At The Starting Line . . .
Following a 25-year business-to-business (B2B) executive marketing career, I joined Forrester’s CMO & Marketing Leadership Team as VP, Principal Analyst, less than a month ago. And, what a month it’s been! A whirlwind of meeting other Forrester analysts, attending the Seizing Opportunity From Digital Disruption: A Forum For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals in Chicago, leading a session on rebuilding brands at the CMO Club Summit in San Francisco, and meeting with as many CMOs and marketing leaders as I can.
I’m not sure exactly what I expected my first month to be like, but I will tell you that I’ve quickly learned that as CMOs, we all share strikingly common concerns that will form the basis of my research at Forrester. When asking what keeps you up at night, the CMOs I’ve met with so far from a variety of industries confirm my practitioner experience. We are all trying to effectively understand and respond to the significant marketplace and customer changes happening as we enter the always-connected and empowered age of the customer.
With this in mind, over the next year, I will be exploring the following areas that have consistently emerged from my discussions with you:
- Aligning marketing strategy to the newly empowered customers with an emphasis on understanding the buyer's journey.
- Helping CMOs understand how to think about technology, make sense of the ever-expanding technology options, and then partner with their CIO to create a robust and flexible technology infrastructure for marketing.
- Understanding the evolving role of the CMO and defining marketing organizational design and associated skill sets required for the future.
How are you approaching these topics? Let’s talk as you start to explore these areas in your own organization. Please email me or set up an inquiry call.
I’ll also be at the Outside In: A Forum For Customer Experience Professionals in Los Angeles next week and would welcome the opportunity to meet in person if you are planning to attend.
It’s an exciting time to be a CMO, and I’ll look forward to working with you!