Seven things Chief Marketing Officers Must Do

A June 2007 study by Spencer Stuart cites that the average tenure for Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) is 26.8 months. Given the time it takes some company functions to get turned around, this is a startling statistic. Clearly, there is less patience when it comes to marketing.

Like no other time, CMOs are stretched in so many different ways. As the definition of marketing has evolved over the last 15 years, the CMO finds himself/herself involved with more critical decisions of the company. Marketing touches more functions of the company than ever before. At the same time, for many business-to-business companies, there is a lack of ‘hard' data available to CMOs on which decisions can be based.

I have worked with a number of CMOs over the years from a range of industries. Some of these CMOs have experienced incredible success while others have not. The reasons vary but it often comes down to a few fundamental imperatives that CMOs must strive to do.

Here are seven imperatives:

1. Build Cross Functional Skills - Inventory your skills and define where you are lacking. In today's marketing environment, the required skills of the CMO goes beyond brand strategy, product development, and strategic decision-making. Today's CMOs need also skills in operations management, process development, financial analysis, and new technology.

2. Align With The CEO - Become indispensable to the CEO and his plans. Your marketing strategy needs to fit clearly with the CEO's direction of the company. In too many cases, I have observed the CMO and CEO not aligned. This eventually leads to disappointment and sometimes resentment.

3. Define 2 to 3 Marketing Measures (Metrics) the CEO Agrees With - Today's business managers demand accountability. Fundamentally, CMOs must demonstrate how they are adding to the business' bottom-line. CMOs who don't have well-define measures of performance are living on borrowed time. In a 2005 study, Spencer Stuart cited that not having number-driven measures is the most common mistake of CMOs. You only need a few. Keep it simple. But these measures must fit with the CEO's agenda. Ideally, these measures should be defined early on. In the end, these measures will justify your existence.

4. Invest/Broadcast These Measures Internally - In many cases, you will find the research processes needed to measure effectively are not in place. Often times, these measures require new research capabilities. Just as importantly, you need an internal communications campaign to get the word out on how marketing defines and measures its success. It is critical that your entire organization knows what these measures are. In a way, it's similar to the old three-part presentation adage: 1.) tell them what you are going to tell them (performance criteria); 2.) tell them (measure); and 3.) tell them what you told them (results). In the beginning, you cannot communicate your measures too much.

5. Fully Integrate With Your Company/Gain Access To The Board - Effective marketing requires interaction with several functions of your company. Marketing cannot operate in a silo environment. Product development, sales, finance, operations, and human resources all should become part of your extended team. The time demands are extensive but necessary. As one CMO told me, "I am here to build bridges...and I can't do it sitting in my office or just working within the marketing function." CMOs are often the ones in the best position to facilitate collaboration across the organization. In many cases, they are the real change agents of the organization.

6. Be an ROI Maven - CMOs must fully embrace P&L skills to be credible to the rest of management. Operations management live this every day and CMOs must too. In the end, it all comes down to numbers-driven ROI and the measures of success. Your survival as a CMO depends on it.

7. Innovation/Experimentation - Understand and start leveraging Web 2.0 (blogs, podcasts, social networks, virtual worlds) and online marketing. A recent BtoB magazine survey says that the biggest budget increases will be seen in online marketing, with 79.1% of marketers planning to boost their online budgets next year. The evolution in online marketing is speeding up. If not already defined, CMOs must develop a roadmap on leveraging the web. You will be left behind if you don't start fully leveraging these technologies.

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While I have seen how challenging the CMO's life can be, my clients tell me it is the most rewarding job they have. For many, the CMO is uniquely positioned to execute real change in how the company does things. My hope is that by investing their time in these seven considerations, CMOs can stay in their role for as long as they want.

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I would enjoy hearing or reading your input to these thoughts. We welcome your own opinions.

John Rogers is a Director at The Martec Group. He heads the Professional and Financial Services Practice. John can be reached at 312-606-9569 or use the Contact Us form.