5 ways CMOs & CIOs can provide ideal customer experience

Nitin Singhal

MUMBAI, INDIA: With hundreds of technology choices, it’s no surprise that CMOs are overwhelmed with options, feeling as if they need to be technology experts to be successful marketing leaders today. And indeed, there is some truth to that. But there isn’t enough time in the day for one person to be all things, especially since we are at a tipping point where customers have outpaced enterprises in their demand for technology advancement. Who can the CMO look at for guidance?

It is the CIO that has clear visibility into the technology trends and can guide the CMO to design the ideal CX strategy. CMOs with support and guidance from CIOs, are now redesigning organizations, embracing technology, mining new paths, and focusing on customer needs as the first call to action.

I am listing below 5 solutions that can help CMOs to pen the ultimate CX strategy for superior omnichannel experiences.

Be the customer champion every step of the way:

CMOs need to map out every single stage of the customer journey, from consideration to engagement to purchase to advocacy and associate that back to a desired experience. Then they must associate it with the underlying technology that can deliver a personalized experience in a seamless manner across channels.

Each stage may have multiple touch points and various channels that all need to be considered when creating not just the technology road map, but also the engagement and touch point road map—which is more executional for marketers. This rolls up to an evolving customer journey map which incorporates a customer’s experience and interactions with a brand.

Become BFFs with your CIO:

The need for a CMO and CIO to be aligned was also recently highlighted in a study titled The CIO-CMO Omnichannel Crossroads. The study noted that the pervasiveness of technology has created an environment where the demands of the customer experience are ones that both CIOs and CMOs must address.

And while the findings also revealed an improvement in the relationship between CMOs and CIOs, there was also a very direct and ominously worded decree: A disconnect between the CIO and the CMO threatens to fracture the customer experience and leave people dissatisfied. The first step to bridging this rift and improving the customer experience is learning to speak the same language by engaging personally.

The need to have one technology roadmap is paramount, but unlike technology maps of the past that are anchored in technology stacking limitations, the technology roadmap of the future will be a bi-product of the customer journey and the mutual understanding by the CMO and CIO of that journey.

Co-design the optimal customer-driven technology road-map:

Even though CMOs and CIOs are in agreement that a winning customer experience is the key to long-term competitive advantage, work needs to be done on the technology strategy for reaching the gola.

Once you’ve established the relationship with your CIO and have your digital team on the same page, it’s time to design your technology roadmap so you can execute on your marketing initiatives. Invest in the technologies that specifically enable your programs and campaigns and drive results and revenue for your business lines and customers.

Rethink your marketing organization and processes:

There are many formal and informal opportunities to create collaboration across marketing departments and technology.

Even if you don’t own technology, you can collaborate with your CIO to create dedicated work teams to support your vision or take it one extra step and formalize the new hybrid team that sits beneath both of you. As critical to building the right culture and cross-functional environment is hiring the right talent.

While marketing has long been the realm of creative campaign artists, they must now share the stage with data scientists. The role—defined by Harvard Business Review as a high-ranking professional with the training and curiosity to make discoveries in the world of big data—is not only becoming popular but also competitive as companies seek to hire the most qualified.

Establish a system for continuous improvement:

Once the customer journey, team alignment and technology requirements are identified, you need to establish a system for continuous improvement.

The customer is outpacing companies in terms of their expectations for personalized service compared to a company’s ability to act on the information—both technologically and analytically. It is important to create a continuous loop of information to drive intelligent changes to the road-map shared between the CMO and CIO. Being vigilant, testing & measuring the success of technology and the ability to measure will be key. This in turn will build credibility with the C-suite and Board, leading to more effective budgeting discussions.

The article is authored by Nitin Singhal,Senior Director, CX Solution, Oracle India, and opinions expressed are his own