The CMO And CIO Must Accelerate On Their Path To Better Collaboration

Forrester Research, Inc., 60 Acorn Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140 USA
Tel: +1 617.613.6000 | Fax: +1 617.613.5000 | www.forrester.com
The CMO And CIO Must Accelerate On
Their Path To Better Collaboration
by Sheryl Pattek, October 31, 2013
For: CMOs
Key Takeaways
People: Strategy, Leadership, And Joint Understanding Need Attention
According to our survey, CMOs and CIOs still don’t come to the table with an open
mind to build a joint strategy. To close the gap, IT must ramp up its marketing chops to
understand marketing. In return, marketing must clearly outline its priorities, link them
to business results, and then communicate those needs to IT.
Process: Misaligned Expectations And Miscues Remain
While survey results show progress in joint project deployment, agreement on
acceptable time-to-market remains a long way off. CIOs can avoid marketing going
rogue by picking up the implementation pace and communicating improvements. On
the flip side, CMOs can reduce frustration by setting realistic expectations that the IT
team can deliver.
Technology: Understanding Of Customers And Their Experiences Comes
First
Collecting customer data is just the first step to bringing customer intelligence into
the business. CMOs and CIOs must partner to define and lead the work ahead to turn
massive data sets into actionable customer insights needed to fuel business growth.

© 2013, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available
resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester®
, Technographics®
, Forrester Wave, RoleView, TechRadar,
and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. To
purchase reprints of this document, please email clientsupport@forrester.com. For additional information, go to www.forrester.com.
For CMOs
Why Read This Report
Chief marketing officers (CMOs) need to engage their chief information officers (CIOs) to develop the
most effective strategy for putting marketing technology into practice. But the two organizations don’t
always agree on how to work together. Forrester believes that CMOs and CIOs must forge a new path of
collaboration by aligning in three key areas: people, process, and technology. For this report, Forbes and
Forrester conducted a joint survey of 303 marketing and IT leaders that assesses the maturity of marketing
and IT partnerships and how those relationships have evolved since our first version of this study in 2011.
The results show some progress in taking action on items that require joint attention, but the devil is in the
details, particularly around leadership and domain expertise.
Table Of Contents
Marketing And IT Are Still In Need Of
Couples Therapy
People: Strategic Alignment Is Still A Work In
Progress
Process: Customer Intelligence Is The
Cornerstone Of Improving Collaboration
Technology: Customer Obsession Is Driving
Joint Technology Strategies
Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention (Or In
This Case, Collaboration)
recommendations
Build A Bridge Between Marketing Needs
And IT Capabilities
What It Means
CMOs And CIOs Must Lead Now Or Lose To
Nimbler Replacements
Supplemental Material
Notes & Resources
Forrester used data from the Forrester/
Forbes Insights Q2 2013 US Marketing And
IT Alignment Online Survey that yielded
303 respondents (185 IT leaders and 118
marketing leaders) in the writing of this
report.
Related Research Documents
The CMO’s Role In Technology Purchasing
June 20, 2013
CIOs Must Merge IT With Marketing To Win
In The Digital Decade
October 25, 2011
The CMO And CIO Must Accelerate On Their
Path To Better Collaboration
by Sheryl Pattek
with David M. Cooperstein and Alexandra Hayes
2
7
10
12
13
October 31, 2013

For CMOs
The CMO And CIO Must Accelerate On Their Path To Better Collaboration 2
© 2013, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited October 31, 2013
marketing and it are still in need of couples therapy
Today, marketing needs technology to run, but true collaboration with IT remains a long way
off. More often than not, CIOs and CMOs struggle to achieve common goals in this new digital
landscape.1
Forrester and Forbes conducted a survey of 303 marketing and IT leaders as a sequel to
a study we conducted together in 2011 to understand the evolving perceptions that each role has
regarding the other along the core dimensions on which they need to collaborate: people, process,
and technology. The results from the Forrester/Forbes Insights Q2 2013 US Marketing And IT
Alignment Online Survey show that, despite recognition of the business imperative to collaborate,
most IT and marketing organizations still remain worlds apart.
People: Strategic Alignment Is Still A Work In Progress
Marketers are on the frontlines of customer engagement with customers’ real-time demands;
customers expect things done yesterday, and for them, nothing happens fast enough. By focusing
on technology costs and infrastructure at the back of the house, IT often overlooks the intensity of
the pace of customers’ demands, which marketing confronts daily. As a result, it’s no surprise that
marketing and IT come to the table with vastly different organizations and skills. But alignment
between the two roles remains crucial to the ultimate success of the organization. The CIO and the
CMO need to direct their departments to be in better sync because the survey data shows that:
■ Misalignment in communication of strategic priorities persists. One of the largest gaps
between IT and marketing responses in this year’s survey was the ability of the two organizations
to communicate each other’s priorities. IT is more confident that it understands marketing’s
priorities (68%), whereas marketing is less confident (49%) in its ability to communicate IT’s
priorities (see Figure 1). The nearly 20-percentage-point difference highlights marketing’s need to
better understand IT’s mindset and more fully communicate its priorities to IT.
■ IT lacks marketing expertise. Close to half of IT leaders (49%) believe that “the CIO hires
staff with marketing expertise,” but only 19% of marketing leaders believe such (see Figure
2). Hiring IT professionals with marketing skills not only receives one of the lowest-scoring
responses from marketers but also represents the largest disparity between IT and marketing
execs’ perspectives. The 30-percentage-point difference in perception demonstrates the root
cause of marketing and IT misalignment — the lack of marketing expertise and knowledge on
the technology side of the house.
■ Dedicated leadership of marketing technology strategy remains missing. Both CMOs and
CIOs must make leadership of time-to-marketing technology a priority. But they have a long way
to go, as survey results show that only 45% of marketers and 62% of IT respondents believe that
dedicated leadership is in place to support marketing technology investments, according to the
survey. With nearly all customer touchpoints facilitated or enhanced by technology, CMOs and
CIOs must provide dedicated leadership to defining the right strategy to support business goals.2

For CMOs
Figure 1 A Chasm Exists In Communicating Strategic Priorities Between Marketing And IT
Source: Forrester Research, Inc.102661
10%
People:“IT and marketing staff can communicate each other’s strategic priorities.”
Marketing leaders 9% 22% 30% 32% 7%
IT leaders 7% 17% 22% 42% 11%
Marketing leaders
3%
20% 44% 5%
IT leaders
3%
19% 50% 18%
Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree
Base: 152 US IT leaders and 148 US marketing leaders in large corporations
(percentages may not total 100 because of rounding)
2011
2013*
27%
Source: Forrester/Forbes Insights Q3 2011 US Marketing And IT Alignment Online Survey
*Source: Forrester/Forbes Insights Q2 2013 US Marketing And IT Alignment Online Survey
Figure 2 CMOs Hire For Technology Expertise, But CIOs Do Not Hire For Marketing Expertise
The CIO hires staff with marketing expertise
The CMO hires staff with technology
expertise focused on customer engagement
49%
19%
57%
50%
Marketing
IT
“Regarding your organization, indicate how strongly you agree or
disagree with the following statements.”
(4 or 5 on a scale of 1 [strongly disagree] to 5 [strongly agree])

For CMOs
Process: Customer Intelligence Is The Cornerstone Of Improving Collaboration
More than three-fourths (78%) of marketing leaders and 81% of IT leaders agree that “customer
intelligence is a strategic priority for [their] company,” according to the survey. The ability to
consistently deliver compelling and actionable customer intelligence is now recognized as an
essential differentiator in this digital age.3
With that in mind, marketing and technology executives
have increased their attention to process since the first round of this survey. The agreement between
marketing and IT improved overall by 11% in process. Furthermore, in the survey, we found that
CIOs and CMOs have established:
■ Joint ownership of marketing technology projects. To achieve marketing technology agility,
marketers must co-own technology projects with their IT counterparts. The survey results show
that CIOs and CMOs are beginning to see alignment on marketing technology projects, with
70% of IT and more than half (51%) of marketing agreeing that “marketing and IT have shared
ownership/responsibility for marketing technology projects” (see Figure 3).
■ Steering committees to align process with technology decisions. Collaboration will allow
organizations to effectively implement and use technology to enhance customer engagement.
The survey results reveal that 68% of IT and 55% of marketing have joint steering committees to
approve projects for marketing that require technology.
■ Meetings to maintain the pace of process change. Regular meetings and joint collaboration are
the first steps to marketing and IT speaking the same language. The survey results indicate that
the CIO and the CMO are working together: 61% of IT and 45% of marketing agree that the
CIO and CMO meet consistently to review objectives and progress.

For CMOs
Figure 3 Marketers Are Co-Owning Projects With Technology Peers
13%
Process:“Marketing and IT have shared ownership/responsibility for marketing technology projects.”
IT leaders 8% 15% 35% 11%
Marketing leaders
4%
19% 42% 9%
IT leaders
2%
16% 54% 16%
2011
2013*
25%
32%
Technology: Customer Obsession Is Driving Joint Technology Strategies
Both the 2011 and the 2013 surveys show that technology has consistently been the strongest area
of agreement between both marketing and IT. To strengthen technology alignment even more, the
survey data shows that CIOs and CMOs need to turn their attention toward:
■ Defining a technology strategy that will support the business. The CIO and CMO must spend
the time to clearly define and effectively communicate their marketing technology strategy,
because according to the survey, fewer than half (45%) of marketers believe that their company
has a strategy in place for technology to manage marketing. IT is slightly more optimistic,
with 61% in agreement. But the message is clear: Marketing technology strategy is not yet
understood by the organization.
■ Creating a single view of the customer. The survey shows that 47% percent of marketers and
61% of IT professionals agree that their company’s customer touchpoints are designed to both

For CMOs
deliver and collect information. But both marketers and IT leaders alike understand that there
is work ahead to create a single view of the customer. Businesses may be collecting data on
all of the customer touchpoints, but only 38% of marketers and 50% of IT leaders believe that
their company has a single view of customer interactions across touchpoints and over time (see
Figure 4).
■ Producing actionable insights based on customer intelligence. Being able to collect data
across customer touchpoints is important, but business value is provided only when that data
can be effectively turned into insights that can inform business strategy. Fewer than half of the
survey respondents believe that their company can create actionable insights from a single view
of the customer. CMOs and CIOs have their work cut out for them to establish an acceptable
level of customer insights to drive business growth, because the disparity of agreement between
marketing (42%) and IT (57%) respondents on this topic demonstrated one of largest gaps (15
percentage points) in the survey.
Figure 4 A Single View Of The Customer Is Improving But Still Needs Attention
24%
Technology:“My company has a single view of customer interactions across
touchpoints and over time.”
IT leaders 11% 26% 26% 7%
Marketing leaders
4%
18% 39% 11%IT leaders
10% 29% 31% 7%
2011
2013*
28%
30%
24%

For CMOs
Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention (OR In this Case, Collaboration)
While collaboration between IT and marketing has points of tension, CIOs and CMOs are finding
ways to work together more effectively. As Leo Tolstoy once said, “What counts in making a happy
marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility.”4
Although
improvement in IT and marketing’s overall agreement about people alignment lags, both technology
and process have experienced a significant jump in overall agreement since the 2011 survey (see
Figure 5). The survey results show improvement in the following areas:
■ Jointly selecting and deploying technology. Marketers and IT professionals are joining
forces to increase agility. Survey results demonstrate that marketing and IT are making strides
to improve the technology selection process. Sixty percent (60%) of IT leaders and 43% of
marketing leaders agree that “marketing and IT select and deploy technologies jointly” (see
Figure 6). Compared with 2011 survey results, collaboration in selecting and deploying
technology is the only response to significantly over-index, with marketing showing a 20%
increase and IT showing a 17% increase in overall agreement.
■ Meeting metrics and aligning goals. CIOs and CMOs are starting to realize that shared
metrics help both departments feel invested in each other’s work. Although the results from the
survey show that only 37% of marketers and 48% of IT leaders agree that they share mutually
dependent bonus drivers, this level of agreement between marketers and IT has increased by
14% since the 2011 survey. The substantial increase in agreement shows that marketers and IT
are working to align goals.
■ Attending to speed of execution. Marketers want to build competitive advantage with rapid
technology implementations, but IT’s disciplined process often slows implementation beyond
marketing’s tolerance level. This explains why 70% of IT professionals agreed that they have
adapted their internal processes to support faster delivery of time-sensitive marketing projects.
While progress is being made, IT still needs to step on that accelerator, and marketing should
adjust expectations, because only 45% of marketers agreed that IT is quickening the pace of
delivering marketing’s priorities (see Figure 7).
■ Ramping up technology expertise. The power and speed of technology will be a key
differentiator for businesses, and CMOs are taking notice by adding these skills to their team.
With a skill set in technology, marketers can bridge the communication gap to keep marketing
technology needs top of mind for IT. Based on the survey results, half of marketers and 57%
of IT leaders agree that “the CMO hires staff with technology expertise focused on customer
engagement.” While CMOs improve their technology skill sets, CIOs still need to catch up by
hiring for marketing expertise.

For CMOs
Figure 5 Technology And Process Alignment Improves, While People Alignment Continues To Lag
2011 2013*
TechnologyProcessPeople
3.04
3.29 3.17
3.54
3.19
3.51
Mean aggregate responses to the survey questions by area
(On a scale of 1 [strongly disagree] to 5 [strongly agree])

For CMOs
Figure 6 Joint Deployment Of Technology Was The Biggest Improvement Since The 2011 Survey
15%
Technology:“Marketing and IT select and deploy technologies jointly.”
IT leaders 8% 24% 26% 11%
Marketing leaders
4%
21% 38% 5%
IT leaders
2%
24% 43% 17%
2011
2013*
31%
32%

For CMOs
Figure 7 Delivery Speed Of Time-Sensitive Projects Shows A Large Improvement
8%
Process:“IT has adapted its internal processes to support the faster delivery
of time-sensitive marketing projects.”
IT leaders 8% 18% 34% 12%
Marketing leaders 6% 26% 37% 8%
IT leaders
2%
20% 52% 18%
2011
2013*
22%
28%
R e c o m m e n d at i o n s
build a bridge between marketing needs and it capabilities
With digital fluency and deep customer knowledge, CMOs and CIOs are uniquely positioned to
bring competitive advantage to their businesses. Marketing and IT must combine forces and think
in terms of end-to-end processes that the customer informs and technology transforms. In order
to achieve business agility, CMOs and CIOs must take some immediate steps to bring the attitudes
found in the survey into better alignment and:
■ Develop a marketing technology strategy blueprint. CIOs and CMOs should assess the
company’s five-year plan and work together to build a joint strategy aligned to business
objectives. Prioritize technology investments that enhance customer engagement and
enable rapid response to emerging market opportunities. Once completed, communicate

For CMOs
the prioritized strategy to keep IT and marketing teams on the same schedule. CMO Clay
Stobaugh of John Wiley & Sons sets the company’s marketing technology vision, while his
CIO provides the requirements for back-end data and system integration. Working together,
they drove rapid time-to-market technology implementation.
■ Master the customer data flow across the entire organization. Working together, CMOs
and CIOs should define the processes and technology needed to bring together various
systems’ disparate data, customer input, and campaign results to create a single view of the
customer. The next step will be to harness the data by developing methodologies to produce
actionable business insights. Follow the lead of British Airways. Its “Know Me” program
represents a 10-year effort to build and provide organizationwide access to a granular and
complete view of the customer, enabling personalized customer experiences tailored to the
specific needs of each customer.
■ Demonstrate impact using an Agile development and test approach. The right
technology strategy and infrastructure serves as the foundation for rapid response to
both market opportunities and pressures. Balance the differing risk profiles of IT and
marketing organizations by using an agile approach to marketing technology selection
and implementation. Establish checkpoints to quickly evaluate a project’s positive impact
or failure. Jascha Kaykas-Wolff, Mindjet’s CMO, uses a three-week project checkpoint
methodology to demonstrate short-term positive or negative results throughout
implementations. His approach delivers C-suite visibility into the business impact, while
reaping efficiency and productivity benefits.
■ Establish shared goals as a modifier of the year-end bonus. IT and marketing will remain
worlds apart unless they have shared metrics. The CIO and CMO should determine joint
strategic priorities to improve alignment and incent their teams to work toward common
goals and objectives. Building common management goals — such as improvement in
meeting joint project delivery deadlines and increases in customer satisfaction from digital
experiences — into each other’s objectives for the year will make sure that the teams are
united in meeting the company’s goals.
■ Create thorough paths of communication by hiring a skilled referee. CMOs should
think about people first by improving the flow of communication between teams. Whether
through new hires, training, or creating teams that are tasked with marketing/IT projects,
CMOs must determine how marketing will speak the language of technology. And CIOs
must decide how IT will speak the language of marketing. Hire a marketing technologist to
break down the walls between the two groups, mastering the other’s language and sense of
timing. Kimberly-Clark’s marketing technologist was hired to build a cohesive organization
that can balance the rigor and process focus of the IT organization with marketing’s need for
agility and innovation to enhance customer experience.

For CMOs
W h at I t M e a n s
CMOs and CIOs must Lead Now Or Lose To NimbleR Replacements
Marketing and IT are on the cusp of a fundamental transformation that today’s post-digital climate
is driving and empowered customers are controlling. CMOs and CIOs need a strong alliance to
prepare for:
1. The digital experiences that tomorrow’s customers will expect from products.
Consumers live in a perpetually connected world and expect your products to enhance their
lives through rich digital experiences, regardless of the product category. To meet these
demands, technology expertise must be embedded into product development, marketing,
operations, and customer service organizations. Working together, CMOs and CIOs who
ensure that technology innovation is the core element of the company’s value proposition
will make it difficult for competitors to match their customers’ experience. Ford Motor now
views itself as a technology company that makes cars. So when it launched the new Ford
Fiesta, it integrated technology and social media into the product and marketing efforts.
This effort helped the Ford Fiesta become the go-to choice for young drivers at a mere 10%
of the typical marketing budget for a new car launch.
2. Self-service technology that relegates traditional CIOs to the sidelines. With the
emergence of business-ready cloud-based solutions, every part of the business will be able to
procure and implement technology without engaging IT. As the as-a-service model becomes
the new normal, with cloud-based ecosystems like Amazon Web Services and Redshift or
salesforce.com, the current CIO role will devolve to merely negotiating and managing cloud
service provider contracts. Business will drive the selection, design, and implementation of
this technology, with IT’s role limited to back-end and data integration.
3. Traditional organizational models that turn upside down. Role-playing won’t just be a
training exercise. Remember when “that marketing guy” would know how to fix a bug on
your Windows 95 machine? Now that personal technology is common in the workplace,
the traditional role of IT teams will have to change to more align with the business, with
IT teams acting more like consulting teams than maintenance staff. However, even though
Motorola Solutions’ appointment of Eduardo Conrado as senior vice president of both
marketing and IT is a bold move, we don’t believe it sets a precedent. Instead, expect to see
more examples like InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) asking the CMO to serve as CIO
and Kellogg relocating an IT team to the marketing wing.
4. Business schools that add business technology to finance and strategy disciplines.
Existing education and skills training will not prepare tomorrow’s executives for success.
Business schools and universities will train the next generation of executives with a
curriculum to build competence in the language of technology, customer experience, and

For CMOs
the relationship between IT and business. CMOs and CIOs will also have to go back to
school to build their own skill sets and hire tech-savvy marketing resources and marketing-
savvy tech resources, respectively, for their teams.
Supplemental Material
Methodology
Forrester and Forbes Insights fielded the Forrester/Forbes Insights Q3 2011 US Marketing And IT
Alignment Online Survey to 300 professionals (148 marketing leaders and 152 IT leaders).
Forrester and Forbes fielded the survey during September 2011.
Forrester and Forbes Insights fielded the Forrester/Forbes Insights Q2 2013 US Marketing And IT
Alignment Online Survey to 303 professionals (185 IT leaders and 118 marketing leaders).
Forrester and Forbes fielded the survey during May 2013.
Endnotes
1
Source: “Big Data’s Biggest Role, Aligning the CMO & CIO: Greater Partnership Drives Enterprise-Wide
Customer Centricity Report,” CMO Council, March 2013 (http://www.cmocouncil.org/download-center.
php?id=259).
2
It’s no longer a question of whether technology plays a role in marketing; it’s about what role the CMO
needs to play in selecting the best solution to drive marketing and overall business success. This report will
identify the components of a technology strategy, define how CMOs should engage in the road map and
vendor selection process, and help marketing executives assess their long-term role as a technologist for the
enterprise. See the June 20, 2013, “The CMO’s Role In Technology Purchasing” report.
3
Customer intelligence (CI) is in the throes of significant change brought about by two primary drivers:
1) the disruption caused by the massive shifts in consumer behavior, and 2) organizations’ growing
recognition that to succeed in the age of the customer, they must put their CI houses in order. As a
result, this year CI professionals will face a slew of challenges and opportunities with significant market,
technology, and consumer-driven trends that will further impact CI. This report outlines five major trends
and topics that Forrester believes will impact CI pros in 2013. See the March 28, 2013, “Navigating The
Future Of Customer Intelligence” report.
4
Source: Leo Tolstoy, Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/153982-what-counts-in-making-a-
happy-marriage-is-not-so).

Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to
global leaders in business and technology. Forrester works with professionals in 13 key roles at major companies providing proprietary
research, customer insight, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive programs. For more than 29 years, Forrester has been making
IT, marketing, and technology industry leaders successful every day. For more information, visit www.forrester.com. 102661
«
Forrester Focuses On
CMOs
As the top marketing executive for your company or division,
you’re engaged in orchestrating and building a competitive
brand while fueling business growth. You’re also responsible for
ensuring consistency in digital and traditional marketing channels
and empowering others across the organization to deliver a
consistent brand experience.
Catherine Melissa Oliver, client persona representing CMOs
About Forrester
Global marketing and strategy leaders turn to Forrester to help
them make the tough decisions necessary to capitalize on shifts
in marketing, technology, and consumer behavior. We ensure your
success by providing:
n Data-driven insight to understand the impact of changing
consumer behavior.
n Forward-looking research and analysis to guide your decisions.
n Objective advice on tools and technologies to connect you with
customers.
n Best practices for marketing and cross-channel strategy.
for more information
To find out how Forrester Research can help you be successful every day, please
contact the office nearest you, or visit us at www.forrester.com. For a complete list
of worldwide locations, visit www.forrester.com/about.
Client support
For information on hard-copy or electronic reprints, please contact Client Support
at +1 866.367.7378, +1 617.613.5730, or clientsupport@forrester.com. We offer
quantity discounts and special pricing for academic and nonprofit institutions.

The CMO And CIO Must Accelerate On Their Path To Better Collaboration

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Mais procurados

Mais procurados (20)

Semelhante a The CMO And CIO Must Accelerate On Their Path To Better Collaboration

Semelhante a The CMO And CIO Must Accelerate On Their Path To Better Collaboration (20)

Mais de sukiennong.vn

Mais de sukiennong.vn (20)

Último

Último (20)

The CMO And CIO Must Accelerate On Their Path To Better Collaboration