Ignorance is No Longer Bliss for CEOs

A Chief Executive Officer’s main job function is to be a visionary and lead the company in a direction where the company can continue to prosper and grow. In order to properly accomplish this, I have seen CEO’s build different corporate cultures and focus on utilizing capital to bring in the proper resources needed to accomplish the company’s goals. One aspect that is often overlooked is the importance of information technology and its applications to common business practices. With today’s technological advances, CEOs can no longer turn a blind-eye to technology initiatives. With the exponential growth we are experiencing with the current Technology Age, general business operations and marketing are highly automated. Without the leader of the company having a clear understanding of the technology-based options and execution, a small to mid-sized company will not have a chance to flourish.

IT is a Must for Marketing

Having owned an IT service company for some time, I have seen the demand for the services of a company like mine grow significantly over the last 10 years. Consumers no longer look to the Yellow Pages or friends for business services and products. Consumers have been trained to go straight to a search engine such as Google or Yahoo or social media outlets like Facebook or Twitter to be educated on an item and actually purchase the good or service. There are many different online marketing approaches a company like mine can utilize depending on the needs of the company we are servicing, such as:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
• Email Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• Media Buying
• Re-Targeting

Each approach has its own pros and cons, so while the execution of the online marketing approach should be left up to an in-house professional or an outside IT firm like mine, it is vital that the CEO understand what each approach has to offer. This conceptual understanding is critical, especially when the company cannot afford to have an in-house Chief Information Officer.

Analytics and Big Data For the Company’s Success

Other than marketing, the necessary technology initiative every company should be implementing is to recover data on its consumers’ behavior through analytics and analyzing the data to predict future trends and behavior. This concept is known as “Big Data” and the application of it has grown significantly in recent history. I had a client who was using Google’s Adwords and Facebook Ads to attract customers, but they had no idea of which ads were working, where they should spend more money and which initiatives should be cut. The benefit of today’s online advertising versus more traditional ad placements is the ability to track a Return-On-Investment (ROI). Not only are ad spending results measurable, but they can be tracked down to a very granular level and these applications will allow you to accomplish this.

Analytics programs, such as Google Analytics, are necessary for any company spending marketing capital to implement. They allow the company to not only understand where their sales are coming from, but by understanding the data of the consumers such as geographic location, time of day, sex, and age, the CEO can redirect his technological marketing initiatives to target the correct audience at the right time and at the right place. These types of initiatives put in place by the CEO can not only push company growth significantly, but can be the difference in a company’s survival.

As the leader, the CEO has to set the course of the proverbial ship. Surviving in today’s environment requires an understanding of the tools that are available. Gone are the days where CEOs can bury their heads at current technology trends which they are either unaware of or do not understand. As a CEO, you may not have the in-depth knowledge to execute the initiatives or the resources, but understanding what needs to occur is critical. Luckily, a CEO now has the ability to outsource the execution in order to have top-notch results. Tech Support of Minnesota is the trusted choice when it comes to staying ahead of the latest information technology tips, tricks, and news. Contact us at (952) 758--7272 or send us an email at [email protected] for more information.