advice for a new cmo

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#newcmoAdvice for a New CMO

Candid guidance from 23 marketing leaders working with Altimeter Group, Causes.com, Collective Bias,

Comedy Central, Cox, Ford, LocalResponse, PubMatic, and more

Curated by David Berkowitz

Chief Marketing Officer

MRY

@dberkowitz / @MRY

david.berkowitz@mry.com

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Where did this advice come from?In June 2013, I joined agency MRY as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). It’s my first time in such a role.

On my first day the job, I posted a note to a private community asking some friends from my professional sphere, “What advice do you have for a first-time CMO?”

The responses were inspiring. Right away, I knew I had to share them, and soon I had permission from everyone to post their advice publicly. I was hungry for more though. I reached out to some others who held marketing leadership roles, worked with CMOs, or have given me great advice in the past. Many of them fit all three criteria. More advice poured in, representing hundreds of years of executive leadership experience.

While this advice originally started as some private pointers for one agency’s new CMO, it’s relevant to marketers in a range of industries, and to people who aspire to marketing leadership positions. I know I’ll be learning from this advice for years to come. Maybe you will too.

As for you, if you have advice to contribute, share it online with the #newcmo hashtag, and you can email it over to me at david.berkowitz@mry.com . Perhaps there will be an updated or second edition as more comes in.

Thanks, and enjoy the collected wisdom here.

David Berkowitz

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Guide to Contributors5. Marc Barach

6. Richard Binhammer

7. Toby Bloomberg

8. Valerie Brown

9. Joe Chernov

10. Toby Daniels

11. David Deal

12. Aaron Goldman

13. Rachel Happe

14. Larry Harris

15. Max Kalehoff

16. Peter Kim

17. Dave Knox

18. Joe Kutchera

19. Charlene Li

20. Nihal Mehta

21. Scott Monty

22. Mark Naples

23. B.L. Ochman

24. Ted Rubin

25. Shiv Singh

26. Don Steele

27. Zena Weist

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23 leaders, 1 image:a word cloud of all of the advice here

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Marc Barach - @MarcBarach CMO, Jumio

I think that the vast majority of one’s success is in knowing how to set priorities.   It’s common sense that working on the right items and not working on the wrong ones is critically important; especially in young companies where resources are scarce.  But there is always a lot of pressure on a CMO to do all the things that are expected to be done; after all, everyone reads daily of all the latest (and invariably the greatest) strategies and tactics that others are executing to great success.  This causes the CMO to adopt a checklist mentality - do I have an effort being placed against every initiative that my boss or my board thinks I should be executing?  Doing so covers your ass, which is a fair goal, but not one that is necessarily correlated to success.

Every strategy or tactic needs to be evaluated on the basis of whether it has the propensity to really move the needle.  What are the programs that truly have leverage on the business?  Those are the ones which must be prioritized and others should be put on the shelf until perhaps later.  Be immune to shallow and sensationalistic thinking, resist pressure and work on the right problems, goals and solutions based on analytical assessment of the situation.  Invariably, the most important business goals are usually best addressed by the most fundamental strategies and tactics.  Those might be a lot less flashy  than the latest crop of miracle cures being sold in the marketplace but get the fundamentals right and you earn the right to experiment and ultimately cut a swath of your own.

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Richard Binhammer - @RbinhammerPrincipal, Binhammer Social Business

My word of advice is if you implement change, don't assume people or processes got it done. Follow up and make sure, or things you thought were moving forward may fall back....

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Toby Bloomberg - @TobyDivaDirector Social Media Integration, Cox Media Group 

As CMO you're not only in a position to help define the vision of the agency but execute to drive the business forward. In the course of your strategic direction, changes will occur, and perhaps new positions and functions will be created.

Oftentimes information inclusion regarding the back-story of who 'needs to know' is siloed and retained in the c-suite. My suggestion would be to remember your social media experiences and authentically share more than a few high level details with your employees. The more your staff understands how and why the pieces fit into the your direction and into their worlds the better they'll be able to help you turn your ideas into reality.

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Valerie Brown - @valeywoodVP Marketing, Causes.com

• My Management Motto: "Surround yourself with smart people and get out of their way" – Ari Emmanuel 

• Losers Fear Innovation: Respect is achieved in marketing through innovation. Fewer things feel better than being first. It’s a high-risk, high-return game but it comes with endless respect and Twitter followers.

• The Consumer is in Charge: Follow consumer trends or you’ll always be running to catch up. As a marketer, data has always been my guide. 

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Joe Chernov - @jchernovVP Marketing, Kinvey

It's no longer about activities, it's about results. And results need to have numbers associated with them. Go into a board meeting long on anecdotes and short on data, and you are in for a long meeting.

Speaking of board meetings, brevity is your best friend.

The best gift you can give your CEO and BOD is a pattern to recognize. You don't need a complete data set, just enough that they can string together a pattern. (Hat tip: Jascha Kaykas-Wolff)

Speaking of pattern recognition, some degree of vanity metrics is fine, again as long as if the person you are presenting to can identify a (familiar) pattern and extrapolate a desirable outcome down the line

Sales = your most important ally

Hand off to your team  anything they can do 80% as well as you can. After all, your job is no longer doing, it's leading. (Hat tip: Elle Woulfe)

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Toby Daniels - @tobydCo-Founder & CEO, Crowdcentric

Openness is a crucial component to how you're perceived, so an attitude of "hey, we're all in this together, let's work collaboratively to move the industry forward" is better than taking a them vs. us approach.  In other words, compete on openness and avoid underhanded tactics that undermine your competitors.  

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David Deal - @davidjdealSenior Vice President, iCrossing

Think less like a marketer and more like a business leader. Get aligned with your company's chief business needs, whatever they are for the coming year (not just branding needs). Speak knowledgeably to your CEO about those overall goals (e.g., expanding into new geographic markets; developing new services); and show how your own goals align with those business goals. 

Also, get embedded with product/service development and customer satisfaction if you can. 

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Aaron Goldman - @aarongoldmanChief Marketing Officer, Kenshoo

My best advice is a bit of a no brainer for us digital marketing natives, but be sure to connect everything you do to the bottom line -- especially in the B2B space where the path to purchase is long and winding. Can be too easy to dismiss or invalidate the hard efforts of your team as not having direct impact on revenue. By tying together your Demand Generation (DG), Marketing Automation (MA), and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, you can properly track each of your initiatives and measure leads, closes and upsells that your programs originated or supported. With hard data in hand, you'll not only know which marketing tactics to prioritize, you'll be able to justify that paycheck.

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Rachel Happe - @rhappePrincipal & Co-Founder, The Community Roundtable

Ask lot of questions that will give you the narrative of the brand, then distill it in a way everyone can repeat it, authentically. Every so often, I go back to the YouTube videos of Ira Glass of This American Life talking about how he learned to tell a good story to get re-inspired: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loxJ3FtCJJA 

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Larry Harris - @glarrisharrisChief Marketing Officer, PubMatic

As you are the CMO of an agency, I'll just emphasize that your primary job is positioning the shop for new business.  Promoting great work, original content-development/insights, packaging of the shop's proprietary techniques, tools and technologies, hitting the big brand events and your use of your social media voice – these are some of the strategies and tactics you will need to use to keep your agency front and center.

Most agencies and most CMO's go too light on the PR.  PR properly used can give your agency that critical 'on-fire' momentum that drives new biz wins.  Last, but not least, both awards and case studies matter – not just because they get attention but, also, because they make your internal folks proud and turn your clients into brand advocates.

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Max Kalehoff - @maxkalehoffVP Product Marketing, Syncapse

In a B2B situation (like you're in now), a couple of things I'd keep in mind...

• Establish very clear goals.• Decide what you're going to measure and what you're not, and create a clear

framework.• Take leadership in the revenue funnel, not just the top, but throughout – to sales and

eventual services.• Push as an advocate of the customer, and gain as much ongoing knowledge as you

can. Talk to lots of customers, all the time.• Sell. Sell. Sell.... as any sales person would.• In an agency, I imagine it's easy for people to go crazy, all over the ranch doing custom

one-off solutions. Push for repeatability so you can stack equity. That makes it easier for sales people to sell, for account services people to upsell, and for staff to drive efficiency and profitability. Strong positioning and product marketing can help this.

Read more in his post on CMO Tenure at http://www.attentionmax.com/cmo-tenure

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Peter Kim - @peterkimChief Solutions Architect, Dachis Group

1) The worst thing you can do is be ordinary.2) Be patient and trust your gut.3) Try not to burn any bridges.

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Dave Knox - @daveknoxChief Marketing Officer, Rockfish Interactive

I find the CMO at an agency needs to focus on breadth, having a grasp on nearly every aspect of the organization.  The best thing you can do is find someone in each office and each function that can be your ears on the ground.  You can never be in front of everything taking place, but those folks can be your canaries in the coal mine so to speak.

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Joe Kutchera - @joekutcheraSocial Marketing Advisor, author of Latino Link

1) Duke Ellington, the American composer and big band leader, used to adapt each part for his individual players in order to customize the arrangements around the strengths of each player. Relating that concept to business, consider the book Strengthsfinder. It impressed me how if we focus on bringing out the best of each colleague (as opposed to "fixing" his/her deficiencies), we'll actually create happier, stronger and more effective teams.

2) Keep your eye on where the majority of revenues come from (e.g. US).

3) Balance that with where future growth will come from (e.g. BRIC/Latam markets).

4) Bill Gates takes one week a year to escape from the rat race and read "big idea" books/research. I love this idea because we get so overwhelmed with data, magazines, emails, etc that it's important to make time to see the big picture. Can you take your team on retreats to do just that?

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Charlene Li - @charleneliFounder, Altimeter Group

Parlay your new-ness to form uncommon alliances. Communications and Sales are no-brainers, but also look at HR and IT. The best interaction I saw between a CMO and CIO was at Aetna – these two leaders literally leaned INTO each other when they were talking on stage at IBM's CMO Summit. You can't fake that kind of intimacy, it's grown only through trial and tribulations and there will undoubtedly be many. 

Think about how you will be a leader in the boardroom amongst your CXO peers. You have a seat at the table, but you'll have to figure out how to be a leader for the organization when you're not the only one. 

Network with other CMOs. Join 1-2 CMO networking groups because only they truly walk in similar shoes. CMOs have shared that they typically had to try a couple to find one that worked for them -- so be prepared to walk and follow your gut on this one. 

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Nihal Mehta - @nihalmehtaCEO & Co-Founder, LocalResponse

The best CMOs I've met don't have their head in the clouds. They are on the ground hanging out with the hottest startups and conferences like Summit Series or events like Burning Man vs more traditional routes.  Be yourself, be original, find the dirty stuff – that's marketing.

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Scott Monty - @ScottMonty Global Digital/Multimedia Communications Manager,Ford Motor Company

As I work with C-level executives on a regular basis, I'd say the essentials are:• Clarity of communication. Whether it's your vision or

feedback you're giving on an assignment, the clearer you can be, the better off. In my experience, the visionary leaders who are thinking way above everyone are more effective when they can bring that thinking home for people.

• Alignment with your counterparts in Communications. Your subordinates will be working closely; make sure the chiefs have a solid working relationship and shared objectives.

• Constant communication about your plan, performance to the plan, and any changes that may be coming.

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Mark Naples - @markanaplesManaging Partner, WIT Strategy

Call me Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside.

Mr. Inside:

When I was tabbed to run marketing at Real Media, about 13 years ago, I introduced MBOs to the 13 person team there.  Nobody on that team was familiar with them, though other departments in the company had a great program.  Sales people generally have them in most organizations, but marketers seldom do.  Management by Objective is something I feel really strongly about, since it keeps people focused on what they need to do, without getting in the way of "how" they do it, or the tactics.  Smart marketers should already know the "why" part, or the strategy.  Right?  That's why the CMO is the CMO, theoretically.  Getting team members to agree in advance to a set of MBOs gives both the manager and the managed a touch stone to return to regularly.  They are vital to effective management, and to driving results.

Mr. Outside:

That kind of inward-facing accountability is important, but perhaps not as important as outward-facing accountability.  Too few marketers assign a value to their marketing efforts.  No matter how "ROI" is to be calculated, whether against a strict cost per lead index or something more amorphous, like inbound call volume or aggregated column inches (for PR campaigns), all measurement criteria for marketers should be numbers-based, on how a given effort grows the business.  Bearing this in mind, the usual gauges - like how nice the booth is or the one above, how many placements your PR effort drove, really don't matter.  The reason marketing exists is to grow the business.  Usually, that means driving sales.  even when it doesn't, and the criteria are about brand recognition or other KPIs, all roads should eventually lead to more sales.

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B.L. Ochman - @whatsnextSVP Digital Strategy/Founder, whatsnextonline.com

Educate everyone you're working with about what's next online. Sadly, most agency people, and just about all corporate people, simply don't keep up their skills. Hourly billing is to be blamed for much of that, so try to change to work on a project basis.

Insist on research and lots of it, data-based decision making, and ROI measurement. We're way past the days when cool ideas were enough.

And encourage risk-taking and wild experiments.

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Ted Rubin - @TedRubinChief Social Marketing Officer, Collective Bias

Most C-level Executives, CMO included, view "Social" as media—but they don’t know how to interact with consumers there in a meaningful way. They want to buy CPMs or Likes—but don’t know what to do with them afterward.

CMO's also make the mistake of assuming that the social audience has the same pain and passion points as their face-to-face or store audience. Most often that is not the case.

In order to get the real value out of Social, you must connect emotionally to the people who are there and find out what they’re looking for. CMOs are used to ads and campaigns, so that’s the place they gravitate, but even Facebook ads are only media buys. Ads are good for building initial likes, but they really are targeted to demographics just like any other ad.

Your mission is to go beyond that initial like and really get people excited about your brand, engage with you, buy from you, become a social advocate and sell for you. To do that you need to get into the heads of your social buyers.

So assign that as a singular goal to appropriate personnel on your team. Make it their mission to follow or friend your followers (not only on Facebook and Twitter, but everywhere online) and listen to their conversations. Their sole mission should be to pay attention to your social consumers. Find out what they like to talk about, the other brands they like, what their problems are--what makes them tick. That’s not a one-and-done task either… it’s ongoing.

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Shiv Singh - @shivsinghGlobal Head of Digital, PepsiCo Beverages

My suggestion think of yourself as having to manage three brands – the company's, your CEO's and that of your employees. You'll need to take care of all three to be able to drive business results.

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Don Steele - @donsteeleVP Digital & Social Marketing, Comedy Central

1. Be proud of what you do and who you are.

2.  Listen as much as possible for the first few months. Your company has done great things to get to where they are, and you are there to be part if the team to take them further. Listen to what made people proud and successful, and try and do more of that and bring your flare to it. 

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Zena Weist - @zenaweistVP Strategy & Social Media, Expion

The best CMOs I have had the privilege to work with are leaders, not managers. They persuade, not command. They champion, not direct. They lead through servant leadership traits with a focus on long-term relationships - the journey not the campaign. 

The servant leadership mantra is just as much about clients as it is staff.

Please listen to the clients - really listen and pivot where you can (I recommend meeting with key clients ASAP) and become the internal advocate for optimizing the customer experience. Organic growth is the best marketing ever! As CMO, promote the clients as industry leaders - I know, it's a given but we are in proof point mode so much these days we forget who is actually behind the wheel sometimes. It's not the agency's great work as SMEs but it is really about how working together with your clients in a true partnership ecosystem you are creating kick ass initiatives - it's the process not the end game. It's the journey not the win. It's making changes along the way to be nimble enough to align with each client's needs without losing your swagger. 

My favorite CMO backed me publicly and coached me privately. He was a tough love boss but I always knew he had my back, trusted my perspective and was humble enough to seek out and act on his team's advice. I was appreciated. I mattered. It was because of his leadership that I came to work everyday and loved my job. My favorite agency CMO had client summits that brought together small groups of individuals for networking and to ask advice. I was appreciated. I mattered.

Because of your leadership style, clients and staff thrive. I know, I know - no pressure, right?

Boil this rabble down to three words - The relationship CMO.

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Thanks, and share your advice!

What advice do you have for a new CMO? Tweet or otherwise post it with #newcmo, or email it to me. I may publish updated or follow-up editions to this if this advice proves helpful to others.

Thanks so much for reading this.

David Berkowitzdavid.berkowitz@mry.com

@dberkowitz / @mry

blog: MarketersStudio.com

www.about.me/dberkowitz

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