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IBM CMO Study - Performance 2011 (NL)
The document summarizes findings from a study of over 1,700 Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) globally. It found that 7 out of 10 CMOs feel underprepared to manage key changes, especially those with the biggest impact like data explosion and social media. CMOs signaled they need to improve in three key areas: delivering value to empowered customers, fostering lasting customer connections, and capturing value and measuring results. The study provides recommendations in each of these areas for CMOs to strengthen their skills and marketing strategies.
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IBM CMO Study - Performance 2011 (NL)
- 1. Insights from theGlobal Chief Marketing Officer Study RONALD VELTEN Directeur Marketing, Communications & Citizenship, IBM Benelux November 9th, 2011 @ IBM Performance 2011
- 2. We spoke withmore than 1,700 CMOs 16% Communications 36% Distribution 24% Financial Services 21% Industrial 3% Public 44% Growth markets 17% North America 35% Europe 4% Japan IBM Institute for Business Value 5 sectors, 19 industries 64 countries
- 3. These talks revealedthe evolving role of the CMO 97% private and 3% public sector CMOs Private sector: >US$ 500 million in mature markets >US$ 250 million in growth markets Public sector: >1,000 employees Scope Face-to-face one hour interviews with 1,734 CMOs Structured questionnaire From well-known brands to local organizations Approach Statistical analysis of 35 questions and 236 related factors In-depth analysis based on differences between “out-performers” and “underperformers” Review and analysis of >10,000 interview quotes Analysis IBM Institute for Business Value
- 4. We have achallenge!
- 5. Swimming, treading wateror drowning?
- 6. 7 out of10 CMOs are underprepared to manage key changes… IBM Institute for Business Value Growth markets ROI accountability Customer collaboration Privacy considerations Regulatory considerations Global outsourcing Data explosion Social media Channel and device choices Financial constraints Decreasing brand loyalty Shifting demographics Corporate transparency 68% 65% 59% 56% 56% 56% 55% 54% 50% 57% 63% 47% 71%
- 7. … particularlythose with the biggest impact IBM Institute for Business Value 50 60 70 40 20 40 60 0 Marketing Priority Matrix Factors impacting marketing Under- preparedness Mean
- 8. … particularlythose with the biggest impact IBM Institute for Business Value 50 60 70 40 20 40 60 0 Mean Marketing Priority Matrix Factors impacting marketing Under- preparedness 2 4 3 1 Data explosion 1 Social media 2 Growth of channel and device choices 3 Shifting consumer demographics 4
- 9. … particularlythose with the biggest impact IBM Institute for Business Value 50 60 70 40 20 40 60 0 8 6 Financial constraints Decreasing brand loyalty Growth market opportunities ROI accountability Customer collaboration and influence Privacy considerations Global outsourcing Regulatory considerations Corporate transparency 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Mean Marketing Priority Matrix Factors impacting marketing Under- preparedness 5 10 11 9 13 12 2 4 3 1 7 Data explosion 1 Social media 2 Growth of channel and device choices 3 Shifting consumer demographics 4
- 10. CMOs signaled threekey domains of improvement Deliver value to empowered customers Foster lasting connections Capture value, measure results IBM Institute for Business Value
- 11. Delivering Value to Empowered Customers
- 12. Markets –not individuals – still shape CMOs' strategy IBM Institute for Business Value Key sources to understand individuals 50% 7 other sources Market research 82% Corporate strategy 81% Competitive benchmarking 80% Customer analytics 74% Marketing team analysis 69% Third-party rankings 42% Consumer reviews 48% Retail and shopper analysis 41% Online communications 40% Professional journals 37% Blogs 26%
- 13. Data explosion driveschange and investments Integrate insights 69% Understand analytics 65% Rethink skill mix 64% Collaborate with peers 52% Validate ROI 49% Address privacy 28% Invest in technology 73%
- 14. Barriers that preventmarketing from using technology IBM Institute for Business Value Cost 72% Lack of marketing/IT alignment 45% Lack of ROI certainty 61% Lack of IT integration 43% Lack of user skills 46% Lack of marketing IT ownership 34% Lack of marketing IT skills 25% Tool implementation 47% Ease of use 37% Reliability 18% Business case IT related Marketing related IT and marketing related Usability
- 15. Create value forcustomers as individuals Steps to deliver value to empowered customers How are you gearing your programs and processes to understand individuals? Access digital channels to learn what customers think Use analytics to recognize preferences and trends Employ tools to secure customer data Update privacy policies to address customers ’ concerns IBM Institute for Business Value How do you safeguard customer data and privacy in a multi-channel, multi-device world? Which tools and processes are you investing in to better understand and respond to individual customers?
- 16.
- 17. Enhancing customer loyaltyis the top digital priority 57% Deploy tablet/mobile apps 67% Enhance customer loyalty/advocacy 56% Use social media to engage customers 56% Use customer management software 51% Monitor the brand via social media 47% Measure ROI of digital technologies 45% Analyze online/offline transactions 37% Develop social media policies 29% Monetize social media 24% Increase supply chain visibility
- 18. CMOs still focusedon transactions, not relationships IBM Institute for Business Value Missed opportunity 61% Segmentation/targeting 54% Action/buy 46% Awareness/education 45% Interest/desire 41% Use/enjoy 40% Bond/advocate Transaction focused Relationship focused
- 19. Steps to fosterlasting connections Do you collaborate with C-level peers to activate corporate character across all touch points? Do you connect customer insights with product development? Are your customers brand advocates? Do your marketing tactics work in sync to develop a pervasive, innovative total customer relationship? Jumpstart relationships via digital channels Use tangible incentives to attract followers Engage at every stage in the customer lifecycle Build communities to strengthen your brand Help define a unique enterprise identity Engage the C-suite to solidify corporate character IBM Institute for Business Value
- 20. Capture Value, MeasureResults
- 21. By 2015, ROIwill be the leading measure of success IBM Institute for Business Value Marketing ROI 63% Customer experience 58% Conversion rate/new customers 48% Overall sales 45% Marketing-influenced sales 42% Revenue per customer 42% Social media metrics 38%
- 22. To deliver ROI,CMOs need significant influence on all Ps IBM Institute for Business Value Advertising and promotion Aligned communications Innovative social media 84% 82% 73% Promotion
- 23. To deliver ROI,CMOs need significant influence on all Ps IBM Institute for Business Value Advertising and promotion Aligned communications Innovative social media 84% 82% 73% Promotion Customer needs research Product service portfolio Comprehensive R&D cycle 53% 47% 67% Products
- 24. To deliver ROI,CMOs need significant influence on all Ps IBM Institute for Business Value Advertising and promotion Aligned communications Innovative social media 84% 82% 73% Promotion Customer needs research Product service portfolio Comprehensive R&D cycle 53% 47% 67% Products Multiple customer touch points Channel management End-to-end supply chain 31% 47% 54% Place 31%
- 25. To deliver ROI,CMOs need significant influence on all Ps IBM Institute for Business Value Advertising and promotion Aligned communications Innovative social media 84% 82% 73% Promotion Customer needs research Product service portfolio Comprehensive R&D cycle 53% 47% 67% Products Competitive pricing assessment Ownership costs/benefits Integrated pricing process 48% 37% 46% Price Multiple customer touch points Channel management End-to-end supply chain 31% 47% 54% Place 31%
- 26. CMOs plan touse external partners for results IBM Institute for Business Value Sales contact/lead management 7% 100% Customer and data analytics 12% 92% Direct/relationship marketing 13% 77% IT skills 23% 61% Call and service center 22% 59% Online community development 22% 50% New media strategy and design 24% 42% Tracking/measurement 13% 54% Event management 28% 50% Creative brand strategy 17% 18% Traditional advertising and promotion 31% 19% Online advertising and promotion 35% 26% Use partners extensively today Plan to use partners more
- 27. CMOs also neednew skills to boost personal success IBM Institute for Business Value Social media expertise 25% Finance skills 16% Technology savviness 28% CMO skill gap Leadership abilities 65% Cross-CxO collaboration 49% Competitive trends insights 45% Management capabilities 31% Understanding value chain 30% Demand creation capabilities 30% Analytics aptitude 45% Creative thinking 60% Voice of the customer insights 63%
- 28. Steps to capturevalue, measure results Capitalize on advanced analytics tools Improve decision making and accountability Lead by example Enhance your personal financial, technical and digital savviness Increase your team's technical and financial skills base Grow your digital expertise by finding new partners IBM Institute for Business Value In what ways are you personally investing to broaden your capabilities? Are you enriching the technical, financial and digital skills in marketing? How do you measure and analyze results? Do your metrics advance marketing's credibility?
- 29. Get Fit forthe Future
- 30. Moving from Stretchedto Strengthened Focus on customers as individuals Reveal preferences and trends hidden in data Secure customer data and update privacy policies Deliver value to empowered customers IBM Institute for Business Value
- 31. Moving from Stretchedto Strengthened Focus on customers as individuals Reveal preferences and trends hidden in data Secure customer data and update privacy policies Stimulate customer relationships and offer tangible incentives Engage throughout the customer lifecycle Define a unique enterprise identity Engage the C-suite to solidify corporate character Deliver value to empowered customers Foster lasting connections IBM Institute for Business Value
- 32. Moving from Stretchedto Strengthened Focus on customers as individuals Reveal preferences and trends hidden in data Secure customer data and update privacy policies Stimulate customer relationships and offer tangible incentives Engage throughout the customer lifecycle Define a unique enterprise identity Engage the C-suite to solidify corporate character Use analytics to improve decision making and accountability Increase technical and financial know-how Grow digital expertise with new partners Enhance personal financial, technical and digital savviness Deliver value to empowered customers Foster lasting connections Capture value, measure results IBM Institute for Business Value
- 33. Do not beafraid to call for help
- 35. Insights from theGlobal Chief Marketing Officer Study
Editor's Notes
- #2 This study includes some of the most exciting results we have uncovered throughout the CxO series. CMOs today are on the threshold of major changes and this study takes a closer look at those forces impacting the marketing function and CMOs ’ responsibilities. We found that CMOs are keenly aware of the shifting marketplace they are in. But how well are they prepared to manage the flood of change coming their way?
- #3 Between February and June 2011, we met face to face with 1,734 CMOs in 19 industries and 64 countries to better understand their goals and the challenges they confront. This sample size and approach makes our study statistically very strong. It also enables us to dive deeply into many of the segments, whether by industry, geographic region or even country. There are a number of other CMO studies in the marketplace, but they are either focused on a particular geography or industry, or rely on online surveys, which cannot capture the depth, nuance and candor that comes from an in-person dialog. This is what sets this study apart from the rest – it is large enough, and comprehensive enough to provide a true reflection of what CMOs around the world are thinking and feeling.
- #4 Scope: We focused mainly on private sector organizations with revenue of more than US$500 million in mature markets, and $250 million in growth markets. We sought to interview a wide range of organizations, from high profile companies to lower profile, local organizations. In total – our questionnaire included 35 questions, which resulted in 236 factors, and we captured more than 10,000 interview quotes which we analyzed using sentiment analysis tools to determine common themes. We also sought to identify, and understand, any disparities between CMOs in outperforming organizations and those in underperforming organizations. To this end, we asked respondents to assess their organization ’s position within the industry in which it operates, on a scale ranging from one to five. Organizations ranked as fours were classified as average performers, while those ranked one to three were classified as underperformers and fives were classified as top performers. (We took four as our midpoint to compensate for any cognitive bias respondents might have in favor of their own organizations.) We cross-validated responses by comparing them with two objective financial measures – compound annual growth in operating margins and profit before taxes between 2006 and 2010 – where the information was publicly available. Our analysis confirmed there was a very high correlation between self-assessed and actual performance, thereby eliminating the potential for distortion from a systemic “halo effect.” All references to outperforming and underperforming organizations in our study are based on how CMOs assessed their own enterprises.
- #7 So, what are the main sources of concern? We probed more deeply to find out whether CMOs feel equipped to manage the impact of 13 key market factors. Alarmingly, more than 50 percent of respondents think they are underprepared to manage all but two: regulatory considerations and corporate transparency.
- #8 We asked respondents to rank each factor in terms of its expected impact on the marketing function over the next three to five years. Then we looked at how this related to the level of confidence they feel about managing each factor. Some of the changes CMOs are least prepared to manage are those likely to cause the biggest upheavals. We found that the top items – 1 through 4, which CMOs felt least prepared to manage, were, in fact, the factors they thought would impact their business the most: 1) Data explosion – CMOs have been dealing with this for a while already, which probably explains why it wasn ’t further to the right on the x axis, but it is still the factor that concerns CMOs the most. 2) Social media – CMOs feel somewhat more prepared to manage social media – though their level of anxiety is still high, and it is further along the X suggesting “more impact,” because it is relatively new and still evolving. CMOs are unclear how social media is going to change things specific to their organization – but they anticipate the change will be significant 3) Growth of channel and device choices – the onslaught of tablets and increased use of mobile, among other things, is very quickly becoming a priority for CMOs – and like social media – it is still not clear how all of this will manifest itself. Most CMOs said this would have the most impact on their marketing organizations, but they feel a bit more prepared to deal with it than the data explosion or social media 4) Shifting consumer demographics – like #1, “data explosion” – CMOs have been aware of these predictions for a while now, so they have already been anticipating the impact, but they still are feeling significantly underprepared to deal with the implications, in part because so many of the factors we just discussed are being driven by the demands of changing demographics that include new global markets and the influx of younger generations entering the marketplace who will drive a lot of the changes noted in 1 through 3. The other items – 5 through 13 are also important, but either CMOs feel they are better prepared to manage them, or don ’t anticipate their impact to be as powerful as the top 4.
- #9 We asked respondents to rank each factor in terms of its expected impact on the marketing function over the next three to five years. Then we looked at how this related to the level of confidence they feel about managing each factor. Some of the changes CMOs are least prepared to manage are those likely to cause the biggest upheavals. We found that the top items – 1 through 4, which CMOs felt least prepared to manage, were, in fact, the factors they thought would impact their business the most: 1) Data explosion – CMOs have been dealing with this for a while already, which probably explains why it wasn ’t further to the right on the x axis, but it is still the factor that concerns CMOs the most. 2) Social media – CMOs feel somewhat more prepared to manage social media – though their level of anxiety is still high, and it is further along the X suggesting “more impact,” because it is relatively new and still evolving. CMOs are unclear how social media is going to change things specific to their organization – but they anticipate the change will be significant 3) Growth of channel and device choices – the onslaught of tablets and increased use of mobile, among other things, is very quickly becoming a priority for CMOs – and like social media – it is still not clear how all of this will manifest itself. Most CMOs said this would have the most impact on their marketing organizations, but they feel a bit more prepared to deal with it than the data explosion or social media 4) Shifting consumer demographics – like #1, “data explosion” – CMOs have been aware of these predictions for a while now, so they have already been anticipating the impact, but they still are feeling significantly underprepared to deal with the implications, in part because so many of the factors we just discussed are being driven by the demands of changing demographics that include new global markets and the influx of younger generations entering the marketplace who will drive a lot of the changes noted in 1 through 3. The other items – 5 through 13 are also important, but either CMOs feel they are better prepared to manage them, or don ’t anticipate their impact to be as powerful as the top 4.
- #10 We asked respondents to rank each factor in terms of its expected impact on the marketing function over the next three to five years. Then we looked at how this related to the level of confidence they feel about managing each factor. Some of the changes CMOs are least prepared to manage are those likely to cause the biggest upheavals. We found that the top items – 1 through 4, which CMOs felt least prepared to manage, were, in fact, the factors they thought would impact their business the most: 1) Data explosion – CMOs have been dealing with this for a while already, which probably explains why it wasn ’t further to the right on the x axis, but it is still the factor that concerns CMOs the most. 2) Social media – CMOs feel somewhat more prepared to manage social media – though their level of anxiety is still high, and it is further along the X suggesting “more impact,” because it is relatively new and still evolving. CMOs are unclear how social media is going to change things specific to their organization – but they anticipate the change will be significant 3) Growth of channel and device choices – the onslaught of tablets and increased use of mobile, among other things, is very quickly becoming a priority for CMOs – and like social media – it is still not clear how all of this will manifest itself. Most CMOs said this would have the most impact on their marketing organizations, but they feel a bit more prepared to deal with it than the data explosion or social media 4) Shifting consumer demographics – like #1, “data explosion” – CMOs have been aware of these predictions for a while now, so they have already been anticipating the impact, but they still are feeling significantly underprepared to deal with the implications, in part because so many of the factors we just discussed are being driven by the demands of changing demographics that include new global markets and the influx of younger generations entering the marketplace who will drive a lot of the changes noted in 1 through 3. The other items – 5 through 13 are also important, but either CMOs feel they are better prepared to manage them, or don ’t anticipate their impact to be as powerful as the top 4.
- #11 To deal with this degree of change and complexity – CMOs ’ responses indicated there were three key domains – three imperatives – where they feel the need to improve: Deliver value to empowered customers The digital revolution has forever changed the balance of power between the individual and the institution. If CMOs are to understand and provide value to empowered customers and citizens, they will have to concentrate on getting to know individuals as well as markets. They will also have to invest in new technologies and advanced analytics to get a better grasp of how individual customers behave. Foster lasting connections To effectively cultivate meaningful relationships with their customers, CMOs will have to connect with them in ways their customers perceive as valuable. This entails engaging with customers throughout the entire customer lifecycle, building online and offline communities of interest and collaborating with the rest of the C-suite to fuse the internal and external faces of the enterprise. Capture value, measure results Lastly, CMOs will have to quantify and analyze the financial results of their marketing initiatives and communicate them to the wider organization to enhance the marketing function ’s credibility and effectiveness. They also will have to inject new skills into the marketing function by expanding the digital, analytical and financial capabilities of existing employees and by hiring staff or by partnering with specialists to fill the gaps. And since it’s important to lead by example, CMOs will need to invest in enhancing their own expertise in these areas as well.
- #13 Relatively few CMOs, by contrast, are exploiting the full power of the digital grapevine. Although nearly three-quarters use customer analytics to mine data, only 26 percent are tracking blogs, only 42 percent are tracking third-party reviews and only 48 percent are tracking consumer reviews. This is largely because the tools, processes and metrics they use are not designed to capture and evaluate the unstructured data produced by social platforms. Yet blogs, consumer reviews and third-party reviews disclose what discrete customers want. They provide a rich source of information about customer sentiment, with context, that can help companies more accurately predict demand patterns. Real-time conversations between informed individuals are also a valuable source of new ideas. And when an organization monitors these social sources for brand mentions, it can rapidly respond to threats of negative exposure before they spiral out of control. As one energy CMO in India pointed out, “What we think will take 24 hours to affect our brand may only take 2 hours. So our speed of reaction needs to increase tremendously.” In short, new digital data sources can provide crucial insights into how customers and influencers think and behave. But to scale this effectively, organizations need to consider building fundamentally different relationships. They need to enable employees to engage with customers and provide customers and other constituents the ability to help one another. Only a small number of CMOs are currently capitalizing on such opportunities to enhance their understanding of these dynamics.
- #14 CMOs are also overwhelmingly underprepared to take charge of the growing volume, velocity and variety of data. The majority of respondents recognize this. More than two-thirds believe they will need to invest in new tools and technologies, and develop new strategies for managing big data. Two-thirds likewise believe they will need to change the mix of skills within the marketing function and enhance its analytics capabilities. More surprisingly, though, relatively few CMOs are thinking about the profound policy implications of big data – especially those relating to privacy and security. Only 28 percent consider it necessary to change their privacy policies, for example, despite the numerous ways in which customers ’ privacy can now be compromised.
- #15 Despite the urgency to change, why haven ’t more CMOs already adopted new tools and technologies? The two biggest barriers are cost and lack of certainty about ROI – both issues that are becoming increasingly important in the marketing domain. Most CMOs have not traditionally been expected to provide hard financial evidence of their ROI. But given the current economic volatility and pressure to be profitable, organizations can no longer afford to write a blank check for their marketing initiatives. CMOs recognize they now need to quantify the value they bring to the business, be it from investing in advertising, new technologies or any other activity. This increasing emphasis on ROI also reflects the scrutiny the marketing function is currently attracting, itself a reflection of the function’s growing prominence. Today’s CMOs are in much the same position as chief financial officers (CFOs) were a decade ago, when their role was evolving from guardian of the purse strings to strategic business adviser.
- #16 For this first imperative, we offer these three recommendations and questions that address how CMOs can bring about the changes needed to deliver value to empowered customers.
- #18 When asked what their priorities are as they try to manage the shift toward digital technologies, 67% of CMOs say it is about enhancing customer loyalty. It ’s not enough just to understand customers or citizens, of course. An organization also has to act on what it learns – and do so faster than its competitors. Nowadays, it’s easy for disaffected customers to go elsewhere, as CMOs are intensely aware. Hence, their top priority is to enhance customer loyalty and encourage satisfied customers to advocate their brands.
- #19 Yet, despite this stated priority, most CMOs are, in fact, still focusing on the transaction, and less so on the data required to build lasting relationships with the customer. When we look at the customer lifecycle, starting first with segmentation, then to awareness, interest, action, use, and bond – we see CMOs are using data primarily to segment and sell, not to generate awareness, stimulate interest and “ create customer tribes, ” as an industrial products CMO in Finland put it. This is partly because, historically, it usually has been easy to get segmentation and sales data. Market analysis firms have provided the former, and companies have collected the latter themselves. Obtaining data on the rest of the customer lifecycle has, by contrast, been much more difficult. Organizations that only look at segmentation and sales data are missing the opportunity to learn from the other phases of the customer lifecycle. And those phases are becoming increasingly important as customers connect with brands in totally new ways.
- #22 The CMO ’s last challenge is to measure the success of the marketing function’s efforts. At one stage, it was enough to point to advertising recall, brand perception or website traffic. But CMOs are under increasing pressure to provide quantifiable evidence of how their marketing expenditure is helping the organization achieve its goals. If they are to use their budgets as wisely as possible, CMOs also need to know which initiatives deliver the best returns. In other words, they need to know what to stop investing in, as well as what to ramp up. CMOs are well aware they will have to be much more financially accountable in the future. In fact, 63 percent of respondents believe marketing ROI will become the most important measure of success over the next three to five years.
- #23 One reason CMOs are concerned is their apparent lack of influence over those areas that effect marketing ROI. If CMOs are to be held responsible for the marketing returns they deliver, they must also have significant influence over all four Ps: promotion, products, place and price. Surprisingly, this is often not the case. CMOs told us they exert a strong influence over promotional activities such as advertising, external communications and social media initiatives. But, in general, they play a smaller role in shaping the other three Ps. Less than half of all respondents have much sway over key parts of the pricing process, for example. Similarly, less than half have much impact on new product development or cross-company pricing. As all CMOs know, price, product and place significantly influence customer preference. At the same time, actions taken by marketing impact the organization. A special promotion, for example, may drive up demand, with implications for the supply chain. The CMO is uniquely positioned to capture and disseminate such customer insights throughout the organization.
- #24 One reason CMOs are concerned is their apparent lack of influence over those areas that effect marketing ROI. If CMOs are to be held responsible for the marketing returns they deliver, they must also have significant influence over all four Ps: promotion, products, place and price. Surprisingly, this is often not the case. CMOs told us they exert a strong influence over promotional activities such as advertising, external communications and social media initiatives. But, in general, they play a smaller role in shaping the other three Ps. Less than half of all respondents have much sway over key parts of the pricing process, for example. Similarly, less than half have much impact on new product development or cross-company pricing. As all CMOs know, price, product and place significantly influence customer preference. At the same time, actions taken by marketing impact the organization. A special promotion, for example, may drive up demand, with implications for the supply chain. The CMO is uniquely positioned to capture and disseminate such customer insights throughout the organization.
- #25 One reason CMOs are concerned is their apparent lack of influence over those areas that effect marketing ROI. If CMOs are to be held responsible for the marketing returns they deliver, they must also have significant influence over all four Ps: promotion, products, place and price. Surprisingly, this is often not the case. CMOs told us they exert a strong influence over promotional activities such as advertising, external communications and social media initiatives. But, in general, they play a smaller role in shaping the other three Ps. Less than half of all respondents have much sway over key parts of the pricing process, for example. Similarly, less than half have much impact on new product development or cross-company pricing. As all CMOs know, price, product and place significantly influence customer preference. At the same time, actions taken by marketing impact the organization. A special promotion, for example, may drive up demand, with implications for the supply chain. The CMO is uniquely positioned to capture and disseminate such customer insights throughout the organization.
- #26 One reason CMOs are concerned is their apparent lack of influence over those areas that effect marketing ROI. If CMOs are to be held responsible for the marketing returns they deliver, they must also have significant influence over all four Ps: promotion, products, place and price. Surprisingly, this is often not the case. CMOs told us they exert a strong influence over promotional activities such as advertising, external communications and social media initiatives. But, in general, they play a smaller role in shaping the other three Ps. Less than half of all respondents have much sway over key parts of the pricing process, for example. Similarly, less than half have much impact on new product development or cross-company pricing. As all CMOs know, price, product and place significantly influence customer preference. At the same time, actions taken by marketing impact the organization. A special promotion, for example, may drive up demand, with implications for the supply chain. The CMO is uniquely positioned to capture and disseminate such customer insights throughout the organization.
- #27 CMOs can grow the capabilities they need by hiring internally, which many plan to do, but they are also looking at external partnerships to help them improve more rapidly. At present, most CMOs use partnerships primarily to augment their promotional activities, such as advertising and event management. But when we asked respondents where they intend to tap external resources more heavily over the next three to five years, there was a marked shift in emphasis. The increase in the percentage of CMOs planning to use outside agencies for lead management, customer and data analytics, and direct or relationship marketing was especially pronounced. The percentage of CMOs planning to get help with IT, call or service center management, and tracking and measurement also rose by more than half. “We have to get scientific about the customer experience,” a travel and tourism CMO in China explained. To achieve this, a company must be able to track what its customers say and do, extrapolate from the data and manage touch points systematically. This change of focus suggests that CMOs are eager to move beyond traditional marketing. Since that’s uncharted territory for many organizations and the talent they require isn’t readily available, they are looking for new partners to help them.
- #28 But it ’s also important that CMOs lead the way by boosting their own digital, technological and financial proficiency – and many CMOs seem surprisingly reticent in this respect. When we asked respondents which attributes they thought they would need to be personally successful in the future, technological competence, social media expertise and financial acumen came last on the list. (As we saw in the ROI section, the finance skills refer to the need to increase capabilities that enable CMOs to better manage ROI.) CMOs placed much more emphasis on traditional leadership traits.
- #31 CMOs can carry on as before – and continue to feel stretched. Or they can seize the opportunity to transform their marketing function by responding to these new realities: • The empowered customer is now in control of the business relationship • Delivering customer value is paramount – and an organization’s behavior is as much a part of the value equation as the products and services it provides • The pressure to be accountable to the business is not just a symptom of hard times; it is a permanent shift that requires new approaches, tools and skills.
- #32 CMOs can carry on as before – and continue to feel stretched. Or they can seize the opportunity to transform their marketing function by responding to these new realities: • The empowered customer is now in control of the business relationship • Delivering customer value is paramount – and an organization’s behavior is as much a part of the value equation as the products and services it provides • The pressure to be accountable to the business is not just a symptom of hard times; it is a permanent shift that requires new approaches, tools and skills.
- #33 CMOs can carry on as before – and continue to feel stretched. Or they can seize the opportunity to transform their marketing function by responding to these new realities: • The empowered customer is now in control of the business relationship • Delivering customer value is paramount – and an organization’s behavior is as much a part of the value equation as the products and services it provides • The pressure to be accountable to the business is not just a symptom of hard times; it is a permanent shift that requires new approaches, tools and skills.
- #36 This study includes some of the most exciting results we have uncovered throughout the CxO series. CMOs today are on the threshold of major changes and this study takes a closer look at those forces impacting the marketing function and CMOs ’ responsibilities. We found that CMOs are keenly aware of the shifting marketplace they are in. But how well are they prepared to manage the flood of change coming their way?