Before today’s digital age, marketing and technology were two separate entities. One dealt with computers and network issues, while the other sought to promote the company/brand to the public. But thanks to today’s increased interested in all things related to technology, marketing and IT are now transforming into one entity, creating a new role – the marketing technologist.
Progressive companies are now utilising the knowledge of a marketing technologist to expand their business in a world fuelled by technology. A marketing technologist is a mix of a variety of things, including a strategist, creative director and technology leader – all combined to align marketing technology with the goals of the business.
Since software reigns supreme as a way to engage customers and prospects, a marketing team now has to choose what type of software they’ll need to maximize results. And with so many different types of software available now, it can be overwhelming as to which one will work best. Then there’s the challenge of configuring and operating it, where an IT person is called in to aid with. This is only part of today’s marketing climate, with social media and digital platforms another aspect of marketing now. Digital budgets are now getting more dollars than ever before and companies are now looking for the best ways to utilize social media to their advantage.
All this technology involved in marketing now can be daunting, which is how the need for a marketing technologist emerged. According to HBR’s articles on “The Rise of the Chief Marketing Technologist,” a company can’t merely split these duties down the middle and assign marketing tasks to the marketing team and IT jobs to their IT department. Instead, the two must be bridged together with it’s own department – one that understand both sides of the spectrum and can easily merge the two for the company’s advantage in their industry. The team must consist of members who are comfortable with both marketing and IT, so to maximize success. It’s becoming impossible to run a marketing department without proper IT knowledge, which is why hiring a marketing technologist is important for a company who wants to thrive in today’s digital business world.
