IT Marketing

With the explosion of advanced new technologies in past decade, it seems natural to assume that these new innovations such as the internet and social networking would be utilized to increase the marketability of a company’s product or service. It is now commonly believed that the future of marketing is extremely closely related to information technology, and for the most part this idea is true. However, in his recent article entitled “Global CIO: IT & Marketing: Can’t They Ever Get Along?” Chris Murphy analyzes how marketing and information technology have failed to coexist. He points out that a lack of respect between the CIOs and the CMOs of many major corporations has severely inhibited the success of marketing through technology. The CMOs believe that technology is simply a medium through which they will be able to market more efficiently, and most technology executives are completely oblivious to the process and necessity of marketing functions. Inversely, many CIO’s have the view that marketers are always looking for “shortcuts” and they fail to the full potential of technology. Another problem between marketing and technology that Murphy brings to light is the fact that these two groups are failing to make use of the data that is right in front of them. These corporations that aren’t taking advantage of technology are doing a disservice not only to themselves, but to their customers as well.

By integrating marketing into technology, companies will be able to get a much clearer understanding of what exactly there consumers want. As a result of popular new things such as Facebook and Twitter, companies have more access to the wants and needs of potential customers than they have ever had before. This new technology offers countless new opportunities, including the ability to reach out to exciting new target markets and give them a better idea about what their current customers are looking for. Marketing professionals that are not seizing this opportunity that technology that has given them are quickly falling behind those that are, and if they do not realize this quickly then they will likely lose touch with their potential. Although his article focuses mainly on how marketing and technology are clashing, Murphy also cites a few examples of CIO’s that are have been successful in using marketing to their advantages. For example, he states that “at Wet Seal, a retailer of girls clothing, the IT and marketing teams have built a platform to let girls create an outfit on the Web site, share them on Facebook, and use an iPhone in its stores to see what outfits others have built around a particular shirt or skirt”. This is a very good idea and a brilliant use of social networking because it allows Wet Seal to get a firsthand look at what designs their customers are interested in. They can use this create a new line of clothing that would most likely be a hit because the consumers created it themselves. This is just one of many things that prove that marketing and information technology are a match made in heaven. IT will play a vital role in the future of marketing, and the sooner corporations realize this, the more successful they will be.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/global-cio/trends/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=227700221&pgno=2&queryText=&isPrev=