https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
Banking Technology
    • Newsletter
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Content Resources
    • From the Industry
    • Galleries
    • Our Sponsors
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Think Tank
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Digi Awards
    • MSP 501 Rankings
    • Talkin’ Cloud 100
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Advertise on Channel Futures
    • Contact Us
    • Editorial Calendar
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Digital Service Providers
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • CHANNEL PARTNERS ONLINE
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Content Resources
    • From the Industry
    • Galleries
    • Our Sponsors
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Think Tank
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Digi Awards
    • MSP 501 Rankings
    • Talkin’ Cloud 100
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Advertise on Channel Futures
    • Contact Us
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Digital Service Providers
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • CHANNEL PARTNERS ONLINE
 Channel Futures

Digital Transformation


Zero One: Will CMOs Seize the Reins of Customer Experience?

  • Written by Tom Kaneshige
  • July 18, 2017
Many companies will compete mostly on customer experience, and the CMO is well-positioned to lead the charge.

Ask CMOs if they’re on top of the digital customer experience, and many will say they’re retargeting ads to the masses and practicing account-based marketing for a handful of key accounts. What they won’t tell you is that they’re still marginalized as a sales support function and mired in marketing minutia.

In other words, despite marketing’s claims to be the great conductor of the customer experience, or CX, most organizations are far from transformative. With the rise of CX as a major battlefield for business, CMOs better seize the role before someone else does.

“Too many CMOs fail to lead their firm’s customer strategies because they are spread too thin across myriad lower-level tasks,” says Forrester principal analyst Shar VanBoskirk in a research note. “Sixty percent of marketing decision makers want to elevate the role of marketing within their companies.”

And there’s opportunity to do just that. Forrester says only one out of four business executives think it’s extremely likely that their firms will be more profitable in the next five years given their present management approach, corporate philosophy, and innovation strategy. In other words, digital change is in the wind.

Related: Zero One: Winning the Customer Experience Battle

This has led companies to bring in digital leaders, such as the chief digital officer, chief data officer, chief marketing technology officer, and chief CX officer. CMOs may find themselves in an internal competition with the newest executive.

On the upside, the CMO is perfectly positioned to own CX and lead the business into the digital era. “This duty stems from marketing’s close proximity to the customer, its savvy for storytelling, and its management of customer insights (CI) – 51 percent of marketing decision makers say their CI teams report into the CMO,” VanBoskirk says.

To become the CX conductor, though, CMOs will need to change the perception of marketing throughout the company. According to Forrester, 67 percent of marketers feel that senior leaders don’t perceive marketing as a strategic contributor. This means CMOs might have to launch an internal marketing campaign and promote themselves as the architect of brand experiences.

Forrester quoted CMO Stephanie Shore at MOO, a digital print and design company, as saying, “Make it widely known… that you aren’t just ‘the guys who buy the ads.’”

Conversely, CMOs will lose out on the opportunity if they continue to obsess over campaign creation, not CX. The trick is to avoid getting buried in the plethora of duties and details, such as counting clicks, that fall under marketing’s traditional purview. CMOs might have to bring in a channel partner to help them with marketing technology.

Failure carries many consequences. A marketing organization not at the tip of the spear of digital transformation will find a hard time wooing top talent in a limited pool. CMOs may face budget scrutiny and lose funding, their tenure stunted, if the marketing department has a diminished role, VanBoskirk says.

Related: 12 Digital Marketing Skills Over the Next 12 Months

So what should CMOs be doing?

Forrester cites UK insurance firm Aviva creating a “digital garage” to test innovative approaches. Retailer Nordstrom has a value-streammapping workshop to show employees where they contributed to customer success. This week, Forrester Consulting teamed with The Heath Brothers to help companies deliver great CX.

It’s all about getting in front and leading digital innovation and transformation through CX.

This won’t be easy, warns CEO Mike Mothner of digital agency Wpromote, quoted in the Forrester report: “It’s hard to break that ‘marketing as the last function’ mindset. But you can’t create post-digital experiences when marketing gets involved only at the end of the process.”

Based in Silicon Valley, Tom Kaneshige writes the Zero One blog covering digital transformation, AI, marketing tech and the Internet of Things for line-of-business executives. He is eager to hear how marketing tech is impacting your business. You can reach him at tom.kaneshige@penton.com.  

Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Digital Transformation

Related


  • Whitepaper icon
    The Lean MSP
    Ask CMOs if they’re on top of the digital customer experience, and many will say they’re retargeting ads to the masses and practicing account-based marketing for a handful of key accounts. What they won’t tell you is that they’re still marginalized as a sales support function and mired in marketing minutia. In other words, despite […]
  • Cloud Desktop
    Nvidia GPU-Powered Workstation Service Released in Microsoft Azure Marketplace
    By offering Quadro vWS, customers can spin up their own instances as needed.
  • System Integration
    Red Hat Gives CloudForms Deeper Integration with Ansible Automation
    Red Hat's hybrid cloud portfolio gets deeper with this latest release.
  • Rebrand
    Jask Goes Global with Enhanced, Rebranded Partner Program
    The enhancements to Jask's Momentum partner program aim to encourage more rapid expansion in 2019.

2 comments

  1. Anonymous July 19, 2017 @ 1:29 pm
    Reply

    What is a CMO? Never
    What is a CMO? Never defined.

    • TomKaneshige July 19, 2017 @ 4:23 pm
      Reply

      Chief Marketing Officer, a
      Chief Marketing Officer, a big buyer of tech. In fact, Gartner says the CMO tech budget will surpass the CIO’s this year.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • IBM Brings Another Energy Company Into Its Cloud
  • Ockam's Open Source IoT SDK Offers Options for Partners
  • A 2019 Update on RDP Ransomware
  • AI, Automation Poised to Make Big Impact on Mobility, Remote Work

From the Industry


Sponsor Content

A 2019 Update on RDP Ransomware

February 14, 2019
Sponsor Content

This Valentine’s Day, Give the Gift of IT Education

February 14, 2019
Sponsor Content

XO Is in the Air

February 11, 2019
view all

Galleries


MSPs On … Struggles with the Skills Shortage

February 15, 2019
view all

Webinars


Sponsor Content

Double Your Revenue with Backup and DRaaS

February 12, 2019
Sponsor Content

UCaaS 101: Building a Unified Communications as a Service Practice

December 4, 2018
view all

White Papers


Sponsor Content

A Business Owner’s Guide to Cybersecurity

February 6, 2019
Sponsor Content

The Seven Types of Power Problems

February 6, 2019
Sponsor Content

The Lean MSP

January 29, 2019
view all

Videos


Sponsor Content

Video: Ivanti Unified IT: Automate Service Requests

January 14, 2019
Sponsor Content

Linksys Cloud Manager Tutorial – Dashboard Overview

January 13, 2019
Sponsor Content

Linksys Cloud Manager Tutorial – How to Set Up a Network, Access Points, and SSID

January 13, 2019
view all

Twitter


ChannelFutures

.@CenturyLinkBiz embraces new stricter @awscloud #MSP partner requirements. goo.gl/fb/WwDzco

February 15, 2019
ChannelFutures

.@ISC2 announces new #cybersecurity continuing education program. goo.gl/fb/nWbJY1

February 15, 2019
ChannelFutures

We asked 7 #MSP501 partners about their frustrations with finding good talent. @BowmanWilliams goo.gl/fb/fyzLLj

February 15, 2019
ChannelFutures

.@LenovoDC sees a strong year ahead for partners with a hard focus on #storage. goo.gl/fb/xvtYKp

February 15, 2019
ChannelFutures

.@Nvidia brings virtual #GPU workstation as a service to #Azure Marketplace, also planned for #WVD. goo.gl/fb/SpCCBx

February 15, 2019
ChannelFutures

.@googlecloud gets a boost via a larger salesforce, $13 billion in #datacenter investments. goo.gl/fb/vfnwhb

February 15, 2019
ChannelFutures

.@IBM is making its #Watson #AI services available on @awscloud @Azure and other cloud platforms. goo.gl/fb/mx7itA

February 15, 2019
ChannelFutures

.@KaseyaCorp releases 2019 #MSP Benchmarking study. We get insights from @jimlippie. goo.gl/fb/kZfPZS

February 15, 2019

MSSP Insider

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for the Doyle Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Update and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Channel Partners Online

Want more? Find more channel news and analysis on our sister site, Channel Partners.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit

Channel Futures

© Channel Futures 2019. All rights reserved.

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Related Links

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow us

Websites are now required by law to gain your consent before applying cookies. We use cookies to improve your browsing experience. Parts of the website may not work as expected without them. By closing or ignoring this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
X