Order 347690: Chief marketing officer (CMO)

According to Cravens D., and Piercy N., in the current turbulent marketplace, a high priority is effective and insightful leadership by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) (p. 438). In Chapter 15, the authors describe some of the pertinent characteristics of exemplar CMOs. Finding the right person for the CMO job seems to be very important. If you were the one charged with writing a list of selection criteria for appicants for the position of CMO in one of the companies you have researched in this course, how would you approach this task? Which criteria should be listed? How would you know that those criteria are met by an applicant? Can you think of any "metrics"?

I expect you to post at least 3-4 times during weeks 14-15 (not in one day!). You should suggest 3-4 criteria, explain those and suggest "metrics" (or other means to collect evidence). Also, you should critically review suggestions made by other students. Ideally, you should be able to revise your initial posting. This is the final discussion in this course. The objective is to demonstrate your understanding of the marketing profession.

Student 1

Now more than ever, the role of a company’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is key to the success of that company’s success. In the past two decades, the way consumer’s shop and interact with businesses has completely changed, primarily due to the introduction of innovative new technology. While this provides a seemingly endless realm in which to employ new marketing techniques, it also means continued forward momentum in change that can lead to an unstable marketing environment. For instance, a CMO with a solid understanding of current marketing methods using web content and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) may have great success in the moment, but if that individual doesn’t also have foresight for the next big consumer trend, then by the time one marketing strategy has been rolled out, it is already on its way to becoming obsolete. Indeed, Cravens, D. and Piercy, N. cite the ability to be a “futurist,” building and executing a forward-looking vision for the company (p 439). A strong candidate for a CMO position would next to demonstrate a strong understanding of trend analysis and forecasting.

That being said, it is not only important to have a vision, but for that vision to tie in with the company’s mission and culture. A CMO needs to be able to adapt to an existing company and its customer base in order to develop a customized strategy for that company. Not all strategies are created equally, and a person’s past success does not guarantee future success if they do not acknowledge what makes your particular company both different and similar to its competitors. How does the CMO view the company’s current brand identity? Where are some of the broad areas where he or she feels we are missing the mark?

A CMO should not afraid to take calculated and data-backed risks, determining what types of metrics one might use in developing a strategy would be important in CMO selection. What types of analysis does he or she consider to be the most and least important? How much does the customer’s feedback count, and what methods will be used to collect it?

A good metric for determining if an individual met the above criteria would be to demonstrate past implementation of a marketing strategy, using a newly emerging tool or technology ahead of the curve – being first to market with successful financial or measurable customer exposure (via return on investment data or customer analytics such as an % increase in clicks, store traffic or social media mentions). These same methods to look at past success should also be used to measure current success – what does a successful marketing strategy look like to you? What does it mean in terms of profit increase? This will ensure everyone is on the same page in defining goals.

Student 2

According to Cravens D. and Piercy N. they state that “Importantly, the CMO role extends beyond compelling strategic vision to effective strategy implementation and managing organizational change” (p. 438).  Getting the right individual for a CMO job seems to be crucial in order for a company to be successful and to implement a greater awareness.  If I were the one charged with writing a list of selection criteria for applicants for the position of CMO in one of the companies that I have researched in this course I would approach this task by assessing the seven core tasks presented by Cravens which are the following: “Establishing the role of marketing in the firm, Owning the voice of the market, responsibility for marketing strategy, coordinating marketing with other areas of the firm, running the marketing organization, identifying and leading the marketing transformation effort, and establishing a marketing scorecard and performance metrics” (p. 439).  The key selection process outlines the qualities, knowledge, and skills needed to perform the job of a Chief Marketing Officer.  It is crucial to follow the strategic marketing evaluation and control process which includes: conducting strategic marketing audits, selecting performance criteria’s and chose relevant marketing metric, obtain and analyze information, and assess performance and take necessary action (Cravens, p. 451).  The selection criteria will need to be assessed in order to decide who to short list for interviews and I would have the task of basing interview questions around the selection criteria.  

The criteria that should be listed would be the following: Overseeing the planning and execution of an organizations marketing initiatives, generating revenue by increasing sales through successful marketing by using market research, and ensure that the organizations message is distributed across channels.  Also, qualifications, knowledge, skills, abilities, experience, excellent research, and analytical skills, well-developed written and oral communication skills, ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines, and a degree in a related field of study.  According to David Moyer, he states that “A logical first step in selecting a CMO involves making an assessment of internal capabilities, strengths and needs that can then be overlaid on anticipated external requirements.  Demonstrate experience in data analysis methods, a leader with creative capabilities, and the ability to apply marketing techniques over digital and non-digital channels are critical components of criteria that should be met (Chief Marketing Officer.) 

Furthermore, I would know if the criterion is met by an applicant by receiving their applications or resumes.  There would be a selection advisory committee who would rate applicants against the criteria in order to select the right applicant.  Some metrics that I can think of are level of interest, traction in the market, competitiveness level, and channel performance level.  The criteria should always be measured.