What Top CMOs Do That You Should Too

You may think you know what’s happening with marketing trends lately, but if you’re looking from the outside in, chances are you’re fuzzy on the details. Without direction from the top, your marketing department could be missing out on some stellar opportunities. The daily practitioners — and winners — are out there holding the keys to success!

And I’m going to unlock their secrets for you today. 

I’ve had so many incredible chances to peek behind the curtain and learn what strategies top global business development and marketing leaders prioritize — actions that actually work in the modern marketing world!

Our podcast, B2B Mentors, has allowed me to have in-depth conversations with premier CMOs and hyper-growth executives we all look up to in the B2B industry. And I’ve had a rare opportunity to prompt them to share their secrets.

I’ve picked up some rather revealing tips about emerging trends in the new age of B2B marketing.

Keep reading if you’re ready and willing to take action!

Leading the way

It’s been curious to watch the push for personal branding. It’s a meaningful strategy because people buy from people they know, like, and trust. I’ve noticed a trend in CMO approaches to personal branding initiatives within their organizations.

Marketers know personal branding is important. But trying to get their salespeople, c-suite execs, and other leaders to act on it is a common frustration. So, what do they do? Fail, fail some more, and keep failing to gain traction.

How do the greats do it? By leading the way. They prove the worth of a personal branding campaign by taking matters into their own hands. Using their personal LinkedIn brands, they connect with customers and prospects, make and share videos, write articles, and put their unique personality to the pressure test.

Once others see how it’s done — and how well it works — they are less reluctant and resistant to taking similar action. People need a framework to follow, and leading CMOs have built winning teams by leading the way, blazing a trail, and paving the path forward for others. 

Technology

Salesforce, HubSpot, Pardot, Zoho, Hootsuite, Uberflip, Kapost, SnapApp, Wistia, Eventbrite, Splash, Mintigo, Radius, Cien, Statistica, DataFox, Sysmos, Cision, Sensible, Drift, Zendesk, AI, IoT, Bitcoin, Crypto, Doge, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Holy SH*T!

Where does the list end!? With about 7,040 marketing technology tools according to the 2019 “Martech Technology Landscape Supergraphic.” See it for yourself here. Scary, right? And that’s the 2019 version. In 2021, you can bet that list has become even more daunting.

We’re living under a bombardment of marketing technology tools, and CMOs are not overjoyed at the number of options. In fact, most would rather eliminate much of their existing tech stack than add to it.

A close look at a hyper-growth CMOs tech stack reveals the reality. You’ll find a handful of key marketing tech tools — and not much else. In today’s noisy, distracted, inefficient world, productivity is more about what can be removed from the heap than what can be added. It is so easy to be seduced by the shiny new object that promises to be stronger, better, or faster. In most cases, you end up with the opposite result.

Keep your tech stack lean, mean, and limited to the objectives that create real bottom-line impact — instead of vanity metrics.  

Old-school reimagined

Traditional marketing methods are not dead, but they have changed. Consider how many emails, texts, and social media messages you receive daily. How many important outreaches — messages you might benefit from — fall into the noise?

Now, imagine — amidst all the usual noise and chaos — receiving an unexpected package in the mail.

What is this?

Who the heck randomly sends surprise packages anymore!? It’s exciting to get physical mail these days, especially when you’re not expecting anything from Amazon.

I’ve asked successful CMOs about this, and they consistently say that, along with their digital marketing mix, mailing physical packages to prospects remains a dominant part of their approach.

Physical mail captures audience attention, and digital channels work to maintain your presence before that audience. Together, the two methods are the perfect one-two punch. One of our clients used this strategy to build a killer campaign. They mailed old-school Atari game systems to CTOs and CIOs and quickly saw an uptick in followers that added millions to their sales pipeline.

Digital marketing is crucial, but don’t underestimate the power of traditional channels. Instead, think about approaching them in unique ways. 

Revolutionizing the media mix

B2B marketing, especially with years of pushing out content, can get dry and boring for your marketing team to produce and for your audience to consume.

More and more top CMOs are mixing things up. From a neuromarketing perspective, a mix of media is the best approach. Everyone consumes content differently. Marketers need to complement all the ways an audience prefers to learn.

Whitepapers, e-books, and one-pagers are still reliable, but successful CMOs now include more innovative modes of communication:

·      Podcasts (with the CMO acting as host)

·      Video series

·      Client video testimonials

·      Co-blogging with relevant subject matter experts (SMEs)

·      More short, visual bursts of memes and graphic explainers

All of which pack the perfect punch for standing out in the digital world.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to win in marketing. Study what industry leaders are doing, learn from their mistakes, and implement what works.

Emulate the experts who have already paved the way. Mine the robust mountain of available information, and build relationships with market leaders. Swipe their successful strategies for yourself.

Don’t get comfortable on the sidelines. Get involved, build relationships, create a valuable channel for the greats to share directly with you and your team. When you study the successful, you don’t have to go it alone.

And do me one small favor? If you found this article valuable — and think others in your network would too — please share.

To your success! 

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Author: Connor Dube is an active speaker, podcast host, entrepreneur, and B2B marketing writer. Starting his first business at seven, over the years Connor has been featured in leading podcasts, platforms, stages, and has helped colleges modernize their curriculum on social selling. His current focus at Active Blogs assists marketing and sales departments by adding high-dollar figures to their pipeline with strategic content marketing and social media support. Contact Connor to be a speaker at your event, guest on your podcast, or guest blogger.