To Survive Today, CMOs Must Remain Relentless

I am extremely fortunate in my career to have met with and established relationships with some very smart, savvy extremely passionate C-Level people. And at or near the top of that list is former Kodak CMO, Jeffrey Hayzlett. His latest book, entitled Think Big, Act Bigger: The Rewards of Being Relentless is out right now.

It is the last word in the title which brings me to this post today: relentless.

When something or in this case, someone is relentless it means they never give up; they never rest on any laurels; they are never satisfied and so on.

Establish a System for Continuous Improvement

Earlier this year, in partnership with The CMO Club, Oracle Marketing Cloud released The CMO Solution Guide to Leveraging New Technology and Marketing Platforms. In the Guide, which I co-authored, we identified 5 specific solutions to help CMOs meet the challenge of delivering a seamless positive customer experience across all touch points.

And the last of the 5 solutions identified was: Establish a System for Continuous Improvement

Now, I don't know if the word "continuous" is a synonym of "relentless" in the traditional sense, but in this context it absolutely fits like a glove for a CMO must never rest; must never rest on any laurels and must never stop exploring their options - in this case as it relates to technologies and platforms.

However, it' not about being relentless for no reason; with no justification. As written in the Guide: "The CMO of today must—in addition to being agile—be open to taking chances and remain risk receptive. However, this stance is not about taking risks just for the sake of taking them, it’s about taking calculated risks to realize innovation and achieve success."

And one of the ways to achieve success while mitigating risk is by testing.

According to Mayur Gupta, Global Head of Marketing Technology & Innovation for Kimberly-Clark, “The key for brands today is not only adopt an agile mindset and culture but to also have an increased focus on testing."

Julie Lyle, former CMO of hhgregg and Prudential Corporation Asia, adds “Technology enables us to monitor how customers respond to the experience we offer at each touch point. We can test enhancements, track impact (from the customer’s POV), and leverage the insights we garner for continuous improvement.”

The Other Four

To learn all about the other solutions identified, download The CMO Solution Guide to Leveraging New Technology and Marketing Platforms today.