The Rise of the Chief Marketing Technologist
Five years back, research and advisory firm Gartner had predicted that by 2017, the chief marketing officer (CMO) of an organization will be spending more on technology than the CIO. Today, it’s no secret that there is an increasing influence of technology in marketing. The confluence of marketing and technology (MarTech) has resulted in accelerating client acquisition, enhancing brand awareness, allocating budget for more marketing and technology operations and upgrading customer experience. Over the years, the line between CMOs and CIOs has blurred and a new C -level position has gained popularity: chief marketing technologist (CMT). In simple words: the new hybrid role combines the previous job profiles of CMO and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He must be hands on with marketing and furthermore have knowledge about capabilities and budget of the IT departments. According to a research by Foundation Capital, martech is expected to grow 10X in 10 years (from a $12B Billion dollar market into a $120B industry). The rising popularity of martech has further augmented the demand of CMTs. An ideal CMT would be a vital business player alongside being a technology leader, who will be involved in data and analytics, planning, content marketing, product development, digital engagement, marketing automation, sales and web mechanics. He should have the vision to drive both technology and marketing in the digital age, thus helping in the agile administration of the business. As per a Harvard Business Review article by Scott Brinker and Gartner Analyst Laura McClellan, the CMT’s job is to align marketing technology with business goals, serve as a liaison to IT, and evaluate and choose technology providers. Here are 4 key roles of a CMT in an organization: To bridge the gap between CMO and CIO To nurture technology in marketing departments To ensure marketing teams aren’t left behind in terms of IT To keep marketing up-to-date with changing technologies. Also, let’s look at four areas chief marketing technologist must be accountable for: Confluence of marketing and technology to achieve business goals Earlier marketing and technology were seen as separate verticals but today they are increasingly overlapping. Today, marketing is reliant on analytics and other forms of business intelligence. The data that is aggregated from various sources, thanks to cloud computing is being analyzed to derive insights. These insights have pushed organizations to strategize their marketing campaigns, both digital and traditional. Automation of processes has only spurred the growth of big data, and with that, the resulting insights from analytical software. In fact, marketing is so dependent on data that it is impossible to visualize a marketing campaign that is not built around analytics. This convergence of marketing and technology require the decisions of someone (read: chief marketing technologist) who has mastery in both the domains at the same time. Easy communication between IT and marketing teams Marketing departments have often overlooked technical aspects, but the rise of digital marketing has forced most marketers to adopt technology. At this juncture, CMT joins the organization and facilitates more ventures and correspondence between the teams. He is required to identify the current state of tech ecosystem and craft marketing campaigns to drive business. He also streamlines the planning and execution of marketing technology projects and coordinates with the staff of both divisions effectively and keeps an update of their activities. Development of strategic roadmap and budget allocation in marketing technology According to Gartner’s CMO Spend Survey 2015-2016, 33% of marketing budget go to technology. Gartner also reported that nearly 65% of marketing departments are expanding spending plans for service providers that have technology-related offerings. The CMTs is required to amalgamate the technology and marketing budgets for a common vision. CMTs’ leadership abilities coupled with market and competitive intelligence help in improving the infrastructure of the company with the strategic application of technology. He also allocates money for innovation, which might include experiments with new innovations and techniques. CMTs also develop the strategic roadmap for the companies on where to invest money to engage with the customers. Fostering technology-positive work culture The multi-layered role of CMT provides marketing professionals with guidance and inspiration. He additionally encourages a work culture that is innovation positive. In this sense, CMTs not only make decisions, but also help foster environments that nurture technology in places where it is not usually welcomed. Here are some Chief Marketing Technologists, who are active on Twitter Nicole Pereira @Nicca619 – Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Technologist, Campaign Creator Eric Hollebone @erichollebone – Chief Marketing Technologist, DemandLab. John Kottcamp @jkottcam – Chief Marketing Technologist, Tahzoo Hitesh Bhatia @hiteshbhatia – Chief Marketing Technologist, CBREX Andrew Epperson @eppand - Chief Marketing Technologist, PBISRewards Steve Glass @Oinkodomeo- Chief Marketing Technologist, Oinkodomeo Rise of Chief Marketing Technologist In the previous C-level hierarchical setups, the CMO took the marketing leadership responsibilities, while the CIO took the technology and IT-related leadership roles. Now, envision a circumstance where a CIO of a company is not effectively connected with the marketing team. Neither is usually in a position to comment on the other’s leadership vision. A CMT acts as a bridge between a CIO and CMO. A CMT’s combined knowledge of marketing and technology help him to weave marketing vision with technical depth. He will ensure that business is aligned with the right variables, and that there are right incentives and accountability overall. A CMT usually has the background in IT management, and also hold specialization in marketing. Most of them might have an undergraduate degree in computer science or in business administration. To whom the CMT reports to will rely on upon individual associations. The CMT coordinates with both technical and marketing teams, but concentrates on making marketers within an organization cultivate an interest and fondness toward technology and IT. According to a study in 2016, globally, 70% of marketing teams have a person dedicated to marketing technology, and in Europe, 66% of marketing teams have an individual devoted to this role. Now, why there is a rise in companies to employ CMTs? Here are 5 reasons why there is an increasing
