The New Complete Marketer
In its Autumn 2007 issue, Strategy+Business continues its series of articles on how Chief Marketer Officers can become more effective in their role. (I've blogged about past S+B articles on CMOs here, here, and here.)
Gregor Harter, Edward Landry, and Andrew Tipping have written a very worthwhile article outlining six themes that separate under-performing CMOs from out-performing CMOs. You can read the article online or the PDF version. (Be prepared to fill-out a user registration form.)
To entice you to read this article, I've cut/pasted tasty snippets from each of the six themes the authors contend CMOs must have to out-perform their peers.
1 | Put the Consumer at the Heart of Marketing
"No marketer would ever admit to taking his or her eyes off the company’s prime prospects, so the concept of consumer-centricity may sound mundane. But successful CMOs don’t assume that familiar tasks will necessarily be simple."
2 | Make Marketing Accountable
"For many enterprises, the development of accountability follows much the same path, as marketers learn to transform raw data into actionable planning. Stage one is evaluating what is being measured and how it is being measured; stage two is condensing scores of diffuse reports and metrics down to a useful few; and stage three is creating targeted analytics and a core report to gauge performance and help determine where best to focus going forward."
3 | Embrace the Challenges of New Media
"To be successful in the 21st century, our interviewees agree, marketers must not just select and purchase proven instruments. The ferocious appetite for more access to consumers along with the willingness to go out on a limb and try new ways to connect with them are noteworthy characteristics from a group that, not long ago, took great comfort in the stability of mass mediaent ways.” The CMOs who embrace new media will be the early beneficiaries of this change, and the rewards for this commitment appear to be significant."
4 | Recognize the New Organizational Imperative
"Marketing does much better when it’s incorporated into the greater business, say these thought-leading CMOs. It can drive growth more quickly if it is fully integrated with the different functions, and it can do so in a way that previous CMOs never realized was possible. For a CMO to be fully effective, all of senior management must have clarity about the marketing mission."
5 | Live a New Agency Paradigm
"The leading CMOs are getting ahead of the advertising profession. They are assembling multiagency groups — a remarkable step that often puts business competitors at the same table and demands that they work together to create a better product. The CMOs may be polite about the new processes, but they’re also being firm. The mandate is to move on or move out."
6 | Remain Adaptable
"Adaptability has to be inherent in every part of the marketing agenda. It’s not just the way you (as a marketing leader) adjust to new media. It’s the way you hire people, train them, and get your senior managers to sit down with a media-savvy mom. Most of all, it’s the way you drive marketing as an integral — and integrated — part of the enterprise, whose role goes beyond measuring the return of specific marketing programs to nurturing the overall health of the business and brands."
MORE >> Full Article: [html] [pdf]
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