CIO And CMO Alignment In The Digital Age With Marketing Technology (MarTech)

When digital is high on a company’s agenda, the CMO and CIO need to work closely together to succeed. The CMO must work with the CEO and other executives to develop a common approach to designing, building, operating and renewing customer contact points and he or she will need the input and support of the CIO to help build the digital backbone.

Delivering expectation-driven digital engagement requires leadership vision, customer insight, flexible technology, and great employee alignment across all business areas. We have found that one of the biggest obstacles to implementing an integrated digital customer strategy is not so much how technology is used, but how executives and employees are aligned to a single shared vision. Understanding market dynamics, digitally savvy consumers, and hands-on know-how are equally needed to create the digital backbone that makes the digital goals of CMO and CIOs a reality.

MarTech — Combining marketing and technology

According to Forrester Accenture, almost half of all Martech purchasing decisions are made in marketing department, making the partnership between CMOs and Chief Information Officers (CIOs) crucial. Today, the most influential power couple creates expectations and relationships throughout the company: the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and the Chief Information Officer (CIO). As EY research shows, it is clear that the CMO and the CIO are committed to aligning and balancing their competencies in order to improve the partnership and create business success.

They design technology strategies for the right customers and companies based on data-driven insights. CMOs share their knowledge of what is required to achieve an excellent customer experience with their CIO colleagues and ensure that it is connected and complemented with the right IT tools and systems. Partnerships between CMOs and CIOs thrive when ownership of the Martech agenda is shared rather than forced through strategy, roadmaps, and budgets. You can look at customer benefits from the outside, understand the results customers want and develop the technology the company needs to achieve those results. Forrester research shows that customer-driven companies set goals so that every employee is involved in each aspect of their work that is important to the overall customer experience and not just the management team. In order to stand out from the competition, it is time to focus on the customer, work closely with the CIO and use the right technologies. According to market leader Avanade, B2B marketers need to develop a digital vision for their organizations to be successful in today’s fast-paced world.

The role of technical consultants is crucial as they can work with multiple customer teams, including developers and marketers, to ensure that the options match the needs, capabilities and ease of use of the CIO and CMO. For organizations that are able to take a long-term approach to technology consolidation, wherever possible, in favor of more robust solutions, a tailored technical advisor is key to better end results. The Data Alliance has helped Tatts Group to transform its digital marketing game, and TATTS Group CMO Megan Magill has a good working relationship with her CIO counterpart.

They can come from different fields — architects, engineers, marketing technologists, etc. Trusted technical consultants have prior technical experience and understand the prerequisites needed to help the company make the right technical decisions. Having experts who speak the language of IT and marketing will ensure that the right technology is selected for years to come to ensure business success. By analyzing customer needs and requirements, they can increase the value of customer service life. Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are asked to drive sales and revenue growth by improving marketing effectiveness and data. It is no longer the case that it is the support of the marketing department, which works across two divisions to drive business growth.

Not surprisingly, in the age of data-driven marketing, Gartner predicts that by 2017, the marketing department will spend more than any other department in the typical organization. Shrewd marketers are taking a step back to rethink their larger business goals before investing in new technologies. The two businesses can find ways to better serve customers, identify goals, attract new customers, and pursue innovative approaches to marketing and customer experience. With the advent of SaaS and cloud-based solutions, marketing has increasingly relied on IT in recent years to evaluate and implement new technologies. The rise of the digital customer has sparked a battle between executives, specifically between CMO and CIO, for whom a lot of online sales are at stake. As a result, companies have created new leadership positions such as Chief Digital Officer, Chief Data Officer, Chief Analytics Officer, Chief Marketing Technologist, and Chief Experience Officer, which are charged with a holistic view of how digital customers reach the company.

More than nine out of ten major pharmaceutical companies with CIOs (91 percent) based on a global Accenture survey believe that their CMO / CIO aligning survey 2014 is missing opportunities to enhance the impact of digital technologies due to lack of coordination. The industry is facing a period of rapid change, marked by digital advances and new expectations from healthcare professionals and patients for a dominant result-oriented reimbursement environment. This requires increased cooperation between CMO and CIO as patients and healthcare providers move into a digital world.

Cited Sources

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