It’s time for me to share my secret with you. Marketing and IT need to be best friends. Why, may you ask? Over the course of three years, working as a marketer in the IT industry, I’ve learned that Marketing and IT together are the most powerful influences you could have at an organization. Together, both departments can transform an organization above and beyond its goals and aspirations.
Here are five reasons why CMOs and CIOs need to be BFFs and how together they will change the world:
- Technology Can Simplify Marketing
It may seem like a basic concept, especially since technology plays such a large role in our day-to-day life, but technology can simplify marketing. From internal communications to website chat functionalities there are solutions out there that your CIO or at least IT department is aware of that can make marketing easier. Just imagine leveraging Zoom for your phone system, and for your internal communication system or a CCaaS solution that enables customers to meet you on the channel they want to be met on.
- Marketing Can Help Sell IT
Calling all CIOs! Have you ever had the issue of user adoption? Have you ever thought about putting together an internal marketing campaign to get people excited, intrigued, and ready to try something new? No? Well, now is the time to do it. Marketing is designed to create effective campaigns. Go to your CMO and ask them to help put together an awareness campaign and watch them take it to the next level! From emails to videos to internal postings, bulletin board posters, and more, they can get your new solution adopted quicker and better than ever before.
- Enhance the Customer Experience Together
Similar to point #1, technology can simplify marketing, but it can also help improve the customer journey and experience. We’ve all had those terrible chat experiences on websites, which lead you away. Simple solutions like CCaaS could help improve the customer experience. Marketers, have you heard that acronym? Probably not, but I bet you that your IT department has heard of that term. Go and ask them about it today!
- IT Stays Ahead of the Curve
CIOs are constantly looking at what the next latest and greatest thing is in technology. They’re also evaluating how it can help an organization. From security to user experience and improving efficiencies, they are constantly looking at how technology can help. Marketing can leverage IT’s knowledge on what’s new in technology and use it to help enhance the brand, customer journey, and more!
- Shared Budget – Split the Cost of Solutions for a Win-Win Situation
Now, before I ruffle all your feathers…hear me out. Here’s a great example. IT, do you want a better security posture online? Are you afraid of a DDoS attack? Marketers, are you worried about load time on your website and application up-time? Guess what. You BOTH need a solution that can solve those issues with one provider (yes, that’s out there). Sharing your budget and splitting the cost on a solution that would benefit you both is a win-win situation. I mean, who doesn’t love a little extra budget for other projects and/or sharing a budget to soften the blow?
In summary and my advice: CMOs/CIOs, find time on each other’s calendars and talk about how you can both benefit each other. Discuss your active projects, projects that you’re planning on in the upcoming months, and even in the next year. By going beyond the departmental silos, CIOs and CMOs can transform an organization.
