With the new year upon us, many CMO’s are evaluating new roles. In my previous blog, I examined the key differences, pro and cons of running marketing in VC vs. PE-backed companies. In this one, I’m sharing some of the key questions to ask during the process of evaluating the potential fit and attractiveness of a specific head of marketing role.
Not surprisingly, as a 5x CMO, I’ve taken on, and turned down, a few marketing leadership roles. Along the way, I’ve found there are a number of essential questions to be answered and insights to gather during the mutual dance process of evaluating the potential fit and attractiveness of a given CMO role.
If you would like a shortcut to evaluating a head of marketing role, I found a nice structure on the Marketers That Matter website. It breaks questions into four fundamental categories: the Why (it makes sense to you); the Who (you report to and organizational influence); the What (roles and responsibilities); and the How (capabilities and culture).
For me, the first area of inquiry is understanding where the CMO role fits within the organization’s hierarchy, and whether it reports to the CEO, President or CRO, says quite a bit. If it doesn’t report to the CEO, I would have serious reservations that you will really have a seat at the table, can maximize marketing’s input and control your destiny. You’ll also likely have less interaction with the board and investors if you will not be a direct report to the CEO. According to a survey from the above guide, nearly “40% reported that they do not have a marketing advocate on the board.” That can be a major challenge when trying to promote a new growth initiative or get support for incremental spending. The other key factor if you are part of the C-Suite is to assess the other members of the management team you’ll be joining. What are their backgrounds and track records? Can you envision working with them and will the journey be fun and rewarding? Is this a unified “team one” or a group of individuals more concerned about their own functions and personal outcomes?
At Billtrust, I’ve been very fortunate to not only have marketing advocates, but also have a board member, Yael Zheng, who was the former CMO of Bill. Her expertise, strategic guidance and overall support has been invaluable over the past year and, in my experience, you simply can’t expect anywhere near this type of support from more traditional board members with primarily finance or technology backgrounds In addition, our investor, EQT, has a marketing practice, and the head of it, Laurie Ehrbar, has also been a very successful CMO, so we’ve formed a Marketing Troika, if you will, to drive the agenda and shape marketing’s trajectory for the betterment of the company, Billtrust, and EQT. It makes a difference when you’re not going it alone. Of course, having outside peers and peer groups you can turn to, like the CMO Huddles and the CMO Collaborative, is helpful; however, having a key supporter on the inside is the ideal scenario.
The next logical place to probe is around the company and the category. There are many industry, investor and general websites where you can get a sense of the company, how it’s perceived, inside and out. Glassdoor often contains polarized views of a company for a variety of reasons, but the general thread is usually a fair depiction of the type of company you might be joining. Every company has a stated mission, vision, culture and core values, and while the words might give you a sense of what the firm is all about, talking to current and previous execs and staff is really the only way to get a true feel for the company and its current state.
Another area that is critical to assessing a role is to understand the company’s immediate marketing priorities as well as its long-term vision for marketing success. What are the key gaps to address and why? How has marketing been performing according to management versus expectations? If below expectations, how long should it take to turn things around? I can personally attest that transforming a marketing organization from underperformance to meeting or exceeding stated goals can be very rewarding. However, beware of situations where the resources needed (people and budget) do not align to what is truly required to succeed.
Related to priorities is how will success be measured? What are the objective key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that will be used to measure your success as a CMO? How are they tracking historically and recently. Again, this provides insight into the magnitude of the change you’ll be expected to orchestrate. I also find it’s really important to clarify and confirm first year expectations well before deciding to take a role or not. Whether expectations are realistic or not can largely determine the likelihood you will have success in year one, so aligning with the CEO and board on what you can deliver before starting is advisable.
I’ve also found that many companies don’t really value or understand branding, so it’s important to get the company’s perspective on the role and importance of the brand. One of my peers was in discussion with a company competing with Microsoft and other players several times their size and they said “we don’t invest in the brand, it’s not that important.” That was as a clear indication that the company misunderstood the role branding plays in the purchase decision. I’ve been fortunate to have helped build several successful brands, including FrontBridge (acquired by Microsoft), FileNet (acquired by IBM), Pegasystems, Kofax, Emburse and now Billtrust. Each of these companies was either a market leader or challenger brand, and all of them believed in brand as a differentiator. There are literally dozens of brand development strategies, from brand purpose, positioning and messaging, to brand hierarchy, brand identity, and brand personality that you can leverage to shape perception and build equity, and they don’t require incremental funding.
Last, and certainly not least, is to fully understand the market the company competes in, and the company’s short- and long-term goals. What is the business model? How profitable is the company and what is the growth rate? Is there an outcome (IPO or sale) the company hopes to achieve, and by when? If a SaaS company, there are an entire set of metrics, like LTV to CAC, Net Retention, NPS, etc. you’ll want to examine and compare to benchmarks. I would also analyze the customer composition. What are the key market segments, verticals, geo’s and categories that company participates in, and how are they performing in each? There are many crowdsourced websites (e.g., G2 and Peer Insights) that provide information on a company’s relative market position, perception and momentum. Is the company an innovator, fast follower, or just selling a bunch of stuff? Innovative companies tend to keep their edge and those in the middle of the pack can rarely pivot to become front runners.
Ultimately evaluating a CMO role is not just about the role and the job description; it’s about aligning your career aspirations, values, and skills with the company’s needs and culture. Asking these questions, creating unique ones relevant to a given opportunity, and ultimately trusting your gut will help you make a well-informed decision and set yourself up for success in the role. Happy hunting and Happy New Year!
CMO Mentor 