IT and Marketing Need to Work Together on Martech — Three Steps to Gaining IT’s support for Martech

It’s no secret, Marketing Technology is all the rage. The number of platforms Marketing is using to run the organization has exploded. Marketers are using an increasing range of tools and technologies to automate just about every tactical aspect of the function: email management, social media management, content management, website management, etc. As a result, Marketing is transforming into an increasingly technical function.

Clodagh O’Brien wrote in an article that “over the past three decades, marketing has had to keep up and contend with leaps in technology.” While we cannot see what the future holds, technology in Marketing is clearly here to stay. Therefore the IT side of the house and the Marketing side of the house need to be in synch.

Yet, the results of a CA Technologies study Why IT Needs to Lead Now: The Innovation Imperative found that a disconnect between IT and Business executives is the reason for missed opportunities to drive revenue, grow market share, increase speed to market and improve customer satisfaction. Marketing;s usage of marketing technology to support revenue, market share, and customer satisfaction initiatives is only increasing. The marketing technology landscape continues to explode, growing from a few hundred to now over 7000. Its essential to include IT in your Marketing technology initiative right from the start.

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Marketers – Take the First Step

As marketing technology becomes more and more pervasive, it is essential to have a solid relationship between the Marketing and IT functions. We cannot wait for IT or others in the organization to build the bridge.

Build bridge between Marketing and IT for successful Martech — Your Martech will be more successful if there is a bridge between Marketing and IT.

Here are three relatively easy actions you can take to start the bridge construction process:

1. Initiate dialog. Communication is a core competency for marketers. Take the initiative to open the lines of communication. Schedule and hold regular meetings about how you are using technology, why, what is and isn’t working, and so on. Keep IT in the loop. If you haven’t scheduled such a meeting before do it NOW.

2. Clarify your business requirements. Be ready to explain what you need and what it means to the business. IT works for business requirements. Work together to create the business requirements and establish a set of common objectives. Take time to write down your business requirements. These should be documented. Business requirements reflect the critical activities that must be performed to achieve the organizational outcomes. A good business requirement document details all the requirements, including costs, implementation, projected benefits, milestones, and timeline for implementation. In addition to functional requirements and features, give some thought to each of these other areas in preparation for your conversation with IT:

The objective/purpose of the marketing technology.
Your rational for why you need the technology and how the investment will impact performance and results.
What else will need to go into making the technology work – new people, new skills, etc.
Investment. What you’re willing to invest and the expected payback.

3. Focus on business impacts. Both organizations exist to help your company succeed in creating and extracting value from customers. Keep the focus on measurable business impacts for each technology request. It needs to be clear to both teams the impact the investment will have and how this impact will be measured.

Download the white paper Marketing Technology: The Power Tools for Optimizing Performance and Agility to find out the four broad categories of marketing technology, why they are necessary, and the process for implementing them in your Marketing department.

FAQ:

Q1: Why is marketing technology so important today?
A: Marketing technology (Martech) is now integral to the function, with platforms proliferating across every tactical aspect—email, social, content, and website management. As Clodagh O’Brien observed, marketing has evolved alongside leaps in technology for decades. The result: marketing is now a highly technical discipline, and technology’s role is only expanding.

Q2: What’s the risk if Marketing and IT aren’t aligned?
A: A CA Technologies study found that disconnects between IT and business leaders cause missed opportunities—lost revenue, slower speed to market, stagnant market share, and lower customer satisfaction. As the Martech landscape grows (now over 7,000 platforms), it’s essential to involve IT from the outset. Without alignment, technology investments underdeliver.

Q3: How can marketers build a bridge with IT for Martech success?
A:

Initiate dialog: Proactively open communication with IT. Schedule regular meetings to discuss technology usage, challenges, and successes. Don’t wait—make this a priority.
Clarify business requirements: Document and articulate your needs, objectives, and expected business impact. Collaborate with IT to create comprehensive business requirements, including costs, benefits, milestones, and implementation plans.
Focus on business impact: Keep every technology discussion centered on measurable business outcomes. Both Marketing and IT exist to drive value from customers; ensure all investments have clear, agreed-upon impact metrics.

Q4: Where can I learn more about Martech categories and implementation?
A: Download the white paper “Marketing Technology: The Power Tools for Optimizing Performance and Agility” to explore the four key Martech categories, their necessity, and a proven process for implementation in your department.