Throughout your career, you've focused on becoming better and better at your job. You've deepened your technical skills, you've learned how to keep your boss happy and you've learned how to manage. But the game has now changed completely.
First, you’re going to get LOTS of advice and counsel about what marketing is and needs to do. You’ll get it from the CFO who fancies him- or herself a creative copywriter, the top sales person who is convinced that one more event will generate enough leads to meet his or her quota, the head of product development who just knows that if you can write that brochure describing every single one of the features of the new product customers will be beating down the door. And, of course, from the CEO and board.
Some of this will be well meaning, some will be self-serving, and some of it will be uninformed bordering on ignorant.
Unfortunately, you can't ignore it. You've got to listen and find ways to incorporate these suggestions into your programs, or risk alienating your constituents.
You've also got to establish your independence.
How do you walk this fine line?
Let’s look at some research. SpencerStuart, the executive search firm,
holds an annual CMO summit, now in its 10th year. For the 2010 summit, it surveyed more than 200 CMOs and identified five things they must well:
We’ll take each of these in turn, then suggest a number of proven tactics to help you develop a sure-fire route to success at each of the critical junctures:
If you follow the suggestions, you’ll beat the averages.
Heck, you might even become the CEO.
Next: First Things First
First, you’re going to get LOTS of advice and counsel about what marketing is and needs to do. You’ll get it from the CFO who fancies him- or herself a creative copywriter, the top sales person who is convinced that one more event will generate enough leads to meet his or her quota, the head of product development who just knows that if you can write that brochure describing every single one of the features of the new product customers will be beating down the door. And, of course, from the CEO and board.
Some of this will be well meaning, some will be self-serving, and some of it will be uninformed bordering on ignorant.
Unfortunately, you can't ignore it. You've got to listen and find ways to incorporate these suggestions into your programs, or risk alienating your constituents.
You've also got to establish your independence.
How do you walk this fine line?
Let’s look at some research. SpencerStuart, the executive search firm,
holds an annual CMO summit, now in its 10th year. For the 2010 summit, it surveyed more than 200 CMOs and identified five things they must well:
- Get the marketing mandate right
- Build meaningful relationships with functional and business leaders
- Agree on how to measure success
- Collaborate with external partners
- Cultivate the best talent
We’ll take each of these in turn, then suggest a number of proven tactics to help you develop a sure-fire route to success at each of the critical junctures:
- 90 days
- The next nine months
- The third year
If you follow the suggestions, you’ll beat the averages.
Heck, you might even become the CEO.
Next: First Things First
*“What Do You Want From Me? How High-Performing CMOs Exceed Expectations,” SpencerStuart, 2010
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