Marketing And Tech Execs Not On Same CX Page: Study

Technology executives are further along in their abilities for CX mapping, have more clarity on CX ownership, and have progressed more in delivering CX than their marketing counterparts, according to a new study by the Leapfrog Marketing Institute.

A disparity is evident between marketing and technology executives around customer experience (CX), according to a new study by the Leapfrog Marketing Institute (short registration required).

The third annual “CMO Digital Benchmark Study” found technology executives are further along in their abilities for CX mapping, have more clarity on CX ownership, and have progressed more in delivering CX than their marketing counterparts. The disconnect? Marketing goals are more aligned to business outcomes while technology goals are more aligned to specific programs, said Jason Wadler, EVP of Leapfrog Online, and chair of the Leapfrog Marketing Institute.

“CMOs need to align better with their technology peers on business outcomes,” Wadler said. “It’s up to CMOs to really take a leadership position and say, ‘We have to work together better against these business outcomes, and we need to work better together to ensure that the broader C-suite is aligned to what we’re doing.’”

The study also found 70% of marketing and technology executives said their companies are executing an omnichannel experience, a 50% lift over 2015. Marketers reported that delivering an omnichannel experience is less important for their companies than their technology counterparts, and that the purchase path is less integrated than last year.

“Every CMO’s job is to reduce friction from the purchase path, to drive as many sales as possible with efficiency and skill,” Wadler said. “So we know now that the tools exist, but marketers have to get comfortable with those tools, technology, data and the partners they have, both internally and externally, both to plan and implement.”

Another surprise: Marketers are still very much far behind when it comes to mobile. In fact, marketers said mobile is still viewed as their weakest channel, even with a 30% reported lift in strength over last year.

Compared with 2015, fewer executives reported their companies are building a mobile-first environment, with more than 50% of marketing and technology executives in serious discussions to build one.

“Technology is changing and making it easy for the consumer to just ask for something and get it, and that places a high level of focus not just on front-end media but on the consumer experience through any purchase path: digital purchase path, through a call center, through a retail outlet, whatever it may be,” Wadler said. “It places an even greater emphasis on the need for marketers to think at a consumer level and not at a channel or a product level.”