Oh Noes! CMOs!: Redefining "Experience"

By: Andrew Eklund

Posted on 02/25/2010 - 8:10am | From the Digital Marketing Blog

I have a dear, long-time client of mine who is recruiting for a new CMO position. This is a large B2B company that has largely been a product innovation and sales-driven organization, not unlike many if not most B2B companies. A skeptical eye has always been steered towards the marketing function. As engineers and data wonks, most B2B leaders grow tired or at least disinterested in a function like marketing that has a tradition more in aethetics than fact. Makes 'em nervous.

I am not a recruiter by any means. But in this particular case, having worked with this company and many other B2Bs over the years, I can say with certainty that there's a good chance they might screw up this hire if they base their decisions on outdated models for what should be expected of a modern day CMO. So, here I go. Freebie advice.

Find a CMO Who Knows How People Buy, Not Just How You Sell

It's no secret. Many B2B CMOs find themselves in the position having come up through sales. I'd argue this worked well when marketing was largely a support function to sales. Sales team needs new literature and a new campaign? Bam. You got it. CEO needs a whiz-bang PowerPoint for the Big Pitch? Wham-o. Want the hottest tradeshow booth in Vegas? Shazam!

Hopefully, I don't need to tell you this, but you don't need to fork over a quarter-mil to fill a senior position for this stuff. Find a great agency. What you need is that person who clearly understands how consumers buy your products. I quite literally mean "how." What tools do they use? What content do they consume? What industry language do they use? What screens are they in front of when their considering you? What zeitgeist do they tap into to bone up on your reputation? Your CMO candidate's sales experience taught them how to persuade and close, but everything up to that point has been a never-ending, always-changing science, especially over the past 15 years. Find a person who's been on the front lines of the media revolution who can align the organization to the current needs of your customer and serve as a leader and inspiration to others in the organization.

Find A CMO Who's The First To Consume New Media, Not The Last

Look. I'll say it. I walk into a lot of companies where the CMO is the person least acquainted with new media. How can this be possible? You walk into any company today and ask a simple question: "Who here at the top echelon of the company should have the most intimate understanding of media?" The CMO, right? So why isn't this the case in so many companies? I have no idea. Sorry. I don't. But it's true, and recruiters and executive teams need not accept it any more. Find the candidate who's not only enamoured with new technology but is 100% keenly focused on how these new tools will impact how a consumer interacts with their brands, make their sales functions more efficient, and reach new audiences with greater ease. I'm not talking about the person who chases shiny-objects because they read about them on an airplane. I'm talking about the person who actively seeks better ways to do business through innovations in technology.

Blow It Up

Finally, if you've never had a CMO before or haven't had a new one since the '90s, find a CMO who wants and knows that your company probably needs to blow the whole thing up. Marketing departments have a tendency to grow stagnant. They become accustomed to rinsing and repeating campaigns year after year with modest tweaks in between. Their innovations can be fleeting. A Facebook page here, a Twitter account there, and viola! Something new. You need a CMO who can come in, be the Smartest Person in the Room, and tell everyone, "You know what? We're dead if we don't fundamentally rethink what it is we do here. We're designing programs as though our customers only read brochures, go to trade shows, and interact with sales teams. We live in a world where all of its information is at our fingertips. We live in a world where our very best customers have the power to be our very best sales people. We're on all the time. But are we?"

My tip to my client - and others like them - is to not settle for anything less than a truly innovative leader in your CMO position. Don't hire a Luddite. They'll be dead-on-arrival. Don't hire someone who looks just like you. Hire someone who looks just like your customer.