Indian CMOs looking to CIOs to accelerate their tech agenda

In the past, CMOs flirted with technology to test new ideas, but the new mantra is "Technology is marketing." CMOs need a sufficiently detailed view of today's customers to provide them with personalised experiences that are tailored to their specific needs - which requires technology. Forrester Research new survey suggests that Indian CMOs understand the importance of technology to their success.

Twelve of the 20 Indian banking CMOs surveyed by Forrester plan to increase their technology budget in 2014, whereas only 10 of them actually managed to do so in 2013.

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The market analyst firm revealed that digital marketing is a big focus area for banks, and estimated that 17 percent or 18 percent of CMOs' budget goes directly to digital initiatives aimed at customer empowerment.

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The CMO of a large private bank told Forrester that the bank's aim is to become a complete "digital bank" to better engage with customers. "CMOs are investing in social networking tools, customer communication management solutions, and loyalty management platform software, among others, to emotionally connect with customers."

Thirteen of the 20 banking CMOs acquire marketing technology solutions from the organisation's tech management department, but only three have a dedicated technology group within their own business unit or department.

Banking CMOs are less inclined to do the latter for two reasons. First, the banking industry requires that new technology investments adhere to industry regulations, and procurement through internal tech management departments thus makes sense. Also, marketing has traditionally routed everything technology-related through tech management. This trend is prominent in public-sector banks, where marketing departments are more reactive and struggle to attract talent from the private sector.

Banking CIOs tend to focus on preparing the business case for technology and selecting vendors, while marketing works with suppliers to drive innovation in ongoing projects and conducts regular supplier performance reviews.

CMOs' involvement with marketing tech vendors is again unique in banking, and the increasing reliance of marketing on technology has two effects on CIOs: They must manage the infrastructure and technology operations for their banks while working with marketing to procure the tools it needs to respond to customer needs better, faster, and cheaper. Altering governance processes and changing tech management's performance metrics can help CIOs juggle these responsibilities.