First I read this shocking article in BusinessWeek and wondered if it was an exaggeration, but then I saw this very timely program announcement for the OnMedia conference in New York:
“CMO Strategies in an Integrated-Media World. Speaker: Former CMO, Reebok” :)
"Perhaps we should just call for the end of the CMO position," Advertising Age had already suggested in October, "let's change the title to chief maybe officer -- as in, maybe he'll stick around; maybe he won't. Maybe her new initiatives will be well-received and move the needle; maybe they won't."
As for the reasons, the BusinessWeek story nails the fuzziness that typically surrounds the role: "CMOs have always struggled to justify their existence. 'You might be surprised how few people have strong opinions about what the chief financial officer or chief information officer is doing,' says John Costello, CEO of hearing-aid maker Zounds, who has been CMO at Home Depot, Sears, and Yahoo. But CMOs have almost everyone second-guessing [them] and looking over their shoulder.'"
And:
"It doesn't help that chief executives and chief marketers often have very different imperatives. Building or even maintaining a brand is a long-term process that requires patience and incremental change. But CEOs operate at a time when investors fixate on quarterly or monthly results as never before."
Is it maybe really time to kill the CMO role? Or does it just take more support and a re-definition of the role?
My five suggestions to strengthen the CMO:
1. Values, brand, and reputation are critical assets for every company. Someone has to manage them (and by "manage" I don't mean control, I mean monitor and facilitate the brand impressions and conversations in the marketplace)
2. Focus on added-value marketing: Beyond "just" promoting products and services, every marketing program needs to help generate and share knowledge within the organization and provide customers with added value, i.e. access to exclusive information, a shared learning experience, entertainment, etc. Marketing without added value is just SPAM.
3. Schmooze with sales and work hard to truly understand the business. Get some street cred by shadowing the sales people and experiencing their pain points.
4. Proactively heighten the accountability: If you have to justify your spending, it's already too late. CMOs have to generate enough excitement around their initiatives to ensure that they're seen as a thought leader and innovator, not just an operator. Marketing needs to constantly over-deliver to fend off the skeptics.
5. Become the Chief Customer Officer: Be close to the clients and make customer focus your focus.
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