Digital marketing has two words and the first is digital whose legacy meaning is IT or information technology. The legacy meaning of marketing in digital marketing is about being a "peoples person", being "creative" and as this blog mentioned in a previous post – generally in favor of an open bar in any celebration!The IT folks are obviously more technical and math oriented and since live depends on bits ( a precise 0 or 1) precision is what this community thrives on.
Now with digital marketing set match TV spending in 2016 time has come for both the IT and Marketing/Ad Agency folks to encroach into each others traditional territory or rather traditional mindsets. Here are some suggestions for IT and Marketing/Ad Agency leaders:
- Marketing and Ad Agencies: Do not be afraid of the math and analytics involved in digital marketing. Start by looking at the Google Analytics/AdWords report of your website as a routine activity. Soon you'll be watching it every day and would have something meaningful to to discuss with your client (if you are the agency), with your agency ( if you are the client) and with IT folks of the organization in case they are involved in the website ( if you are marketing or ad agency).
- IT folks: OK you folks were smarter in school at least in Math and Physics than the colleagues in Marketing and the Ad Agency. But who seems to be more important in the organization? (probably Marketing). So all the "creative" and a more imprecise view of the world must be doing something for your organization. And think about it – why is it that in all your ERP related work there is a whole lot of talk about "understanding the business" . You have hordes of consultants just trying to match up the business , let's say your supply chain department, to the ERP module of say SAP Supply Chain. While ERP is all about precisely trying to tie up the internal parts of your organization the website and digital marketing is about an external audience.
It's hard enough to get internal departments to talk and understand each other so it's much harder to gain customer insights and explain simply the offerings and value you bring to your customers. Recognizing and breaking the logjam between the organization, IT folks and the Marketing/Ad agency will help. Contact StratoServe.