Turning Friction into Fuel for Growth

In the past few weeks, our Intuitive team has spoken with marketing and IT leaders about the challenges they face in working together and how to improve collaboration. We want to share key insights from these discussions, including ideas from Anne White, CMO at Heartland America. Even though they are working towards the same business goals, these teams often deal with miscommunication, differing expectations, and frustration. The good news is that by better understanding each other, they can turn these challenges into advantages.

Three main themes emerged repeatedly: the language gap between functions, moving from conflict to teamwork, and the importance of a common goal.

1. The Language Barrier: Same Words, Different World

One clear issue is that IT and Marketing often use the same words but have different meanings. A “simple integration” for a marketer could mean “unvetted vendor, security review, and architecture impact” for IT. To Marketing, “friction” means anything that slows a customer from clicking “buy,” while for IT, friction refers to the necessary measures that protect the business from data loss, downtime, or regulatory issues.

Leaders often emphasize the importance of a common understanding between IT and marketing. This involves shifting from simple feature requests to focusing on benefits and results. For example, instead of just asking for a tool to be activated, the conversation should be about testing an offer with a specific audience to safeguard revenue. By discussing the business impact, both teams can more effectively assess risks, timings, and project scope rather than debating language.

2. From Conflict to Collaboration

Many shared stories began with conflict: marketing teams using corporate cards for software, IT rejecting untested tools, and both sides feeling stuck. Marketing leaders were often confused by technical terms, while IT leaders were frustrated because they were involved only after contracts were signed or issues arose.

The turning point happens when both teams change how they communicate. Marketing teams that highlight revenue risks, brand effects, and urgency instead of just demanding immediate action inspire IT to suggest more creative solutions, like phased deliveries or temporary fixes while better integrations are made. IT teams that give options instead of a firm “no” build a more cooperative relationship instead of acting as gatekeepers.

Leaders highlighted key changes to improve teamwork: involving front-end developers in marketing, teaching marketing staff basic security for hiring vendors, and making checklists for non-technical staff to assess tools before IT’s deep review.

3. A Shared North Star: Growth, Guardrails, and Customer Value

Underneath the tension, IT and Marketing both share responsibility for growth but approach it differently. Marketing focuses on speed, testing, and personalization, while IT works to secure data, maintain stability, and ensure a coherent system. When these areas see their priorities as separate, organizations face issues like duplicate tools, fragmented systems, delayed launches, and underutilized customer data.

Leaders who are making the most progress are anchoring both teams to a shared north star: clear business outcomes, especially financial goals. Instead of debating tools or ownership, they ask: How does this initiative move revenue, margin, or customer lifetime value? What risk are we accepting or avoiding? How will we measure success?

This mindset is essential with AI and new technologies. Marketing teams usually adopt generative tools for content and creativity first, while IT handles data security, compliance, and support. Successful organizations establish clear guidelines for sensitive tasks, support low-risk experimentation, and create cross-functional teams to share successful strategies before expanding them.

Moving Forward: Bridging the Gap on Purpose

The gap between IT and Marketing doesn’t close on its own; it closes when leaders decide to build translation, trust, and shared accountability into how their team’s work. That starts with acknowledging the language barrier, reframing conflict into structured collaboration, and aligning both groups around a single, measurable north star.

From what our team is hearing, the organizations that will pull ahead aren’t the ones with the most tools, but the ones where IT and Marketing are truly on the same side of the table designing the future of their customer experience together.

Author: Erin Seering, Client Engagement Manager, Intuitive