CMOs and CIOs have been trying desperately to get something going between them, but they don’t seem to share the same assessment of their relationships, according to a study conducted by Forrester and Forbes Insights.
In a survey of 308 marketing and technology management leaders, CIOs seemed to have much brighter prospects for their futures together than did CMOs. Sixty-nine percent of tech chiefs said they were able to communicate the priorities of both partners, while only 49% of the marketers felt the same.
One of the reasons for the disconnect appears to be a lingering problem—the lack of suitable talent. Only 54% of those surveyed—87% of whom hailed from billion-dollar-plus enterprises—felt that competent leadership was in place to support marketing technology strategies.
Exacerbating the communications breakdown in this blooming relationship is overconfidence on the part of marketers, 71% of whom felt that their teams understand marketing technology. Only 54% of CIOs agreed.
At least the two would-be corporate partners are talking. Seventy percent of CIOs and 59% of CMOs said that they got together on a regular basis to review progress and objectives. That’s a percentage point increase of nine and 14, respectively, compared to the same survey conducted last year.
