Digital marketing

An Open Letter To CMOs, Part 1

Dear CMOs:

First and foremost, you have my utmost respect.

While I have never been a CMO myself, I do have a lot of real-world marketing (and advertising) experience, I was a featured writer for the CMO Network of Forbes for nearly 10 years, I have interviewed well over 2,000 leaders just like yourself, I coach and counsel CMOs and I have very close relationships with many of your peers.

So while having never served in the role per se, I know the role quite intimately. I know of the struggles and challenges you go through on a daily basis. I know all about the daily ride you go on. Boy, do I ever.

Ok, just wanted to set the table for those who I have not had the pleasure of getting to know. I like to joke that I collect CMOs like I used to collect sports cards. As a kid, my brother Greg and I spent arguably just slightly less than the GNP of Sri Lanka on football, baseball, basketball, and hockey cards.

Of course, none of said cards still exist today else my brother and I would be living in the lap of luxury in, well, Sri Lanka.

But I digress.

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Digital Marketers Need To Be Reminded: Walk In Your Customer’s Shoes

Why marketers need to really understand what their audiences want, before they – and their products – become irrelevant…

Does it appear that you’re followed around online with ads for things you already own? A case in point… I own three Nests, nine Nest smoke detectors and two Nest cams. So, why am I continually seeing ads for this product? Yes, I like the brand. That much was probably obvious after my first few purchases. But I’ve got enough Nests! With all the data they get from me, they really can’t find a way to stop showing me ads for products I already own, and show me something new instead?

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When It Comes To Marketing And Advertising Not Just Any Visual Will Do

Back in April of this year, I wrote a piece entitled A View To A Thrill: Why Marketers Need To Get Visual, Fast. The article essentially served as a not-to-gentle reminder (at least that was its intent) to those in marketing and advertising of the power of the visual when it comes to reaching and engaging consumers.

What I wrote then is surely true today.

The power of visuals in marketing and advertising is not the future, it is the present.  Ok technically it’s the present AND the future but my point is this is not something that’s coming down the road nor is it a trend or a fad for that matter. Consumers want and quite frankly, expect to see some kind of visual aid, if you will, when it comes to marketing and advertising. These visual aids resonate and connect with consumers and spur them to take action.

However, based on new research it may not be just any old picture or image that will do when it comes to fully engaging and resonating and in turn prompting a consumer to take action AKA spend their money on your product, service or ware.

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The Oxymoron That Is Digital Marketing

A recent report revealed that while budgets for digital marketing are expected to increase across many specific channels, including email marketing, SEO and mobile, one major component of digital marketing is decreasing and has in fact been falling steadily since 2010.

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The report, a joint effort between Econsultancy and Responsys (full disclosure: the latter is my employer), highlights the findings of a survey conducted of more than 800 company and agency marketers.

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Hey CMOs, It’s Time To Get Disruptive

Many moons ago I wrote an article entitled simply Are You Disruptive? In that piece I openly questioned if marketers or business owners, brands, etc., were in fact, disruptive. As I wrote then which is still very true today. I myself am “disruptive” by nature, disruptive not in the breaking mom’s china manner, but rather questioning the accepted norms. Or as Howard Jones would put it, “challenging preconceived ideas.”

I was reminded of my earlier piece while reading something from Forrester Analyst Corinne Munchbach. In a blog post she used the term “Embrace digital disruption.” Now she was using it in the context of something CMOs need to do in 2013 and she was in fact referring specifically to B2C CMOs but I absolutely believe it applies to ALL CMOs – B2C and B2B CMOs alike.

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CMOs Struggling To Keep Up With The Digital Revolution

In a wide-ranging survey of more than 1,700 chief marketing officers from 64 countries and 19 industries, IBM’s 2011 Global CMO Study revealed that a large portion of CMOs, while excited at all the changes happening in the marketplace – are ill-equipped to deal with and manage it. 

Back in July I shared with you the results of the State of Marketing Report from the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council which revealed that “Social Media And Integration is Chief Among Marketers’ Priorities.” Then in September it was the results of a study conducted by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business that showed that “CMO’s To Increase Spending On Social Media But Integration Still Lacking.”

And today I want to share some of the results of the aforementioned IBM 2011 Global CMO Study which revealed four (4) key challenges that CMOs feel unprepared to manage:

  1. The explosion of data. It goes without saying we are ALL swimming in a sea of data. It’s all around us and the key will be not only managing all of it but measuring it and gleaning



    the right information from it. Yes the operative word is “right.” One CMO survey put it very bluntly “At this moment, I don’t know how our marketing department will cope with the expected data explosion.”

    2. Read more

Are you a Social CMO? Introducing The Social CMO Survey for 2011!

For our 400th post on the Social CMO blog, we thought it was important to share something new and momentous with all of you!

With this in mind we are today introducing The Social CMO Survey and hope to get input and feedback from all you Social CMOs and aspiring Social CMOs out there! Take The Social CMO Survey!

The results of this survey will give us a better handle on where chief marketers and senior marketing managers are at today with Social Media and most importantly where they are going.

At the same time, these responses will allow us to develop a better picture of current CMO personas, how these are evolving and where they are headed as we continue to move forward into a social digital marketing future.

So what are you waiting for, take a few minutes and contribute to this important research! Every qualified participant properly completing the survey will be sent a summary report of the results once they are tabulated.

Here’s the link to The Social CMO Survey and we look forward to the responses from all you Social CMOs out there!

Cheers

Jeff Ashcroft