IBM’s recent Global CMO Study gather insights from over 1,700 CMO’s interviewed by big blue. The study is part of a wealth of resources IBM is making available to marketers in a nicely done landing page titled “From Stretched to Strengthened“.
Key Findings of the study:
- The most proactive CMOs are trying to understand individuals as well as markets
- CMOs in the most successful enterprises are focusing on relationships, not just transactions
- The outperformers are committed to developing a clear ‘corporate character’
- Most CMOs are struggling in one vital respect – return on investment
The report goes on to explain each finding and concludes by saying that the vast majority of CMOs believe there are three key areas for improvement:
- They must understand and deliver value to empowered customers
- Create lasting relationships with those customers
- Measure marketing’s contribution to the business
If the internet was seen as a major game changing due to the opening of new sales channels, now the advent of social media is definitely turning everything on its head once more. Customers are not only more savvy when it comes to researching before buying, they are empowered and can lift or destroy a brand in a manner of a few well executed tweets. Interestingly enough, the IBM study shows only 48% of CMOs feel prepared to face the new complexity digital channels create.
Part of the new challenge is also making sense of all the data. Despite the myriad of tools available to monitor the many channels consumers now use to express their feelings about products and services, effectively mining this data is still a big obstacle.
The report, which is available for download for free, is an interesting read and can generate some debate in your company about whether you are prepared or not to face the realities of the modern CMO.
