Alignment! But how? Uh … Well …

Indeed: How will these two departments align? Which set-up between CIO and CMO will work? How will they cooperate to turn big data into big profits? After all, a profitable outcome isn’t built on a few concessions from both departments. And what does alignment mean, exactly? Is it just bringing key facets of each department together and leaving the rest to oblivion? Moreover, we also have to keep in mind that the real driver behind the marketing IT story is the consumer, not internal operations or improvements.

So is alignment necessary? Or is it sufficient for one department to take command of the necessary changes?

Confidence, agility and a multi-channel approach

The formation of a true alliance is mostly decided on the C-level. But the ‘real work’ gets done at different levels of the organisation. Transition is change. And change needs to be managed in order to be accepted and integrated into organisation as a whole. So it’s not just about initiating change. It’s about making your people live the change so that it becomes truly relevant.

In terms of budget and organisation, every branch in a company has its own procedures. Traditionally, marketing spends more on advertising and creative than on technology. Everybody knows. They’re doing business the way they’ve always done it. Time to change all that. Technology can contribute to a more customer-centric approach. Nowadays CMOs are catching up with CIOs in terms of placing a high priority on marketing IT. Needless to say, this change won’t happen overnight. We read a lot about alignment between CIO & CMO. And if this merger is to take shape in the distant future, both departments need to take these three factors into account:

First, CMO’s need confidence. They need to acknowledge that the same profit, leads and value can be achieved with technology as with traditional means. Consultation, agreement and trust between the two departments will be crucial. Their dedication will inspire others to share in a new reality.

Second, CIOs & CMOs need to change their ideas about the marketing and technology process. This means new ways of working that are likely to be unfamiliar to both departments – notably, more agile and more analytics-based ways of working. They need to cooperate if they are to turn all data into growth. This marriage of convenience has to work, because the worldwide volume of data is growing nearly 40 % a year. The result will be new architectures for data aggregation coupled with rapid experimentation, iteration, and evolution of functionality.

Third, CMOs need to focus on multi-channel needs. Digitization has become one of the most essential aspects of marketing. The ‘Set it up and let it run’ model no longer does the job. A multi-channel system means constantly updating and redirecting your strategy. Doing this instantaneously means using a real-time system to keep track of immanent changes. In the end, it all boils down to both marketing and technology departments turning big data into big profits.

Can we learn from the past?

Two decades ago the ‘baby CIO’ had a strategic lever to apply: technology could be used to transform businesses, automate and digitize processes, and provide operational data. This not only required technology, but also new ways of thinking and new skills. And it sounds very similar to CMOs requests today. What were the outcomes?

The lesson to be learned from the past 15 to 20 years is that gradual alignment is not an option. Since the introduction of IT in companies, departments like HR, Finance and Sales had no difficulty aligning with IT, because they jumped at the chance. They took the ‘bull by the horns’.

Marketing is a software play

The CMO/CIO tandem should follow the same path. They should not TRY to create alignment. If they do, they will consume large amounts of time and money. They may come up with a conclusive method that creates greater automated customer value, but the focus will be on the alignment process and not on more important (i.e. more profitable) matters like clients and customers. Instead, they should just DO it. Pick a client, or pick a case on which to apply their new collaborative methods. Trial and error. This doesn’t mean that the CIO/CMO collaboration should be undertaken lightly, with no thought for the future. There should always be a plan.

Here’s where the MarTech Blue Print comes in. This plan brings a clear picture of the customer experience into view. Furthermore you can supervene exactly what you are using to reach customers or need to fill in terms of capabilities, scope or scale. This blueprint is all about optimizing data flows, marketing capabilities and customer experience. Think of it as a ‘war room’, where the architecture and integration of the marketing process is carefully tracked by those who need to know. Of course, the process should be steered in the right direction by a referee who is fluent in both languages: the marketing technologist.

At Brandhome, we know that collaboration is much more than making agreements and allocating duties. In fact, it’s more like a relationship. Two individuals have known each other for a long time, with their ups and downs. And they feel it’s time to take the next logical step: getting married – not only for the convenience of sharing goods, intellectual property and arrangements for the future, but simply because they want to. Someone needs to perform marriage ceremony and guide them through the transition. After all, it’s for the good cause: the creation of marketing that people love.

Does traditional marketing have a future in our technology-driven world? How does one go about it in today’s over-regulated, over-transparent, over-stressed markets? Do you go for value or volume? That’s the billion-dollar question for many brands and corporations. So skip marketing x.0! Go back to the future of marketing and make tough choices today. Find out how in Brandhome’s new book, Game Ov3r. More info and pre-order here.