5 Things a CIO and CMO should know about Digital Marketing

One funny thing about Digital Marketing is that - CMOs think that it is more to do with technology, and CIOs think that it is more to do with marketing & thus both of them are wary about it. While things are changing and there is a growing consensus within the organisations about the importance and role of digital… the filters through which a CMO or CIO views Digital Marketing is still different. 

What is required is for both the CMO and CIO to look at Digital Marketing through the same filters. There might be many, but here are the 5 important things, I want to say to every CIO and CMO out there wondering about digital marketing and how to go about


Digital Marketing is omni present… 

Inside the company, outside the company, and across all departments & roles you’ll see ‘digital’ in action. Be it social media, data, analytics, mobile technology, enterprise solution, every little and big thing is interconnected and interdependent. The distances between different stakeholders and channels are blurring. The role of digital might vary from business to business… but its presence is everywhere

Digital is not just a strategy… 

I’ve heard this hundreds of time during client meetings in the boardrooms… “Our strategy is to go digital”, or “Our digital spends will grow 10x time, YOY” , etc.. I think to myself, great!! but you are still thinking about Digital as a strategy… In this age of digital,  it needs to be integrated into all aspects of the business. I believe the time for talking digital strategy is over, it is time for execution

The customer is Digital…
As along as you have even a single customer, Digital marketing is a must. Social and mobile has changed the way people source information and communicate. From pre-purchase stage to post purchase stage & beyond, customers are interacting digitally. Why, even an empty can of Coke, gets instagrammed, tagged, shared, liked, commented & comes to life with its own story. In this digital age, every post, tweet, comment, photo, is a potential, 15 minutes of fame and this is not driven by paid media, but by customers, people like you and me

The challenges are many…
The best thing about digital marketing is change and innovation. The end of the year is not same as start of the year, or the year before… Challenges keep adding on regularly, but the opportunities multiply. Only a manager with clear focus on the destination and how to use technology in the optimal manner will be successful. A popular saying in digital marketing is… either you are successful, or you become wiser

Know the other part…

The bottom line is that most of us are scared of things we do not know. The more we embrace knowledge about the new, the more we understand its capabilities. What I sincerely hope is that a CIO should hone their marketing acumen and a CMO should get passionate about technology


It is imminent that all business ecosystem will ultimately be driven digitally. In light of this change, both the CIO or CMO must have a common focus on digital..

Cheers!


Santosh

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