Why aligning IT and marketing leads to better ROI and stronger collaboration

IT and marketing may seem like very different professional entities.

IT teams are generally back-office functions that are handling systems, data and operational functions that keep the lights on.

Marketers are front-facing staffs that are engaged in understanding customers and prospects, developing messaging and driving conversions of sales prospects and completed transactions.

However, it’s critically important for organizational success to have IT and marketing teams working together, understanding each other’s’ goals and having tools that drive success for both.

One of the most powerful tools available to companies today is a customer data platform (CDP). With a CDP in place, IT and marketing teams can become more closely aligned and work together to drive positive results for their organization.

What is a CDP?

A customer data platform allows companies to bring together data from disparate sources, including enterprise resource management (ERM) and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms and social media. It can take data in different formats and sources and combine it to create 360-degree customer profiles. These profiles can then be used to develop very powerful, personalized marketing campaigns.

With more complete information about the customers, marketing teams can build more resonant and relevant campaigns across channels.

Of course, digital platforms used for email, e-commerce, social and other communications work depends greatly on both marketing and IT resources.

The CDP is an ideal way for professionals on both teams to become better aligned, work together from shared goals and understand each other’s work.

Aligning IT and marketing

While their roles within an organization may be different, IT and marketing are critically intertwined. IT and marketing both work closely with data on customers and transactions. They both rely on accuracy and functionality.

IT and marketing often work together. However, in many organizations, there’s a lack of understanding around roles and goals.

Both teams should be aware of what their teams do and what their goals are, both at the departmental level and how their work affects larger company-wide goals.

Understanding these fundamental, existential goals can help to bring the departments closer together and align them around shared, common goals.

Consider how reliant marketing teams are on IT staff to create tools that extract, integrate and operationalize data. Also consider that IT teams rely on marketing to drive revenue for the organization and provide actionable data that can be stored in a CDP and other platforms.

Alignment needs to go beyond being aware of common goals and how the teams work together. To be fully aligned, professionals on both teams need to aware of the colleagues’ needs, workflows, resource constraints and operational strengths and weaknesses.

One critical component of this alignment is to improve collaboration without adding to the workloads of usually stretched IT teams that are frequently understaffed and under-resourced.

That’s where a customer data platform comes in. CDPs that work as they should will provide a bridge between technology and marketing. A CDP will automate complex IT tasks such as data mergers, routing, omnichannel activation, access rights and recording.

The CDP takes these tasks, streamlines them and presents them to marketing teams in a more usable and consumable format. Marketing teams are then empowered to do more work independently.

For example, with a CDP, marketers can use real-time data to fine-tune customer segments, messages and channels without needed to refresh information. That process change allows marketers to respond to what they’re seeing faster and alleviates IT teams of data refreshing tasks.

The CDP acts as a middle ground, removing challenges related to data evaluation and management. It does not fully alleviate the need for IT to be involved or understand marketing data. However, a CDP allows IT to be less involved in the maintenance and management of marketing data and processes.

The CDP drives insights and automation by simplifying how data passed among the multiple platforms and tools used in organizations. The tools used within a CDP let marketers react and respond to customers faster and eliminates long-term IT maintenance needs.

Study shows disconnect between marketing and IT

Marketing has become an increasingly data-driven function. As digital tools and channels become more prevalent, the need for marketers to be more data-savvy has increased dramatically. In turn, that has historically created additional requests of IT teams.

Despite the apparent need for IT and marketing to work together closely, the two functions are fairly removed from each other.

Goals are typically very different. Marketers need to drive business results – more customers, more conversions, more sales. IT teams are focused on technical management and maintenance, innovations that use technology and operational efficiencies.

A recent study by Forrester Research illustrates the institutional disconnect prevalent among IT and marketing departments. The study showed that just 8% of IT and marketing teams considered the other as a strategic partner. Most respondents said they struggle with effective collaborations because of communication and cultural gaps between the departments.

The opportunities are palpable for organizations that use CDP tools to integrate data and strengthen IT and marketing ties.