to plan, reducing the risk of costly mistakes or oversights.”

[Prompt 5]

Benefits of Having a PM Manage Tasks

“Having a project manager oversee task management offers many advantages for organizations. For starters, it provides greater clarity on which tasks need to be completed first and what resources are necessary in order to do so successfully. This allows teams to focus their efforts more effectively while ensuring they don’t miss out on any important deadlines or milestones along the way. Additionally, with someone dedicated solely to managing these activities, there is less chance of things falling through the cracks due to miscommunication or lack of follow up from team members who may have multiple responsibilities within an organization.”

[Prompt 6]

Managing To-Dos Effectively

“In order for a project manager tasked with overseeing task management activities to be successful, it’s important that they have the right tools and processes in place. This includes having a clear understanding of what tasks need to be completed and when, setting up systems for tracking progress on each task, and establishing deadlines for all milestones. Additionally, having regular check-ins with team members is essential to ensure that tasks are being completed as planned, allowing any potential issues or delays to be addressed quickly.”

“By taking the time to identify the top needs for business operations and then putting a project manager in charge of managing those tasks, organizations can ensure that everything runs smoothly while also ensuring that teams are able to focus on more important areas of their work. Doing so will help keep businesses competitive and efficient while avoiding costly mistakes or oversights along the way.”

[Prompt 7]

Ensure integrations are not using an individual and are moved over, if possible, prior to said person leaving

“When an individual leaves a company, it is important to ensure that any integrations they were using are not impacted and can continue running smoothly. This means taking the time to review all of their connections with external services or applications and making sure these are transferred over before they leave. Doing so will help minimize disruption while also ensuring that processes remain as efficient as possible.”

“Evaluating integrations is the first step when transitioning away from an individual’s use of integrations is to evaluate which ones need to be moved over. This involves looking at each connection in detail, assessing what tasks it performs and how often it needs updating or changing, then deciding whether someone else should take responsibility for managing this integration going forward. It is also important during this process to consider any security risks associated with leaving certain connections active after the person has left the organization.”

[Prompt 8]

Ring Ownership

“Once you have identified which integrations need transferring over, you must put a plan in place for doing so efficiently and securely prior to the person leaving their role at your company. This includes setting up new accounts if needed, providing access credentials where necessary, and outlining support procedures for those who will be taking on ownership of these connections in future.”

[Prompt 9]

Crisis Management to control Marketing Spending in MarTech

“Think more “crisis management” rather than how to ramp up as a new MOPs person/inheritor of instance. Let us know if we can help!”

Related tools: Marketo, SFDC, Wrike, Smartsheet, GoToWebinar, Drift Email (fka Siftrock), Google Drive from the specific clients I mentioned, but could be broader

Related techniques: project management, task/ticket/request management, crisis management, change management, risk management, SLAs, work process documentation

Prompt source information for this experiment:

consultant 1:
Blog topic idea: Help! My MOPs team is all gone (due to great resignation, layoffs, etc); what should I prioritize?
Example content: gather/document processes happening today, identify the top need for business to keep rolling (e.g. is it sending new leads, keeping customer comms going…), have a PM manage to-dos you uncover, etc.

consultant 2:
another example: ensure integrations are not using an individual and are moved over, if possible, prior to said person leaving

consultant 1:
I was thinking more “crisis management” rather than how to ramp up as a new MOPs person/inheritor of instance. Let me know how I can help!
Related tools: Marketo, SFDC, Wrike, Smartsheet, GoToWebinar, Drift Email (fka Siftrock), Google Drive from the specific clients I mentioned, but could be broader
Related techniques: project management, task/ticket/request management, crisis management, change management, risk management, SLAs, work process documentation
External research ideas: PMI has lots to say about the above techniques