The CMO’s Call to Action

It’s been nearly 10 years since I first published a Top 10 list, and so much has changed.  There is increased pressure on CMOs to contribute more to company growth, orchestrate continuous improvement, report on a dizzying array of KPI’s, and deliver measurable performance.  In today’s environment, characterized by a plethora of Martech and automation tools (including Generative AI), marketers have vast resources to help shape marketing’s impact to top-and-bottom line results.  ChatGPT is a great thought partner, is easy to use, and holds promise to streamline manual and mundane tasks, while giving back precious time for more creative and strategic endeavors. If you’re up for the challenge and ready to embrace a constantly changing landscape, there’s never been a better time to be a CMO.

For this update, I consulted with ChatGPT to see what has changed in the marketing world, if my original principles still hold true, and whether new or expanded strategies should be considered.  Here’s what my prompt returned: 

Here are the top 10 marketing success strategies widely recognized and utilized:

1. Target Audience Understanding: Knowing your target audience inside out is crucial. Conduct market research, gather data, and create buyer personas to understand their needs, preferences, and pain points.
2. Clear Value Proposition: Communicate a clear and compelling value proposition that sets your product or service apart from competitors and addresses the specific needs of your target audience.
3. Content Marketing: Provide valuable and relevant content to your audience through blog posts, videos, infographics, etc. Content marketing helps establish your brand as an authority and attracts potential customers.
4. Social Media Engagement: Build a strong presence on social media platforms where your target audience is active. Engage with your followers, share valuable content, and respond to their queries and feedback.
5. Email Marketing: Use email campaigns to nurture leads, retain customers, and drive sales. Personalization and segmentation are essential for successful email marketing.
6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimize your website and content for search engines to improve organic visibility. Ranking higher in search results increases the likelihood of attracting qualified traffic.
7. Influencer Marketing: Partner with influencers or industry experts who have a significant following in your niche. Their endorsement can boost your brand’s credibility and reach.
8. User Experience (UX) Focus: Ensure your website and marketing materials are user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. A positive user experience can lead to higher conversions and customer satisfaction.
9. Data-Driven Decision Making: Use data analytics to track and measure the performance of your marketing efforts. Analyzing data helps you identify what works and what needs improvement.
10. Customer Retention Strategies: It’s more cost-effective to retain existing customers than acquire new ones. Implement loyalty programs, personalized offers, and excellent customer support to foster loyalty.
    

I think this is a good list. You should be doing all of these things well, and I’m sure one could argue that leveraging ChatGPT could be a Top 10 strategy.  I’ve incorporated the ChatGPT list into my original Top 10 with one significant addition:  achieve digital mastery.  A decade ago, it was forward-thinking to rapidly adopt emerging Martech and digital strategies — now it’s a given.

Strategy #1: Be a Change Agent

How Marketing Can Drive Significant Change

We are now in what is often called Web 3.0, the third generation of the evolution of web technologies, so it only makes sense that we should also think about what it means to be a next-generation CMO.   In the early days, a head of marketing or CMO could rise to the top and generally remain there with strength in a few primary areas of expertise, such as brand, communications, demand, and/or products.   By the early 2010s, a one-dimensional approach was insufficient to lead a data and digitally-driven, dynamic organization.   The successful CMO had embraced the web, as well as social and digital personas, and commanded a much wider range of skills across the entire marketing discipline, from brand to demand to products, and also digital and web, marketing operations and analytics, customer insights, the growing Martech stack, strategic communications, communities, inside sales, partner ecosystems and so much more.

In their eBook, The CMO Playbook: Getting Off to a Strong Start as a New Chief Marketing Officer, the authors recommend: “The first 100 days in a new position is a unique window of opportunity before you become fully entrenched in the demands of the role. Getting off to a fast start (and preparing before day one) can earn your CEO and organization’s confidence and give you the momentum to achieve great long-term performance. We have seen many successful marketing leaders follow this tried-and-true 8-point plan:”

• Prepare yourself during the countdown
• Align expectations
• Shape your marketing team
• Craft your strategic agenda
• Start transforming culture
• Manage your boss
• Communicate
• Avoid common pitfalls

In a recent CapGemini report entitled A New Playbook for Chief Marketing Officers, the authors noted “we believe six focus areas are critical to ensuring CMOs are prepared for the future in a data-driven marketing environment:

Create a clear vision for the marketing strategy; Implement a framework-driven data-collection process; Ensure talent is equipped with a baseline of data and creative skills while allowing for specialists; Accelerate collaboration across the marketing ecosystem; Reimagine the customer journey with real-time engagement; and integrate long-term brand building and short-term marketing engagements.”

In my interview with Alan Hart of Marketing Today, I shared a modern-day perspective on The 5 Cs of Marketing and the associated CMO Playbook, including culture, coaching, campaigns, category, and courage.  While all five are critical to leading a high-performance marketing organization, I would argue the culture, coaching and courage are most important.  

Let’s start with culture: in the post-COVID hybrid-work environment, it’s so important to not only choose the right culture, but to join one where the CMO can help shape it in a positive manner.  

I’ve also been able to coach and shape my team, both in terms of who we hire, how we recognize and reward achievements, and who we promote. It’s helped us create a very supportive and, simultaneously, high-performance team.

Lastly, having the courage of one’s convictions, to stick to your priorities and plans, gain cross-functional buy-in for key initiatives, take appropriate risks, and stand your ground if you face unreasonable push back or criticism.  All this takes courage.  Be bold, be adventurous, be the brand and have fun!