Marketo Champion 2023-24 | Solving marketing automation problems

I am working as a Marketing Manager at HERE Technologies since 2023. Most of my projects are about solving marketing automation problems. Some of them are about campaign designs, and messaging. 

For example:

▪ Investigating sales queries about why certain records were assigned (or not) by Marketo
▪ Researching feasibility of technical dreams of team
▪ Providing technical assistance - e.g. integration projects which involve Marketo
▪ Maintaining the quality (and limits) of Marketo database
▪ Impact assessment/QA in various projects
▪ Marketing ideas for nurture designs & messaging

I have been solving marketing automation problems using Adobe Marketo Engage since 2013. My commitment to stick with Marketo gave me a diverse experience of working with 100+ Marketo customers at Grazitti Interactive (2013-2023) 

I learnt about customer problems, service delivery processes, team management, sales support and more aspects of work - aimed to deliver high quality work and sustain customer satisfaction. I am now transitioning into a role of marketing while maintaining my forte in automation. My strength is awareness of technical feasibilities. This combination brings unique value to organization - I don't always need to check feasibility for marketing ideas. My experience helps us make decisions faster.

During my early years, I learnt a lot from Marketo Community. And I am grateful to be a part of Adobe Championship Program. I was recognized as an Adobe Marketo Engage Champion for 2023-2024, and 2024-2025. I am a 6x certified Adobe Marketo Engage Business Practitioner Expert. 

I share my learnings from Marketo at:

▪ LinkedIn (Carousels and Posts)
▪ YouTube (Solo talks about concepts)
▪ Marketo Nation Community (Champion Blogs)
▪ Marketo User Groups (Deep Dives)

Besides, I also co-lead the Chandigarh Tricity Chapter for the Marketo User Groups where we host virtual discussions about various Marketo topics. Past recordings of the topics can be found on the Adobe's official YouTube channel for Marketo user groups.

PS - I am also an early adopter of ChatGPT - a new subject to study and it's a lot of work.

Everyone is reading the report Martech for 2026 for very good reasons. It's gold. It provides a very lucid manner to place your experiments (while you're in the laboratory) - and I could not help to turn this into a visual framework.

For now, I have used more agents as a marketer. Hence, the 'For marketers' section is more interesting to me. Looks like my mental framework about how to think about my AI experiments is getting into a useful shape after reading the report.

It's hard to say if something 'either' augments, or replaces. I keep switching the categories (augment vs replacing) in my mind. It's not straightforward. May be depends on how deeply you're having the LLM nodes.

There are going to be new use cases we have not conceived before - there're going to be problems we have not seen before - and I think those will definitely increase confidence to mark items as 'Augments' or 'Replaces'

But all this is not as important and critical as the 'of customers' section, which is the root of inevitable changes in the 'for marketers' section.

#AdobeMarketoEngage #Martech2026 #AgenticAI

Balkar Rao

Adobe Certified Expert - Marketo Engage Business Practitioner

Marketo Certified Expert

Adobe Marketo Engage Expert

Hubspot Inbound Certified

As global mobility becomes increasingly connected, electrified and automated, HERE Technologies is leading the way to a safer, greener future.

Our location platform is integrated into more than 180 million vehicles across the planet, using fresh and accurate data that we have been building for over 35 years – and continue to refresh daily. Our experience in mapmaking has made HERE one of the leading innovators in location technology and spatial intelligence.  

In our key markets, Automated and Connected Driving, Fleet Management and Supply Chain, we work with global brands, partners, developers, and customers so that together we can move the world forward. 

Armed with critical location data and technology tools, we’re developing solutions that solve the biggest challenges that face us today and help us plan for a better future. 

To discover more about the future of location and spatial intelligence visit here.com.

Some key initiatives:

Documentation & Stakeholder Alignment:
👉 Troubleshooting and clarifying our Marketo/SFDC workflows to educate our sales team and ensure alignment.
👉 Deeply involved in dissecting and troubleshooting our Marketo/SFDC workflows.

Database Optimization:
👉 Enhancing our marketing database to improve campaign targeting and effectiveness, through meticulous data cleaning and quality checks.

Lifecycle Model & Lead Scoring Optimization:
👉 Updating our customer lifecycle model and refining lead scoring to better capture quality leads.
Compliance Initiatives:
👉 Leading efforts to align Marketo operations with GDPR and CCPA, ensuring responsible data management and building customer trust.

Email Preference Center Optimization:
👉 Improving the design and options of our Email Preference Center to increase user control and engagement.

ABM Implementation:
👉 Working with senior stakeholders to implement targeted marketing strategies for key accounts to improve engagement and conversions - driving better ROI and customer satisfaction.

Stack Documentation:
👉 Creating detailed documentation for our marketing tools to enhance understanding and utilization of our tech stack.

Marketing Manager

- Specialized in Adobe Marketo Engage to enhance customer operations.
- Actively coached team members in Adobe Marketo Engage, ensuring effective application across customer accounts.
- Managed Marketo Services for a portfolio of customers specifically assigned to our team.
- Developed streamlined processes for smooth service delivery and operational scalability.
- Gained comprehensive experience in marketing automation, team leadership, and process optimization.

Senior Manager Marketing Automation

Manager, Marketing Automation

Team Lead

Senior Marketing Executive

Marketing Executive

Decoding AI with a unique and practical POV from 12+ years of experience in Marketing Automation, 3x Adobe Marketo Engage Champion

HERE Technologies: Verified using work email

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