I just finished looking through Gartner’s 2019-20 annual Insights for the C-Suite document (the marketing perspective, naturally), and wanted to share a few thoughts. In essence, some of the collected numbers really validate what I imagine many CMOs have suspected about the state of marketing, and I wanted to offer a couple perspectives on how to adjust to better meet…
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The Big CMO Shift in 2020
On November 12, 2019, over a hundred CMOs gathered in New York City for The CMO Club’s 7th annual CMO Awards. Forty winners were celebrated while Anne Finucane, Vice Chairman of Bank of America, was inducted into the CMO Hall of Fame. Though taking a couple of hours to revel in past accomplishments was a welcome break, many of these…
A Key Mistake CMOs Make: Attribution
Today, I thought I’d share a bit about CEO/CMO relationships. As I’m sure we all know, being on the same page as your C-suite peers is pretty important. You all need to be in agreement about budgets, strategy, etc. if you want to have productivity. If you’re not in agreement about things and communicating openly and efficiently, you end up…
Forrester Shines CMO Light on Experience
Forrester released a pretty hefty report of data-driven predictions for 2020. Naturally, like an impatient kid with a mystery novel looking to the last page to see “who dun it,” I flipped right to the section titled “CMOs Rally Around Customer Value.” Don’t worry, I’m planning on reading the rest, I’m just—as I’m sure you could attest to—much more interested…
We’re “feline” like giving back this Thanksgiving!
We’re giving thanks for a very special, upcoming episode by giving back to a very special charity! Next Friday, 11/29, we’re thrilled to be airing an episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite featuring none other than Nala Cat, the world famous, feline influencer with over 4 million followers (and her very own CAA agent—the only cat to achieve such a thing)!…
The Major Change for CMOs in 2020
Recently, Forrester released a considerable report that covers 2020 predictions in everything from artificial intelligence in business, to personalization in B2C marketing, to cybersecurity, and much, much more. Though extremely substantive, we homed in on the B2B marketing elements (fitting, given that we’re a strategic boutique for B2B marketers). One section in particular struck us as especially interesting. The title,…
Retention vs. Acquisition: Marketing from Beyond the Sale
It’s tough to find solid evidence for an exact number but, when it comes the notion that customer retention is cheaper than acquisition, many experts lean on the ratio of 6:1. While it’s tough to solidly corroborate that number, it is generally agreed on by veteran marketers that it is significantly cheaper to retain a customer than to go out…
Slow and Steady (and Well Researched) Wins the Race
CMOs, when joining a team, are often immediately tasked with boosting marketing effectiveness. Unfortunately, only a small percentage actually ask for or are given the time they need to properly evaluate the situation, and plan accordingly. Starting the shake things up quickly without getting your footing is dangerous. It can make it difficult for even the most creative marketer to…
How Marketing Helped Gusto Grow
In the young world of Silicon Valley start-ups, an oft-adopted mindset is that a good product will attract attention on its own, sans marketing. While that’s often how these snowballs start rolling, they’ll usually find marketing is required to really achieve a high level of success. This is sort of how Gusto got started—4 years after its launch and initial…
How Adobe Stays Fresh as a Renegade Marketer
After 13 years at Adobe, Ann Lewnes has demonstrated a knack for being a renegade marketer, and keeping her marketing fresh and effective. The same can be said for her two decades at Intel immediately prior. That tenure is exceptional but somewhat unusual for the marketing field, where there’s more pressure to rotate staff in order to bring new ideas…