Saturday, October 20, 2007
The CMO Needs To Sell Internally First
byA number of us at Sundog have blogged before about the short tenure of CMOs at large companies (the average is now under two years). There is no doubt it is a stressful position. Competitive companies are there every day trying to steal your customers. Marketing budgets are under assault from top management and boards of directors asking for strong evidence the substantial money they are spending is a worthwhile investment. Quarterly reports (at least at public companies) while vitally important, can distract CMOs and others from implementing the necessary long-term strategies that may be required.
Add to that, some CMOs such as Roger Adams, the now departing Chief Marketing Officer at Home Depot has had the unfortunate role of having to play brand repairman. That’s a difficult task considering he has only been there a year, and chances are, the root of Home Depot’s problems probably extend far beyond issues of marketing (see the MarketingDaily story here...free subscription info may be required). I would submit that another example of a CMO that has had to fulfill the role of brand repairman is Cammie Dunway of Yahoo, who announced her resignation yesterday.
The challenge facing CMOs is firmly rooted in the profound and rapid changes marketing is now experiencing. To do their job well, most CMOs need to take bold action, but that is difficult to do when you don’t have the “years-in-the-seat” trust or enough authority and support to implement what is necessary. And even if CMOs have a clear understanding what has to be done, they are often in the position of trying to explain and sell new ways of thinking to a senior management team that may not yet grasp the profundity of new marketing realities.
An article in AdvertisingAge (may require subscription) this week suggested that CMOs start using new language to get the attention of their organization. The article, written by Anthony Young suggests:
“What if marketers started to change the marketing lexicon? For example, instead of referring to the marketing budget, what if they were to call it a loan? One that needs to be paid back, with interest? And that ROI should be recast as a profit or loss? And advertising and marketing channels should be viewed as alternative investment funds designed to maximize marketing profits?”
While I think the article illustrates a useful analogy, I don’t know that changing the language of marketing is useful or possible. The key, it seems to me, is the messenger, not the language of the message. That is why it is vital for CMOs, CEOs, CFOs and CIOs to all be in step on what the message should be. Brand clarity or confusion starts at the highest level of an organization. That is why it is vital for CMOs to sell internally first, and then move on to an external audience.
