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The Executive Connection SM
a publication of The Virtual Executive Coach SM
"Vision + Accountability = Success!"
In This Issue:
1. Preview
2. Executive Summary
3. CMO - What Is It?
4. Helpful Hints
1. Preview
The Executive Connection explores the creative and analytical process of business development, team-building, and executive development. We are an interactive community of executives and small business owners who desire to network with like-minded high-performance executives to enhance our knowledge, skills, and aptitudes in the competitive business world.
Published monthly, the Newsletter offers coaching suggestions around the topics of: business development, financing, marketing, networking, incorporations, mergers, human resources, governmental regulations, and tax laws.
Topics are presented from the perspective of Keith Barton and represent only his ideas on creating and running your business. Because we are an interactive community of executives and business owners, other viewpoints are welcomed and may be printed in future monthly newsletters with permission from Keith Barton.
2. Executive Summary
September, 2006
Dear Executive Connection Subscriber,
This month features information on a Chief Marketing Officer.
3. CMO: What is It?
It’s inevitable that another “C” appears in the corporate lexicon. First we had the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), then the Chief Operating Officer (COO), the information age ushered in the Chief Information Officer (CIO); now the Director of Marketing receives a big pay hike and his or her own Chieftain title: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). But is marketing that important in corporate America today? In the August, 2006, Fortune, Michael Linton, of Best Buy, makes the point that in a shrinking economy, advertising sets apart the winners and losers. “The job of CMO has become one of the highest stressed, shortest-tenured positions in American industry.” The average tenure of a CMO is only 23 months. So what makes this job so brutal?
Why don’t you ask Bill Gates or Michael Dell if advertising is important? We are inundated with advertising from movies, TV, print media, billboards, radio, and the Internet. Why are sound bites so critical to the buying public? There are many reasons but I wish to posit a few:
CMO as psychologist. We are more easily distracted with more information that becomes just background “white noise” to the average consumer. We use the bathroom during commercials; we mute obnoxious sales slogans; we wince at sex and youth selling everything from tanning products to metal buildings. Now that TIVO allows us to bypass commercials when we’re taping our favorite TV weekly program, very few commercials even reach us. Despite cable TV and the plethora of “infomercial” channels, we still surf right past the next, greatest kitchen gadget to our favorite ballgame or movie.
CMO as scientist. Instead of using demographics to define our typical consumer we now rely on high-powered statistical models to predict what a certain consumer will purchase. “One size fits all” no longer suffices for most companies. Direct marketing has failed miserably and is the biggest expense maelstrom on most company balance sheets. The savvy CMO today leverages services and products with other industries. Take the Disney movie, Cars, which was a summer blockbuster for Pixar (see earlier blog on John Lasseter) had already positioned a line of products with McDonalds, clothing stores, Toys R Us, and other “downstream” companies before the movie hit the big screen. Instead of “segmental” marketing, “incremental” marketing is the new buzzword. Pirates of the Caribbean is another example of increasing market share over time. More than six hours of film were shot—enough to make two movies which in fact is what the producer and distributor did. If you’re going to rent an island and tie up actors for a movie that one knows will work into a sequel, it makes good sense to split the movie and make two movies for the price of one. The sequel for Pirates is due out sometime next year.
CMO as innovator. Gone are the days of limited shelf life with the advent of the computer and Internet. Despite piracy laws and copyright infringements, marketing is now using the computer as the primary platform for advertising as evidenced by the phenomenal success of Google and Yahoo. People now “pay per click” to shift potential customers to their websites without the obnoxious banners and pop-ups which many spam programs now delete. Welcome advertising to the computer age. Gone is the “man in the grey flannel suit,” carrying a briefcase of fliers, mail outs, pens, coffee mugs, and every known ceramic gimmick since snake oil.
CMO as branding agent. Branding is “corporate speak” for creating customer awareness and demand. If you want to sell cars, you need to understand the psychology behind the market place. You’re not going to sell 60k roadsters to “soccer moms.” But you can bet that an “empty nester” or “middle-age crazy” will be in the showroom if you throw in the sun tan lotion, hair transplant, and sunglasses for free.
CMO as service manager. Marketing and operations use to office in different buildings. Now the two departments act as one knowing that customer loyalty is developed after the sale. Dell computer set the model for customer service by offering service contracts tailored to the specific needs of their customers. A computer geek may not need the 3-year in-home service package, but the busy college student without his/her own IT department and little cash after the sale wants their computer fixed before an eight a.m. paper is due tomorrow.
CMO as futurist. Ad campaigns use to rely on time-limited slogans. Remember the “hungry man” soups? The demographics have changed to a fitness fanatic culture that relies more on carb and calorie counts than portion size. Trending is another tool in the CMO’s arsenal to remain competitive despite changing times. We know that the “Boomer” is the largest buying public today with the most discretionary income. Products designed for the Gen Xers and Yers should resonate equally with Boomers who are near retirement in five years. Witness the growth of adult living programs marketed under various names from “retirement community” to “memory center.”
CMO as consumer. It takes more than just believing in your service or product. It requires customer loyalty. It makes no sense for Toyota plant employees to fill up the parking lot with Ford 150 pickups. Nor does it make sense for Hollywood types to have Dell computers when Apple has the exclusive contract with movie moguls.
CMO as process manager. “Connectivity” is the name of the game for marketing today and no one does this better than Steve Jobs of Apple. The IPOD has been a tremendous success with the iTunes free software and connecting with Verizon is a great way to offer music and video to “entertainment junkies” who get adrenaline rushes with the next IM, video stream, or picture of their favorite movie star. By connecting with other companies and products companies can extend the half-life of their products and services.
CMO as virtual assistant. Everyone knows the success of “Geek Squad” complete with lavender VW beetles. Instead of being placed on hold by someone who barely speaks English five time zones away from you, a real person comes to your work or residence to fix your hardware or software problems. Good service sells; bad service destroys customer loyalty.
CMO as change agent. Today’s CMO must work closely with R&D to develop the next “mousetrap” that everyone will want. Witness the phenomenal success of Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Bill Gates had the foresight to give four budding entrepreneurs their own campus and building for four years with an unlimited budget to develop the next generation of gaming, knowing that interactive gaming would be the next wave with websites, marketing, and hardware servers all contributing to “real time” competitive gaming.
Helpful Hints:
- Go into a Best Buy store and notice that “geek squads” are available for those Techophobic Newbies who can’t turn the on/off switch.
- Go into a Target store and notice that the aisles are wider with less clutter and more colorful signs to direct the consumer.
- Go into an HEB grocery store and notice that one must first pass through the produce department to get to the meat and canned goods sections; also notice there are no shortcuts to the cash register, guaranteeing that the impulse shopper will pick up a few extra items along the way to check-out.
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The Executive Connection SM Mission:
The Executive Connection SM is dedicated to helping first-time business owners and executives to recognize resistance to change, while they create and manage their own businesses. My goal is to help you transform your vision into a successful business venture with the addition of accountability structures and silent partner.
The Executive Connection SM is a publication of The Virtual Executive Coach SM and Keith Barton, Ph.D.
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About Keith Barton, Ph.D
Dr. Barton received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University of Texas at Austin and has been a practicing therapist for over thirty years. He is a graduate of MentorCoach and is accepting new clients. He has been an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina, consultant to Fortune 500 companies in executive development, founded and managed Texas Community Living Ventures, Inc., in 1986 for providing group home services to persons with mental retardation, and has been running a clinical practice in Northwest Houston since 1990. He writes part-time with the goal of completing one novel a year. His desire to coach others derives from his passionate interest in helping others become attuned to their creative powers of storytelling.
Dr. Barton has training in coaching, cognitive and family therapy and health psychology. He has published articles, made presentations and conducted workshops about:
Small Business Development
Employee Wellness Programs
Anxiety and achievement
Stress management
Self-esteem
Communication skills
Leadership styles
Core values in the workplace
Executive Development
High-performance groups
Physician support groups
Writer support groups
© 2010
The Virtual Executive Coach SM and Keith Barton.
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