Once Inspired

In most discussions regarding this topic there is always mention of the digital shift. So before we continue let’s discuss the digital shift.

Although the major digital shift took place a fair while back many companies are still not operating accordingly. Digital shifts are however still taking place and will continue to do so as technology moves forward. With the constant improvement in technology marketers are able to measure their efforts more accurately.

The digital shifts have also changed consumer behaviour and the psychology behind consumer spending. Consumers now demand more information and thanks to the constant evolution of the digital shift the gap between an uneducated consumer and the experts is considerably smaller.

Consumers allocate credibility to the expert who communicates effectively the information that the consumer is seeking. The smaller gap between consumer and expert may be a threat to credibility however, IT, guided by marketing, can create barriers and almost develop the border lines of that gap leaving marketers the experts and consumers the allocators of credibility.

To explain that a little further we need to understand how Marketing and IT differ in their competitive natures. Marketing is offensive in its quest to gain market share and ROI, finding flexibility and measurability important. IT is defensive in its control of costs, the creation of security barriers and reducing the total cost of ownership, favouring stability.

In today’s world where technology plays a major role in most marketing campaigns companies can hardly afford not to have IT and marketing working together. In fact, they should almost become one operation since any technology developments can lead to the possibility of a competitive advantage which marketers will use to gain valuable market share.

As brands develop and execute their marketing plans the necessity to unify marketing and IT becomes apparent. Very few marketing campaigns can be executed these days without the use of IT. Many of today’s successful tech-driven marketing platforms are the result of insights from programmers. By allowing IT to become involved in marketing many ideas may arise which may not have otherwise.

Despite marketing and IT being related, in many organisations marketing and IT still work as silos. Their solo operations obviously mean that the possibility of synergy is nonexistent. As strategies become more reliant on digital, this division between marketing and IT can instigate inefficient processes, communication breakdowns and excess budget spending. When IT and marketing do not work together there will more often than not be project delays, cost overruns, lack of communication, expensive consultants and unnecessary meetings.

To resolve these issues, an environment which encourages collaboration between marketing and IT needs to be created.
First, move the two departments closer together so interaction and team building are required. Technologists need to be seen as creatives rather than just executors. This allows IT room to experiment and innovate which will attract interest from marketing.
In addition to this, allow marketing to have a say in technology investments as they will ultimately make use of something that is best suited to their needs as marketers as opposed to simply having to make do with what they have or outsourcing unnecessarily.