The New Role of Chief Marketing Technology Officer

CHIEF CONCERNS THE NEW ROLE OF CHIEF MARKETING TECHNOLOGY OFFICER Some trends are so powerful that they transform not just an industry, but the actual job descriptions of those within it. Big data is one of these trends. With the continuing expansion of market and customer data, the role of the Chief Marketing Officer is becoming more quantitative than ever. Subjective opinions about what consumers want or which ads will work are being replaced by hard number-crunching and technical analysis. All of this has given rise to a new, hybrid position: the Chief Marketing Technology Officer. We explore the origins and responsibilities of this role below. THE GROWING ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN MARKETING In February, Gartner predicted that by 2017 CMOS will spend more on IT than CTOS will. Accordingly, marketing budgets are larger than IT budgets-and growing more rapidly. IT SPENDING ..... 2011 budget allocation 2012 budget allocation Expected average budget increase All IT Marketing High-Tech Marketing 3.6% 10% 4.8% 3.2% 5.5% 4.7% 11% Much of these budget increases have already been spent on technologies to assist marketers with analysis, automation, and analytics. Here's how marketing professionals responded to a survey about marketing technology adoption in their organizations: TECH ADOPTION. Fully Adopted Partially Adopted Evaluating Providers Adopt in Next 2 Years No Plans to Adopt 4% 4% 4% 7% 4% 6%.* 6%.* 7%. 8% 6% 7% -39% 56% 48% 46% 32% 35% 38%.. 39%. Customer Relatlonshlp Management Digital Marketing Database Marketing Marketing Automation 7%- 10%. 5% 12% 15% 15%- 34% 40% 13%- 42% 24%- 17%. 26%- .......24% 27%. Customer Analytics Moblle Marketing E-Commerce All of these technologies require a faculty with numbers and technology that the CMOS of the past simply did not need. This calls for a CMO/CTO hybrid, which many have labeled "CMTO." CMTOS INFLUENCE TECHNOLOGY PURCHASES In addition to being expected to master all of this technology, CMTOS increasingly influence of technology- buying decisions. When asked if they were primarily a user, influencer, or buyer for each of the following technologies and technology-enabled marketing services, respondents said: BUYING INFLUENCERS Buyer Influencer User Digital Marketing Customer Analytics 44% 38% 18% 46% 29% 25% Moblle Marketlng Marketing Automatlon 48% 31% 21% 52% 29% 19% Database Marketing Content Management Systems 47% 30% 23% 49% 26% 25% E-Commerce Sales Force Automation 49% 29% 22% 54% 26% 20% 30% On average, 30 percent of marketing-related technology and services are bought by marketing directly. 50% Marketing influences almost 50 percent of purchases. CMTOS ARE MORE STRATEGIC THAN TACTICAL Today's marketing executives are not just expected to be more technically proficient. They are also looked to for strategic guidance, as opposed to sheer tactical execution. When asked to rate the "perceived main role marketing serves or will serve" in their companies on a scale of 1-7, respondents said: TACTICAL+ STRATEGIC 2 3 4 6. TWO YEARS AGO 3.2 TODAY 4.8 TWO YEARS FROM NOW 5.9 MARKETING RESPONSIBILITY Total Responsibility Some Responsibility None 1% 16% 3% 1% 17% 28% 83% 80% 71% Choosing and managing marketing service providers Branding and corporate Choosing and managing marketing tech providers communication Additionally, Experian named 1O PRACTICAL SCENARIOS where a CMTO would be valuable or necessary: 6. Turning social media data into actionable insight. 1. Managing the technology stack. 2. Understanding cross-channel interaction. 7. Addressing the CEO's strategic concerns. 3. Delivering coordinated, multi-channel messaging. T 8. Breaking free from IT-marketing deadlock. 4. Delivering more relevant display advertising. 9. Enabling agile marketing. 10. Dealing with new marketing technology still to come. 5. Measuring marketing performance. WHAT THE TRANSITION MEANS The merging of the CMO and the CTO will create new efficiencies in organizations, while giving the new role more ownership and influence than either of the old ones had individually. SOURCES: GARTNER | EXPERIAN ..... 900