26 July 2011

As communications go digital, it’s vital for marketing divisions to work more closely with information technology staff. Meshing the two, however, presents challenges for companies aiming to modernize.

Marcelo Costa, chief marketing officer at IT consulting firm Neoris, led talks on the thorny subject at WorldCity’s Marketing Connections on July 22, offering tips on how to smooth the union.

Two success stories that Costa shared : One company changed its structure, axing top marketing and IT posts and creating a Chief Integration Officer to bridge the gap. Another company had top marketing and IT executives work together to upgrade a call center, resulting in better customer satisfaction ratings on calls and greater enrollment in its customer loyalty program.

 

“There’s a mantra nowadays: A company is only as good as its ability to innovate,” Costa said. And that means working to overcome what can be a “huge disconnect” between marketing and IT, he said.

 

The disconnect sometimes hinges on speed.

Too often, a marketing department on tight deadlines calls an IT department for help and is told to get to the end of the line. That means help won’t be coming for months, said Ricardo Ricossa, marketing leader for the Americas International at telecom company Avaya.

“IT needs to understand they play a key role in connecting the business, not only the back office but the front line” linked directly to consumers, Ricossa said.

To ensure speedy results, companies are increasingly hiring outside contractors for specific IT projects. That generally turns out to be cheaper than in-house work, said Juan Meza, strategic business development manager for Sony Professional Solutions for Latin America.

Indeed, the job of IT professionals at multinationals is changing. Within five years, IT executives will be more focused on choosing outside contractors  for projects – defining projects, auditing companies and monitoring results, instead of doing projects in-house, said Costa.

“The purchasing guy becomes more important” over time to negotiate price and select the best suppliers, said Leonel Azuela, managing director of interactive marketing company Quaxar.

Marketing and IT also conflict at times because of different mentalities.

Too often, IT folks focus on new gizmos and marketing people on ideal campaigns. Both must align more with the vision of what the business needs now to succeed, panelists said.

Healthcare company Baxter Export is trying to boost alignment with a new Business Process Excellence department. IT staff in that unit now ask other units to define their top pain points and top projects. Then they strive to prioritize those IT-related needs, said Peter DeRobertis, director of sales and marketing effectiveness for Baxter Export’s Latin America and Caribbean region.

“Now, I see the IT Business Process Excellence person talking a little less about IT and a little more about business solutions,” DeRobertis said.

Still, it’s tough to decide how best to use new technology for business growth and marketing.

 

For example, what should a company do with all the feedback it receives from its Facebook page and other social media? How does it set goals and measure the effectiveness of its social media efforts?, asked Elizabetta Bell, who runs growth services for Latin America for equipment maker Caterpillar.

 

”It’s not just, “OK, we have a Facebook page,” Bell said. “What do you want out of it? What is the strategy?”

But waiting for a big multinational to define a digital strategy can take months, if not years, and can delay action needed now, said Sergio Leymarie, director of business development and marketing for Latin America for global law firm Baker & McKenzie.

Instead of waiting for layers of executives to approve a broad plan, it’s often smarter to start small projects now “that will eventually lead to a big strategy later,” Leymarie said.

Both IT and marketing do share at least one common problem:  How to obtain more resources, both people and money.

At Neoris, Costa said he stretches his marketing budget through online campaigns, by building ties with industry analysts to share information and through partnerships with other companies, especially software company SAP.

“We try to work more and more,” said Costa, “as a global team.”

Marketing Connections is one of seven event series organized by WorldCity to bring together multinational executives to discuss international business topics. The marketing series is sponsored by Quaxar and Marketwise Group. The next Marketing Connections event is set for Sept. 23.

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