Marketing’s customer led Boardroom comeback
2024 has been described as the inflection point or cliff edge in the AI marketing revolution.
My latest article for the CIM below talks about 'an obsession with all things digital that has turned the marketing focus from strategic board issues such as customer and market insight, increasing enterprise value, products, competition, business growth and brands to drowning in tactical measures like attribution, ROI and ROAS'
As an 'ex CMO' I am reflecting now if this is a position easier said and written, but increasingly difficult to actually do in the real world, in today's board room?
Is 2024 with the increasing complexity of digital marketing and AI also the inflection point for the role of marketing managers and marketing leaders?
Comments and feedback welcome:
There has been much discussion on the role of the CMO and? the main purpose of marketing in modern business. One recent statistic should focus our minds and emphasises the urgency of this debate: only 2.6% of Board members of the Fortune 1000 today are marketers.?
For the good and growth of business, as well as a brighter future for marketers this needs to change.?
The decline over the past ten years or so has been in part self inflicted. An obsession with all things digital has turned the marketing focus from strategic board issues such as customer and market insight, increasing enterprise value, products, competition, business growth and brands to drowning in tactical measures, for example impressions, attribution, ROI and ROAS.?
Connected to this is data from the US which shows us that less than 30% of people working in marketing are actually trained in the subject. This explains in part why this technology FOMO and fixation with not getting left behind has not been effectively resisted and dominates the marketing agenda. Also as the gap in understanding between scientists and politicians has recently shown us most Board members will likely have difficulty understanding the data, how it is constructed and how to interrogate or interpret it. ?
Digital marketing should of course be a critical part of the story, but it should never have been the story itself.? Also by adding the ?“digital” prefix to marketing roles, actions and functions has made them inherently tactical.
There always need to be two strategic precursors to promotional activity, each consuming around a third of marketing resources. They start with a customer and market orientated diagnosis of the challenges facing the business. Where will sustainable growth and profit come from? What are the barriers?
This should evidence and be followed by the marketing strategy. Then, and only then, should the final part follow: the tactical plan. Promotion, much of which will be digital, will be one of the 4Ps that make up this final section (or a 7th if you add in people, process and physical evidence as many do these days). To paraphrase Paul Drucker, there is a need to keep our noses to the (promotional) grindstone but ensure we do this whilst lifting our eyes “to the hills”.
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What is the best first step to begin this comeback? The CIM definition of marketing “Identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably” is a good place to start.
Mark Ritson also put it well in describing the main role of marketing as finding “out what people want before you start making and selling it”. This should be done without the CMO becoming the “guru” separate from the rest of the board who thinks she or he uniquely knows what current and potential customers and the market want.
Rather the CMO and the marketing team need to operate with humility and as a means to an end that connects the market and customers with the business in a bespoke way that is aligned to its unique make up, commercial dynamics and people.
“The CMO’s goal is to explain in the clearest possible terms how the marketing goal supports his or her peers with theirobjectives, which can be a much more compelling proposition”. Deloitte.
This enlightened self-interest approach with the Board should start with the customer and market. CMO objectives and goals by definition and design should then be shared in this language. By doing this and following the profitability and business growth signposts it is more likely that it will be reciprocated by other leadership team members.
Bringing a customer and market orientation will not be easy. It demands a 180 degree swivel to undertand and evidence how the customer and market truly sees the brand and business. The findings will often not be what colleagues want to hear, will challenge “sacred cow” processes, ways of working and demand difficult changes. It will drive Paul Drucker’s view that marketing should not be a specialised activity at all but instead encompass the entire business and support the whole customer lifecycle (not just one part of the funnel).
Customer and market orientation will reveal the customer benefits, triggers and barriers that drive purchase decisions. What are the new pain-points and how have the rational and emotional triggers and barriers changed? Quantitative combined with qualitative and psychographic insight will reveal how customers feel and how their emotional view of the world has changed. All need to be understood for a meaningful purpose, vision, mission, strategy and tactics to emerge.
“It’s about the hole, not the drill” Ted Levitt.
Structured analysis with clear goals is required to re-segment the customer and prospect base. A triage exercise to prioritise head space and scarce resources must consider changes to current circumstances, pain points, product and market fit, competitor activity, churn risk, cross sale opportunities, engagement metrics. Critically this triage phase post covid needs also to include human compassion and empathy – how can we uniquely and genuinely help you.
“Sustainable growth comes from understanding your best customers and how to find and acquire more of them” Sean Ellis. ?
Digital will inevitably sit at the heart of the tactics and the transformed organisation.? AI powered technology in human partnership will act as a liberator, augmenting human capabilities, dynamically personalising the customer journey, product or service so it is specifically relevant to individual customers and consumers. This time though it will be the end of a story brought to the Board by marketing, evidenced by customer and market insight, the business growth and profit that will follow, and that they all seek.