Tag Archives for Chief marketing officer

Can We Save Marketing?

indecision dice

Image by snigl3t via Flickr

Over the last six years, I have had a personal interest on the verge of a crusade to better understand and study lead marketers and CMOs across industries. My concern, after meeting well over 300 leaders, is marketing is lacking influence and at some companies is considered “damaged goods”.

How do we fix it? The question I hope to answer over the coming months. There are three areas of concern, which I believe highlight the main issues.

1. Communications heavy, impact light

Historically, marketers and our peers in the executive ranks have been hyper-focused on communications – the latest ad, hot new website or now how many people “like” us on Facebook. We have lost substance and, in some cases, lack the will and determination to educate our organizations on what marketing is and is not. Traditional marketers seem to be less likely to hold the CMO post. In many of the companies I have spoken with, it is more likely that someone from sales, product or operations to be in the CMO role. The stinging reality… they are doing a better job. Why? Probably because they have a broader perspective on what is driving the business and how to harness it.

2. Losing influence, merging functions

Marketing leaders have lost influence. A recent IBM study of 1700 CMOs, show that less than half of the CMOs surveyed have much sway over key parts of the pricing process, and less than half have much impact on new product development or channel selection. Being a Marketing leader is such a herculean task of political gamesmanship to drive a cohesive strategy there is now wonder that the average tenure is still less than ½ that of the CEO. Despite these odds there is still hope as it seems a trend is growing in combining posts like Chief Commercial Officer or Chief Sales & Marketing Offer or Chief Marketing and E-commerce Officer. Although a great recognition on part of CEO and board that greater ownership is needed, they still lack the strategic focus on marketing in its potential long-term impact.

3. All-stars abandoning ship, lack of pride

My gravest concern is our very best are abandoning ship. The “best of the best” marketers that I have spoken to, rarely self-identify themselves as a marketer but rather opt for a “business leader”, “business executive”, “driver of the business”, etc. When I have asked do you consider yourself a marketer, their voice gets quiet and they say “no.” Despite the fear of being pegged a marketer, almost all agree that marketing is at the core of how they approach their jobs and that marketing with a big “M” is what more organizations desperately need.

Depressed yet. There is hope.

We have to start thinking about what matters again. We need to learn from those we think of as magicians of the practice. At the heart of what marketers are trying to accomplish is meaningful differentiation and capturing uncontested demand. “Meaningful differentiation” is difference that matters and customers are willing to pay for. As for “uncontested demand”, this term comes from Blue Ocean strategy and is the whitespace source of new demand we all seek that allows our products and services to occupy a new space that satisfies a real need not previously addressed.

Let’s all get back to what matters, which should deliver the impact, influence and pride marketers are lacking today. Help save marketing!

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The New Face of Marketing Leadership

In the below slidecast, I highlight the findings of our recent research (starting around 7 minutes in) that spans over 60 interviews with CMOs…

I welcome your thoughts, comments, and questions. The research is ongoing now in the 3rd year.

Is IDC loosing relevance on marketing?

The IDC released a preview of their upcoming report, IDC’s 7th Annual Tech Mktg. Benchmarks Study.  I was stunned at the marketing kingdom protection rhetoric and support of empire building for marketing leaders. Most of the trends were aspects that have been underway for some time — shifting budget online, focusing on sales and marketing alignment. Where is the insight?

On a related note, it has been a while since publishing a meaty post due to finishing a research project for CMG Partners called CMO 2.0: The next step in the evolution of the Chief Marketing Officer. The executive summary is out today and you can sign-up for the free full report to be released to the public on Oct. 26th.

It is the CMO 2.0 research that forces me to question IDC’s relevance. In speaking with 30+ CMOs in this latest round and 60+ to date, we propose an evolution is occurring in marketing leadership.  CMOs of the future will be much more like what we have coined as a “Chief Transformational Officer”. This attainment is earned by demonstrating enterprise value not creating empires or protecting kingdoms as IDC suggests.

To earn the broader, more strategic role described above, lead marketers must accept accountability for business drivers and demonstrate impact. Three components include:

  • Accountability for revenue: Marketing should be driving the business, but this role is earned, not a birthright. Demonstrating value can take many forms, but a central theme was accountability for sales or revenue, which ultimately provides the opportunity to have a greater voice in setting business direction and more latitude to experiment.
  • Cut first or be cut: In the downturn, marketers that were fairing better emotionally and professionally made the first move in identifying where dollars could be conserved, and how to shift resources to higher quality or more measurable initiatives. In doing, so they clearly demonstrated corporate citizenship over defense of the marketing kingdom, and earned the respect of their peers.
  • Adopting the role of strategic advisor: Market-driven processes like new product development or voice of the customer programs provided a more rigorous and formal opportunity for marketing to assume a leadership role. Many leaders are using external market-facing processes such as these to increase influence in other areas like engineering, operations and customer service, and step closer to the role of strategic advisor.

What are your thoughts? Which side of the fence do you support?

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Poll: Is your head of marketing a strategic adviser to the CEO?

I am currently writing a summary of CMG Partners‘ second round of CMO Agenda research, which consists of 31 interviews with lead marketers. This topic is a central theme that determines the role and value of a CMO. Stay tuned for the release of the findings.

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Dashboard AND Gut

This is the seventh and last in a series of short posts related to The CMO Agenda research. Informed by recent CMO conversations and CMG Partners‘ collective experience helping top marketers develop marketing strategy, we have compiled a list of seven ideas or jump starters for further conversation. These are meant to spark discussion, ideas, and action as we all enter a difficult 2009.

Over the past few years, measurement of marketing has dominated the vernacular of lead marketers and marketing literature – ROMI, ROI, campaign tracking and management, etc.. The reality is that not everything worthwhile can be measured and it takes an equal or greater effort to generate insight from measurement.

Watch out… As the pendulum swings back, companies are re-evaluating the right mix of measurement and management. When they do, will your staff’s talent and skills be seen as they key to decision-making or a weak link in the connection between metrics and action?

Skills of successful top marketers and marketing executives are evolving. More business orientation and holistic approach to decision making are a must to continue to demonstrate value. This means marketers are adopting revenue as a measure and some are responsible for a P&L.

What is your next move?

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Starbuck’s answer to McCafe: messaging disaster?

Starbucks logo
Image via Wikipedia

In a New York Times article today,  Starbuck’s answer to McDonald’s McCafé $100 million dollar blitz is:

“If your coffee isn’t perfect, we’ll make it over. If it’s still not perfect, you must not be in a Starbucks.”

In the article Terry Davenport, chief marketing officer at Starbucks, is quoted as saying..

“[Competition] is trying to just commoditize coffee and take it down to a level where all coffee’s the same, and if coffee’s coffee, you might as well buy the cheap stuff. … We just don’t believe that to be true. That’s why we wanted to tell our stories.”

See more of what Starbuck’s is saying and the ads on their blog.

So, what is the story? At Starbuck’s, we make a mistake once but never twice?

I am disappointed that the message for the ads has to be driven by negative undertones. I understand they hope to drive social media to help by employing a Twitter promotion contest. And negative news is good news, but for an iconic brand who defined a category for so long to not see a positive message to push is concerning.

If you want a story, talk about heritage or the fair trade efforts that you have helped to implement for farmers or even the premium ingredients. This type of story is real and authentic vs. “just don’t buy the other guy’s stuff”.

Comments welcome!

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Developing your insight feed is critical to being relevant

This is the sixth in a series of short posts related to The CMO Agenda research. Informed by recent CMO conversations and CMG Partners‘ collective experience helping top marketers develop marketing strategy, we have compiled a list of seven ideas or jump starters for further conversation. These are meant to spark discussion, ideas, and action as we all enter a difficult 2009.

Whether developing new products or looking to increase loyalty, having a continuous stream of customer insight that draws on many different sources is important. This feed needs to be constant and plentiful. Technology is making it easier to find new ways to gather and make use of customer insight with limited resources.

Customer research and voice of the customer programs like councils and feedback meetings are the more traditional ones many marketers employ.  Marketing organizations should not forget the many simple everyday ways to accomplish this via tools like email, google alerts, RSS feeds, Twitter or talking with the services or sales representatives. The important thing is to make it an integral part of your day / week.

What can happen if you are not watching/listening?

Many should not forget the Motrin campaign that had so much twitter backlash over a weekend after the launch of a new “hip” mommy ad that the parent campaign pulled the ad. Don’t let this happen to you! Ensure your insight and listening post are capturing as much feedback as possible.

An example of a company doing this well is Dell with their IdeaStorm.com, where users generate ideas for new features or often irritating sales and marketing practices or service policies. The community can then vote on them which helps Dell focus and prioritize.

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Rise of Experience: the next horizon to captivate customers

Spice Market (Mısır Çarşısı) Istanbul
Image by exfordy via Flickr

This is the fifth in a series of short posts related to The CMO Agenda research. Informed by recent CMO conversations and CMG Partners‘ collective experience helping top marketers develop marketing strategy, we have compiled a list of seven ideas or jump starters for further conversation. These are meant to spark discussion, ideas, and action as we all enter a difficult 2009.

Many industries and sectors have seen new growth opportunities shift from products to services. For example, take the classic case of IBM and the switch from product to services, which is cited many times over as what saved the company.

“Experience” might be next frontier as customer service is now becoming a qualifier for purchase decisions versus an order winner. Differentiating on an experience could range from engaging all the senses in industries like travel and leisure to providing simple surprise and delight moments in less experiential industries like technology or manufacturing. The Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine and James H. Gilmore is a source for much more to think about along these lines.

Recently, I worked with a luxury travel company on defining a new set of products for the high net worth baby boomer market. Through focus groups we learned that boomers were craving experiences. The example that sticks out most was a person stating: “I want to be guided by a well know chef through the Moroccan spice market, hand select ingredients for dinner, then participate in the cooking process — culminating in the meal itself.” Oh.. and research shows that they are willing to pay through the nose to get this!

For a more grounded example…
Not too long ago, I opened a college savings/investment account for my newborn daughter.  I picked Scottrade because I had previously opened a brokerage account and was satisfied.  Within 4 hours of applying for an account online, the local branch office, one mile away, called to make sure everything went as planned and to see that any questions I may have had were answered.  It was a simple yet effective point of differentiation, and I loved it.

Whether meandering through a spice market or simply calling your customers to make sure they had a good experience, marketers need to think beyond the widget or service offering of today. How will your company or industry take advantage of this opportunity to win or retain customers with a unique experience?

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Innovation as a growth engine: more than new products

A Redbox kiosk located at a Walgreens store in...
Image via Wikipedia

This is the third in a series of short posts related to The CMO Agenda research. Informed by recent CMO conversations and CMG Partners‘ collective experience helping top marketers develop marketing strategy, we have compiled a list of seven ideas or jump starters for further conversation. These are meant to spark discussion, ideas, and action as we all enter a difficult 2009.

For many companies, innovation means creating a new product, but this is only one of many potential growth drivers. As a lead marketer, your job is to get close to your customers and find other ways to innovate and deliver value – through service, new methods of distribution or new avenues of consumption.

How can you achieve this level of innovation?

A consistent and constant review of your business model and practices can reveal many new opportunities. In other organizations, culture is the driving force which allows for employees to surface new ideas. I recently heard from Jeffrey Phillips, VP of Sales and Marketing for OVO and author of Make us more Innovative. Jeffrey focuses primarily on innovation processes necessary to build a sustainable innovation capability.

Some examples of innovation:

A recent example of a innovative concept I heard was at an HVAC equipment manufacturer. The company leadership decided that they are in the “refrigerated air” business vs. the air conditioner product business. This shift is thinking has many different implications from R&D to value delivered. One idea for commercializing this concept is to sell the service of refrigerated air like a utility. This would increase the number of touchpoints with customers and involves a deeper understanding your customers’ businesses to deliver on this new business model. While this is an innovative idea, it has not been commercialized yet which should be the yardstick for actual innovation.

You need creativity and invention, but until you can connect that creativity to the customer in the form of a product or a service that meaningfully changes their lives, I would argue you don’t yet have innovation. – A.G. Lafley, CEO of P&G in a recent BusinessWeek Interview

Another example that has been commercialized and can be seen in a grocery store near you — Red Box.  Red Box has redefined the video store rental model and all for $1 per day per movie. (Disclaimer: I use and love Red Box.) Red Box has a great value proposition that makes it difficult for the troubled Blockbuster to compete and is now in the sights of the CEO at Netflix as he states they are the chief rival now.

Mirror post at cmgpartners.com/blog

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Marketing: noun or verb?

When we asked leading marketers about their roles and priorities during our recent CMO Agenda study, we heard a lot of commentary on the need to step up and drive major change inside their organizations. One CMO of a mid-sized CPG summed up these responses perfectly by describing his main priorities as “defining marketing as a verb rather than a noun” and “taking proactive leadership” that allows the brand and its main steward, the CMO, to be at the center of efforts.

Read more on the idea of how to make marketing a verb within your organization in our article “Marketing: Noun or Verb?” recently published on MediaPost’s Marketing Daily Commentary.

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