The 2016 State of Digital Transformation

Big role for CMOs. Are they ready?

The data shows people are starting to do the right thing such as using customer journey maps and trying to understand the connected customer. These things show companies want to learn and change. But it’s still nascent. Most companies are still in the second or third stage, although some are beginning to spread their wings to reach the fourth or fifth stage like Sephora and Starbucks. But at the end of the day, there’s still much to learn in the organization especially around customer experience.

A new Altimeter report said that the CMO most often leads digital transformation, while the CIO and CTO only account for 19% of these initiatives.

Customer Experience (CX) is a difficult process, because so many stakeholders interpret CX differently and then prioritize investments and resources accordingly. The IT-Department thinks it’s about technology. The Marketing-Department thinks it’s about omnichannel. The department customer service focuses on contact touchpoints. The Advertising-Department activates experiential events and campaigns. And the executives ask for customer data and make decisions based on narrow inputs and more so cognitive biases. I could go on and on.

Analyst Brian Solis pointed out that the CMOs of the organizations are leading the digital transformation, as it they who are driven by customer demand. The CIOs and CTOs are far behind when it comes to undertaking digital initiative

“Los esfuerzos en la experiencia del consumidor pueden equipararse al corazón y al alma de la transformación digital”

“El Darwinismo digital beneficia a las empresas que invierten en el cambio”

“I think we are at a point where companies recognize that you can only get so far if you continue to work in old ways and use new technology in old ways,” Solis said. “This is why you see marketing departments becoming bigger than what they were yesterday. They’re becoming more of an integrated unit across the enterprise. And now we’ll start to see groups that disparately operated in the customer journey are now collaborating in the customer journey because they have to deliver this heightened experience.”

The top three transformative initiatives — accelerating innovation, modernizing IT infrastructure and improving operational agility — typically fall under the responsibility of IT, but a disconnect exists between the trends driving change and the individuals who lead the efforts, according to Brian Solis, principal analyst at the research and advisory firm.

Analist Brian Solis van Altimeter Group sprak over generatie C, de generatie die altijd connected is en een ultieme klantervaring verwacht, simpelweg omdat ze weten dat het kan. Bijna negentig procent van deze generatie, kortom iedereen met een smartphone, is volgens hem bereid om extra te betalen voor een betere klantervaring. “Wie iets wil aanschaffen, raadpleegt eerst zijn telefoon. De gemiddelde consument kijkt 1500 keer per week op zijn mobiel en besteedt hier wekelijks ruim twintig uur aan. En of je dit nu een goede ontwikkeling vindt of niet, je mist de boot als je hier niets mee doet.”

So far, digital transformation is largely led by the chief marketing officer. That’s borne out in a new study of 528 digital executives and “transformation strategists” by Altimeter, a Prophet Company, which finds more than one-third of executives (34%) say their CMOs are leading the digital charge. For 27%, the digital impetus comes right from the top — saying the CEO is in charge of digital.