IBM’s Yuchun Lee: IT and Marketing Must Work Together

We spoke previously about the vision of a new member of the C-suite, the CMTO—a hybrid position that combines the marketing and IT department management. While not advocating a new position be created, IBM’s VP Yuchun Lee is also speaking about the importance of getting CIOs and CMOs on the same page.

In his piece in Fortune, Lee gets to the heart of the matter. Though there’s typically a disconnect between CMOs and CIOs that results in separate goals, that’s no longer an option. “The CMO and CIO can’t afford to operate on separate stages any longer, and we can thank the consumer for that,” he states. “The consumer knows a lot more today, and knows it a lot faster too.”

Lee is right on two levels. It’s becoming obvious that marketing and technology are now intertwined and must align goals, but it really comes down to giving the consumer the best possible experience with your brand. The customer holds incredible power in the modern digital marketplace, and making your brand stand out takes a deep understanding of what your customers want and how to deliver that interaction. The only way to gain that understanding and then deliver the right experience is to combine actionable analytics with intelligent marketing strategy.

How are your marketing and IT departments working as a team?