#10things: MarTech key to post-pandemic business recovery
As companies emerge from the pandemic, marketing and MarTech lie at the heart of the recovery; and the future of MarTech depends on improving CMO-CIO relationships.
New research from the CMO Council finds that as companies emerge from the pandemic, marketing and MarTech lie at the heart of the recovery; and that the future of MarTech depends on improving CMO-CIO relationships. To optimise MarTech investments, marketing needs to have a very effective working relationship with IT that spans strategy, selection and management. Yet fewer than one out of four marketing organisations has such a relationship.
The Council’s report, Making MarTech Pay Off, in collaboration with KPMG, covers critical aspects of the marketing-IT relationship, how they’re structured and governed, what types of MarTech capabilities and outcomes they effectuate, and how marketers can take this relationship to the next level. These are the 10 key findings:
1. Urgency: The urgency to unearth actionable data insights and improve the customer experience through MarTech has never been greater. Much of a company’s future rests on revenue growth fuelled by digital marketing and delivered by a technically savvy workforce. MarTech is fundamental to meeting both CMO and CIO objectives.
2. Effective: Only 23% of companies have “very effective” CMO-CIO working relationships.
3. Relationships: 60% of CMOs in “very effective” relationships with IT have a multi-year strategic plan for MarTech; compared to 29% of CMOs in “effective” relationships.
4. Innovation: CMOs in “very effective” relationships with IT use an average of two innovation techniques; compared to 1.2 for CMOs in “effect6nership, compared to 21% of CMOs in “effective” relationships.
5. Insights: 65% of CMOs in “very effective” relationships with IT regularly collect and distribute MarTech KPIs with insights and recommendations, compared to 36% of CMOs in “effective” relationships.
6. Partnerships: 48% of CMOs in “very effective” relationships with IT have an equal partnership, compared to 21% of CMOs in “effective” relationships.
7. Strategy: “Very effective” CMO-CIO relationships produce a comprehensive and highly effective MarTech capability. This consists of planning strategically, integrating strategic considerations into tactical decision-making, solidifying strategic considerations through holistic participation in selection and management stages, and measuring performance broadly and regularly.
8. ROI: The best CMO-CIO relationships lead the charge in innovation, data-driven metrics, governance, and alignment and integration. These are often the very traits needed to enjoy a competitive advantage from MarTech, yield greater returns on investment, and provide a more satisfactory MarTech experience for employees and customers.
9. Innovation: A holistic approach is needed to meet MarTech challenges, by building strong relationships between the CMOs and CIOs, and implementing models that encourage shared insights, planning, budgeting and innovation.
10. Budget: CMOs in very effective relationships with IT, who get the most out of MarTech, also have the largest MarTech stacks and spend the highest percentage of their marketing budget on MarTech. “These CMOs are more likely to be responsible for digital transformation, customer experience and revenue generation—the ‘big three’—and play a larger role in the future of the company,” said Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council.
Source: CMO council – Download the full report here.
Main image credit: Pixabay.com.
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