The phase-out of third-party cookies on most web browsers in 2022 will profoundly affect customer relationships and data-driven marketing.
- Human enablement: The most sophisticated, functional tech stack won’t have much value if people don’t know how to leverage it. That requires a framework that enables smooth onboarding, compelling training that is often “hands-on” and ongoing learning. The best technology, without an organization capable of deploying it, will not realize its business goals
Outside of human resources or learning and development departments, this is another area where the CIO and CMO must work in lockstep to achieve success. Together they can help make sure that acquired technologies and capabilities realize the marketing vision in the way the talent agenda is executed.
- Use case prioritization: The right use cases transform abstract notions of customer behavior into tangible, actionable strategies. Unfortunately, CIOs are often overambitious in their approach to use case identification and technology investment.
CMOs must work with the CIO to prioritize use cases based on what the organization is truly ready to deploy at scale to be sure technology is not overbuilt relative to marketing and organizational readiness. These decisions can directly impact the bottom line by delivering greater value.
- ROI, key performance indicators (KPIs) and other metrics: It’s crucial to balance both short-term and long-term ROI. The CMO and CIO must collaborate to deliver short-term ROI quickly (on a specific marketing campaign, for instance) and build long-term value when planning capabilities that may take several months or more to fully implement.
And to make the business case at the C-suite, KPIs and other metrics are vital to demonstrate ROI. These include short-term campaign metrics and longer-term measurements such as increased customer lifetime value. Reliable, repeatable processes to deliver this information are critical or the CIO risks getting bogged down in one-off requests.
- Operating model: The most effective operating models are flexible. They balance centralized approaches to information, technology, channels and customer segmentation with decentralized approaches to serving customers by region or location.
Operating models must embrace and manage change and support the organization through those transitions. For instance, the CRM function has only recently migrated into the marketing organization. It’s an important shift to the operating model and the CIO and CMO must work together to manage this change.
Summary
As CEOs require technology to enable the business, from customer interactions and channels to operations, the CIO must work in lockstep with the CMO to successfully meet or exceed ever-changing customer needs.
