The Role of a CMO

I enjoy it when someone can succinctly and lucidly breakdown something complicated into easy-to-understand terms. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Anthony Palmer, Chief Marketing Officer at Kimberly-Clark, simplified the role of a CMO to its most basic functions …

”To me, the role of a CMO is really pretty simple. You can’t every lose sight of the fact that your role is to sell more stuff to more people for more money more often. That has to be the ultimate goal.

You also have to inspire the organization to take calculated risks, and inspire the organization to love winning more than they are afraid of losing.”

Brilliant.

Comments

[Thomas]

I have to be honest here. That quote sounds like the quote of a Sr VP of Sales, or even most CEO's, not a CMO. I'd go so far as to say it's the opposite of what you'd want a CMO to say. (Then again Kimberly-Clark is mainly in commodity businesses.)

To me that quote could just as easily mean: "Line-extend product lines even if it dilutes the brands (sell more stuff); advertise/promote all of it like crazy to wider audiences (more people); for more total unit sales and revenue (more money); with product available everywhere through all available distribution outlets, (more often).

If that is executive-level marketing in a nutshell, than no wonder marketing execs defer to sales execs and CEO's so often.

I'd want my CMO to be saying and thinking something along these lines, even if it's not quite as simple:

"My role is to drive long-term demand and profitability for this company, by developing a limited number of truly disruptive industry-changing products and categories, to sell to well-targeted customers who we KNOW want them so badly even before launch that they will pay premium prices for them; who will love them so much they will trust us implicitly for future products, to the extent that we will not have to spend silly-huge advertising dollars to get them to buy. As a result, we squeeze out our competitors, steadily increase sales, share, brand-strength, and profitability as a result. That has to be the ultimate goal.

You have to wage war within the organization to make this happen, even with the Sales guys and CEO/CFO, so they resist the temptation to line-extend, dilute, lose focus, emulate competitors, over-forecast, over-distribute, over-advertise, over-extend, all for short-term sales blips. Winning is not a one-quarter revenue thing. Winning is winning in the long-term, through sustained demand for the brand, which leads to sustainable profitability. Inspire the organization to understand this thoroughly, completely. Inspire them to understand that losing is giving away long-term brand strength for the temptation of easy revenue NOW."

[johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy)]

Thomas ... I reckon it depends how one reads in-between the lines as to what Anthony said so simply.

What I liked about this quote was (a) it tied into my "three strategies to drive sales" thinking and (b) that to build a winning business, uncomfortable decisions must be made.

Sure, Anthony's quote super-simplifies the role of marketers. But don't you think we over-complicate our roles as marketers?

[Thomas]

Hi John: I'm suggesting that we generally fail to understand the role (and purpose) well enough, and we tend to confuse it with sales roles and short term sales goals. When your CMO describes his role with a quote that is often uttered by the average everyday VP Sales, then there is a problem, in my opinion.

I agree that the best marketing appears simple, as it should. Behind the appearance though, the "getting there" part in other words, is anything but. For an extreme example, a "FIRESALE 40% off!" campaign is a simple approach to a marketing role; it will increase sales, revenue, units, customers, share, penetration, awareness, in the short term. It will also kill profitability, brand momentum, and perhaps future sales opportunity. Sales VP's seemingly want to take this approach, CONSTANTLY. Marketing Execs should fight them tooth and nail against it.

Good marketing should be simple. Understanding the discipline itself is not. CMO's should never sound like a VP Sales.

I loved the "3 strategies" thing, mainly because I loved that you said "increase prices" instead of "drop prices". Yay!!

Good to talk with you again, by the way.

[johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy)]

Thomas ... I am with ya. Too many times we equate marketing only to sales goals. But ultimately, that's the measurement for great marketing and great branding -- greater sales.

You make valid points. Thanks for making them here.

[Thomas]

I'd say greater sustained profit is the measurement, of which greater sales can be a component, but more often an ill-understood one, (a la GM). But hey, agreed, we're close John!

Have a good weekend. Mine starts exactly...NOW.