Meet the new C-suite power couple—the CMO + the CIO

Online activity has increased by 70% over the last two years, giving companies a wealth of customer data. However, this surge in digital activity has coincided with an increase in complexity; 137 countries have privacy and data protection laws in place and as a result organizations are accessing customer information through an average of 28 different sources.  

For chief marketing officers this means their picture of the customer has only grown more fragmented. At the same time, expectations of CMO performance are rising: 59% of marketing leaders report increased pressure from CEOs and chief financial officers to prove the value of marketing. The challenge for marketers, however,  is that they’re having trouble accessing and organizing vital information, according to Optimizely’s 2022 Global Data study. Those marketers shared that one of the top three barriers to driving creativity is disparate platforms and disconnected data sets. 

Just 14% of companies state they have a 360-degree view of their customers. Part of that is because most organizations rely on a patchwork array of software and programs that inadvertently leave voices, value, revenue, and progress behind.

CMOs and CIOs must prioritize growth together

A platform that allows all teams to collaborate and access the information they need at the right time begins with the integration of data from every team. Beyond adopting the right platform, chief information officers and CMOs need to pair up and become partners in growth. It’s their collaboration above all others in the C-suite that has the power to supercharge growth.

Every department depends on the CIO to safeguard a company’s systems and keep them running smoothly. In the age of remote collaboration, a robust IT infrastructure is mission critical. 

But the role the CIO plays for the CMO has taken on new and greater importance. CIOs are the de facto guardians of customer data, and it’s on that customer data that a company’s growth depends. Without it, CMOs can’t truly judge the success of any marketing strategy. They cannot know where to invest their resources, or even communicate effectively with a company’s customers.

Take the problem of customer duplication. Multiple records for the same customer can mean confusion, wasted resources, corrupted website analytics and worse. Spotting duplicate records might seem like a simple task, but multiply it by numerous products being sold on multiple channels and you’ve got a complex problem worthy of the most skilled CIO.

Then there is the realm of customer experience. All marketing teams have their fingers on the pulse of customer touchpoints that reveal customers' most crucial needs, feelings and pain points. A study shows that 88% of marketers say collecting and storing their own customer relationship management information is a high priority, but marketers cannot create experiences for customers they cannot see.

Cohort analysis, which tracks the behavior of groups of customers over time, can tell a company which customer journeys result in the most value. It can tell a sales team where to up-sell and where to cross-sell. It can shape customer loyalty programs and product development, and even predict how and when a certain type of customer is likely to drive churn. But any cohort analysis is only as good as the data used to build it.

Amid the nearly infinite options for using customer data, it’s up to the CMO and the CIO to choose the ones that matter, and put energy into the tools and workflows that support them.

Outcomes before platforms

Ultimately, for a company to stand on its own two feet, the CIO and CMO need to prioritize growth together. The times have long passed when marketing and IT have been perceived as support functions. CIOs are not only on the leadership team, they are on the growth team.

But even with the right platform, it is up to a company’s leaders to focus on the right outcomes. And when it comes to growth, that starts with a conversation between the CIO and the CMO that puts customer data at the center of the equation.