The new chief marketing officer

Gartner’s prediction that the CMO will spend more on IT than the CIO by 2017 is a much-debated one. A more widely accepted prediction is that we are currently in the age of the customer. Social media and other digital channels are driving the increasing marketing expenditure on IT. According to Gartner, digital marketing budgets are projected to increase from 28.5% in 2013 to 58% in 2014.In this age, CMOs are expected to take the lead role in deploying and leveraging technologies to deliver greater customer insights, improve marketing effectiveness and offer new competitive advantages. However, there are many challenges the CMO has to face, which include striking a balance with the CIO – traditionally the last word on all things IT-related – and embracing big data and the issues that come along with it, such as compliance and security. Most crucial of all is knowing how to leverage big data and analytics to achieve business outcomes.Big data – the next competitive advantageThe past decade has seen an explosion of data generation, with online/mobile sources being a significant contributor. These sources comprise data such as e-commerce transactions, search logs and social networks. By 2015, the average user is expected to have five connected devices and their purchase experiences are expanding well beyond retail stores.An example of utilising big data for marketing purposes can be seen in Heineken and Walmart’s project with Shopperception, a start-up service that analyses the shopper’s behaviour in front of the shelf, generating metrics and real-time events to drive more conversions.The objective of the project was to learn where each bottle, six-pack or can of Heineken beer was exactly purchased in the store. Along with the vast amount of data that Heineken already uses to forecast sales in different regions worldwide, this helped the company better understand its customers and as a result offer exactly the product they are looking for at a certain moment in time and place.According to a survey of more than 500 executives across Asia Pacific by The Economist Intelligence Unit, almost half of the respondents believe that data analytics can improve revenue by 25% or more; while more than 70% believe data analytics can deliver gains in productivity, profitability and innovation.Despite this belief, more than half of the respondents (58%) indicated their companies had little to no progress in the use of big data. The worst offender is surprisingly Singapore with 74.5% of respondents, who hail from one of Asia’s most advanced economies, indicating so.The biggest hindrances to the adoption of big data include a lack of suitable software (42%), lack of skills (40%) and lack of communication between departments (36%).What is immediately evident from the hindrances stated above is that to address them, the necessary software and skills need to be acquired. These are areas that traditionally fall within the CIO’s domain, and this is where the CMO and CIO need to achieve an understanding in order to successfully leverage big data to achieve competitive advantages and business outcomes.Balancing the CMO-CIO dynamicAccording to an Accenture study, there is still a deep disconnect between CMOs and CIOs. While both generally agree they need to be closely aligned, CMOs and CIOs often have completely different priorities.The study found CMOs tend to be more aligned with the chief sales officer, while CIOs are typically more aligned with the CFO. CMOs rank access to customer insight and intelligence as their number one priority, while CIOs rank it number 10 on their list. CIOs rank advancing platforms to aid in marketing measurement and campaign optimisation as number one, while CMOs rank it number eight.Nevertheless, there are two things CMOs and CIOs agree on: the need to implement solutions that improve marketing effectiveness, while overcoming solution complexity and integration obstacles. This can be used as the base for the CMO and CIO to further build understanding and co-operation.In today’s digital age, neither can afford to work independently. A company’s digital marketing capabilities represent a platform for customer engagement, market differentiation, business growth and profitability; bridging the gap between these two roles is critical for success.Furthermore, as the need to engage with customers across multiple devices, online and digital mediums allows companies greater reach, CMOs need to be even more aware of potential threats to their brand. A security breach can significantly damage a company’s reputation with potential repercussions on consumer confidence. Also, CMOs need to expand their thinking to comply with local privacy and personal data protection laws. These are areas where CMOs have to work closely with CIOs to ensure increased vigilance and responsiveness to security issues.Meet the new chief marketing officerIn summary, to leverage big data and analytics for better business outcomes, the new CMO has to be willing to step out of their comfort zone, experiment and implement something different. This is the time for CMOs to step up to embrace and tap on technologies to add value to the company’s offerings.Additionally, as more marketing-related technology and services emerge, bringing along a set of opportunities and risks, the new CMO has to become more collaborative than ever before with the CIO to ensure consumer confidence is not adversely affected.The writer is Ashley Tollitt, vice-president of marketing, Verizon Asia-Pacific.