I read a recent article by Steven Cook, the founder of Fortune CMO, about the future role of the CMO and how the position will remain relevant in the C suite. The article titled It's Time to Raise the CMO Bar focuses on what Cook calls the "Commercial Growth Accelerator role with five high-level strategic focus areas (the R5)."
The R5 includes:
1. Relationships - Establishing stronger relationships with customers and stakeholders and converting them into brand advocates
2. Reputation - Building a strong relationship across all touchpoints and ensuring that all messaging continuously reinforces it.
3. Relevant Reimagining - Establishing a differentiated brand position and identifying new paths to growth. In other words, answering the question, "What is our competitive advantage?"
4. Revenues & results: Playing an identified role in delivering revenue and providing quantifiable measurements and results
5. Real time: Delivering on these key areas across all divisions, functions and partners collaboratively and in real time as defined by today's speed of business.
While I completely agree with Mr. Cook's CGAR5, there is nothing earth shattering on his list. These are points many marketing prognosticators have been making for the past several years. His strongest comment is that the days of marketers claiming, "Trust me, it will work", are long gone. The biggest challenge, as I see it, is convincing the CEO and CFO that due to technological advancements, accurate marketing metrics now require a financial investment. Sometimes a major investment. There are too many uncontrollable variables to leave campaign measurements up to retail associates collecting coupons or receptionists asking how someone heard about a special offer.
However, the private sector could also swallow its pride and look to the nonprofit sector for recommendations on how to tackle the first two of Cook's CGAR5: relationships and reputation.
One of the things nonprofits do far better than any private business is establishing strong and powerful relationships with their constituents. That isn't necessarily due to any big secret that NGOs are keeping from the private sector as much as it is a direct result of nonprofits standing up for social causes that generate organic and deep rooted passion among key stakeholders. However, nonprofits are experts at tapping into that passion and developing strong brand loyalty by making the causes very personal. If businesses could harness a charity's ability to create passion and convert it into love for their own products or services, they would own the market.
One company that is very good at harnessing passion with its customers today is Apple. "Apple-natics" are often so committed to the Apple brand that the very thought of buying a competitor's product is considered blasphemous. However, Coca Cola, the most easily recognizable brand in the world, can't build that type of passion. If a fast food place doesn't sell Coke products, most consumers will simply shrug and say, "Pepsi's fine". Why? Because there is no personal attachment to the brand. "Do I like it? Yes. Will it change the world? No." Nonprofits are excellent at showing how brand loyalty will improve the quality of life. Apple has built loyalty in much the same way. They emphasize and deliver on their innovation and leadership, making their customers believe that by using their products they too are innovative leaders.
When it comes to reputation management, nonprofits often school their corporate counterparts. NGOs are capable of creating a sense of urgency that few, if any, corporate product or service can match for one simple reason: passion! Sound familiar? Nonprofits push one passionate, easy to understand message that they beat into the ground: Support us and you will help create positive change.
Additionally, charities are excellent at strengthening their reputations, because they are good at acknowledging and thanking their supporters, customers, donors, or whatever you want to call them. Many businesses still spend more time prospecting than they do cultivating. While lead generation is critical to financial growth, the easiest form of prospecting is through brand advocacy. Far too often businesses offer incentives to join but few, if any, incentives to stay. Good nonprofits take the opposite approach. They thank, show results (incentives) and ask for more. This model is successfully repeated time and time again.
While many businesses are beginning to recognize the value of social good, few have yet to tap its full potential. Companies will invest a little money in CSR initiatives or allow their employees to volunteer a couple of times a year, but in the strategic planning meetings CSR is still just a blip on the radar screen. The first big business that is successful at making its brand synonymous with social change will win! They will win brand and employee loyalty, brand reputation and brand investment. Social entrepreneurship is becoming "big business". Companies should consider adding a CCSR (Chief of Corporate Social Responsibility) to the C suite. The CCSR's input and the company's investment in that division need to be right up there with marketing. Why? Because that's where the passion for a brand will start, and the loyalty for a brand will never end.
As I mentioned, nonprofits are not the only organizations successful at building strong relationships and good reputations, but they could definitely teach some big companies a thing or two.
**The opinions shared on this blog are solely those of its author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Goodwill of Greater Washington, its supporters or affiliates.
The R5 includes:
1. Relationships - Establishing stronger relationships with customers and stakeholders and converting them into brand advocates
2. Reputation - Building a strong relationship across all touchpoints and ensuring that all messaging continuously reinforces it.
3. Relevant Reimagining - Establishing a differentiated brand position and identifying new paths to growth. In other words, answering the question, "What is our competitive advantage?"
4. Revenues & results: Playing an identified role in delivering revenue and providing quantifiable measurements and results
5. Real time: Delivering on these key areas across all divisions, functions and partners collaboratively and in real time as defined by today's speed of business.
While I completely agree with Mr. Cook's CGAR5, there is nothing earth shattering on his list. These are points many marketing prognosticators have been making for the past several years. His strongest comment is that the days of marketers claiming, "Trust me, it will work", are long gone. The biggest challenge, as I see it, is convincing the CEO and CFO that due to technological advancements, accurate marketing metrics now require a financial investment. Sometimes a major investment. There are too many uncontrollable variables to leave campaign measurements up to retail associates collecting coupons or receptionists asking how someone heard about a special offer.
However, the private sector could also swallow its pride and look to the nonprofit sector for recommendations on how to tackle the first two of Cook's CGAR5: relationships and reputation.
One of the things nonprofits do far better than any private business is establishing strong and powerful relationships with their constituents. That isn't necessarily due to any big secret that NGOs are keeping from the private sector as much as it is a direct result of nonprofits standing up for social causes that generate organic and deep rooted passion among key stakeholders. However, nonprofits are experts at tapping into that passion and developing strong brand loyalty by making the causes very personal. If businesses could harness a charity's ability to create passion and convert it into love for their own products or services, they would own the market.
One company that is very good at harnessing passion with its customers today is Apple. "Apple-natics" are often so committed to the Apple brand that the very thought of buying a competitor's product is considered blasphemous. However, Coca Cola, the most easily recognizable brand in the world, can't build that type of passion. If a fast food place doesn't sell Coke products, most consumers will simply shrug and say, "Pepsi's fine". Why? Because there is no personal attachment to the brand. "Do I like it? Yes. Will it change the world? No." Nonprofits are excellent at showing how brand loyalty will improve the quality of life. Apple has built loyalty in much the same way. They emphasize and deliver on their innovation and leadership, making their customers believe that by using their products they too are innovative leaders.
When it comes to reputation management, nonprofits often school their corporate counterparts. NGOs are capable of creating a sense of urgency that few, if any, corporate product or service can match for one simple reason: passion! Sound familiar? Nonprofits push one passionate, easy to understand message that they beat into the ground: Support us and you will help create positive change.
Additionally, charities are excellent at strengthening their reputations, because they are good at acknowledging and thanking their supporters, customers, donors, or whatever you want to call them. Many businesses still spend more time prospecting than they do cultivating. While lead generation is critical to financial growth, the easiest form of prospecting is through brand advocacy. Far too often businesses offer incentives to join but few, if any, incentives to stay. Good nonprofits take the opposite approach. They thank, show results (incentives) and ask for more. This model is successfully repeated time and time again.
While many businesses are beginning to recognize the value of social good, few have yet to tap its full potential. Companies will invest a little money in CSR initiatives or allow their employees to volunteer a couple of times a year, but in the strategic planning meetings CSR is still just a blip on the radar screen. The first big business that is successful at making its brand synonymous with social change will win! They will win brand and employee loyalty, brand reputation and brand investment. Social entrepreneurship is becoming "big business". Companies should consider adding a CCSR (Chief of Corporate Social Responsibility) to the C suite. The CCSR's input and the company's investment in that division need to be right up there with marketing. Why? Because that's where the passion for a brand will start, and the loyalty for a brand will never end.
As I mentioned, nonprofits are not the only organizations successful at building strong relationships and good reputations, but they could definitely teach some big companies a thing or two.
**The opinions shared on this blog are solely those of its author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Goodwill of Greater Washington, its supporters or affiliates.
