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CMO’s Shouldn't Measure Tenure
I find this whole intrigue about CMO tenure a bit irrelevant. Our story in 1to1 Weekly points out some reasons that the short shelf life of this relatively new C-level position is important, but I hear too much at conferences and in talking to marketing executives about the length of that tenure. CMOs will be effective and employed as long as they create customer value. That’s the bottom line.
If CMO’s or any other C-level exec don’t focus on creating customer value they will become a statistic. Create value, measure value and report value. It will not only keep CMO’s employed longer, the companies they work for just might become more profitable.
Positioning a company as well as its products is the most critical task of any marketer. Back in the day, we used to called that "supporting the brand." The process of customer-centricity is one that is as old as marketing. To successfully navigate that process, there are three questions that need to be answered -- by customers.
1. What will lower the customer's risk of doing business with the company? How can any company create a strong enough position for itself that it can have as strong a relationship as IBM had with the broad mass of its customers back in its heyday -- summarized by the old saying "you can NEVER get fired for buying Big Blue?"
2. What expectations does the customer have -- for products, for service, for intangible support such that the decision to do business with your company will be applauded, rather than being subject to "death by tweakage?"
3. How can the company maintain a PROFITABLE relationship with the customer while creating such a strong perception of overall VALUE that no competitor can break it?
All the tactical devices and mechanical promotion tools mean NOTHING if there isn't a way to support a clear competitive advantage in the customer's PERCEPTION. The issue is not "How can I get them to buy from me?" It is "How can I get them to WANT to buy from me, now and in the future? Positioning and process have to be based on having a consistent message, from all parts of the enterprise, that says "we will always value you, the customer, by doing the very best to meet your COMPLETE needs, including being perceived as the kind of company with which EVERYBODY wants to do business."
Positioning is what makes a brand have so much perceived value that cost or short-term efforts become secondary to the long-term relationship. The key to having that strong of a position is consistent execution, not fancy and expensive "blips on the radar screen" that can't be or won't be supported for the long haul.
As Chief Marketing Officer - Global for Entertainment company Village Roadshow co-producers of the Matrix, maybe completing my 7th year as CMO is innovative in itself? Given the trends for short term tenures!
Bottom line taking a company from revenue and earnings focus to a true customer centric organisation takes a hell of a lot of time, lobbying, effort, determination and committment. Once you get they're then you have an all new set of challengers how to get the operations and retail frontline team "customer match fit" to embrace customers and provide best of breed service. The end equals the start as to how to unleash the power of great customer relationships to drive brand differentation, revenue and earnings.