[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/02\/22\/cio-cmo-effective-collaboration\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/02\/22\/cio-cmo-effective-collaboration\/","headline":"The CIO vs CMO relationship: 4 steps for effective collaboration","name":"The CIO vs CMO relationship: 4 steps for effective collaboration","description":"The CMO vs CIO relationship comparisons, and how both can thrive when there is plenty of cross-functional collaboration.","datePublished":"2017-02-22","dateModified":"2021-12-28","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/bernard-chung\/#Person","name":"Bernard Chung","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/bernard-chung\/","identifier":131,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8423fb16902f8cc3d8c83adcff3864c5fca774311335a2b8fc3175ecc87578a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8423fb16902f8cc3d8c83adcff3864c5fca774311335a2b8fc3175ecc87578a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/thumbnail-d69158337a9ec3a5a0f85d72b9a4d561.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/thumbnail-d69158337a9ec3a5a0f85d72b9a4d561.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/02\/22\/cio-cmo-effective-collaboration\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/","name":"Marketing","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marketing","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q39809"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/marketing-general\/","name":"Marketing","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marketing","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q39809"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/seo\/","name":"SEO","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Search_engine_optimization","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q180711"]}],"wordCount":821,"keywords":["Chief Information Officer | CIO","Chief Marketing Officer | CMO","Customer Engagement","Marketing"],"articleBody":"Make no mistake about it\u2026if you are a C-level executive, you are in your position because you are smart, business savvy, and excel at what you do.You may not, however, be great at communicating with the other C\u2019s in the company \u2013 even when you desperately need each other for your own individual and departmental success.Take CIOs and CMOs, for instance.The crux: opposing \u2013 and sometimes \u2013 conflicting goalsCIOs are constantly looking high and low for ways to save companies money through operational and business process efficiencies. On the other hand, the CMO\u2019s job is to spend, spend, spend \u2013 and to do so quickly based on data-driven decisions that outmaneuver the competition. So it\u2019s understandable that you, as a CMO, might have a desire for the latest technology for such things as real-time social media tracking, Big Data analytics, or customer experience nurturing programs. On the other hand, if you\u2019re a CIO, isn\u2019t it common for your response to be: \u201cSorry, it\u2019s not in the budget!\u201d?Screech. Time stands still as both of you face off and defend your individual C-level positions \u2013 and as one of you tries to keep the business running while the other tries to grow the business. Meanwhile, the market is shifting and the competition is winning deals left and right.      Your obsession with demand gen is going to suffocate your B2B marketing                We absolutely must stop measuring B2B marketing success in terms of campaign clicks, quarterly reports, and lead volumes alone. The B2B brands who will win are the ones we\u2019ll remember.      CIO vs CMO: Collaboration made easySo what\u2019s the answer?The reality is that both the CIO and CMO faction \u2013 and your individual departments \u2013 must make a concerted effort to work more collaboratively for the greater good of all.Here are four easy ways that you, as sometimes opposing forces, can begin to communicate better and form a relationship that works for each of you as well as for the company.1. Find common, understandable languageEvery core function within an enterprise has its own language that is as commonplace as sliced bread \u2013 within that department, that is. However, a marketing guru may not know that an API is an application programming interface, while a techie may not know that organic search has nothing to do with healthy foods. So your first task, all you CIO and CMO folks, is to be kind to each other, and speak in language that you can both understand so that you can break organizational and marketing silos.2. Keep each other\u2019s goals in mindEach C executive has both individual and department goals, which at first glance, may not be in sync. But once again, let\u2019s be real. You can help each other succeed \u2013 and make each other look like superstars \u2013 once you take time to understand each other\u2019s individual goals. Working together is always more rewarding than being stuck in no-man\u2019s land due to lack of compromise. Want even greater success? If so, then you may even want to include common IT and marketing goals and metrics into your individual and department incentive plans.3. Meet frequentlyThis may depend on your industry or business, but most enterprises are changing rapidly as they attempt to keep up with the pace of innovation. Why not team together through regular meetings? They don\u2019t have to be long, drawn-out affairs, but they can be concise and informative, so that each department is continually on the same wavelength and working cohesively together. This is also a great time to collectively brainstorm on common corporate goals as well.4. Have expertise exchangesIf a technical person doesn\u2019t fully understand why he or she has to jump through hoops to set up the backend for a special marketing program, frustration may reign. However, if marketing takes the time to explain that this campaign could generate thousands of dollars in revenue for the company within a short window of time, the techie may approach the task differently. It works the other way too. Marketing people sometimes dream up outlandish ideas for complicated systems that could break IT\u2019s budget for the year. However, once the objectives are clear, marketing and IT can work together to come up with a solution that is far more effective and less costly. For instance, on tasks such as mapping a customer\u2019s digital journey from beginning to end, two problem-solving minds will certainly be more effective than individual and sometimes conflicting efforts.Will these suggestions work? Maybe, maybe not. But hopefully, they will stimulate a greater respect and understanding between the CIO and CMO and create a collaborative relationship that makes everyone a success.  In 2023, customer loyalty dropped 13%.In 2024, it fell by 10%.Is your brand retaining \u2013 or repelling \u2013 customers? Get the data + details on how to keep consumers loyal in this REPORT. 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