There is a clear parallel between the evolution of cloud computing in the IT industry, led by Chief Information Officers (CIOs), and the current challenges faced by Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) in managing marketing technology (Martech). CMOs need to learn from the experiences of CIOs and adopt a more strategic approach to martech, akin to the way cloud computing transformed IT infrastructure.
While cloud computing started in 1963, it gained significant traction in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the emergence of key players like Salesforce and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Cloud computing addressed issues related to server room constraints, escalating costs, and the mismatch between infrastructure capacity and business cycles.
Like CIOs with server farms, CMOs have been accumulating martech applications without maximizing their utilization. Gartner Research reports that CMOs spend 26% of their marketing budget on martech, but only 58% of it is effectively utilized. This inefficiency is attributed to challenges such as training, upskilling, recruiting, and integrating talent.
CMOs should shift their focus from expanding their technology footprint for its own sake to understanding what they want the technology to achieve. A specific example is Through-Channel Marketing Automation (TCMA), where many brands have implemented the technology but only a small percentage are fully satisfied with its performance. Marketing teams have faced challenges such as the need for talent to learn, implement, and run the technology.
To address these challenges, Through-Channel Marketing as-a-Service (TCMaaS) can be a comprehensive solution. Marketing leaders can focus on procuring complete solutions rather than individual pieces, and realize the benefits of reduced risk, no struggle to hire or train resources, flexibility, faster time to market, cost efficiency, knowledge transfer, and better outcomes.
CMOs can benefit from working with specialized service providers like AscendX Digital, allowing them to skip the martech evaluation process and concentrate on the features, benefits, and ultimate destination of the solution. Some marketing leaders, particularly in the partner space, are already moving in this direction since outsourcing to agencies will deliver superior results. In Foundry’s (and IDG Company) white paper “Partner marketing goes mainstream and budget dollars follow”, most respondents (96%) report that they expect to outsource more of their work to agencies, and 77% of partner marketers agree that partner marketing programs worked on with agencies yield greater results than those run in-house.
CMOs can learn from the strategic approach of CIOs in adopting cloud computing, by shifting their focus from accumulating individual martech applications to procuring complete solutions through the aaS model for better efficiency, effectiveness, and outcomes.
CIOs figured this out 20 years ago and they’re not going back. It’s your turn, CMOs.
AscendX Digital is a pioneer in Through-Channel Marketing as-a-Service and can help you get to market months faster, and with better results. Contact us for a demo or a free, no-obligation consultation. Visit our website for more information at https://ascendxdigital.com.
