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Video Summaries of The Shift
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1-Page Summary of The Shift
A Golden Moment
Marketing executives are in a very important position. They have the ability to create new products and experiences for their customers by using media and customer behavior. Marketing executives who can do this effectively move up in corporate leadership, because they’re able to drive growth with marketing innovations.
Today, there are marketers who are in charge of corporate strategies and bottom-line results. Their job is to focus on the customer base and devise ways to increase revenue. The old way of doing things was just focusing on creative messages and strategies, but that doesn’t work anymore. Visionary marketers see their role as providing ideas at the board level for overall growth by branding products, innovating new products or developing business strategy.
Thinking Strategically
Most traditional CMOs are good at marketing and tactics, but they don’t have much input on strategy. They need to focus more on their customers and companies if they want to become visionary marketers. Visionary marketers must be able to help the company innovate, lead discussions, teach others and exceed expectations. This can happen when the CEO is open-minded about marketing strategies or has a positive view of them in general, as well as when there’s a culture that supports such innovative thinking within the company.
Some CEOs, like Howard Schultz of Starbucks and Michael Dell of Dell Inc. have a vision for their customers’ relationship with their products. These leaders built companies and then turned them over to non-marketing CEOs who eroded profitability. As the CMO in such a company, you’ll need to get along with the CEO and fulfill board marketing objectives while fulfilling strategic objectives as well.”
CEOs who have been CMOs or sales executives believe in the strategic role of marketing. They include Bob Harris from Lending Tree, A.G. Lafley from P&G and Meg Whitman from eBay. To become a visionary marketer in such companies, think strategically and take actions that affect the bottom line directly.
Companies that want to be successful in marketing should look for a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) with vision. For example, Burger King executives were able to revitalize their marketing and make it the engine behind new products and revenue sources. Other companies like Ford, Diageo, and Wal-Mart are also good examples of this approach. A visionary CMO has “stretch opportunities,” wide latitude, and time to make an impact but also faces large risk-reward ratios.
Businesses that are not traditionally marketing-oriented often overlook the importance of marketing. They need to hire marketers who can teach and inspire others, but they also need to find marketeers with a certain personality type and tenacity.
Old-school marketers are tacticians who can succeed without making big changes. The visionary marketer has to wait for a total reorganization before he or she can change the company, because the old patterns don’t work anymore.
To become successful in the corporate world, a marketer must work with influential people and understand the company’s archetype. To join the important conversations at high levels of a corporation and be able to serve as an assistant to other executives, marketers need to go through five transformations:
Shift 1: “From Creating Marketing Strategies to Driving Business Impact”
When marketers focus on profit, they become visionary marketers. Visionary marketers have a P&L mind-set and are able to discuss the company’s finances with other executives. They’re more credible because of their knowledge in this area and are able to get support from others. Visionary marketing involves strategic planning beyond ad tactics alone, such as building relationships with other units within the company, including finance (the CFO), human resources (HR), information technology (IT) and sales departments. In doing so, visionaries can accomplish small successes that will gain the attention of top management by discussing ways to grow shareholder value through increased profits, growth initiatives or cost savings for example.
