Sales Over Night, Brand Over Time
CMO Confidential
The Marketing Podcast for those looking to navigate the ever-changing waters of marketing the C-Suite and the board room
CMO Confidential Newsletter: Week of Oct 28th
Top 5 Insights From Our Discussion with Juniper Networks CMO, Jean English
In this episode of CMO Confidential, Mike Linton interviews Jean English, CMO of Juniper Networks on the intersection of B2B marketing, tech infrastructure, and digital transformation. Jean shares insights into the evolving role of AI, the importance of cybersecurity, and why collaboration between marketing and IT is essential. She also provides advice on navigating complex digital transformations and the strategic value of acquisitions in enhancing customer experience.
1. The Next Level of Digital Transformation?
Jean highlighted that while digital transformation has been a long time tech staple, it increases in complexity and scale with every new technological advance. She emphasized that companies should strive to integrate versus adapt to new tools and think through the entire business from the ground up. This approach will yield the best chance to deliver a better customer experience and a more united company. As Jean put it, "It’s about thriving, not just surviving."
2. Why the Infrastructure Layer is Foundational to the Customer Experience
Jean pointed out that marketing is often seen as the “customer or sales layer” but is built on an infrastructure layer that often affects every customer touchpoint. She defined this infrastructure as "the backbone of operations," which supports everything from data movement and applications to customer interactions. This layer should be a joint focus for marketing and IT, since a faulty or disconnected infrastructure will provide poor insights and customer service. CMO’s should understand how this layer works so they can optimize their marketing and sales tools and have access to the data needed to make their best decisions. She believes Marketing and IT should be BFF’s in their mission to drive sales, coordinate data and deliver customer and financial outcomes.?
3. Embracing AI to Elevate Customer Experience
Jean described how AI has shifted from a theoretical tool to an essential component of Juniper’s customer engagement strategy. Initially used for content creation, AI’s? has expanded to facilitate real-time personalization, allowing Juniper to tailor engagement to individual customer pain points and needs. By focusing on high-quality inputs, her team can “produce meaningful, AI-driven personalization,” which has led to a 10x increase in email engagement rates and 5x returns on demand generation. Her advice: start small, but aim high with AI, and let strategic data fuel your approach.
4. Combatting Cybersecurity Threats with Zero Trust
In today’s tech landscape cyber threats are intensifying (see Joyce Kim Youtube), with bad actors leveraging AI to automate and scale attacks. Jean championed the zero-trust model, where "no user or system is trusted by default." This approach limits entry points and enhances the security of customer data. She stressed that as marketing continues to increase its data consumption, CMOs need to focus on cybersecurity, and work with IT to establish processes that “make their brand invisible” to cyber threats.?
5. A Tech Career Path: Why CMOs Should Be Multi-Dimensional
Jean explained that today’s CMOs should strive to be versatile, combining the skills of product marketing, brand strategy, and customer experience versus specializing in one specific type of marketing. This is based on her belief that marketing requires a cross-functional understanding and approach to navigate changing customer expectations. Developing a multidimensional skill set enables CMOs to lead across a range of marketplace challenges. As Jean put it, “You need to pull multiple levers in tech to stay relevant and drive growth.”
WHAT YOU SHOULD READ OVER THE WEEKEND:
Disney Faces Strategic Dilemmas with ESPN and Potential Sale of ABC Assets
Source: Nasdaq Disney is grappling with the decision to expand its streaming business, particularly with ESPN, while weighing the potential sale of its legacy TV assets like ABC. CEO Bob Iger is under pressure to focus on the profitability of Disney’s streaming services and adapt to changing consumer preferences, even as traditional TV viewership declines. This complex balancing act raises questions about Disney's broader strategy and future growth in the shifting media landscape.
Marc Benioff in Talks to Sell Time Inc. to Antenna Group
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is reportedly in discussions to sell Time Inc. to Antenna Group, a Greek media company. Benioff, who acquired Time in 2018, has maintained it as a separate entity from Salesforce, focusing on preserving the magazine’s journalistic legacy. The sale could align with Antenna's media expansion strategy, while Benioff shifts focus back to Salesforce’s core business amidst heightened competition in the cloud software industry.
Big Tech Earnings, Trump Media Stock Plunge, and Guest Margaret Brennan
Next On the Show - Jason Raddison, CEO Movo
WANT TO DIG DEEPER ON A TOPIC?
Sponsor The Show
Interested in reaching our highly curated audience of CMO’s, C-Suite Execs, Board Members and Founder?? Reach out to the team: [email protected] for more information.