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Why can’t CMOs And CIOs just get along?

Written by Tom Ryan

Photo: Getty Images/fizkes

A study from the CMO Council found corporations with “very effective" CMO-CIO working relationships have sizable advantages in driving data-driven innovation, but that only 23 percent of corporations believe they have attained such collaboration. The study, in partnership with KPMG, identified three steps to move from “effective” to “very effective” CMO-CIO working relationships:
  1. Adopt an “equal partners” working relationship: In many corporations, either marketing or IT leads the relationship and the other follows. As a result, the leading group often forgoes critical discussions to expedite decision-making and the followers lose the desire to engage fully, increasing the likelihood of gaps in capabilities and requirements. Splitting responsibilities often leads to work being “thrown over the wall” and finger-pointing when problems arise. The authors of the study encourage marketing and IT teams “to take the next step in their relationship” and “start by forming a working relationship that emphasizes an equal partnership in the strategy, selection, deployment and management of MarTech.”
  2. Extend the planning and budgeting horizon: In “effective” relationships, marketing and IT are most likely to plan and budget MarTech on an annual basis. Those with “very effective” relationships are more likely to create a multi-year plan and to estimate funding requirements at least 18 months into the future.
  3. Broaden the use of MarTech performance metrics, insights and recommendations: In “very effective” relationships, teams prioritize everyone interprets performance metrics correctly and stipulate what corrective actions need to be taken. “Effective” relationships fail to include relevant insights and recommendations within performance reports. “Very effective” relationships also use a broader set of metrics and KPIs to evaluate performance.
Gartner finds more than a third of digital marketers indicating that cross-functional relationship building is the most difficult activity they face. The research firm believes marketers are best positioned to drive such collaborations because they are the voice of the customer. Mike McGuire, VP analyst, Gartner, said at last week’s Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo, “Marketers are uniquely positioned to gather, interpret, analyze and act on customer insights. This is our superpower and we need to expand it beyond serving marketing to empower those we collaborate and work with.”

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