There is so much being spoken and written about the relationship between a CMO & a CIO that it almost appears to be an “organizational” issue instead of a functional or a capability gap that exists within the respective organizational buckets, especially around “TECHNOLOGY”.  On one hand, the marketing organization wants control on technology to bring change and deliver consumer experiences at lightening speed (and you can’t blame them), something that is imminent to respond to the digital consumer while the IT organizations try to tighten the grip to prevent the obvious digital disruption and chaos, something that is very contradictory to how information technology has evolved over decades. I want to take a step back and recap why we are here and what’s driving this dramatic shuffling. Is this really about organizational structures and boundaries or if it is a Behavioral & Cultural gap in the way we have traditionally leveraged technology to deliver “experiences”.

Ok, so the basics – what in the world is triggering this shuffling and why all the fuss?

Very simply, digital has forever changed consumer behaviour and has led to the convergence of the offline and online world. To become a successful and cutting edge brand builder in a digital world, organizations need a new approach to deliver frictionless consumer experiences as the consumer move seamlessly between the offline and online world engaging and transacting with brands across various channels. Today’s consumer is a Digital Consumer and she spends most of her time with digital media and technology available at her finger tips, in her kitchen or when she is driving, she is a consumer who is on the go all the time. This has transformed the notion of “Digital Marketing” to “Marketing in a Digital World”. Digital is no longer an island, it is now part of every planning process and this demands a completely new set of technologies that monitor consumer behavior in real time, data analytic skills to enable precise targeting, and platforms that engage consumers along the consumer journey across all channels and touch-points.

This has lead to the philosophy (am consciously calling this a PHILOSOPHY since it needs to be perceived and adopted as one and not just as a different set of technology stacks) of “Marketing Technology” (will referred to as MT in rest of the post) which is different from “Information Technology” not only in the kind of business problems it needs to solve but more importantly “HOW” they are solved and for me, that’s a bigger gap that exists between the two and the gap exists regardless of where the MT sits within any organization or what it is called.

BUT – why do we need MT and why not IT? Why complicate things?

Great question and I thought a lot about the “SIMPLEST” way to respond to this. I decided to sit back and just spit out everything that comes to my mind naturally when I say the word “Information Technology – IT” and “Marketing Technology MT”, and this is what I came up with:

I recommend everyone to consider the 2 terms “Information Technology” and “Marketing Technology” not as physical teams, people or organizations but as sheer “functions” needed within our digital world – it will help in a better “COLLABORATION” instead of a sense of “COMPETITION”.

As you can see, both kinds of behaviors and mindsets have a place and a need. One focuses more on customer experience and speed while the other determines success based on quality, scale and robustness. It is impossible to question either of them. The challenge lies in identifying what is needed where and to solve what problem. The approach and mindset needed to solve supply chain and manufacturing automation challenges will absolutely not work to deliver optimized and personalized consumer experiences — just 2 distinct worlds even though it is all part of a broader “technology” spectrum.

I really like the “dirt race bike” & a top of the line “mercedez bus” analogy to prove the point, let’s play around 5 characteristics for both:

• Both are modes of transportation BUT very different purposes. While one is focused on making a group of people reach from place A to place B in the most safe and comfortable manner while the other is all about “winning” the race, could be the most uncomfortable, bumpy and unsafe ride
• One can never fall and rise – a failure means destruction while the other is meant to fail, fall and rise again albeit many times in a single journey
• One is more effective when executed with many people while other wins with speed only achievable with 1 or at best 2 riders
• One is reliable, tried & tested enough that it can take up new routes without trials while the other requires frequent testing, trials, analysis and changes to adjust to the dirt tracks and come up with the winning formula
• Lastly, the same person sitting in the bus in the morning could very well be a dirt race biker in the evening but with a different gear, mindset & purpose

To close —- I strongly urge organizations, the CIOs & the CMOs to think beyond the “organizational boundaries”, to think beyond “who owns it”. The answer to that question is like a mud pit where you get stuck once and there is no looking back. Marketing Technology does not replace Information Technology, treat these as capabilities and functions needed to solve gaps and create opportunities in completely different worlds and marketplace. It requires a fundamental re-think, a new behavior and culture that put the customer and the experience in the center and not the technology that enables it.

CMO-CIO & Marketing Technology | Think beyond the “OWNERSHIP”

Originally published by: Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog on 2013-03-15 08:03:17 by Linda Bustos

2013 is predicted to be the year that ecommerce in China exceeds the US. According to the Alibaba Group, which owns the nation’s most popular ecommerce property Tmall.com (Tmall enjoys 44% market share* vs. Amazon.co.cn’s 2%). Its analysts project modest growth for the US and Europe, with China skyrocketing to $445 Billion in 2015.

Jump to original -

The Ecommerce Boom in China [Infographic]

The Ecommerce Boom in China [Infographic]

In one of my recent posts on Big Data – The Uncanny CMO – CIO Big Data Fixation | Time to Look Beyond, I had called it a shiny disco ball that every organization is wanting to put a hand on. Whether this turns out to be yet another “bubble” akin to the one we witnessed in the late 90s or not, only time will tell but none of that can take away the role that “data” will continue to play in making marketing a more effective and intelligent art. More important than the battle of ownership, it is critical to establish a data driven culture and mindset within organizations to drive marketing strategies. It is a rather holistic perspective of data as a “journey” from raw noise to information and insights, leading to optimizations through experimentation and that journey demands a behavioral change.

I a recent roundtable at MeetTheBoss TV, I had the privilege to discuss the fallacies and prospects of Big Data with an incredible group and Adam Burns, Editor-In-Chief @ MeetTheBoss TV as the moderator. I have taken the liberty to share some of the excerpts from that dialogue as captured by Adam. A quick intro for the group:

• Yigal Oren, VP Technology Financial Markets, Dow Jones
• Michael Bryan, Former Vice President, Enterprise Data Management, Hilton Worldwide
• Steven Bushong, SVP, Marketing Operations, ABC Entertainment Group
• Mayur Gupta, Global Head, Marketing Technology, Kimberly-Clark,

Adam: At last year’s VINT Symposium, one of the keynotes was entitled: ‘big data will become the new gold rush’. How central will big data become as a decision tool for business? How would you define Big Data?

Mayur: Opened by stating that it was impossible to holistically ever define Big Data in a succinct statement. No matter what perspective you share, he offered, it’s always going to fall short of a proven definition –“ it’s a shiny disco ball that everyone wants their hands on”. Went on to explain that the Big Data fallacy is that half of the people believe it’s the panacea to all of their problems and the other half look at it as a pure technology solution. Inversely, access to Big Data is a mere starting point: How it’s used will be the real challenge in terms of a journey from data to information, insights, testing and a more optimized experience.

Technology in this context is a commodity. From this, Mayur asked: Are you looking at Big Data as a means to an end, or are you wanting to become a Big Data organisation? It is a tool to you, or do you want it to breathe within your company? This was a very important point that Mayur continued to highlight throughout the roundtable

Michael: In addition to Michael’s pre-roundtable definition, he unveiled that Big Data was far more than just dealing with large data sets. There’s a technology dimension, sure, but that changes when you talk to the CMO about business analytics. It becomes “the new oil”. The mix of customer, product, channel and the granularity of Big Data will all work together to induce better opportunities for the business – financially, operationally; in the context of product management, customer experience, customer relationship and pricing – “the business and use cases are enormous”

Yigal: Was happy with Michael’s initial definition of Big Data, although he highlighted that he always questions the word ‘big’ as a lot of the definition can be applied to data in general – it doesn’t have to be in a large set context. “It depends on what type of data it is and how you put it into use for the business…it’s more of an instrument for the business as opposed to one for the technological side”. On the topic of how Big Data will likely become a decision tool for business, Yigal asserted that in order to answer that question, you’d have to first:

• Get every department within the business understanding what they want to achieve
• Find out what data is needed and what it’ll take in terms of tech and people skills
• Assess the means to “truly use” that data and its potential results

ADAM: For many companies, the problem with enabling a holistic approach to big data is one of accountability and resource. Technology strategies exist, but not business strategies. Have you solved this? Who is the business owner? What difference has this made?

Michael: A big gap in a lot of organizations is lack of analytical people. Michael cited that if they were to prevail, the traditional break between IT and Marketing couldn’t continue. Instead, a convergence point needs to be induced by the business

 “The data has never been missing. It wasn’t two years ago and it isn’t now.”

One of the most immediate challenges Michael underlined was going after Big Data with a “requirements first” mentality. It was here that he offered his analogy that the group leveraged for many a point. With requirement first Big Data, you’ll find the “big diamonds” but the little nuggets of gold get missed because “you’d never find them if you didn’t take the stroll”. He went further to explain that Big Data is a data culture and, “just like the internet itself”, it’s a marketing function that will highlight its importance. Indeed, it’s a technology (like the internet), but one that needs business reasoning to be understood implicitly

“There’s a technology lift that’s an opportunity, but it needs to be pulled forward to meet the business”. How it stands industry wide at the moment, Michael explained, was personified in a statement McKinsey made when they were tasked with some consultancy work for Hilton:

“Treat IT like a cafeteria. You don’t tell them how to make their tuna fish. You let them set the menu and price it”.

This proved the absolute disassociation IT has to deal with in the context of the rest of the business

Yigal: He explained that in his experience, there’s always a pressure on the technology spend and skills; the people you need to analyse data and find its value should be the people who are well versed in the business first, over being experienced in purely technology. On the question of whether IT needs to be ‘more of an enabler and less of a bottleneck’, Yigal didn’t agree with either

• Instead, he agreed with Michael’s analogy pertaining to offering ownership of Big Data as being like looking for diamonds and gold nuggets
• If he offers complete ownership to one business owner, then while that owner will likely find the “bigger diamonds…he’ll miss the smaller nuggets of gold as he won’t have taken the time to stroll through the data”
• At Dow Jones, explained Yigal, technology is the hub that enables the business to talk across its different units and see what needs to be collected, before giving that data to analysts to harvest

“We’re at the top of the hype and about the descend into the reality of Big Data”. Went on to add:

• To collect data and put it into a meaningful model will take time – and Yigal highlighted that as it stands, a lot of people within the business lack the patience and vision it takes to get there
• Instead, they say things like “Hadoop can do everything we want; why can you just get an EDL and get everything sorted in a week?”
• This is an obvious detriment to pushing Big Data into the business. To counteract this, Yigal needs the business to know where IT sits and have the ability to align the business with his perspective

 “Try to find the entity within your company that allows you to become the hub of coordination between business and technology”

Steven: On the subject of the business owner for Big Data, Steven asserted that the CMO should be recognized as the user who’ll ultimately drive everything from big Data. He needs to ask the right questions:

• What data do we need to answer which questions?
• What’s our vision for that data?

Regardless of whether that means ownership or not, Steven said it was “about the business driving the enabler, which is incredibly important for any department”. He agreed with Michael’s point that it was extremely difficult to find someone who was “critically adept” with marketing and analytical strategies, as well as being tech savvy

Mayur: On the topic of the CIO/CMO dynamic, Mayur outlined that there’s a dialogue there that isn’t as simple as looking at those job functions in black and white or sheer organizational structures and remit. The marketing department should understand data better if it needs to become a data driven marketing organization, while the CIO needs to grasp what marketing wants to do with that data in context to the broader digital landscape and not just data in isolation.He explained that analyst groups such as Gartner and others have been focusing more on the ownership aspect of BigData, whether it’s the CMO or the CIO BUT Mayur took a step back to ask: Why just Big Data? When it comes to Marketing Technology, Big Data is a mere cog in the wheel. “It’ll never do anything to impact your sales or other business KPIs if you ignored the broader ecosystem of the marketing technology landscape.”

Big Data doesn’t reside in one business silo – it’s underneath every single layer, generated across all online and offline channels. It has to be looked at beyond a solution and, as Mayur went on the underline, it has to become a behaviour that’s within an organization’s DNA and not a sheer step in a life cycle

“If we can use data in our strategic thinking early on, we’ll find far more value in Big Data”. It was important that both the CMO and CIO understood that the dynamic and processes of working were no longer linear.

• For the CIO, the requirement is no longer the technology – it’s understanding the consumer at hand –“ you have to go and figure that out”
• As a CMO, Mayur explained there had to be a better evolution towards understanding the technology – they can no longer look at it as “a binary piece”

Continuing the subject of collaboration and breaking down the CIO/CMO dynamic, Mayur was impassioned that while collaboration on a grand scale was important, he didn’t feel it was as important as understanding the “subtle changes” and change the culture and operational dynamics. “It’s no longer linear. It’s creative, technology and strategy working together to offer collaboration. As it stands, there’s way too much focus on technology when talking about Big Data. It’s distracting from the real point. What is needed are people who respect and understand both the IT and marketing worlds”.

A Common Understanding

At the end everyone agreed, regardless of any of the fallacies and learning curve that we are all going through in uncovering Big Data and becoming more and more data driven in our thinking, Big Data is here to stay and it’s impact and influence on both business decisions and results will only get better and BIGger.

Big Data From a CMO & CIO Perspective

I think if the year 2012 started with everything and everyone talking about Big Data, 2013 has started with everyone riding on the bandwagon of the CMO – CIO tug-of-war which interestingly has now completely drifted into one BIG corner – WHO OWNS BIG DATA?. Obviously there have been a lot of speculations and some rather bold announcements proclaiming dramatic shifts, for instance:

• CMOs having a larger technology footprint than the CIOs by 2017, the Forbes declaration from Lisa Arthur, CMO Teradata – Five Years From Now, CMOs will spend more on IT Than CIOs Do
• Laura McLellan @ Gartner had another interesting post that went viral and was the topic of the town – By 2017 the CMO will spend more on IT than the CIO
• Some bold ones as well like the CMO is the new CIO
• Of course the big Big Data Debate and the tug-of-war, WHO OWNS IT? Like this one on Forbes acknowledging the Star War – Big Data Star Wars: The CMO/CIO Wars Continue
• The CIOs Big Data Challenge And The Inflection Point
• Big Data has to be owned by the CMO – The new CMO must KNOW BIG DATA & Digital Marketing by Forbes

On one hand I agree with the sentiments around the need for an evolution in the Marketing & IT Organization, it is a natural shift that breaks the conventional barriers and limitation of both the extremes however, I do see a few fallacies in this fixation. I want to use this blog to highlight a few:

Why the Uncanny Fixation with BIG DATA? What about the broader Marketing Technology Landscape?

It would be foolish to question the “VALUE” of tackling the 4 Vs or the 5 Vs (add Veracity to it) of Big Data, it is the need of the hour and even though the data isn’t new (it has always been there), we now have the capability to capture it, extract it and hopefully understand it to create possible “INFORMATION POINTS” and finally a percentage of actionable “INSIGHTS”. But like Scott Brinker says in his recent blog The Big Data Bubble in Marketing – but a bigger future – it does not end there, you need Big Testing that will hopefully lead to Big Experience.

Even with all that greatness and possibilities, I strongly think Big Data has suddenly become that shiny and colorful Disco Ball that every “C” level executive wants an answer for even if its merely a weapon for showcase in a shelf. 2 parts to that fallacy:

Firstly, this has lead to a tendency to be blind sighted by “JUST DATA” which by itself cannot give or get anything. The bigger challenge and the need for marketers, the CIOs and the CMOs is to create a culture and a framework to handle the innovating and ever evolving MARKETING TECHNOLOGY where BIG DATA is like one cog in the wheel. Big Data is not a separate object that lies elsewhere or outside of this broader landscape – it resides underneath every single one of these capabilities as depicted in the marketing technology infographic:

Marketing Technology Landscape [Inforgraphic] – chiefmartec.com

Secondly, this fixation and almost “INFATUATION” is leading organizations into the ocean without being prepared for it. Leveraging Big Data is beyond hiring 3 data scientists and procuring a platform that will gather and present all sorts of structured and unstructured data from all possibly data sources. It is a “behavior” that needs to be instilled in how you think of “digital” as an organization. For instance, are you going to be a data focused organization or a “data driven” organization that uses data to drive the strategic thinking instead of coming up with strategies will drive and produce data. Do you use data is a reactive analysis, optimization and predictive tool OR are you maturing your thinking to use data to even evolve, learn and plan your digital strategies?

Is it Really a CMO – CIO challenge or are we getting too carried away with it?

Not that the two were ever friends in the true sense but the last 24 months has definitely brought the warriors on the battlefield with the best weapons in their possession – it’s literally like the COLD WAR of the 1970s which is not transitioning into a full blown conflict.

BUT have we taken it too far? I think the debates and the thinking requires a pretty immediate and dramatic shift, a shift from looking at this as COLLABORATION & not COMPETITION between each other’s technology footprint. Instead of looking at the challenge as a win or lose opportunity for either the CMO or the CIO, it’s time we realized that both organizations are IRREPLACABLE. That’s where Marketing Technology plays a key role, in tandem with Information Technology, a simple illustration of how a broader technology set up may look like for an organization:

Marketing Technology with IT

A few facts that need to be acknowledged and recognized by everyone about the required evolution in TECHNOLOGY and the related behavior:

1. We have seen unprecedented shift in the digital space in the last 7-8 years, an expansion from mainframes, SAP & ERP solutions towards more agile, light weight tactical solutions
2. The need for speed is superseding the desire for perfection
3. Not only the digital landscape has completely evolved, the consumer today is far more advanced and technology savvy that he/she has ever been, it’s a demanding consumer who will only give you a split second to respond to or perish
4. From owned, hosted to more robust SaaS solutions
5. On the go technology for the ever moving consumer
6. Technology is NO longer a commodity, it is as creative and strategic as brand strategy itself
7. A shift is needed to be more RESULT & EXPERIENCE oriented than just being cost driven or being a cost center itself
8. Marketers need to use technology as a tool during inception and not just as a means to delivery
9. There is a need for stronger collaboration across creative, strategy and technology from the get go than its ever been.
10. Lastly, there is a need to be able to take RISKs even with technology, an openness to FAIL but FAIL FAST

All these shifts are bound to bring an evolution in the 2 rather distinct worlds of Information Technology & Marketing (digital or otherwise) however without losing the core “essence” of what the organizations are meant for. For the IT world, while there are challenges and nuisances that come with the governance, process oriented mindset and a boxed mentality of IT – it at the same time adds a tremendous amount of value to keep a check on chaos and in keeping things under control especially if the scale goes beyond certain limits. There is immense value in this discipline and rigor.

On the other hand, you try to take the creativity, freedom and nimbleness of marketing & advertising too close to technology, you would lose the very foundation of why organizations established a creative & marketing team often unleashed and unrestricted

In essence, you don’t want to replace one with the other, you also don’t want to go too far on the other side — you just cannot. Unfortunately neither marketing nor technology is a 6 month driving course that anyone can take and get on the road. So the big question – how do you plan ahead and solve for this shift?

Build a Framework for Evolution & Innovation – MARKETING TECHNOLOGY OFFICE

Here comes the breed of Marketing Technologists & Marketing Technology Office or Group – something I had shared on my blog post Investing in Marketing Technology Future – Marketing Technology Office. Instead of rebooting the mother ships and moving them around, connect them through a pipe which acts like an ADAPTER that converts 220 V to 110V and vice-versa. You know why an adapter can do it, because it happens to have 2 ends, an understanding of both worlds, something like the PI SHAPED technologist in the post The New Marketer – From T Shaped to Pi Shaped

Few guidelines for establishment of the MTO and how it could position itself to solve the CMO – CIO gulf:

• Think beyond organizational boundaries – DO NOT sweat over where it sits, the real value is when its connected to both worlds and the fact that you have the Marketing Technology Culture & Function. Yes it needs a home, decide based on where you deem fit

Marketing Technology Office – Org View

• Marketing Technologists are NOT and do not have to be typical Information Technologists, not for better or worse but it is a different breed. So don’t just take bodies from the IT world and give them a different name, FIND MARKETING TECHNOLOGISTS. Few traits that you can read up: What Makes a Marketing Technologist – Just Technology? Scott Brinker has quite a few great write ups on Marketing Technologists and what makes them, like the Rise of the Marketing Technologist

• Key is to get the right people and the right leader. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge that neither of your existing IT leader or Marketing Leader can lead this group, not because they are not capable but these are separate RACE TRACKS and you cannot expect a Formula 1 winner just land on a NASCAR track and expect to win. He trained on a Formula 1 circuit, on a different machine & toolset, this is a different world and a VERY DIFFERENT problem and you need different talent and skills

• MTG DOES NOT replace IT but COMPLIMENTS it. It is a strategic layer that drives the vision, roadmaps and creates the blue prints but lacks the scale and size of IT for good reasons. I compare them to the NAVY SEALS – leaner, more strategic, at times tactical but lethal.

The Marketing Technology Role

• Having said that, don’t expect the MTG to solve world hunger. The success of this model will depend on maturity of an organization’s leadership and a belief and respect for different roles and disciplines, its an acknowledgment of the value add from these different schools of thoughts.

Before I end, just want to bring home the perspective on Big Data that in many ways is highlighting the broader need for handling the nuisances of Marketing Technology and the chaotic digital world we fortunately or unfortunately live in today. Penning it down to a single bubble of Big Data is being short sighted and reactive. It is time for organizations and its leaders to understand the need for tighter collaboration across disciplines and look beyond the visible boundaries. Sow the seeds of behavioral changes and mindset shifts that will give way to far-reaching and compelling consumer experiences that demand a technology and organizational agnostic approach since both of these will continue to evolve.

The Uncanny CMO – CIO Big Data Fixation | Time to Look Beyond

Are You Ignoring Big INSIGHT in lieu of BigData? A question that every CMO should ask before letting free the troops to conquer the Big Data tug-of-war. Recently I came across some very interesting and fresh perspective on “Big Data” or “Big” data or its fallacies as Scott Brinker puts in his blog The big data bubble in marketing — but a bigger future. What intrigued me the most was the acknowledgement that this is to a great extent that shiny disco ball that every big organization and every “C” level executive wants their teams to adopt and bring home, often ignoring what it would take to utilize the “shine”.  I really liked Scott’s analogy about this being a journey that does not end at DATA ACQUISITION & COLLECTION, that is probably the easiest of all, it needs to flow throw “Big Test” and finally “Big Experience”. Now while that is an absolute must, this is not just bringing technology & personnel in house, similar to the adoption of a broader Marketing Technology perspective, this remits a Behavioral & Cultural Change that converts the organization’s very thinking to be “Data Driven”.

A question that I would ask any CMO or marketers is if the Big Data or Small Data strategy a sub-part of their overall Digital Strategy or is it a service and a stream that analyzes the past, present and future of all digital executions. The difference is subtle but still essential.

While the journey through testing & learning leading to that most optimized experience is really the desired end state, I think where most of the organizations struggle today is in STAGE # 1 — an excessive focus on Big Data but a lack of “BIG INSIGHT” — which is the engine that will move the car in any direction. An interesting infographic & blog on getElastic How Marketers Use Actionable Data. by Linda Bustos, highlights some of the gaps and challenges:

Whomever said it first, many marketers may concur that half of their marketing efforts are wasted, they just don’t know which half.

In 2013, we’ve never been so data rich, but why are we often so insight poor? This week’s infographic from Monetate The Marketers Guide to Actionable Data examines what data marketers are collecting, where they struggle to use data effectively, the biggest obstacles to actionable data and tips for mastering it.

BigData Infographic

Are You Ignoring Big INSIGHT in Lieu of BIG “Data”?

Originally published by: Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog on 2013-02-08 08:04:32 by Linda Bustos

Saw this interesting inforgraphic from Linda Bustos on shopping patterns during the holiday season and the growing impact of tablets for a certain target audience. What’s interesting is not just the insights and shopping behaviors of tablet owners but a great opportunity for marketers to come up with new targeted strategies that need to respond to this shift. Here is the blog from Linda:

This week’s infographic is courtesy of ShopPad, looking at some stats on tablet shopping behavior over the holiday season.Click to enlargeHighlights:Tablet conversions were highest on evenings and weekends – not surprising considering tablet usage is typically done at home, weekday desktop shopping may happen while one is at workTablet shopping’s peak was Saturday, December 8, two days before Green MondayThanksgiving Day was also a popular day for tablet shoppingAverage time-on-site was ~13 minutesAverage order value was $95.75, conversion rate 3.7% (higher than desktop)66% of iPad shoppers run iOS6New York is the top state in the US for tablet shoppingTakeawaysPeople are converting on tablets. They tend to spend more as a segment than desktop users, but iPad owners also fall into a different demographic than the average Internet user.Tablet users tend to surf during non-business hours. Consider this when planning email campaigns. If you can identify customers who converted on tablets, you can segment them into a campaign that targets evenings and weekends rather than lunch hours and early weekday mornings.Social networks drive traffic to ecommerce sites. If social is a key part of your online marketing strategy, ensure your site is tablet friendly (e.g. responsive design).Tags: infographic, tablet shopping

See the article here:

Holiday Tablet Commerce Post-Mortem [Infographic]

Evolving Impact of Tablets on eCommerce – Consumer Behavior [Inforgraphic]

Originally published by: Ecommerce Consulting.com | Experts in Online Retail on 2011-10-20 03:44:26 by Sally McKenzie

I love my job. It’s been a frenzied year so far and with many e-commerce teams about to hunker down for the holiday crunch, I’m at last taking a two week break to read, (hopefully) write and recharge.

One of the reasons I love my job so much is that the learning environment in digital retail is endless. The pace of change in e-commerce is at an all-time high, and every client brings a new set of circumstances, opportunities and unique challenges into the mix. But sometimes, there are common threads that run across even the most diverse of engagements and sometimes, the learning is a re-run. In a good way.

This year I have had the opportunity to work with e-commerce executives at ‘household name’ brands, regional retailers and fledgling startups. Most are in the U.S., some International. Most B2C, some B2B. Many are well established in selling online, others just getting started (I continue to be surprised at how many sizeable retailers are still in the early stages of e-commerce). Some are highly successful in digital retail, others, admittedly, are falling short and need serious help.

Despite the obvious diversity of these clients, they are kindred spirits in the lessons they have learned by striving for excellence in online and multi-channel retail. I am often asked “what are the most common mistakes you see retailers make online?” or, “what are the biggest challenges that you see clients face in the online space? “. I’ll take a slight detour and answer that question based not on the “mistakes” and “challenges” but instead on the 10 lessons I see CEOs and executives (and myself) learn over and over again in the world of online retail.

Lesson #1: This will be harder and more expensive than you think. This lesson is particularly important for executives new to the online channel, many of whom have little perspective on the level of effort and investment required to build and sustain an online or multi-channel endeavor. It’s not just the technology. It’s the people, the design, the marketing, the analysis and the ongoing improvements. Many of the “rescue 911″ engagements I see are the result of underinvestment in critical areas of e-commerce.

Lesson #2: This will take longer than you think. Online commerce moves at warp speed, but that does not mean that your return on investment or sales increases will be instantaneous. If you have a short time horizon in terms of expected success – ask yourself: “Why do I think that ROI will come quickly?” Do you have data and perspective to validate that expectation? Wishing won’t make it so. Its ok (and right) to aim aggressively – but have a plan (not just a hope) to get there.

Lesson #3: You will need to get educated about how to run a digital business. The good news here is that the e-commerce industry is full of great conferences, communities and sources of information, much of it free or low cost. The perplexing thing is that too many executives don’t take advantage of them. Subscribe to newsletters, follow industry experts on Twitter, listen in on webinars, read industry research and white papers. Just when think you’ve read a ton, read some more. Spend a lot of time (no, just cruising the home page doesn’t count) on the sites you admire. You’ll be surprised how quickly things change and how quickly new technologies and tools take hold (think mobile, tablet, social, etc.) and how different this channel is from the others that you may operate. Understand the metrics that are important to the business and how they work. Make your web analyst your best friend. He/she has lots to teach you.

Lesson #4: This will impact every area and every channel of your organization. If you ask any seasoned, successful retail executive how online commerce has changed their organization, they will tell you that the changes have been substantial and that the changes have spanned every operational and customer facing aspect of the business. Be prepared for conflict; be prepared to make hard decisions. You will need to develop a vision for integrating digital into your organization, become a digital cheerleader and bring the rest of your organization along for an exciting and at times bumpy ride.

Lesson #5: Who you hire and where you place them in the organization is critical. Hire people who “get it” and have done this before. They are hard to find, but they are out there. Mix them with your best and brightest internal minds. Stir. Have them report either to the CEO or to an executive that not only understands but actively communicates the importance of digital endeavors in your company’s future. The rest of the organization will need to understand and buy in to the online vision and be appropriately incented to align the customer experience across touch points and channels. (Go back to Lesson #1 if you think this will be easy) Send the message that this matters.

Lesson #6: The guiding principles of great retail still apply. Shiny website, great. Even more great? Awesome product, great merchandising, effective marketing, attentive service, fast, accurate fulfillment. Don’t ever think you can forget those things.

Lesson #7: There will be distractions. Have a strategy, stay focused. Having a solid vision and strategy for e-commerce is just about the only thing that will help you determine which of the many new ideas you’ll see and hear about are worthwhile and which are simply shiny objects floating by. Be open to the ideas and the possibilities; but have the discipline to prioritize and say “no” when necessary. (Note, see Lesson #1 again – this is probably the main thing I see even the most successful online retailers struggle with)

Lesson #8: Your customer is already way ahead of you, and so (likely) are your competitors. I still have the occasional client that will tell me “our customer is not that internet savvy…” to which I say, don’t kid yourself. This is no longer a choice. It’s an imperative. Your customers (young old, rich and not so rich) are already shopping online on their computers, on their phones and on tablets. They may not be shopping online with you yet, but their expectations are being raised every day by the early adopters who have gotten it right. Yes, you will have to run to play catch up, but that will be less difficult than not entering the race.

Lesson #9: The longer you wait the harder and more expensive it will be. Yes, in some ways the barriers to online entry continue to be lowered due to advancements in technology. But, at the same time, the complexity and sophistication of the online world continues to evolve and (see the point above) customer expectations continue to climb. Jump in and kick like hell. There isn’t going to be a better or easier time.

Lesson #10: This will be more fun than anything you’ve ever done. Despite the hard lessons above and many others, I don’t know a single e-commerce executive who hasn’t become completely addicted to the pace and excitement of running their online business. It’s the shot of adrenaline that every retailer needs.

So, to that last point above, I admit it, I’m an addict too. Yes, I’m about to take a two week vacation, but as crazy as it sounds, I can’t wait to come back to work.

View article:

10 Online Retail Lessons Learned at Least 10 Times, and Still Loving It.

10 Online Retail Lessons Learned at Least 10 Times, and Still Loving It.

Originally published by: Chief Marketing Technologist on 2013-01-30 11:49:07 by Scott Brinker

Had a great opportunity to have a dialogue with Scott Brinker for whom I have utmost respect for, he has been a thought leader in the Marketing Technology space and someone who has absolutely influenced the industry with his foresight and vision. This is an excerpt from the interview that he published on his blog at www.chiefmartec.com:

Marketing technology management can look straightforward on paper, when analysts and pundit-bloggers such as myself draw simplified diagrams of new organizational structures with a few quick brushstrokes. But the real work of implementing these organizational changes for “the new marketing” — and the cultural shifts entangled in that mission — especially at a major Fortune 500 company is considerably more complicated. I have tremendous respect for the people tackling that. Therefore, it was my pleasure to be able to interview Mayur Gupta, the Global Head of Marketing Technology at Kimberly-Clark, to glimpse behind the curtain of that transformation in his organization.

Tell us a little about your background and what your role as Global Director, Marketing Technology at Kimberly-Clark entails.

I’m a marketing technologist who is part creative, part strategist, and part technologist. I recently joined Kimberly-Clark in August 2012 as the Global Head, Marketing Technology, a role that sits and fits within the CMO’s world and the global marketing organization. It’s a bit difficult to pen down any role in marketing because it almost has to evolve at the pace of everything happening around us. But as we speak at this very moment, it involves curating, identifying, and establishing an agile marketing technology mindset, behavior, and a global culture — to not only execute but innovate our brand strategies. “This group almost operates as a ‘change agent’ within our organization.” I intend to do this through a Marketing Technology Group (MTG) that works very closely with our IT organization. I am part of a Digital & Relationship Center of Excellence (DRCOE), which is packed with some incredible leaders across digital strategy, creative, commerce, and now marketing technology. This group almost operates as a “change agent” within our organization. I see the MTG defining the global vision, and blueprint to enable our brands’ strategies and eventually deliver that most desired and relevant consumer experience. Prior to joining KC, I pretty much spent most of my career at SapientNitro. The first few years there, I did everything from being a core Java developer to being a DBA, Unix administrator, and solutions architect. However, the last 7-8 years have been completely focused on digital marketing and marketing technology. From architecting and engineering a multi-channel integrated marketing automation and ad serving platform and running an innovation and digital production studio to playing a more thought leadership and marketing technology strategist role for a number of Fortune 500 clients.

How has it been making the transition from an agency to a dedicated role on the client side — especially around marketing technology? What did you expect? What has surprised you?

Interesting would be an understatement. I think it’s more empowering in a lot of ways. Working on the services side in a leading agency, you are are more or less guided by certain boundaries or parameters. At times these are financial constraints from clients and sometimes very specific business challenges or priorities. On the client side, it’s a white canvas, which is a challenge — and an even bigger opportunity — especially if you’re working in the evolving and rather chaotic space of marketing in a digital world. I don’t think I went in with any kind of expectations. I went in like a sponge ready to absorb with a very open mindset. I have been pleasantly surprised though with the agility and the spirit to adopt and adjust to changes for a big organization like ours. I think we are pretty uniquely positioned in the way we have the DRCOE as an “idea engineering” layer that drives changes and strategic thinking, helping to mould the new norms and conventions. “It is a gradual mindset shift, an effort to strike a balance between [IT and marketing technology].” I give a lot of credit to our leadership overall, specifically in the marketing organization, to have the foresight a few years back to establish an “agency” of sorts within a bigger organization. It is an effort to bring digital strategy, creative and consumer experience, e-commerce and marketing technology together — something that a lot of agencies still struggle to adopt. There is a long road ahead, especially the emergence of marketing technology within a pretty strong and widespread IT footprint. It is a gradual mindset shift, an effort to strike a balance between the rigor, process and focus on standardization, scale and globalization of an IT organization and the need for agility, nimbleness, and innovation of marketing technology to deliver excellence for our consumers.

What do you think the relationship should be between a marketing technology group that lives within the marketing department and the IT department? How has that been playing out in your organization?

This is where it gets really interesting. Firstly, I don’t think we can draw a firm line that puts the Marketing Technology Group (MTG) in the marketing organization. I totally believe that it needs to exist, but where it lives, is very dependent on the organization, its leaders, and their mindset and culture. The more important aspect is the recognition of evolution from a more conventional IT world. In my mind, an MTG can never replace IT. I see the MTG as a more strategic, innovative, and pretty lean layer. IT, on the other hand, is a more robust and scalable layer focusing on delivery and execution. One cannot replace the other. It’s collaboration vs. competition. An analogy that I use is the process of building a tall, multi-story building. There is a crucial role played by the architect to create the “blueprint.” This is the role of a marketing technologist. But arguably a more important role is played by the actual builder — the IT organization — with a large team to transform the dream into reality. Irrespective of where the architect and the builder live, same organization or different, as long as they collaborate and understand each other, the building won’t collapse. “Both IT and marketing leadership are working very closely together to lay down the foundation for marketing in a digital world.” This journey at KC has been inspiring. We are in an evolutionary phase where both IT and marketing leadership are working very closely together to lay down the foundation for marketing in a digital world. It’s a conscious effort to strike a balance and avoid either extreme. Needless to say, such cultural and behavioral shifts are hard to adopt, but we are on the right path and moving ahead with lightening speed to bring the right changes.

How does your marketing technology team interface with the rest of the marketing department?

The MTG is still in its infancy to be honest, but the engagement model is fairly simple — basically drop all lines and be part of the team from inception to delivery. The key aspect is a belief that technology (marketing or information) is no longer a commodity. It is as strategic as digital strategy and as creative as anything else we design. The MTG plays a more proactive role in defining technology strategy and vision, rather than a reactive one. The recipe for success is a tight collaboration and ideation across strategy, creative, and technology to deliver a consumer experience. That is how I see the MTG operating with rest of the marketing organization, as well as brands and our digital partners and agencies. “The recipe for success is a tight collaboration and ideation across strategy, creative, and technology.”

From a technology perspective, what are some of the biggest challenges that you see marketing departments facing over the next year? How should they tackle them?

I personally feel that the well-known technical challenges, like big data or attribution and modeling, are easier to solve. There are enough really smart people out there that will solve these through technology. The challenges I see lie outside of the core technology. The first is what I’d call “The Challenge of Too Many.” There are too many shiny disco balls out there. Difficult to say if this is a bubble, like the one we saw in the 90′s, but the marketing world is definitely seeing more movement and innovation than any other sector at this moment. I think many marketing organizations are sucking things in like a vacuum — a tendency to pick up every shiny object out there. Big data, mobile first, predictive modeling, and so on. The challenge is a lack of a connected thinking that brings all these different pieces together in a cohesive and well-knit machinery. We all seem to be on the soccer field. It’s time for someone to go into the stands and have a top level view, to be able to orchestrate and position the right players to be at the right position at the right time. “The challenge is a lack of connected thinking that brings all these different pieces together in a cohesive and well-knit machinery.” Secondly, the diversity in the digital space is bliss, but if it does not move towards a more consolidated foundation, it will be a big challenge. I’d like to see the likes of Adobe, IBM, Oracle, and Salesforce come up with an open standard that allows marketers to focus on new and creative strategies and consumer experiences — and not worry about connecting 10 commoditized technology layers. A solid and standardized marketing operating systems — analogous to Android and iOS — with an open standard and framework to allow experiences through “apps” to be seamlessly installed. Lastly, there’s a challenging in shifting mindset and behavior in the way we perceive and deliver technology. Adapting to the fast pace of the digital world, adopting agile marketing, believing that — at times — done is better than perfect. I mean these are interesting times for marketing technology and very easy to fall into the trap of thinking of technology as an end and not an enabler.

If you could offer 30 seconds of advice to other CMOs on marketing technology, what would you say?

It’s time to break free from the CMO-CIO barrier. Marketing technology demands a mindset, a behavioral and cultural shift, that goes beyond organizational boundaries. “It is not a curriculum that’s taught, but an experience that’s gained.” Unfortunately it is not a curriculum that’s taught, but an experience that’s gained through collaboration and a common vision towards impactful consumer experiences. The sooner you adopt it, the faster you will respond to the ever-changing digital and consumer landscape. See first what others see eventually and don’t hesitate to fail. Thank you, Mayur!

Excerpt from:

Balancing marketing technology and IT at a Fortune 500 firm

Balancing marketing technology and IT at a Fortune 500 firm – A Dialogue with Scott Brinker

Marketing Operating System

As the year ends, a lot gets written on what worked and what did not work through the year and more interestingly “predictions” for what’s going to follow. As we kick start our digital & marketing efforts for 2013, a lot of expectations have been set around innovation & expansion of key marketing trends:

• Big Data Adoption
• Continuous growth of Mobile adoption – mobile web, apps & AR
• Digital coupons
• Increasing role of content strategy
• TV and what Apple is going to do with its launch – a lift for conventional media
• CMO vs CIO – stronger friends or foes
• Real time media buying patterns
• The next series of acquisitions – big fish & small fish
• and of course everything that we are witnessing this week @ CES

While the marketing ecosystem expands to new levels of maturity & innovation in these different directions, I personally feel there is a strong need now for all of these somewhat “dis-jointed” capabilities and marketing technologies to come together as an integrated, cohesive and well-orchestrated underlying machinery — I call it the Marketing Operating System, an mOS as I shared it in my blog Think Beyond | Time for mOS – Marketing Operating System aka iOS?.

Want to use this blog to dive a bit deeper and share my thoughts on what an mOS may look like and what opportunities lie ahead of us. To best understand what this holistic marketing platform means, we should look at the evolution of mobile from a bulky & heavy call making device in 1995 to 2007 which could arguably be termed as not only a turning point in the mobile industry but for digital as a whole and to now in 2013 where the smart phone gets smarter each day.

They evolved from phone making using keypads to touch screens in 2000 & cameras and enough memory to store some music until APPLE changed everything. HOW? By launching the first phone with an Operating System, the iOS and it “CONSOLIDARTED” all needed capabilities expected from a mobile device BUT at the same time provided an OPEN FRAMEWORK and a defined standard for pretty much ANYONE to build some most innovative and creative applications and experiences for end users. Rest is history and its still being made every second.

mOS – Marketing Operating System

We are going through the same evolution – just that we are in the 1990 phase of the mobile era. Why do I say that? This is what our landscape looks like today (courtesy Scott Brinker chiefmaretc.com)

A highly diversified and innovative set of technologies, products and platforms BUT who amongst the leading providers or consumers of these technologies have been able to really connect all of these into something totally meaningful? Yes Big Data was the new kid on the block in 2012, lot written, shared and developed around Hadoop and other technologies but how many organizations have been able to weave a Big Data strategy into their commercial, marketing, media & cross channel efforts and have it all inter-connected, with their past analysis leads them to a real time optimization of their current spend and helps them predict their future investments and strategies.

It’s time to move away from SELLING AND BUYING SPARE PARTS:

TO BUILDING AND SELLING ASSEMBLED & FULLY FUNCTIONAL CARS, at least a base version to begin with and let the consumer add accessories to enhance the experience WITHOUT worrying about the core assembling process.

This is where these 4 players can play an important role (OASI):

• ORACLE
• ADOBE
• SALESFORCE
• IBM

They could be the Apple, Google & Microsoft for the marketing world and if the acquisition patterns are anything to go by, they seem to be heading in that direction. Of course acquiring companies and integrating their solution is a totally separate beast but these are initial steps. What they offer today are pieces of a connected ecosystem that may look somewhat like this, of course these are only a few elements of the overall landscape but it’s an assembled working unit instead of isolated individual capabilities.

Marketing Operating System

Needless to say, the consolidation of these platforms & technologies cannot restrict creativity and diversity of experiences and strategies. Technology cannot obstruct creativity and that’s where a platform like an iOS is a perfect example where it provides the stability and consolidation of everything you could expect in a smartphone but still provides the flexibility to develop creative experiences using the standards & open framework.

Few Guidelines & Key Notes for mOS

• The OS comes with all key fundamental components needed to “Market in a Digital World” – everything from Marketing Automation on top of an enterprise CRM to a Web Experience Platform, eCommerce capabilities to win both in D2C and B2C or B2B and the content could be delivered across any channel and devices
• The hooks and integration between these components pre-exist, it can be configured but probably not customized, any customizations can be achieved through the Open Framework
• It allows extensions, custom applications to be built on top – for instance, a new provider could come up with a KIOSK plug-in based on the standards & open framework available within the OS, may possibly have to use an SDK very similar to an iOS & Android platform. Once the custom applications are built, they can simply be hooked and plugged in on top of the OS – no custom integration needed from a consumer standpoint
• The OS gives a starting point – does not limit or restrict flexibility. There may be some boundaries since the integrations and core components are pre-defined
• It should be flexible and scalable enough to support a SaaS, PaaS or IaaS based models based on the needs of the consumer
• It is really a translation of a complex environment into a commoditized but flexible platform

What does this mean for Organizations & Brands?

• Organizations do not have to buy SW & technology stack separately and bring a digital agency or a system integrator to put the pieces of the puzzle together
• They would still need a service provider to add more capabilities, custom applications aka mobile apps
• They get a more advanced turn key solution (nothing is completely turn key but a more complete solution)
• They get all the fundamentals to run their digital & marketing strategies

What does this mean for Platform & Service Providers?

• Need to look at all the building blocks holistically, move away from siloed excellence and move towards an integrated mindset
• If you are a platform and product company, create a services arm to support the custom applications, open up your platform to developers and other smaller shops
• Stay on top of innovation and have a strong product and platform strategy to add more components to the core platform and OS, making it easier for the consumers of the platform to evolve their capabilities.

Bottom Line — Whether we have an mOS in the near future or not, it’s tough to predict but one thing is for sure, the next few years will continue to see a gradual consolidation of core capabilities and technologies, a number of acquisitions and mergers and a realization to HIDE TECHNOLOGY, use it as an enabler, as a means and not as an end.

mOS – Marketing Operating System | A Vision Part II

Original version was published on www.chiefmartec.com on 2012-11-08 19:07:21 by Scott Brinker

[My Personal Thoughts] It’s funny that I am about to publish this blog a few hours after I saw the movie “Life of Pi” http://www.facebook.com/LifeofPi, interestingly enough the lead character in the movie PI Singh discusses his name initials “pi” as in the capital Greek letter pi – Π, has to develop in-depth expertise in 2 areas, first how to survive on a rescue water floating in an ocean alone for almost an year and secondly how to handle a wild Bengal Tiger on the same boat:), failing in one would have been the end of his life. My topic today can easily connect with that analogy – evolution of the Marketing Technologist and the Marketing Landscape in general and what it means for a marketer to marry a technologist.

 Ashley Friedlein, the CEO of Econsultancy, had a great op-ed in Marketing Week a few weeks back, Why modern marketers need to be pi-people.

[From Scott Brinker's chiefmartec.com]
It’s a riff on the label “T-shaped people” that has been popularized in digital marketing over the past few years. T-shaped people have a specific expertise where they go really deep (e.g., graphic design, software development, data analytics, etc.), but they also have broad interest and sufficiently useful surface-level skills across many other adjacent disciplines. Many marketing technologists have had this profile: expertise in technology and engineering, but interest and skills across more traditional marketing capabilities.

According to Friedlein, pi-shaped people are “marketers with a broad base of knowledge in all areas, but capabilities in both ‘left brains’ and ‘right brain’ disciplines. They are both analytical and data-driven, yet understand brands, storytelling, and experiential marketing.” (Emphasis added is my own.)

This comment was made in the context of Friedlein giving broader insight in response to the question: How do you create a marketing function fit for the future? He talks about how brands advance along a digital marketing maturity model by integrating digital into the primary organization, not sequestering it in a separate silo. “Integrating digital into the organization properly reaches nirvana only when there is no left in the organization with ‘digital’, ‘e’, ‘online’, ‘internet’, ‘new media’, or ‘interactive’ in their job title,” he writes.

It’s at that point that he makes the case for pi-shaped people as the leaders in this new generation of integrated marketing.

“Of course, it is asking a lot for someone to be talented at everything creative and analytical,” he admits, “But these people do exist and represent the future of truly integrated marketing. Witness the growth of job titles such as ‘creative technologist’ or chief marketing technologist. You want people who focus on the customer, understand data, like change, are curious and passionate.”

He also notes that marketing processes are changing, embracing an agile marketing approach. “There’s a move towards more agile ways of working, which should affect marketing as much as project management or IT. We have to move from highly linear, highly specified, rigid ways to more fluid, reactive, dynamic approaches.” Do take a moment to look at the full article — it’s a great read.

This article is from:

Econsultancy’s CEO: Marketing needs pi-shaped people

The New Marketer – From T-Shaped to Pi-Shaped