Why IT And Marketing Should Be Best Friends

By Rick Delgado, contributing writer

Some may call IT a tug-of-war between two opposing forces within an organization. IT and marketing departments are constantly butting heads over their uses of technology creating an air of conflict between the two, one which isn’t always easy to overcome.

Much of it comes down to a difference of attitude, strategy, and overall philosophy. IT departments usually take a more cautious approach. After all, they’re wary of the security complications that new technologies bring when implemented across the whole organization. Marketing departments, on the other hand, have to constantly evolve with shifting technologies, creating new strategies for whatever the trends are or will be in the near future. As a result, marketing and IT often face off against each other, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. In fact, the two departments may become the best of friends with a few adjustments in mindset.

A major area where conflict rears its ugly head is with marketing feeling pressure to evolve at a rapid pace. Since IT is usually slow to respond to marketers’ demands, the marketing department will often go behind IT’s back, resulting in shadow IT and opening up a new set of problems. In many cases, marketers take on the attitude of “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission,” so they’ll inform IT about what new tools and technologies they’re using after the fact. To reach common ground and foster a spirit of cooperation, both sides will have to understand where the other is coming from and how they’ll need to change to meet halfway.

This is often necessary because CEOs are demanding a specific marketing strategy that requires coordination and collaboration from both the CMO and CIO. Whereas before, matters of customer experience and interaction were largely within marketing’s realm, as more businesses go digital, IT departments need to be brought into the equation.

Consider it part of the digital transformation for organizations. Businesses have needed to move their operations not only to websites but to mobile applications as well. It’s obvious why marketing would want to take advantage of these new platforms as quickly as possible, so IT should be right there with them as they develop these strategies and techniques. Without the help of the IT department, marketers will only be achieving a fraction of their potential.

One of the biggest driving forces bringing these two departments together is the growth of Big Data for the enterprise. Marketing has become increasingly reliant on Big Data insights in order to understand what drives customers to make decisions. Based off of these insights, marketers tailor their messages and campaigns, using that information to craft efforts that will have the best response rates.

However, many within the marketing department don’t have the technical expertise or proficiency to leverage Big Data for this purpose. That’s where IT can come in and be very influential. Big Data requires the implementation of tools such as Hadoop and Spark, along with the construction of other pieces of technology, like converged infrastructure. Marketing departments wouldn’t be able to do this on their own, making collaboration with IT a necessity if they hope to properly make use of big data in all its various forms.

It is in this sense that the more traditional organizational silos need to be broken down. As CEOs seek more digital revenue, the only way to really do it is to have the CMO and CIO work together. Customer experience and messaging have steadily been bleeding into areas outside of marketing. Without the latest technology, whether it comes from the cloud or in house, marketers will tend to find themselves lost or at the least working less effectively.

There may be signs of progress in cooperation between IT and marketing. Recent research from CIO.com shows 49 percent of respondents say CMOs and CIOs have become more collaborative in just the past three years. Yet, the same result showed 43 percent saying the relationship is relatively the same. That means more progress needs to be made in this area. Both IT and marketing will need to overcome their cultural and philosophical differences to work together to achieve worthy business goals. Only together can they reach a new level of success.