It’s easier to give birth than to raise the dead.

I know people who are masters of the turnaround. I applaud them. It takes wisdom and courage to come into a situation that is on its last legs and revive it. 

I’m not that guy. I’m happy to come in and inspire in a moment, but the day-in, day-out labor of resurrection is beyond me. 

Technology births. 

And I’m all about that. 

We have known for some time that the CIO is not about saving cost but creating value. You solve problems and open possibilities. You drive business, you guide philosophy, and you affect experience.

You are not reviving, you are revolutionizing.

When I first started CIO Mastermind four years ago, I was still helping CIOs to get the “seat.” Well, we got it.

Now, we are overwhelmed because it feels like every seat at the table is looking to us for answers.

Don’t overlook the marketer when they look your way.

The CIO and CX

Traditional marketing used to focus on customer awareness and acquisition. Now, marketing is concerned with driving growth across the business. They aim for acquisition, retention and referral. They are dialed in on customer experience (CX).

Marketing seeks to understand the audience and their journey. The audience is trying to accomplish something. They have questions to answer, tasks to complete, influences to filter, pain to eliminate and emotions to process. 

The customer’s decision to transact involves a series of steps and touchpoints. User-centric marketing allows businesses to tailor their message along the way. To do so, your marketing team is utilizing a number of resources: research, surveys, analysis, interview, and customer journey mapping.

They are defining models that map a customer’s journey and that identify the right marketing channels. They are planning better ways to explore data and identify goals. They build, ship and analyze experiments in order to automate and scale an effort or scrap it all together. 

They are optimizing your site, testing in order to reduce costs and make improvements.

You see IT in all of that, right?

Marketing is extremely forward-focused. They are pregnant with possibilities. And they need the CIO to help them raise value.

As your role continues to expand, you will interact more and be called upon more to speak into the arena of customer experience. In just a few years, Gartner expects the CIO to be the de-facto leader of CX for their company. 

Why do I bring this up? Two reasons really.

First, business outcomes improve when IT understands customer needs. Positive CX equals growth of revenue. 

Second, I’m watching out for you. I know the CIO role is indispensable. I want you to be so. 

In the midst of overwhelm, it’s easy to lose sight of where to best place your efforts. CX is the wave you can catch or the wave that will crash over you.

For the CIO, CX is a natural fit. It promotes revenue and it is a constant sea of innovation. That is the place where you want to be indispensable.

Turn your eyes toward customer experience. Be involved in marketing planning and initiatives. Design is critical. Experience is the payload. And you are needed to affect both.

You already have what marketing needs: Technology insight to improve their outcomes. My invitation to you is to make them your 2022 priority. It will pay off for you in the many years ahead.

Need help moving into CX influence? Contact me here and let’s explore the possibilities.