Paul,

You've asked many very important questions here. Let me give you my take: in order to be successful in the ultra competitive times we live in now, as well as the future, all management people will have to come together in their work, rather than working in separate silos. Roles or job descriptions need to be redefined. Otherwise, everybody operates in a vacuum, totally oblivious of how their work inpacts the entire organization. By working closely with CMOs, for example, CIOs have a better understanding of how the information they generate is used; how it can refined or changed to be more relevant or timely for the marketers' needs. Interaction and sharing of information is a "must".

Literally everyone in management needs to understand and value the core assets of their company and to think like "marketers" to some extent. Managers all need to be on the same page. In doing that, everyone has the same mission and vision and every touchpoint for the customer is fully aligned; something many businesses talk about but few achieve. This always has a far better chance of succeeding if the CEO pulls everyone together to accomplish specific goals with a specific strategy in place. It's called leadership.

Claire, thank you for adding your insights to the discussion. You bring up some very important points about being on the same page - where the business is marching to the same drumbeat and strategic and operational employees are aligned and executing on the same vision.

You also bring up one of the key barriers--besides executive leadership--and that is data silos. In most organizations, each department or function has their own data silos so there is no single view of the data or shared corporate memory. I have my data and you have yours. And of course, my data trumps your data.

The integration of data -across the entire enterprise -so that marketing, finance, R&D, operations, call centers, --everyone is using the same copy of data is one of the keys to corporate success in the future.

You rightly point out that this is "leadership" because it's hard work. But who is going to stick their neck out and make this vision happen? Surely it has to be top down and this means the CEO. But isn't this an opportunity for the CMO as well?

Paul, you're a decade too fast with the question. :-) Yet it seems that the question of merging the marketing and information function is getting up from all corners.

The fact is that the interference of technology on marketing is great. Perhaps even so great, that the marketing as we know it might die in year 2029?

http://www.kainoto.com/eng/marketing-hrm-knowledge-news/pznanje4.aspx/4/154

Then again (on the opposite side), CIO's don't like human factor. Actually, most of the people that work in IT hate human factor. They don't like something so unuseful as design. They want functionality, faster workflow, less human mistakes.

And marketing loves the human factor. Marketing targets the feelings, works on branding. The unuseful things that make people want to buy. Shows, designs, concepts.

So even tough some IT solutions seem great and "changing the world", they're not in that great manner. There are internet shops, but people just love that shopping centre. IT people hate it. It's a waste of time, energy and money for them. It's a social event for others.

IT people love "just on time supply". No people, computers do everything. People love phone calls from their suppliers chatting about vacation.

So the future of marketing? Stay focused on people needs and satisfy them with or without IT. What satisfies better, wins.

Was this a too long comment? Did I pass the interview? :-)

Dusan, have you been reading too much Singularitarian literature? :) That could be a fun discussion and perhaps for another post.

Getting back to topic, you raise some interesting points about the differences in the IT function and the business function (which includes marketing). I've advocated, and seen much literature to support this view, that the role of the CIO is changing from technologist to business strategist with IT as a driver of the business.

Technology is advancing at rapid, rapid clips. It's scary. CIOs must shed the "I keep the lights on" mentality and move more towards "I help this company innovate and become more efficient with technology".

The same fundamental change in mindset needs to happen for the marketing function as well. Instead of "I make the commercials and run the website" the new mindset will be "I know our customers, I know what they want today, I know what they'll need in the future and this is how we'll make it happen..."

I'm reading too much of everything "technology related". :-)

I couldn't write it better (about the needed shift in mindsets). Therefore I think my beginning was "you're a decade too fast". From what I can observe, 10 years are needed for people to actually make this shift in their behavior. If they'll be able to do it. It's in their blood.

Great great visions Paul.

Dusan, as a quick study in the field of change management I can appreciate how difficult it is for humans to change--rapidly. I am afraid, however, with computation power and data doubling every 2-3 years, that we're running out of time.

Exactly right, Paul. In fact, for inspiration and support, marketers should learn from a great case study of a successful marriage between Marketing and IT at Harrah's, which has become the most profitable company in the gaming industry. (See my book, Marketing Champions, Wiley 2006 for details.)

As his first strategic move as COO at Harrah's, Gary Loveman (who later became the CEO) replaced all of Harrah’s existing marketing staff with marketers who had data-crunching skills and knew how to work with IT.

Here's what Loveman says about the strategic decision: “[The original staff] were never going to get our program where it needed to go,” he says. And they were “never going to build the decision tools or be able to plot out the mathematics of this program the way we needed. So we brought in the kind of people we have now, who have the horsepower to do this kind of work…. We created a marketing council. I chaired it as the senior operator and the senior marketer, and I brought together three of the four senior corporate marketing people and the four senior field marketing people as well as our outside agencies, our PR agencies, and our senior technology person, because so much of our marketing runs through technology systems…. It’s an effort to make sure that all our marketing work is a collaboration between corporate and the field and that everybody owns these decisions.”

Roy, thanks for commenting. Another comment from Mr. Loveman, I'll paraphrase: "We compete with the kinds of places that God would build if he had the money (Wynn, Belagio etc). We needed to compete another way, and that way is competing with data."

Roy, you point out a great example of a company that has executive level support to make this vision happen. But I believe these companies are --sadly--in the minority.

Hi Paul,
I'm so glad this conversation is beoming more prevalent...because it's the secret sauce for the companies who get it right. The reflection of our customer's experience is a direct reflection of how well we connect the silos, and how well we connect the metrics, the mechanics and the motivation and reward.

There's something that falls in the middle skill set wise between the IT folks being good at crunching the numbers and the Marketing folks loving the branding work. And that's the hard, daily grind of the process work to rewire the experience - but most importantly rewiring the hand-offs between the silos. Gary Loveman from Harrahs is so enlightened because he knew he had to change-up the inherent skill sets that were getting in the way of this union. And he also knew that he had to rewire the reward system and what people were judged, rewarded and elevated throughout the company on.

We need more CEOs and leaders to start embracing what feels "soft" which is getting the organizational dynamics right. Life in the corporate sandbox has just plain got to change.

Hi Paul,
I'm so glad this conversation is becoming more prevalent...because it's the secret sauce for the companies who get it right. The reflection of our customer's experience is a direct reflection of how well we connect the silos, and how well we connect the metrics, the mechanics and the motivation and reward.

There's something that falls in the middle skill set wise between the IT folks being good at crunching the numbers and the Marketing folks loving the branding work. And that's the hard, daily grind of the process work to rewire the experience - but most importantly rewiring the hand-offs between the silos. Gary Loveman from Harrahs is so enlightened because he knew he had to change-up the inherent skill sets that were getting in the way of this union. And he also knew that he had to rewire the reward system and what people were judged, rewarded and elevated throughout the company on.

We need more CEOs and leaders to start embracing what feels "soft" which is getting the organizational dynamics right. Life in the corporate sandbox has just plain got to change.

Jeanne, you are right, the process re-engineering is the tough work especially because it crosses organizational boundaries. Everyone likes their own little fiefdom and what's mine is mine.

Breaking down these political and organizational silos and learning to play well with others in the sandbox will be a key criteria for success in the future. Creating a single view of corporate data -accessible across the enterprise is a good starting point towards breaking down those silos.

It is not just that our organisations are changing, but that our clients and their customers are changing too. Their expectations are higher and more "business like".

If we want marketing to have a seat at the strategy table, then we have to step up and take ownership of the customer experience. Once we own and understand this, we can drive the organizational change that is required to deliver upon this. Without this, marketing will, as you suggest, remain queen of the tradeshow.

Great article with tough questions that should have been answered in practice a long time ago. I have implemented marketing strategies for online properties for big and small companies and to often the CIO did not get it.
To counter the silos that are so destructive I now insist that the CIO attends all top level strategy sessions. I also send them on courses in marketing etc.
In the agency world the silos have come tumbling down between interactive and direct. Now its time to get the CIO's to stop wagging the dog. :-)

Gavin, thank you for commenting. Regarding increased consumer expectations, you are spot on. Customers/consumers just aren't impressed anymore with some of the initiatives companies roll-out--they expect them. And often, a great service experience in one industry is expected in another--i.e. I had a great dining experience the other night, but why do I put up with the subpar experience I usually get from the airlines?

Tony, thank you for your input. Silos are indeed coming down (in agencies, within the enterprise and among functional areas) however there is a lot of inertia to overcome. Your suggestion to invite the CIO's to meetings and send them courses on marketing is a good step towards "engagement" and facing the issues head-on instead of other behaviors (passive aggressive, end-runs around the CIO etc...)

Continuing on Paul’s changing CMO mindset of "I know our customers, I know what they want today, I know what they'll need in the future and this is how we'll make it happen..." I think that the future role of the CMO will increasingly involve becoming the host/facilitator for conversations between the company and the customer (or employee, when talking about internal marketing). As a Chief Relationship Builder, The CMO will need to create opportunities for dialogue where the wants and needs of the customer can be surfaced. This goes beyond market research into the realm of building communities.

Gini, you make a terrific point. I have seen one study that suggested the CMO is/should be responsible for "the voice of the customer" and as you suggest therefore create opportunities and forums for dialog.

I'll paraphrase Roy Young when he says, "sales sells, finance finances, R&D designs, what does marketing do?" Owning the VOC and taking more responsibility for the customer experience are two solid strategies for the CMO of the (near) future.

“What is the future of Marketing?”

I thought bout this question and how I would have answered it if I were the one being interviewed. A few thoughts came to mind. They are a bit disjointed but I think it makes enough sense.

Marketing is no longer getting the customers attention, it is engaging the customer. Marketing is no longer “Here’s what we do” its “How we can engage you”

The information about your industry and often your company is out there on the Internet whether you like it or not. People are commenting about how your industry works and probably commenting and discussing their experience in doing business with your company. I view a big part of Marketing’s current and future role as engaging these people and addressing their concerns. Transparency and honesty are key. As I said, the information is out there. It only takes someone a few minutes to find it.

Provide a place where customers can talk about your company, good and bad. Its better they do it where you can find it and address it than have them do it somewhere on the Internet where you can’t.

It is important to have a web presence as opposed to a website. Use tools like slideshare, youtube, blogs, forums, etc…use social media to provide value and engage customers.

Regards,
Jeff

Jeff, thanks for commenting on this post, it's appreciated! I'm really encouraged by the "about-face" of some of the world's largest companies when it comes to customer engagement. You rightly point out, that the days of "ship it/sell it and forget about it" are over.

Mack's take:
http://www.mpdailyfix.com/2008/03/starbucks_launches_its_version.html

Toby's interview:
http://www.mpdailyfix.com/2008/03/interview_with_richardatdell_b.html

There is some really great stuff here! I thought I would chime in quickly as someone who is a marketing academician and is relatively new to social media. My background is not at all in communications/promotion/advertising but I have over the past few months become quite an evangelist for the impact social media will have on marketing. I teach research and believe that in the not too distant future the way we practice and teach marketing research will change dramatically as we take advantage of the ability to truly listen to consumers and engage them in the co-creation of products/services. Furthermore, I believe marketing will have to embrace the "messiness" and loss of control that will come with a move to social media. If so, marketing may be able to move beyond the "sell one more Britney Spears cd" perspective to one in which marketing is seen by consumers as being honestly concerned with helping consumers solve problems via the creation of product/service solutions and doing so in a way that will create mutually beneficial experiences.

Future of marketing: A 5th P in the marketing mix. For PARTICIPATION. I think this pretty much sums up what Gini, Jeff and Tom said! :-) Great discussion, Paul

I like the comparison of CIO roles with that of marketing. The changes happening in business are profound, they are changing the fundamental roles that departments used to hold.

For Marketing, I don't think that it will ever completely lose it's place in promoting discovery of the company. However, a more significant part of its role will be taking the 'messy' customer participation and turning it into actionable strategies for the business.

Having a platform for customers to speak to your company is just a tool. Having someone who understands the people speaking, can synthesize trends out of the conversations, and can create plans that meet both customer and business needs will make that tool a powerful part of business.

Tom and Michelle, I really appreciate your comments. I am finding--regarding participation--that it really takes boldness and even a bit of passion to "participate".

There are many people who read these posts on the FIX, and have something they want to say, but don't choose to "participate" for whatever reason. Participation is indeed a two way street (for companies and customers). Thank you for sharing your insights.

John, you raise a key point and that's closing the feedback loop. Creating a "platform", and participating with customers is just 2/3 of the equation. The last key component is -what will you do with your learnings to improve the customer experience? What mechanisms are you building to incorporate these key learnings back into corporate processes and workflows? And another question for companies they should honestly answer, "do you really want to improve?".