Marketing technology has the power to provide CMOs with business insights and measurable results that historically have not been possible. From customer acquisition costs to customer lifetime value, as well as customer retention and marketing ROI, CMOs can now bring a true business view of marketing to the C-suite table. Suffice it to say, whether they’re ready or not, CMOs are now technologists, writes Forrester Principal Analyst Sheryl Pattek in a new report exploring the CMO’s role in technology purchasing decisions.

“It’s not a question of whether technology plays a role in marketing,” writes Pattek in a blog post. “It’s what role you’ll need to play in building the right technology infrastructure to drive your marketing success.” Seems pretty straightforward. But the marketing technology choices in front of the CMO are abundant and confusing, so it’s no surprise that most CMOs are ill-equipped to provide the vision and strategic direction required to make sounds and effective marketing technology purchase decisions.

In her new research, Pattek outlines how CMOs can crack the code and make marketing technology work for their organization, noting that marketers who grew up in the creative development of marketing messages and communications face a new world order, where understanding the internal technology plumbing is as critical as understanding customer behavior.

To learn more about this research, visit the Forrester blog for CMOs here, or read the full report here.