10 Things CEOs expect from their CMOs. How do you stack up?

Last week I blogged about a Fournaise study that found that 73% of all CEOs believe marketers lack credibility because they cannot quantify the value of their marketing efforts.

So the next logical blog post would be to share and comment on an article from MarketingWeek that outlines what CEOs expect from their CMOs.  If you can meet all of these expectations, then your CEO is probably in the 27% minority in the Fournaise study. 

How many of these expectations are you fulfilling?

1.  A focused financial steward
     - Do you manage your budget, maximise every dollar spent and measure ROI to the best of your ability and resources?
2.  A consistent innovator
     - Do you constantly look for new and different ways to communicate and strengthen the corporate brand, drive revenue or reach new audiences?
3.  A customer whisperer
     - Do you know who your customers are and what they want?  Do you know what the customer of your customer wants?
4.  A dedicated brand steward
     - Are you the protector of the brand (internally and externally)?  What steps do you take to ensure that the entire organization is protective of the brand as well as an advocate of the brand?
5.  A social media maven
     - Every business is trying to get on this bandwagon and you should be leading the way.  How much do you know about social media, and can you communicate the value to your business?
6.  A business strategist
     - Do you spend all of your time on marketing campaigns or do you get involved with, and understand the needs of other departments?  That broader understanding will not only get you a seat at the executive table, but also help improve your marketing efforts.
7.  A capable Crisis Communications Manager
     - How prepared are you for the unexpected?  Do you have a plan in place?  If so, do you share and practice that crisis management plan just as you would a fire drill?  When a crisis occurs, you're going to be expected to take the lead on protecting the corporate reputation.
8.  A data analyst
     - What data do you have access to that will help sell your marketing story internally?  If you don't have any analytics, you need to demand them, otherwise, you will always be fighting an uphill battle.
9.  A customer advocate
     - Too often when budgets are tight, or revenues slip, the easy solution is to sacrifice the needs of the customer to impact the bottom line.  How often do you fight to protect the people who are paying your bills?  The customer needs a voice.  Why not make it yours?
10.A motivator-in-chief
     - How much do you work to motivate your entire organization, not just the marketing team?  Do you work with HR on motivational initiatives?  Your customers are not just those on the other side of the cash register.  What efforts do you make to build loyalty with your internal customers?

This is a pretty big list!  How do you stack up?  Are you successfully delivering on these 10 demands?  I readily admit that there are some areas where I am stronger than others.  However, there is nothing on this list that every marketer shouldn't already expect of him/herself.

The key to success as a CMO is ensuring that you have an open dialogue with your CEO and that expectations are clear.  While I question whether many CEOs truly appreciate the value of marketing, the best way to solve that problem is to be proactive.  Make yourself heard by understanding your business and offering constructive solutions to problems.  Afterall, isn't that what marketers are supposed to do best? 

CMO vs. CIO: Who rules the digital world at your company?

Last week, I received a call from a colleague in Canada asking for my opinion on the role of IT in the development and management of an organization's digital and web based initiatives.  She was being challenged over that role by her new CIO who felt that the IT department should be managing content as well as technical support.  I told her quickly and candidly that I didn't think IT should play any role at all in the content management of our digital initiatives, and that they should play only a supporting role in the development of those initiatives. I think my exact words were, "they should help ensure that we have the technical resources and bandwidth to achieve our objectives."

Shortly after having this conversation, I stumbled across an interesting article on the animosity between CMOs and CIOs over the challenges of meeting customer expectations in a digital world.  It suddenly dawned on me that this was a real issue for many organizations.

According to a recent study by Accenture and the CMO Council, "69% of marketers said the CMO should be the primary leader of digital marketing, and only 19% of them see the CIO and the IT department important to defining digital marketing strategy. However, 58% of IT executives see themselves as the true champions of digital marketing."

I guess I'm fortunate that I've not experienced these challenges at my organization.  Our CIO and I are both in lockstep on what needs to be done to try and improve the quality of the customer experience both on and offline, and who is responsible for the technical development and content management of our digital initiatives.  We actually share the same primary frustrations as most organizations:  limited time and resources.  Though we have a common vision and work well together.

However, my belief has always been that marketing is the manager of the message and how the message is delivered.  IT's role should be to provide the technical infrastructure and resources necessary to maximize the marketing department's ability to deliver that message in a manner that is most convenient and appealing to the consumer. 

If you can, download the executive summary from the Accenture study linked to above.  I think you'll find it a compelling read.

What role does the CIO play in the development and management of your digital marketing initiatives?  Have you been faced with challenges similar to my colleague's?  If so, what have you done to mitigate the fallout and create a collaborative environment?

CMO in Residence at NBC Universal: Will it work?

According to a recent article in the Media Daily News, NBC Universal (NBCU) is developing a CMO in Residence program to try and collect knowledge about the needs of specific industries from marketing leaders who used to work within those industries. NBC hopes this effort will lead to more effective integrated marketing campaigns that will improve business for NBC’s clients while also enticing advertisers to invest more in NBCU.

According to Maryam Banikarim, SVP of of integrated sales for NBC Universal, "'The goal is to utilize the expertise and insights of top CMOs in specific categories, so NBC can ‘enhance our ability to develop programs and ideas that more directly address the needs of our clients’”.

Personally, I find this approach to be fresh and very smart for two reasons. First, the experts will know what works best for each respective targeted industry. Second, I’m quite certain that NBCU will have these experts utilize their clout and relationships to lobby advertisers on behalf of NBC. The questions are will it have legs and will these CMOs play well with others?

I see little downside here unless the cost of bringing the former CMOs aboard exceeds the amount the program will net on the back end. Although I find that prospect unlikely.

The first CMO to join the NBCU family is former K-Mart marketing executive, Bill Stewart. Clearly the discount retail industry is a mark. It will be interesting to see what other categories are targeted. But place your bets on automotive, travel & hospitality, electronics and real estate as a few options.

Hmmm…I wonder if they will include the nonprofit sector in the program?