The CMO and CTO relationship
With the fast-paced development of technology, the crossover between marketing and technology is ever growing. We’re therefore seeing collaboration between Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) as critical for the successful delivery of organisational objectives. It goes beyond collaboration though – it’s a partnership that benefits the customer, innovation, and overall success.
Tim Buchanan, Group Marketing Director at Hiscox, says ‘Over the last 10 years I have watched organisational Marketing and Technology relationships move from adversarial to siloed, collaborative and now increasingly symbiotic.
Though we may like to believe this shift is a result of our own maturity it is actually all about, and because of, the customer.
The digital world we inhabit today has exposed business operations, capabilities - and flaws - directly to the end customer. The customer experience is now the differentiator and a point of competitive advantage.
This means customer marketing, insight, data, propositions, experience, tech agility and change become one. Consequently the quality of the CMO/CTO relationship dynamic will dictate whether customers come and stay, or walk away.'
Customer data
Data drives every decision made within the marketing strategy, relying on analytics to understand market trends and consumer behaviour. By working with the CTO, who has the expertise in how this data can be generated, analysed, and used through technology, the CMO can be sure that informed decisions are made in order to develop successful strategies and to deliver effective campaigns.
Vikaas Saxena, Director Strategy & New Business - EU, says “It's an imperative for the CMO to lead a culture shift towards greater collaboration with the CTO to democratise data through access and training in order to equip the commercial teams to inject data driven and consumer centric insights into decision making. With the progress in AI models, together with the CTO and their teams we have an immense opportunity to spearhead a new era of accountability that fuel smarter decisions and organisation success.”
Platforms
The CMO and CTO relationship is invaluable today as marketers increase the use of digital and tech with various platforms.
John Bernard, Global Marketing & Sales Leader at Malvern Panalytical, says:
“There are two key elements in the marketing digital strategy that can only work together with the CTO’s organisation:
Digital as an enabler: This is where the CTO helps marketing teams work and become more efficient. IT builds software for employees, and helps build a productive team with tools such as Office 365, Salesforce, and software to create an intranet and CRM systems.
Digital as a route to market: Here, a CTO enables the building of infrastructure for eCommerce sites and websites, including cybersecurity, that the marketing team will utilise to gain customers and revenue. In some cases, the inter-operability of digital routes to market through to digital as an enabler is vital and needs technical expertise, for example taking payments online; this is the CTO’s remit to advise and recommend to the CMO.
With the solutions, suppliers and ever-changing digital landscape, having a strong CTO/CMO relationship pays dividends to grow any business.”
Personalisation
With customer experience at the forefront of both the CMO and CTO’s minds, providing personalised experiences that are seamless and authentic is a focus for this essential partnership. A customer-centric strategy will optimise the experiences of customers on the website and the brand as a whole. It could be through AI-driven chatbots, it could be through personalised and timely communications – the customer journey can be developed and improved through the knowledge and strategic-thinking that both roles bring.
Nik Gupta, Chief Technology Officer, says “The rise of Gen AI has brought to forefront the importance and significance of providing personalised experiences for customers throughout their journey with the product. Whether it is generating and displaying highly personalised recommendations on an e-commerce store front or enabling a support experience with a bot that intimately understands the customer’s preference, communication style and their past interaction history, there is no doubt that the products which rapidly evolve to make personalisation a first class citizen in their value proposition will stand to gain a distinct edge over their competitors. This brings a unique opportunity for CMOs and CTOs to collectively blend marketing prowess and tech innovation and delve deeper into customer’s needs and behaviour. Together, they can craft curated, personalized experiences which seamlessly integrate effective marketing strategies for a distinctive market launch that embraces the uniqueness of the experience.”
In 2024, we will see a stronger spotlight on the crossover and opportunities both the CMO and CTO roles bring to the organisation, driving strategies that deliver extraordinary results. These results will include effective marketing campaigns, increased innovation for the brand, and exceptional customer experience – it’s a partnership that works for everyone.
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