4 Emerging Trends Facing Every CMO

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1 4 Emerging Trends Facing Every CMO In tday s wrld f vlatility, velcity and value-creatin, marketers need t be ut in frnt f their rapidly evlving discipline. Reading the tea leaves f change is a key respnsibility f every Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Organizatins rely n them t spt and capitalize n emerging pprtunities r threats. Being future ready can spell the difference between leadership and fighting fr spt in the pack. Fur emerging trends will significantly impact the future success f CMOs: Marketers need t stp fighting the custmer by trying t manage them. Let g and partner with them. - CMO, Enterprise Sftware Divisin, Frtune 20 IT Cmpany C-created marketing New rganizatin mdels Slving the cmpetency crisis Perfecting finance-speak Trends evlve ver time and ften aren t recgnized until there is a tipping pint. In the past, marketers are ften judged by their adptin f the latest best practice r technlgy. In this era f the custmer, increasingly marketers find it is their custmers wh define what and hw new technlgies and engagement practices will be adpted. Rise f C-Created Marketing Custmers drive 100 percent f the jurney, shared the CMO f the enterprise sftware divisin f a Frtune 20 IT Cmpany. Vendrs have little t n cntrl ver the relatinship prcess. One can see the seeds f this trend in tday s rise f strytelling, influencers defining brand messaging withut cmpany invlvement, and the numerus channels custmers use t interact with brands. The CMO f a public Frtune 500 real estate transactin services cmpany shared that hw custmers cnsume infrmatin, frm whm and where, as well as hw credibility and trust is built drives everything frm marketing strategy dwn t messaging and prgrams. The CMO f the Frtune 20 IT Cmpany described hw he came t terms with custmers nt just dictating prduct radmaps but als hw digital prperties lked and functined, cntent his teams prduced, marketing prgrams, sales methdlgy and even custmer-facing prcesses. Marketers need t stp Study Cnducted by New Business Strategies P age

2 fighting the custmer by trying t manage them, he shared. Let g and partner with the custmer. But what des c-created marketing actually mean? CMOs embracing c-creatin are leveraging custmer behavir, emtins, actins and feedback infrmatin t define marketing mixes withut regard fr traditinal r rganizatinal sacred cws. CMOs utlined fur steps t c-create marketing: Hw custmers cnsume infrmatin as well as hw credibility and trust is built drives everything frm marketing strategy dwn t messaging and prgrams. - CMO, Frtune 500 Real Estate Transactin Services Firm Rutinely cllabrate with high value custmers t validate market strategy. Engage custmers t define distinctive and valued lifecycle experiences. Test marketing campaigns and messaging with high value persnas. Rutinely share cmpany results, gd and bad, with custmer cllabratrs. The extent f custmer cllabratin is substantial, as well as the rewards. Tintri, a data strage cmpany, set ut t build a successful cmpany by aligning itself arund the custmer. The results are impressive 140 percent year/year grwth and a fur percent attritin rate. Prgressive CMOs leverage their custmers vice in everything frm g-t-market strategy, messaging, in- and ut-bund marketing, segmentatin and persnalizatin t hw digital prperties functins, what strategic partnerships t frge, and what cnstitutes a whle prduct slutin. Cmpanies must learn hw t surrender while at the same time capitalize n their custmers desires if they expect t survive. The divisinal CMO f the Frtune 20 IT Cmpany, hwever, warned that ccreatin tuches all crners f the cmpany. The full understanding f its affect isn t knwn tday but will be in the next tw t three years. Organizatins will lk cmpletely different. New Organizatin Mdels The rapid evlutin f marketing practices is frcing CMOs t rethink hw their rganizatins wrk. The pace f change is getting faster t the pint where rganizatinal agility starts t have value, shared the CMO f a leading scial cmmunity platfrm. Study Cnducted by New Business Strategies P age

3 Traditinal marketing rganizatins are t rigid and stifling. T becme mre agile CMOs have changed ver 30 t 40 percent f their rganizatin s structure with varying degrees f success. The lack f rle mdels t fllw frces CMOs t experiment n their wn while watching what their industry peers, large and small are ding. Hw peple will wrk will change. Mass acceleratin f digital will frce the adptin f a whle new marketing structure. Many CMOs wuld like t radically change hw their teams wrk but the need t bring their executives alng is a tempering factr. The path frward is evlutinary and includes merging grups, deepening cmpetences and investing in technlgy. Hw are CMOs redefining the way their teams wrk? CMOs utlined fur ways they are changing hw their teams wrk: - CMO, Scial Cmmunity Platfrm Vendr Rebalance teams t be equally strategic and tactical. In-surce functins media relatins, cntent creatin, vide, scial media - t wn the whle stry. Establish Centers f Excellence (COEs) arund custmer segments, cntent, digital experience, analytics and/r demand generatin. Shift frm a functinal marketing mdel t a lifecycle marketing rganizatin. T gain even mre agility CMOs are increasingly rganizing arund the cmpetencies f their emplyees. The marketing leader f a mid-sized clud-based manufacturing sftware vendr is shifting frm a flat marketing rganizatin t target market-based crss-functinal pds. The CMO f a cntact center technlgy platfrm vendr is rganizing arund his peple, I m less cncerned abut structure and mre cncerned abut getting the right peple wh are cllabrative acrss functinal bundaries and can fit int ur culture. Slving the Cmpetency Crisis One thing is fr certain, marketing in the future will require a different set f skills. Part f the fix is t define and bring n new psitins. While CMOs knw what cmpetencies their teams need, the challenge is attracting and retaining them: - Chief Listener - Chief Stryteller / Chief Cntent Officer - Chief Custmer Officer / Custmer Experience Analysts Study Cnducted by New Business Strategies P age

4 - Digital Grwth r Acquisitin / Lifecycle Marketers - Data Scientists - Digital / Interactive Design - Scial / Emplyee Engagement Managers Fr the first time in recent histry recruiting marketing skills has a higher pririty than sales and specialized technical talent. Marketing leaders are resrting t hiring frm their netwrk where the candidate quality is higher and frequently a better fit. The sea change in the way custmers buy, the access they have t research thrugh tls and internet, and the speed with which they make buying decisins has changed the cmpetencies my team needs. - CMO, SaaS Sales Prductivity Sftware In attracting candidates larger, established cmpanies face the bstacle f nt being seen as ht enugh. This reduces the pl f candidates substantially fr key psitins in analytics, data science, mdeling and digital marketing. CMOs with brand cache cmpanies have the reverse prblem. Retentin is a persistent prblem. Their emplyees are cnstantly being recruited away fueling annual turnver rates f up t 20 percent. CMOs try t cunter the cmpetency crisis by cnstantly mving peple between rles and ffering high perfrmers increasingly mre latitude, respnsibility and pprtunity t d new things. One cnstant remains, justifying new cmpetencies is hard. The tw mst cmmnly emplyed strategies t justify new cmpetencies are: 1. Cntract candidates t cmplete a high visible prject. Hire the candidate as a cntractr fr a high visibility prject and let the impact f the prject s results sell the candidate. This apprach is effective fr videgrapher, sales enablement, field marketing/ps, and digital branding psitins. 2. Redefine traditinal rles. Reduce traditinal marketing cmpetencies in print advertisement, etc. and repurpse the headcunt. This apprach is used t bring in data scientists, scial managers, and digital branding where the link t revenue is nt directly measurable. Perfecting Finance-Speak The rising sphisticatin measurable marketing ROI is enabling every CMO t take a credible seat at the management table. Finally, marketing has real, hard data t prve its cntributin t the pipeline and tpline - as lng the language the CMO speaks beynd the walls f marketing is finance. Study Cnducted by New Business Strategies P age

5 While Marketing may present dashbards n the cnversin rates f campaign-tclse funnels, win rates, and custmer segment metrics, the nly thing that Bard f Directrs (BD) and CEOs care abut is pipeline. Smaller cmpany BDs may have a slightly greater appetite fr NPS, share f vice and prduct adptin metrics. Hwever, their larger cmpany peers are almst exclusively interested in revenue and pipeline trend lines. By talking abut marketing prgrams and investments nly in financial terms, CMOs have seen unprecedented alignment acrss their rganizatins, especially with Sales. CMOs have abandned educating the rest f their rganizatins n the imprtance f marketing specific metrics and have drpped using terms such as TOFU, MOFU, MQL, etc. in cnversatins with sales, finance r peratins. This a gd thing. By talking abut marketing prgrams and investments nly in financial terms, CMOs have seen unprecedented alignment acrss their rganizatins, especially with Sales. In an ideal wrld CMOs wuld like t have mre strategic cnversatins with their CEOs and bards abut the value f marketing investments that are nt directly tied t revenue. Reputatin, awareness, custmer experience, the perfrmance f chrt custmer grups, pipeline by channel, and the influence f cmmunities/digital prperties n grwth are but a few tpics CMO wuld like t talk abut. But having been burned in the past, CMOs keep the cnversatin strictly n revenue. Where the relatinship between the CEO and CMO is strng and cllabrative there is a higher ccurrence f ad hc meetings t brainstrm n hw t address awareness issues, changes in custmer behavir patterns and sales enablement. In cntrast fficial ne-n-ne meetings between the tw center n revenue, lead pipeline, and hw t grw the tp line with an emphasis n predictable revenue generatin; even in cmpanies where the CEO has a marketing backgrund. Hw CMOs Are Getting Future Ready? Fr any executive staying n tp f their game is hard. The expectatin is that CMOs are ut in frnt f their field and ready t capitalize n trends the future hlds. Just as custmers are verwhelmed and fatigued by the cnstant bmbardment f infrmatin, s t is the CMO. Srting thrugh a cnstantly verflwing Study Cnducted by New Business Strategies P age

6 inbx, scanning multiple publicatins, staying current n thught leaders and culling all that dwn t a manageable daily reading list is unrealistic. Instead, CMOs let relevant cntent cme t them. Mst CMOs either dedicate lunch r late at night t scan cntent r have established mre creative behavirs such as listening t pdcasts and bks while cmmuting, traveling r running family errands. There are a handful f publicatins, print and digital, that mst CMOs regularly review: Fast Cmpany, Harvard Business Review, Frbes and McKinsey reprts. The list f tpics that each CMO fllws varies based n the issues facing them and their cmpany. Hw d CMOs stay n tp f their game? Mst rely n their teams t keep them infrmed n best practices, news and relevant develpments. The level f reliance n their teams t keep them current significantly ups the ante n the hiring prcess. It s almst a career-survival tactic that the best qualified and cultural fit candidates are hired as CMOs depend n them t keep them future ready. Other surces f infrmatin are custmers, partners, Bard f Directrs, the CEO and a very shrt list f industry analysts. Absent are agencies f all types, they have unfrtunately lst their place as trusted advisrs. Equally grups, meetups, and CMO cnferences are nt effective because it requires time ut f the ffice. CMOs are increasingly turning t independent prfessinal caches and small netwrks f trusted peers fr business and career advice. The bttm-line is that the CMO rle remains challenging yet business-critical fr cmpanies t successfully navigate current and emerging trends. Study Cnducted by New Business Strategies P age

7 Study Participants In June 2015, Market cmmissined a study t identify the emerging trends CMOs felt will significantly impacted their future. A wide range B2B and B2B2C Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) were qualitatively interviewed in ne hur phne calls fllwing an established discussin guide. The CMOs frm cmpanies ranging in size frm the Frtune 10 t early stage start-ups acrss the United States and were in B2B r B2B2C industries with a majrity in high technlgy and SaaS cmpanies. Because f the nature f the questins, virtually all asked that their respnses be annymized. What differentiated hw these CMOs apprached the business f marketing was nt the size f their cmpany but rather their custmers. Custmer behavir and adptin, r better said their trust in, new methds f accessing infrmatin and engaging with brands largely determined the methds, best practices and skill sets f marketing rganizatins. Abut Market New Business Strategies by NBS Cnsulting Grup, Inc. d/b/a New Business Strategies and Market, Inc. All rights reserved. Fr infrmatinal purpses nly. New Business Strategies r Market make n warranties, expressed r implied. All trademarks, prduct and cmpany names shuld be cnsidered the prperty f their respective wners. Market (NASDAQ:MKTO) prvides the leading marketing sftware and slutins designed t help marketers master the art and science f digital marketing. Thrugh a unique cmbinatin f innvatin and expertise, Market is fcused slely n helping marketers keep pace in an ever-changing digital wrld. Spanning tday's digital, scial, mbile and ffline channels, Market's Engagement Marketing Platfrm pwers a set f breakthrugh marketing autmatin and marketing management applicatins t help marketers tackle all aspects f digital marketing frm the planning and rchestratin f marketing activities t the delivery f persnalized interactins that can be ptimized in real-time. Market's applicatins are knwn fr their ease-f-use, and are cmplemented by the Marketing Natin, a thriving netwrk f mre than 450 third-party slutins thrugh ur LaunchPint ecsystem and ver 50,000 marketers wh share and learn frm each ther t grw their cllective marketing expertise. The result fr mdern marketers is unprecedented agility and superir results. Headquartered in San Mate, CA with ffices in Eurpe, Australia and Japan, Market serves as a strategic marketing partner t mre than 4,100 large enterprises and fast-grwing small cmpanies acrss a wide variety f industries. Fr mre infrmatin, visit Study Cnducted by New Business Strategies P age