Marketers must speak the language of the boardroom if they are to demonstrate the value of martech to the bottom line, creating opportunities for channel partners capable of bridging the gap.
While 78 per cent of senior marketers feel confident in explaining the value of technology investments, they believe there is a disconnect with the rest of the boardroom.
That’s according to Squiz’s annual State of Marketing Technology report, which shines a spotlight on a previously untapped area for partners across Australia and New Zealand.
During a year when marketing technology spend is expected to outflank that of the CIO and the traditional IT department, understanding martech - marketing technology - and its impact on the industry could represent the difference between success and failure for digitally focused partners.
Spanning over 600 senior marketing professionals globally, marketers said that 47 per cent of the C-suite outside of their department use some marketing technology in their roles.
Crucially however, they still do not believe that other functions understand martech’s potential impact on revenues in the way that they do.
Specifically, over half of global marketers (52 per cent) think that other C-level executives don’t understand marketing and only 35 per cent believe their CEO strongly realises the potential revenue uplift and saving of martech investment.
Of note to the channel, it’s a similar story with the CIO; marketers think that just a third (33 per cent) understand the value of martech at a financial level.
Furthermore, research suggests that marketers still need to develop closer relationships with the CEO.
Currently they are most closely aligned with the CTO (52 per cent) or CIO (47 per cent), but only 27 per cent stated that their marketing team is working closely with the CEO.
As a result, stakeholder buy in is still a challenge for 32 per cent of marketers and over a quarter (28 per cent) still don’t feel they are able to confidently set goals that the whole business can support.
“Our research confirms the strengthening role of digital within the boardroom, with more departments on-boarding the latest in martech,” Squiz Group CEO, John-Paul Syriatowicz, observed.
“There is now significant opportunity for marketers to ensure the value of this technology is being conveyed to key stakeholders.
“They also need to start leading by example, recognising their responsibility for using the technology to its full potential, and optimising its business impact.”
To bridge the gap, partners must recognise the new influencers of technology, those outside of the traditional IT department, but with new-found budget and control of purchasing decisions.
According to findings, 97 per cent of global marketers believe that marketing technology has allowed the marketing department to become more strategic in its approach, with 43 per cent able to develop more data-driven KPIs since increasing investment.
Based on the report, if CMOs are to continue to win over the technology of their choice, they must speak in the language of the C-Suite.
Consequently, for channel partners, the selling situation is likewise. By using the correct vernacular, partners can demonstrate the value of marketing technology to the wider parts of the organisation.
“This increase in technology adoption is a real win for marketers, as their presence and influence among the C-suite grows,” Syriatowicz explained.
“They now need to start speaking in the C-Suite’s language, and prioritise how to best communicate the benefits of martech for problem-solving, enabling more strategic business decisions, and driving growth across the entire organisation.”
Syriatowicz added that marketers need to recognise and effectively communicate their responsibility for using the technology to its full potential, and optimise its business impact as a result.
By the same token, channel partners have an opportunity to lead by example.
