Download defend, disrupt, and transform: the critical role of the

DEFEND, DISRUPT,
AND TRANSFORM:
THE CRITICAL ROLE
OF THE MARKETING
TECHNOLOGIST IN
THE DIGITAL ERA
SHELDON MONTEIRO, SEAN BURKE-GAFFNEY & NOVA HALLIWELL
In collaboration with chiefmartec.com and the MarTech Conference
Executive Summary
In 2010, in a brilliant piece of foreshadowing, Scott Brinker, marketing
expert and thought leader, heralded
the rise of the marketing technologist.
Since that time, the role of the MarTech
professional – and by extension that of
their executive counterpart the Chief
Marketing Technology Officer (CMTO)
– has leap-frogged into common
parlance and become a regular fixture
in marketing organizations.
In an equally provocative point of
view, Gartner analyst Laura McLellan
predicted in 2012 that within the next
five years, CMOs would spend more
on technology than CIOs – an idea
that her fellow Gartner analyst Jake Sorofman recently confirmed as fact. He
notes that increasingly, marketing has
become a digital activity and as “digital
marketing becomes marketing in a
digital world, technology is woven into
virtually every planning assumption.”
Why is this meaningful? Because the
game has changed.
Marketing organizations large and
small must grapple with the effects of
a digital tsunami. Most businesses are
struggling not just with digitization as
it relates to their customers’ world, but
consequently, that of business itself.
The fundamental role of Information
Technology (IT) has evolved from
being a commoditized tool that made
businesses more efficient, to also being
the primary medium of dialog with customers. And thus, it is no surprise that
the role of the marketing technologist
– sitting at the nexus of marketing and
IT – has risen to prominence in many
organizations.
RESEARCH
In this – our second survey of marketing technologists conducted in
collaboration with Scott Brinker and
the MarTech Conference – we captured the sentiment of more than 250
practicing marketing technologists,
including 223 respondents in North
America. This research builds upon
our 2014 report, Analyzing the Chief
Marketing Technologist, and further
explores the evolution of this group’s
skillset and responsibilities, as well as
their alignment within the organization.
We also examine their increasing role in
digital business transformation.
We use the term digital business
transformation (DBT) in a literal way.
Transformation. To compete in the
digital age, all companies must create
an overarching strategy that guides
the reinvention and reimagining of the
business in a customer-first, networked world. DBT is not a piecemeal
approach of applying technology within
different functions or deploying standalone applications to solve functional
business needs. Rather, it is the thread
that unites the organization’s digital
efforts and compels business leaders
to radically rethink the ways in which
the business will meet customer needs
in an always-on world.
Given our thesis that the work focus
of the CMTO is to change marketing,
customer experience and IT – including
what those functions do and how they
work together – in service of creating
competitive advantage, we believe that
the marketing technologist should be at
the center of DBT efforts, if not leading
them. With that in mind, we polled
marketing technologists on their views
on DBT within their organizations and
their role in driving it.
2
Our findings were striking:
The role of the marketing technologist appears to be leaning into marketing over technology. More than half
of marketing technologists (55 percent)
come from a marketing background
and four in ten (44 percent) report to
the CMO. This data, coupled with the
relatively low percentage of marketing
technologists who possess a technology-related degree (21 percent) and
a lack of professional experience with
technology roles, implies that a significant number of MarTech professionals
are learning technology on the job.
Whether this trend is occurring because
the organization – and in particular, the
CMO – is steering individuals towards
a more traditional marketing role
out of habit or necessity, or because
the MarTech professional herself is
selecting the path because it is where
she feels most comfortable, is not clear.
No matter the underlying cause of this
change, it is obvious that the marketing
technologist is at a crossroads. Either
MarTech professionals and organizations will take the necessary steps to
regain much-needed technical skills and
professional experience, or the field will
further meld into that of a traditional
marketing function. Both organizations
and the individuals have equal opportunity and responsibility in charting the
future of the profession – and, quite
possibly, ensuring its very existence.
DBT is most commonly overseen by
the CMO. One point in which our survey differs from other recent research
has to do with DBT ownership. Our data
revealed that the executive most commonly responsible for DBT oversight is
the CMO (26 percent), followed by the
CEO (22 percent) and CIO/CTO (13
percent). This breakdown appears to
contradict other reports which show that
it is the CIO who is often asked by the
CEO to take ownership of DBT.
RESEARCH
The most likely explanation for this
discrepancy is simply that a de facto executive lead for DBT has yet to
emerge. The CIO may still have an
upper hand at this point, but the battle
to oversee transformation efforts is still
very much in play. Regardless of who
comes to execute this initiative, it is our
belief that the CEO must be responsible
for defining the DBT vision and creating
its strategy, while other members of the
C-Suite, such as the CMO or CMTO,
can execute the plan.
It is also our view that CMTO – given
her powerful blend of marketing and
technology skills, as well as the collaborative nature of the position – is one
executive who is primed to own execution. As the position continues to grow
in terms of popularity and prominence, it
is our expectation that this individual will
continue to take on this important role
as executor of DBT.
55%
of marketing technologists
come from a marketing
background
44%
of marketing technologists
report to the CMO
Fewer than
25%
hold a tech-related degree
Marketing technologists have a limited window into strategic metrics and
KPIs. Less than one in five MarTech
professionals report having accountability for long-term customer metrics, such
as customer lifetime value (LTV) (14
percent) and net promoter score (NPS)
(16 percent). Just over one-quarter
(26 percent) oversee budget control of
marketing technology assets and projects, while only one-fifth (21 percent)
oversee agility and time to market.
Ultimately, our data shows that MarTech
professionals have a limited responsibility for the organization’s performance,
hindering their ability to lead strategic
business initiatives, such as customer
experience design and large-scale
transformation efforts. What our survey
does not make clear is if this disconnect
is because the right metrics simply are
not being tracked in their organizations
or because the marketing technologist
is not accountable for them.
3
Regardless, if the position is to provide
leadership at the intersection of marketing, business and technology, then
the individual will need access to and
accountability for customer experience
and technology effectiveness data
and KPIs.
There is a growing technology skills
gap among marketing technologists.
In cross-referencing the “most important” skills of the marketing technologist,
with the individual’s “strongest skills,” we
uncover a troubling finding, as it relates
to technology skills. Our survey shows
that more than half of respondents
rated the following technology skills as
“important”: customer relationship management (CRM) systems and platforms;
data science, analytics, modeling and
statistics; and website design. However,
far fewer MarTech professionals ranked
them as strong personal skills. Just 46
percent expressed competence in CRM
and less than one-third said the same
of data analysis and website design (31
percent and 27 percent, respectively).
Given that the role of the marketing
technologist relies upon technological
prowess, it is concerning not only that
this skills gap exists, but also that it
appears to have widened since our previous survey was conducted in 2014. If
the marketing technologist is, in fact, to
maintain a hybrid role as both marketer
and technologist, there is a need for
individuals to upgrade their fundamental
skills in computer science, algorithmic
thinking, systems architecture, statistics
and data science. Given the importance
of these skills in executing the business’s strategic vision and transformation efforts, organizations have an incentive to create learning opportunities for
MarTech professionals to jumpstart their
development.
RESEARCH
Marketing technologists lack clarity
on the organization’s Digital Business Transformation (DBT) vision
and strategy. Nearly all organizations
(97 percent) claim to be addressing
DBT “in some way” and more than
three-quarters of MarTech professionals
(77 percent) report being involved in the
business’s DBT initiative. At the same
time, nearly half (44 percent) said that
DBT was not a priority for their organization or that they don’t know if it was
– implying that even if all organizations
are working to address digital and most
MarTech professionals are supporting
the agenda, a shocking number don’t
realize the critical nature of this work.
Further, our study found that just one in
five marketing technologists (22 percent) felt equipped to drive change - a
trend that appears to hold true regardless of respondents’ number of years of
experience and level of compensation.
In fact, our data shows that marketing
technologists - from entry level employees to the most established executive
- are not confident in their ability to help
transform the business.
When asked to identify the most
important technology skills versus
their strongest personal skills,
marketing technologists said:
Important
technology
skills
Strongest
personal skills
56% 46%
vs
customer relationship management
(CRM) systems and platforms
53% 31%
vs
data science, analytics, modeling
and statistics
52% 27%
vs
website design
It stands to reason that if marketing
technologists, a group that has its finger
on the pulse of both marketing and IT,
are unclear of the organization’s DBT
initiative, then employees throughout the
broader organization are confused as
well. It will be difficult – if not altogether
impossible – for a business to successfully transform for the digital age without
the cooperation and commitment of
every member of the workforce. Organizations appear to have significant work
to do on this front – both in terms of
explaining the DBT vision and establishing it as a driving priority across
the enterprise.
4
Marketing technologists cite an
inadequate focus on customer experience in DBT initiatives. According
to Gartner Research, 89 percent of
companies expect to compete mostly
on the basis of customer experience
by the end of 2016. Yet, just one in
ten marketing technologists reported
that the organization was structured to
deliver a seamless customer experience
across all touchpoints. Nearly one-third
of MarTech professionals said they are
not aware of any metrics to measure
their organization’s customer experience. In addition, more than one-third
of marketing technologists (35 percent)
said that DBT in their organization is not
driven by customer insights.
It is imperative that businesses organize
every product and service, as well
as the organization’s structure and
culture, around the customer. To ensure
success, organizations must not only
capture and analyze customer experience metrics, but use them to inform
their DBT initiatives. Further, they must
communicate to their workforce what
role each individual is expected to play
in achieving the vision, and the metrics
that matter.
important work is recognized by the
organization. Further, companies continue to invest in the role, as evidenced
by both rising salaries for this group
and their growing roots within the
marketing organization.
While this leads us to believe that
there is a fantastic opportunity for the
MarTech profession, the marketing technology role will fail to live up to its potential without addressing the alignment
of the role within the organization, and
realizing the core competencies needed
for the role. Compounding matters is
the need for organizations to transform
the entire business for a digital world,
rather than treat digital as an adjunct. It
is becoming increasingly clear that it will
be up to marketing technologists to rise
as leaders and embrace that challenge.
Our data leads us to make an alarming
observation: The role of the marketing
technologist appears to be in crisis,
both in terms of influence in shaping
the organization’s digital future, and the
evolution of the evolution of the profession. There are challenging days ahead
for marketers – and businesses are
in urgent need of leadership to shape
customer acquisition and intimacy in a
digital world.
At the same time, our survey reveals a
silver lining. The majority (77 percent) of
marketing technologists are involved in
their organization’s DBT efforts, proving
that their value and expertise in this
RESEARCH
5
THE MARKETING TECHNOLOGIST ARCHETYPES
The role of the marketing technologist
has been introduced as a way to bridge
the worlds of marketing and traditional
IT. This individual combines the technical depth, business acumen, creative
flair and traditional leadership skills
needed to reimagine the business in a
digital world. While marketing technologists possess a mix of these attributes,
our 2014 report, Analyzing the Chief
Marketing Technologist, identified six
distinct archetypes:
MARKETING MAVENS
With marketing skills emphasized
over technology, Mavens specialize in
building marketing programs using expertise in marketing strategy, strategic
positioning and promotion.
INFRASTRUCTURE ARCHITECTS
Enterprise-level technology chops define
this archetype, but they are also business consultants and bring a high-level
understanding of a company’s marketing initiatives.
DATA DIVAS
Divas are skilled in marketing operations management, CRM, data science,
analytics and modeling. They know how
to acquire, integrate and make data
perform.
EXPERIENCE ENGINEERS
One foot in technology and another in
experience. They are experts in cutting-edge technology: from eCommerce
to front-end technology and mobility.
CONTENT CURATORS
Storytellers. Message crafters. Marketing strategists. Content Management
platform experts. This type exercises
considerable knowledge of the content
marketing and related technologies to
direct communications-oriented marketing.
RESEARCH
MEDIA & MARKETING ANALYZERS
Specialize in research, consumer insights
and strategic planning. They think
strategically about segmentation and
connections planning.
6
Findings and analysis
1
Marketing technologists lack
formal technical training and
professional experience, which has
created a significant skills gap.
In looking at the marketing technology
profession as a whole, we see that
this group is extremely well educated.
Nearly all respondents (94 percent)
hold an undergraduate degree and, of
that group, four in ten (40 percent) hold
an advanced degree.
However, relatively few marketing
technologists hold degrees in technology-related areas of study. Less
than one-quarter (21 percent) hold a
technical undergraduate degree and
just shy of one-fifth (17 percent) hold
an advanced degree in a technology-related field. By comparison, more than
double (51 percent) hold a marketing
or business undergraduate degree
and a full three-quarters (76 percent)
of those marketing technologists who
possess an advanced degree do so
in business- or marketing-related
areas of study. Interestingly, the
remaining 27 percent of respondents
majored in other disciplines entirely,
including communications, liberal arts
or social sciences.
Based on the relatively low proportion of marketing technologists with a
technical background, we can deduce
that today’s talent has been crossskilled on the job, likely without formal
education or training. While this shows
RESEARCH
51%
resourcefulness and ambition on the
part of marketing technologists, it is not
an ideal approach for the individual or
the organization. Many critical technical
skills – such as enterprise architecture,
software development, data science
and machine learning – are difficult to
learn without the benefit of the classroom environment and a structured
learning program.
of respondents majored in
business or marketing
FIGURE01
Marketing technologists are highly educated but do not have formal technical
education
Q: What did you major in while studying at the undergraduate level? What did
you major while attending graduate school (to pursue Master’s degree or PhD)?
100%
80%
52.6%
60%
41.4%
23.7%
40%
20%
26.9%
24.4% 16.4%
13.7%
0%
Business-related
15.6%
18.8%
16.5%
21.3%
7.2% 41.2%
25.3%
27.4%
10.8%
Marketing-related
Source: SapientNitro, chiefmartec.com, and MarTech, 2016
Technology-related
2014 Undergraduate
2014 Graduate
Other
2016 Undergraduate
2016 Graduate
7
This point is particularly important given
the growing necessity of advanced applications and emerging technologies in
realizing the business’s digital strategy.
For example, our survey identified
machine learning and IoT as the top
two applications perceived to have the
greatest impact on customer experience in the near future. Within the next
two years, about six in ten companies
(59 percent) plan to implement an IoT
initiative and even more (66 percent)
expect to do the same with machine
learning initiatives. At the same time,
our survey found that the skills related
to IoT and machine learning, in particular, are sorely lacking in most organizations. Only 14 percent of respondents
identified machine learning or cognitive
computing as an “extremely important”
technology skill; still less (12 percent)
said the same of physical computing
IoT skills. Importantly, these findings
track with our 2014 survey which identified big data management, physical
computing and IoT as some of the most
significant skills gaps for organizations.
Further, when asked to identify the
most important technology skills, marketing technologists ranked customer
relationship management (CRM)
systems and platforms (56 percent),
data science, analytics, modeling and
statistics (53 percent), and website
design (52 percent) in the top three.
However, when asked what their strongest personal skills were, less than half
(46 percent) ranked CRM and less
than one-third cited data-related skills
(31 percent) or website design (27
percent). These findings also align with
our 2014 study which identified significant skills gaps related to all three of
these areas.
The gap here is an alarm bell for
businesses. Based on our two-year
data, it appears that neither companies
nor MarTech professionals have made
RESEARCH
an honest attempt to address existing
deficiencies – or even prevent them
from widening.
To close the gap, businesses should
redouble efforts around employee
learning opportunities, particularly as
they relate to the technology skills
needed to successfully execute digital
initiatives. Indeed, they have a vested
interest in ensuring that the workforce
is ready to compete in the digital era.
That said, it is the responsibility of the
marketing technology professional to
chart the course for his or her ongoing
learning and development. It is through
the acquisition of new skills that the
marketing technology professional will
remain competitive in this ever-changing field and move up the ranks of any
organization.
Our recommendation? Businesses and
professionals should work together to
identify skills gaps on both an organizational and individual level, addressing
them through formal education opportunities, mentorship and even strategic hires.
FIGURE02
Plans for implementing future technologies
Q: When are you considering production implementation for the following technologies? Of these emerging technologies, which do you believe will have the
greatest impact on how customers experience your brand?
PLANS FOR IMPLEMENTATION
TECHNOLOGY
This year
Within 2
years
No plans
GREATEST IMPACT ON
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Machine learning
22.4%
43.9%
15.7%
45.7%
Internet of Things (IoT)
18.8%
40.4%
21.1%
41.7%
Cognitive computing
9.9%
26.9%
23.3%
25.1%
Augmented reality
4.9%
13.0%
44.4%
12.1%
Smartwatches
8.5%
22.4%
35.9%
7.2%
Virtual reality
5.4%
12.6%
44.4%
6.7%
Wearables
5.8%
17.5%
37.7%
6.3%
3D printing
4.0%
8.1%
53.4%
1.3%
Source: SapientNitro, chiefmartec.com, and MarTech, 2016
8
FIGURE03
Important future technology skills
Out of 32 options, machine learning and cognitive computing were in the bottom quartile of technology skills important
to the future success of the marketing function.
Q: How important is each of the following technology job skills to the future success of the marketing function within
your organization?
Percent answering “extremely important”
56.1%
Customer relationship management (CRM) systems and platforms
52.5%
Data science, analytics, statistics, modeling
52.0%
Website design, including responsive and adaptive design
49.8%
Content management and digital asset-management systems
47.1%
Search engine optimization (SEO)
42.6%
Website testing and optimization
40.8%
Visual display of data (including infographics and dashboards)
36.3%
Front-end technologies (e.g., HTML5, javascript, CSS)
34.5%
Tag management and user management (unified user profile)
33.6%
System performance and resiliency
32.3%
Big data: techniques and technologies for handling data at extreme scale
30.9%
Social media platforms and technologies
30.0%
Enterprise architecture/tech selection & lifecycle management
New product and service development
27.8%
Information security/firewalls/encryption/data recovery
27.8%
26.0%
Data engineering and management platforms (DMP)
25.1%
Media mix modeling/marketing mix modeling
23.8%
Ecommerce technologies and platforms
23.3%
Infrastructure & cloud computing
Design and development of mobile apps and platforms
19.7%
Software design, programming, coding
19.7%
Programmatic technology
19.7%
Software development operations/IT operations
18.8%
15.7%
Digital ad networks and real-time bidding
14.3%
Cognitive computing and machine learning
11.7%
Physical computing and the internet of things
10.3%
GIS, geomapping and geotargeting
8.5%
Moving image production and media
8.1%
In-venue/in-store experience technology
Virtual reality
Augmented reality
Emojis, stickers, GIFs and other visual language creation
4.5%
3.6%
1.8%
Source: SapientNitro, chiefmartec.com, and MarTech, 2016
RESEARCH
9
SPOTLIGHT ON SKILLS: THE EVOLVING SKILL SET
OF THE MARTECH PROFESSIONAL
Because the role of the MarTech professional is tailored to meet the needs
of the organization, it is difficult, if not
impossible, to develop a definitive list of
the necessary skills for every marketing
technologist. At the same time, we can
make some generalizations based on
the current business landscape and the
challenges brands face.
placement within the organization. It is
our assumption that the average marketing technologist possesses the basic
building blocks to address issues like
target market identification and content
creation, while the skills needed to
improve competencies in data analysis
or website design simply are not part of
their foundational tool kit.
The skills of the marketing technologist sit at the nexus of three areas: (1)
marketing and business; (2) breadth and
depth in marketing technologies; and
(3) their influence and leadership skills
in working with different audiences across the organization. In effect,
they are part business strategist and
marketing professional, part technology
leader and change agent. This person’s
most important work focus is to change
marketing, customer experience and
IT—including what those functions do
and how they work together—in service
of creating competitive advantage.
Thus, our takeaway is clear: significant
skills gaps exist in both the marketing
and technology portions of the MarTech
professional’s role. More importantly,
they have remained consistent with our
findings from our 2014 survey, implying that progress has not been made to
narrow the gap or keep it from growing.
Perhaps most significantly, the largest
gaps across both marketing and technology are in areas of significant opportunity – market targeting, CRM, data and
content. While the marketing technologist is certainly capable of rising to
the challenge, they must be prepared
and equipped by the organization to
do so – and they must understand that
their role, as well as the success of their
organizations, depend on it.
While we have already explored the
profession’s most important tech skills
– and the growing technical skills gap
within the group – it’s important to
note that some marketing and business skills are also sorely lacking. For
example, when asked about critical
marketing and business skills, our
respondents were most likely to cite:
marketing strategy and positioning (61
percent), content creation (55 percent)
and target market identification (54
percent). By comparison, just over half
(51 percent) indicated that strategy
and positioning was a strong skill, and
less than one-quarter (22 percent) cited
content creation. A mere 14 percent of
marketing technologists rated target
market identification as a strong skill,
indicating these areas are in dire need
of improvement.
While it’s true that some of the gaps in
marketing and business skills appear to
be greater than those on the technology
side, we find this deficiency slightly less
concerning given the MarTech professional’s education, job experience, and
FIGURE04
Top three critical marketing and business skills
When asked to compare critical business and marketing skills to personal skill sets, our respondents
identified the following skills gaps:
61%
51%
55%
54%
22%
14%
Marketing strategy
and positioning
Content creation
Source: SapientNitro, chiefmartec.com, and MarTech, 2016
RESEARCH
Target market
identification
Critical
skill
Strong
skill
10
2
Marketing technologists have relatively little oversight of critical IT
and strategic customer metrics.
While marketing technologists are
expected to straddle the worlds of
marketing and IT, our survey reveals
that relatively few MarTech professionals oversee critical IT metrics. When
asked which KPIs or business metrics
they were accountable for, just over
one-quarter of marketing technologists
(26 percent) indicated that they are
accountable for budget control of
marketing technology assets and projects and only one in five (21 percent)
oversee agility and time to market. By
comparison, MarTech professionals are
significantly more likely to be accountable for traditional marketing metrics,
such as marketing return on investment
(ROI) (41 percent), email marketing
performance (39 percent), and inbound
leads (39 percent). However, what
is more troubling is that longer-term
customer metrics such as customer
lifetime value (LTV) and net promoter
score (NPS) featured extremely low on
the marketing technologist’s agenda,
with just 14 percent and 16 percent,
respectively, indicating accountability.
In our view, the marketing technologist
should have direct or, at a minimum,
matrixed accountability for key IT metrics associated with the implementation
and adoption of marketing technology,
including project delivery metrics (e.g.
ROI, time to market, agility, budget
and usage rates) as well as strategic
customer metrics (e.g. CLTV, NPS).
If these professionals are to live up to
their full potential across marketing,
technology and business operations,
then they will need to be made accountable for the performance indicators associated with the functions.
RESEARCH
31%
of marketing technologists
say that their organization
does not have any metrics
to measure the customer
experience
FIGURE05
Customer experience metrics
KPIs or business metrics accountable for
Marketing Return on Investment (ROI)
40.8%
Email Marketing performance (e.g., Delivery Rate, Click-Through Rate, etc.)
39.0%
Increase in inbound leads
38.6%
Sales Growth
36.3%
Leads/Cost per Lead
36.3%
Search metrics (e.g., SEO rankings, organic vs. paid etc.)
35.9%
Goal completion rate (e.g., call-to-action performance)
34.5%
Project completion metrics for marketing technology projects (schedule/cost/quality)
32.7%
Engagement scores
26.0%
Total cost of ownership/budget control of marketing technology assets/projects
26.0%
Content quality and/or quantity
24.7%
Purchase funnel impact
23.3%
Social metrics (e.g., sentiment)
23.3%
Agility and time to market
21.5%
Internal user satisfaction (e.g., marketing operations team member feedback)
18.8%
Net promoter score
16.1%
Customer Lifetime Value
13.9%
IT Service Level Agreement for Marketing Technology Platforms (e.g., System uptime)
12.1%
None of these
5.8%
Source: SapientNitro, chiefmartec.com, and MarTech, 2016
11
3
and those with business titles declined
sharply from 23 percent to 17 percent.
Marketing technologists with technology
titles remained constant at 17 percent.
The “Marketing Technologist” title
has become more common, but
the position is becoming more
firmly rooted within the marketing
function.
As more organizations recognize the
differentiated skill set and unique value
proposition of the marketing technologist, many are assigning job titles that
capture this dual role. In fact, our 2016
survey revealed that 16 percent of
respondents report having a marketing
technology title – more than double
the amount in 2014 (7 percent). To
account for this change, the number of
participants with marketing job titles fell
slightly from 49 percent to 46 percent,
Our survey also revealed a notable shift
in the reporting structure for marketing technologists, with nearly half of
respondents (44 percent) reporting to
the CMO or other marketing executive
– an increase from 31 percent in 2014.
Meanwhile, one-quarter (24 percent)
report to the CEO and only 5 percent
to the CIO or CTO – as compared to
24 percent and 9 percent, respectively,
in 2014.
These figures, which may not be
noteworthy on their own, take on new
meaning when viewed within the context
of our first two findings about technical
skills and technology metrics. While
organizations are taking the important
step of positioning the marketing tech-
nologist as separate and apart from their
traditional marketing counterparts, it
appears that the opposite is happening:
the marketing technologist is reverting
to a pure marketing role. We say this in
light of the growing technical skills gap,
the lack of oversight on key business
and technology metrics, and increasing
alignment with the marketing function.
For the marketing technologist to
continue to act as an agent of change
within the organization, both businesses
and professionals will need to make a
concerted effort to differentiate it from
traditional marketing roles. To that end,
individuals must strengthen technology-related skills, demand accountability
for technology and strategic customer-related metrics and ensure they are
working beyond the office of the CMO.
Ultimately, it is up to the marketing technologist to decide if his or her role will
remain a hybrid, or if the profession will
be absorbed by the marketing function.
FIGURE06
Looking back: The changing profile for the marketing technologist
Marketing technologists
are more likely to report
to the CMO
The proportion of marketing
technology job titles appears
to be growing
There is an influx of marketing
technologists from the marketing/
communications field
2014
2016
2014
2016
2014
31%
44%
7%
16%
33%
percent report to the CMO
hold marketing technology titles
2016
55%
have a marketing/communications
background
Source: SapientNitro, chiefmartec.com, and MarTech, 2016
RESEARCH
12
FOLLOWING THE MONEY TRAIL
As demand for MarTech professionals
has grown over the past two years, so
too has their average salary. Our 2016
survey found that 40 percent of respondents earned more than $150K annually
– up from 31 percent in 2014. More than
one-third (35 percent) were paid between $100-150K, while just 25 percent
earned less than six figures. This stands
in sharp contrast to our 2014 results,
which showed that about two in five (38
percent) earned less than $100K.
One possible explanation for this income
growth may be related to the type of
organization where marketing technologists are choosing to work. In 2016, our
survey found the top two employers of
MarTech professionals are corporations
(44 percent) and software vendors (23
percent), an increase from 40 percent
and 15 percent, respectively, in 2014.
More importantly, marketing technologists appear to be shying away from
positions at advertising/marketing firms
with employment in this sector falling
by almost half, from 21 percent to 11
percent, between 2014 and 2016. While
we cannot determine the reason for this
shift, it’s possible that it is salary-driven, as just 57 percent of those employed
by advertising/marketing firms have
salaries exceeding $100K, compared
to 79 percent of those who work for
corporations and 69 percent of software
company employees.
It is not yet clear if these employment
changes indicate a long-term trend or
simply that our survey yielded more
responses from certain industries.
However, the overall rise in compensation indicates that employers are
paying handsomely for the blended
skill set of the marketing technologist.
Further, this group’s increasing salary
implies that the skills of this group
are valued at many organizations and
very much in demand. Companies that
wish to tap into the industry’s best
talent must be prepared to offer a competitive employment package – looking
not just at pay, but also learning opportunities, career advancement, culture
and other benefits.
RESEARCH
FIGURE07
Top Employers for MarTech Professionals
Q: What type of organization do you work for?
Percent working at each type of company
50%
45%
40%
44.4%
40.3%
35%
30%
25%
23.3%
21.1%
20%
14.6%
15%
11.2%
10%
8.1%
9.6%
5%
7.2% 8.2%
4.5%
3.2%
0%
Corporation
Software
vendor
Advertising/
marketing
Consulting
firm
Source: SapientNitro, chiefmartec.com, and MarTech, 2016
Non-profit
1.3%
2.5%
College/
university
2014
Other
2016
FIGURE08
2016 Income
Income
40.4%
34.5%
25.1%
Under $100K
$100K to
$149K
$150K+
US/Canada
Source: SapientNitro, chiefmartec.com, and MarTech, 2016
13
4
The vast majority of marketing
technologists appear ill-equipped
to drive change due to organizational deficiencies.
In light of some of our earlier findings,
it may not come as a surprise that the
vast majority of MarTech professionals
are not confident in their ability to effect
change. As noted earlier, our survey
found that only one in five respondents
(22 percent) felt “fully equipped” to
drive change within the organization –
a point that stands in stark contrast
to the business’s expectation that marketing technologists will play a critical
role in reimagining the business for
the digital age. Again, this finding applies to the whole of the profession
– from entry level employees to experienced executives.
While significant on its own, this point
takes on an added level of concern
when considering the marketing technologist’s reasoning. When asked what the
top barriers to their effectiveness were,
respondents most often cited: conflicting priorities (65 percent); a lack of
resources (62 percent); and insufficient
collaboration between departments (47
percent). With that further context, it appears that the marketing technologist’s
ability to drive change may not stem
from a skills deficiency on an individual
level, but rather a lack of alignment
within the organization.
RESEARCH
In order for the marketing technologist
to help enable transformation, he or she
must be empowered to do so – and the
business must be organized in a way
that allows it. Our recommendation is for
companies to take a holistic approach to
change – beginning with the development of an overarching digital strategy,
customer experience vision, execution
plan and corresponding timeline, as well
as ongoing evaluation of resource allocations, budgets, technological assets
and other key metrics. With these pieces in place, it is possible to chip away at
some of the obstacles that the marketing technologist claims prohibitive.
Only
1-in-5
respondents felt “fully equipped” to
drive change within the organization
While we believe organizations must
do their part to set the enterprise up
for success and equip the MarTech
professional to do his or her best work,
at the same time, we believe marketing
technologists must embrace the spirit
of transformation, and step up to lead
change with diligence and tenacity.
FIGURE09
Barriers to being effective in your job
Q: What barriers stand in your way of being effective in your job?
64.6%
Too many conflicting priorities
61.9%
Lack of resources
46.6%
Lack of collaboration between departments
26.0%
Lack of executive sponsorship
Other
None
2.7%
4.0%
Source: SapientNitro, chiefmartec.com, and MarTech, 2016
Total
14
5
Marketing technologists are pivotal
to DBT efforts – but appear unsure
of the organization’s vision and
strategy.
For most businesses, there should be
no agenda item more critical than DBT.
In fact, our survey showed that nearly
all organizations (97 percent) claim to
be addressing DBT “in some way” and
more than three-quarters of MarTech
professionals (77 percent) report being
involved in the business’s DBT initiative.
These findings are what we might
expect – businesses addressing the
issue head-on and the MarTech professional playing a key role in the efforts.
44%
However, our survey also found that
nearly half (44 percent) said that DBT
was not a priority for their organization
or that they don’t know if it was. This
implies that even as most companies
claim to recognize the importance of
DBT and most MarTech professionals
are supporting the plan, a staggering
amount do not realize the critical importance of this work.
said that DBT was
not a priority for their
organization or that they
don’t know if it was
If there is a silver lining to these findings, it’s that most organizations are
still in the early phases of planning and
implementing a comprehensive DBT
strategy – which means that those
companies who have yet to adopt a formal digital strategy have time to catch
FIGURE10
Addressing the role of digital
The majority of organizations (96.9%) are addressing digital in some way. Most are transforming customer experience holistically across all channels or transforming operational processes.
Q: How is your organization addressing the role of digital? We are...
96.9% of organizations are transforming their businesses in some way
56.5%
60%
54.3%
50%
49.8%
48.4%
39.0%
40%
30%
20%
10%
3.1%
0%
Transforming customer Transforming operational Transforming customer
experience holistically
processes
experience
across all channels
with specific channels
Transforming IT capabilities to be more agile/
continuous
Transforming business
models
No significant initiatives
in digital
Source: SapientNitro, chiefmartec.com, and MarTech, 2016
RESEARCH
15
up and those who are in the process
of executing have an opportunity to
widen their lead. For example, our survey
showed that less than six in ten (57 percent) have launched an initiative aimed
at improving operational processes and
even fewer (54 percent) are uniting
the customer experience holistically
across all channels. In fact, it appears
extremely rare for a company to design
a multifaceted DBT strategy – one that
includes both operations and customer
experience, as well as IT agility and the
reevaluation of business models. The
digital era may be upon us, but the winners have not yet been determined.
Importantly, the success of a DBT
initiative will rest on the people who
carry it out. To that end, we believe DBT
should be infused into the very culture
of the organization with every member
of the company – from the CEO to the
intern – embracing the imperative and
the solution. Our recommendation is
for all businesses to treat DBT not as a
side-project within the organization, but
as a driving priority across the enterprise. Marketing technologists, given
their blend of technical, marketing and
business skills, are poised to be especially valuable to organizations as they
undertake these plans.
DBT: MORE THAN TECHNOLOGY
In today’s digital age, organizations must
reinvent and reimagine every aspect of
the business to compete in a customer-first, networked world. This requires
more than a piecemeal approach of applying technology within different functions or deploying standalone applications to solve functional business needs.
Rather, the organization must unite
its digital efforts and compel business
leaders to radically rethink the ways in
which it will meet customer needs. DBT
is a full-scale business transformation.
For example, our survey revealed that
two thirds (66 percent) plan to launch a
machine learning initiative and almost
as many (59 percent) will do the same
with IoT within the next two years. Still
others see promise in technologies like
augmented/virtual reality, wearables
and 3D printing. While important to the
overall development of a DBT strategy,
these technologies are not synonymous
or interchangeable with DBT itself. They
are merely part of the overall plan.
KEY POINTS: DBT BY THE NUMBERS
97%
77%
Organizations are
addressing digital
in some way
MarTech professionals
are involved with
a DBT initiative within
the organization
Source: SapientNitro, chiefmartec.com, and MarTech, 2016
RESEARCH
Further, we caution businesses to
remember that many of these technologies are still in their infancy. We have
relatively few metrics by which to measure their success or gauge their impact
on business results. These applications
serve as an excellent way to leapfrog
competition or differentiate in a crowded
field, but they will not provide the foundation of a formal DBT initiative.
46%
25%
Organizations
make DBT the sole
responsibility of a
dedicated team
IoT
42%
Machine
learning
IoT and machine learning are
the two DBT-related initiatives
perceived to have the greatest
impact on customer experience
16
6
DBT efforts are not often linked to
customer needs and preferences.
Every business is operating in the age
of the customer. And yet, more than
one-third of marketing technologists
(35 percent) claim that their organization’s DBT initiative is not driven
by customer insights. In another 42
percent of organizations, DBT is driven
“somewhat” by the customer. In fact,
less than one-quarter of the respondents (23 percent) “strongly agreed”
that their company organized DBT
efforts around the customer – this
despite endless thought leadership and
research expounding on the importance of the customer experience and
the known current gap between what
experience organizations think they
deliver, and what their customers say
they actually encounter.
In today’s digital world, the customer
experience cannot be underestimated. Any new entrant or disruptor can
compete with a long-established leader
on product, price, place and promotion.
But no one can duplicate how a brand
experience makes the customer feel.
Those organizations that consistently
organize around their customers – as
opposed to simply selling products or
services – have the ability to build longterm loyalty and brand affinity.
Nearly all organizations have work to do
in this regard. Our survey revealed that
only one in ten of respondents say that
their organization is structured to deliver a seamless customer experience
across all customer touchpoints. About
half (48 percent) are “somewhat ready”
while 42 percent say they aren’t ready
35%
at all. The bottom line is that businesses that claim to be addressing digital
but are not organizing around the customer in a thoughtful and meaningful
way, aren’t embracing DBT at all.
said that DBT is not driven
by customer insights
To that end, every digital marketing and
transformation initiative should have a
clear and compelling link to the customer. While the company’s initiative
should address business issues and
operational challenges, it must do so
with the customer foremost in mind. In
fact, the customer should be put at the
center of all experiences – and it is this
experience that serves as the brand
differentiator.
FIGURE11
How is DBT viewed?
Q: Is DBT driven by customer insights?
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
23.1%
64.8% said “our digital business
transformation initiatives are
driven by customer insights”
41.7%
Q: What are the major obstacles to the successful implementation of your organization’s digital business transformation initiatives?
Obstacles in implementation
38.0%
Conflicting priorities
35.2%
Lack of dedicated resources, including staff allocation
29.6%
Lack of organization alignment
26.4%
Budget concerns/lack of investment
18.5%
Lack of vision from leadership
17.1%
Inadequate IT capabilities
14.8%
Lack of skills
13.9%
Lack of governance/coordination
Lack of a clear business case
10.6%
Lack of plan
10.6%
9.7%
Lack of awareness of market forces
8.8%
Regulation/security concerns
None
Other
3.7%
0.9%
Source: SapientNitro, chiefmartec.com, and MarTech, 2016
RESEARCH
17
7
DBT is most often owned by the
CMO – who tends to dedicate
more significant resources to the
initiative.
While DBT is owned by a variety of
members of the C-Suite, our survey
found that the executive most commonly responsible for its oversight is
the CMO (26 percent), followed by the
CEO (22 percent) and CIO/CTO (13
percent). The Chief Marketing Technology Officer (CMTO), a relatively new
addition to the C-Suite, owns DBT in 6
percent of organizations.
Notably, these findings seem to contradict several other recent studies, which
show that the CIO is emerging as the
typical lead for DBT. While it is possible, and perhaps even likely, that our
results were influenced by the fact that
we surveyed marketing technologists,
it seems equally or more likely that this
discrepancy exists because leadership
of DBT is still very much in flux. In
time, we may see one member of the
C-Suite take clear ownership of these
efforts, but for now it appears that the
responsibility varies from organization
to organization.
Interestingly, the structure of the team
supporting DBT initiatives also appears
to vary significantly based on the
executive overseeing the initiative. For
example, when the CMO is leading
DBT, projects are far more likely to
be executed by a dedicated person
or team, as opposed to a task force
where members have a wider range
of responsibilities. In fact, the CMO is
more than three times as likely to use a
dedicated team as compared to a CTO
or CIO (35 percent vs. 11 percent).
RESEARCH
These findings beg the question:
How can DBT be a priority for the
organization if it is not the priority of
a single team? In order to effectively
embrace transformation and manage
its challenges, DBT not only needs to
be an item on the C-Suite agenda, it
must also be championed by the most
senior leader within the organization,
the CEO. The CMTO – given her powerful blend of marketing and technology
skills, as well as the collaborative nature of the position – is one executive
who is primed to own its execution.
The CMO is
more
than 3x
as likely to use dedicated
team as compared to a
CTO or CIO
34.5%
CMO
CTO/CIO
11.1%
FIGURE12
Who helps the leader of DBT?
Q: Which executive is responsible for leading digital business transformation
in your organization? Who within your organization works on digital business
transformation?
CEO is leader
CMO is leader
64.6%
34.5%
27.1%
41.8%
23.6%
8.3%
Dedicated person
or team
Task force
No one
Dedicated person
or team
Task force
No one
CIO/CTO is leader
59.3%
29.6%
11.1%
Dedicated person
or team
Task force
No one
Source: SapientNitro, chiefmartec.com, and MarTech, 2016
18
Conclusion
There is urgency and momentum
building behind digital business transformation, as organizations reimagine,
reshape and retool for an era in which
traditional boundaries are being broken.
DBT compels business leaders to
radically rethink the ways in which their
entire organization will meet the needs
of consumers, many of whom are far
more advanced in their adoption and
use of technology than the businesses
serving them. Based on the findings of
this study, and the experience we have
in working with our clients, we see daily
the struggles that the entire MarTech
community has in uniting the marketing,
business and IT functions, aligning
priorities and rationalizing investments
across the all too often siloed functions.
What is not clear, and why we believe
there is a crisis upon us, is how organizations are addressing the imperatives of the digital world in a business
context. Yes, DBT has become table
stakes. Yet, our data clearly points to a
yawning gap in tying the DBT efforts to
customer experience. From our vantage
point, many departments within the
organization are doing a stellar job
of transforming themselves and their
work into a digitally focused context.
But what concerns us is that these
examples are the exception, not the
rule. We have not achieved a critical
mass. The vast majority of organizations
are struggling because there is no clear
leader in the DBT journey. Still more fail
to acknowledge the need to invest in
the capability of their staff to lead them
over the abyss.
Hybrid roles, in particular, such as the
marketing technologist, are crucial in
these times of disruption to serve a
RESEARCH
bridging function within the organization and galvanize efforts to change
and transform. In both our 2014 and
2016 research findings, we come away
with an emphasis on marketing technologists and the importance of their
development. In the case of DBT specifically, the success of a company’s
efforts will not rest solely on technology
– but also on the people who lead and
execute the company’s vision. In much
the same way that the customer is at
the center of the business, it is employees who are at the core of transformation. Therefore, it is the skills of the
workforce, their ability to effect change,
and their understanding of the business’s goals that are among the most
essential elements in the successful
development and execution of DBT.
For businesses to grow in today’s digital age, they must develop a workforce
that possesses the skills needed for
success. It is our belief that this is the
single biggest investment we can make
in our future.
About the survey
The survey was an online questionnaire distributed through two primary channels—chiefmartec.com and the 2016 San Francisco MarTech conference (March
21-22). Survey responses were collected from March 21 to April 26, 2016.
A total of 256 surveys were completed, including 223 from North America. A
total of 256 surveys were completed, including 223 from North America. Unless
otherwise noted, the figures referenced in this report relate to the North American
sample. Global data available upon request. The distribution of the sample appears
to be representative of the marketing technology community, as defined by the
blog and attendees from the 2016 MarTech conference. SapientNitro sponsored
the study and worked alongside Decision Analyst, a market research firm, to
design and execute it.
The authors are grateful to Scott Brinker, the host of the MarTech conference,
and owner of the chiefmartec blog for his support, as well as the organizers of the
MarTech conference for their help in distributing the survey.
19
ABOUT SAPIENTNITRO CMTO UNIVERSITY
Companies need a new breed of technologist. This individual sees around corners, paints the big picture, and “gets”
marketers, IT leaders, what keeps the
CEO up at night, and how to help all of
them. They are scrappy innovators, who
also understand scale and complexity,
and, who are awesome at influencing
people. We often joke – that’s not a marketer or a technologist… that’s a unicorn.
While marketing technology talent is in
very high demand, there is an enormous
industry skills gap. Academia has yet
to create programs that address their
hybrid role in marketing and technology
and the skills needed to enable DBT. The
demand for marketers who understand technology, data and algorithms
is as pressing and urgent as the need
for technologists who have a grasp of
marketing, advertising and the art of
growing customers.
With this in mind, SapientNitro decided
to create CMTO University, an internal
leadership development program that
grows some of our best technologists
by focusing on three core topic areas:
technology, business/marketing, and
communicating with influence. It is a
year-long experience that combines elements of a corporate leadership development program with the rigor, challenge
and learning of an executive MBA.
RESEARCH
RESEARCH
Modeled as a cohort-based program, our
students are selected through a competitive application process which includes
a formal application from the prospective student, internal business sponsorship and references, and a reference interview with a SapientNitro client who
has worked closely with the applicant
and can attest to her prowess. SapientNitro technologists hailing from any of
our global offices at the Vice President,
Director and Senior Manager career levels are eligible to apply. Participants are
required to commit to investing an extra
10-15 hours every week over the course
of the program year, in addition to their
demanding jobs.
The curriculum includes four intensive workshops, conducted in different
SapientNitro locations around the
globe, with “interim” periods between
the workshops. Each intensive and
interim has a specific focus; activities
include group projects, weekly individual assignments and discussions
through an online collaboration tool,
and semi-weekly virtual classroom
sessions with presentations, held over
the weekend.
Students must also complete an independent study project, the capstone
experience of the CMTOu program. Similar to a thesis, the independent study
demonstrates competency in a specific
aspect of critical marketing technology
as well as the opportunity to effectively
and creatively communicate their thinking. Participants select a topic, and then
design, plan and complete this work
with the assistance of internal and outside advisors, including several industry
luminaries. Each student is required to
present in public at a conference held
during the final intensive.
Sessions are taught by SapientNitro
thought leaders across the globe, industry and academic external experts,
and by the participants themselves as
their skills and knowledge are honed.
Throughout the program, participants are assessed for progress, share
feedback with their peers, and receive
personalized coaching from the program
faculty. The curriculum is designed and
delivered in collaboration with Hyper
Island, a leader in digital learning and
executive training.
This program also imparts the tools to
ensure the graduates continue to stay
on top of what’s next – a critical skill in
the digital world, as many marketing
technologies become obsolete and new
ones rise in importance. Our clients
reap the benefits through the work we
produce, and our participants see the
impact of their collective transformation
throughout the program, both in the
curriculum and on client work.
20
Sheldon Monteiro
Global Chief Technology Officer,
SapientNitro Chicago
[email protected]
Sheldon leads global technology capabilities, engineering,
quality, methods, DevOps, and tools. He sponsors and is a
senior faculty member at SapientNitro’s CMTO University,
an in-house executive development program to grow
SapientNitro’s marketing technologists.
Sean Burke-Gaffney
Director Technology,
Sapient|Razorfish Southeast Asia
[email protected]
Sean also is the APAC lead for the eXperience Technology
practice of SapientNitro and is a graduate with Distinction
of the SapientNitro CMTO University class of 2015.
Nova Halliwell
Senior Manager,
SapientNitro New York
[email protected]
Nova is a member of SapientNitro’s global marketing team.
She specializes in content strategy and development.
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