CMO study interview experiences Benelux 2011

From Stretched
to Strengthened

Insights from the IBM Global CMO Study

After finalising the 8 CMO Interviews mainly in the Communication sector a couple of  observations and topic sometimes part of the discussion during the interview or in the feedback meeting discussing the results. It was about the discussion regarding the development of products or service and the choices how best to market and launch them, what product planning and marketing  process is best used or set up for it. Surprisingly enough I not always got a clear answer as the two not automatically seem to be interconnected in the organization. Which gave me more thought on how did I do that when I bundled Hardware, Software and Services in a Box (ServicePac for Network Access) or we made decisions to select new emerging business opportunities and when did the marketing management process came in? In IBM I started with a business case / marketing plan I had to bring forward to an investment board, decision criteria were different for the bundled services or the selection of a new emerging technology, solution or customer set. For the emerging business I build a portfolio management tool. (2 dimensional graph with different weightings and parameters) to support the decision and investments to be made. There is a major difference in investment and complexity when you start building something completely new or in my case bundle existing products and services or select an emerging business. In the discussion with the CMO and also in the study findings it shows that they had not that much influence on product development. The role would be a much stronger strategic marketing role....a lot of marketeers do not have that position within their company.

 

But here I also start thinking, that developing products these days should have a strong social influence aspect. Identifying already key influencers in this phase can make or break your offering later on. I used some of the examples in a presentation Socially Synergistic Enterprises which I gave 6 months ago in Amsterdam.


Now moving on through the phases, the concept has been approved through the decision checkpoint  (DCP) we move to the next step plan phase and assuming this DCP is met, the start of the development of the offering takes place. In this phase I believe a more traditional role of the marketeers is played. In my view marketing should already start working, the more traditional way most marketeers are recognized,  the  development of the marketing program.  Identifying key constituents who spread the news around a new product..(and why not your brand) From social media to social CRM will give insights regarding the differences what the client wants and the business thinks. To identify the key influencer I build the Smart Influencer ECO system in 2008 with the following criteria. You can read more about it in an earlier post in 17 Sept 2010.

 

To generate demand and as part of your "Digital" Marketing Communication strategy the marketeer these days has a challenge to get all internal stakeholders advertise around your offering and brand. IBM has experience in how transform your company into a social business. Interesting read on the blog from my colleague "Enabling advocates through dialogue, communities, digital and social influence marketing strategies for leading B2B brands". Cultivating Conversations by Susan Emerich. In most conversations there was this integrated approach that got most interest to further elaborate on.