strategy

Stymied CMOs Can Turn Sow's Ear Into Silk Purse

by Karl Greenberg , December 5, 2008

Executives at major companies say they are stymied by their own companies when it comes to tapping the full revenue potential of their customers. If so, there may be good news in the bad economy: cost pressures may give marketers an argument to get better tools, better access to data, and better organization powers.

Two-thirds of 650 marketing executives recently polled by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council said they are not reaching customers well enough with marketing campaigns because such efforts are not personal, relevant, targeted or timely.

The study, "Routes to Revenue," which is co-sponsored by Ricoh/IBM InfoPrint Solutions Company, also showed that only 47% of senior marketers have good insights into customer retention rates and individual customer profitability, among other things.

When asked what their companies were doing to improve performance, 40% said they were looking to cut fat by reducing head count, overhead and budgets.

Almost 64% of respondents of the survey said they were looking for marketing efficiencies, and 47% said they were "bringing more discipline and rigor to marketing budgeting and spend."

Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council, says that does not necessarily mean big cuts in marketing budgets. "Bringing rigor and discipline means making sure dollars spent are spent correctly and in a focused way," he says. "The issues around metrics and marketing performance tie back to fundamental deficiencies in the lack of real customer insight. And that comes from customer data and the integration and timeliness of data."

Three obstacles that keep marketers in the dark, per the survey, are lack of real-time data on marketing effectiveness; selectively gathered, incomplete and incorrect data; and data that is hard to find because its availability is restricted or "siloed."

Neale-May says companies may have that data--who are one's most profitable customers; what does it cost to acquire or retain those customers; what are the activation rates; and revenue opportunities--but it is hard to access.

Marketing executives also said their companies should be doing more personalized marketing with their current customers, through such approaches as targeted marketing promotions in monthly statements and bills.

Neale-May says that marketers until now have focused on outward campaigns. "Marketers fly blind; that's the problem. They don't have real-time systems that tell them about things like inventory and forecasting. So the issues here have to do with marketers going from being fixated and focused on branding and communications, and not involved enough in all of the other critical aspects of what marketing should be.

Marketers said those aspects include better segmentation, profiling and targeting strategies; better database marketing systems; new customer and market analytics capabilities; personalized email, text messaging, call center and Web interactions; Web-based social networking; and the ability to capture more customer information via the Web and at point-of-sale.

"In today's environment, we have a significant opportunity because management is saying, 'We have to do more with less' while putting more pressure on to drive top-line growth," says Neale-May. "Marketers can say, 'We can do that but we need data now, we need to get integration done now.' This is a great opportunity for marketers to drive efficiency programs, loyalty programs, retention and reactivation and recovery programs. All of these things have been overlooked because of the glamour of marketing."

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2 comments about "Stymied CMOs Can Turn Sow's Ear Into Silk Purse ".

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Alan Hart from Marketing Today, December 8, 2008 at 10:03 a.m.
This is a great post and very relevant, but leaves out a few things that should be addressed. Processes and management are key in capturing marketing efficiencies in addition to the right data. Data by itself solves very little. Process and management are typically overlooked as marketers search for better insights or methods, but these building blocks are the throttle to your improvement or efficiencies.
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Dennis s. Vogel from independent contractor, December 31, 2008 at 12:39 a.m.

Alan has a good point—data without actions may be mentally stimulating, but not profitable.

In defense of Karl’s reporting, he has limited space. In a multipart series, he could include process & management details—if anybody is willing to reveal what they did, are doing or plan to do (to use the data). In most case studies I’ve read, these details are absent. Some process & management details are externally evident, but others are internal & proprietary.

Revealing them could help competitors—if the competitors are skilled & motivated enough to implement what they learn. But revealing some of these details could be a stealthy trick because competitors may try to copy them & fail miserably.

The best processes & management practices for specific situations depend on a firm’s resources & values. Imitation can’t replicate everything. There are many case studies of highly successful firms—many of which won awards & praise—that failed later. (I won’t embarrass authors of books & articles who used these firms as shining examples. The firm’s names have been published enough, so I don’t need to list them here.)

A firm’s resources include people with their talents, knowledge & wisdom. People can inspire others & use their talents to reach the heights of success. After they leave, it’d seem their knowledge & wisdom would still be in a firm. The processes & management practices are still in place—unless somebody changes them. But because of external &/or internal changes, a sensational success becomes a fizzling failure.

Before leaving, executives, managers & workers may think they’ve passed on everything people need to know to maintain the level of success. Some assumptions—thoughts, values & beliefs—are so subtle they go unnoticed, especially by those to whom they seem natural. People don’t even realize they’re assuming others know something.

Somebody can spend a lot of time explaining things, then ask, “Do you understand?” The listeners may respond, “Yes.” They think they understand because it seems clear to them. But they may misunderstand what they heard.

When you read about successful firms & their optimal processes & management practices, realize those are optimal in a specific situation. You should consider how you should test those. Don’t fully implement them “as is”. Don’t roll them out (full implementation) until you have an optimal implementation. Test what you learn in small ways that won’t hurt a firm or customers.

You may think you understand all essential details, but you may miss important nuances.
It can be like a one digit difference in a web address. It can make an advertising campaign worthless & frustrate people who wanted to buy & who will buy from a competitor.

The differences may seem subtle, but the results can be much different.

Even in what would seem to be the most complete case study, some details won’t be included because some are hard to identify as significant. The absence of a combination of “minor” details can be the difference between profitable success & bankrupt failure.

Many people are disgusted by the latest business fad because they learn (some) of what made a firm successful. Many business leaders imitate what they read & hear about, then are disappointed.