How CMO's Can Drive Business Growth
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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article belong to an independent guest author and not Leaderonomics, its directors, affiliates, or employees.
The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is defined by Wikipedia as being the executive that oversees all aspects of marketing. They have a team of people that work underneath them that carry out the goals of the company. They are responsible for analysing the data specific to customer growth and retention. This type of data will show how well they are performing, as well as how specific brands are doing in the market.
Other duties of the CMO can be focused on a couple of different aspects of marketing, but here we are discussing growth. If growing your sales or service numbers is a priority then the executive, and their team, will have to shift their focus towards it. A solid plan needs to be developed by the C-suite leader and passed down to employees to carry out the task.
Read more: 4 Ways To Manage Change Confidently
The CMO should talk to the other top executives and get their support. Explain what the plan is, why they want to shift to growth, and what the outcome will be. It is easier to accomplish goals when the entire management team is on board, however, goals can still be achieved by the lead of a driven marketing team.
Building connections is an area of business that should be a priority. Personalise yourself with the people that work for you. Show them that you are a human, just like them. Focus on being transparent. Transparency gains trust and respect, which can produce a hardworking, loyal team. If other external companies are hired for items or services, build a good working relationship with them. The more trust that you can build, the faster your growth will be.
Read more: Importance of Transparent Leadership
Flexibility is one of the most important qualities that a good leader can have. The CMO must have a solid plan in place to follow. Flexible leadership is also crucial to respond to uncertain circumstances and allow for a change in the workplace. Things happen that may affect how the day, or week, will go. Staffing issues come up all the time and leaders often must shift employees or team up with top staffing agencies to remain productive during periods of change.
Read more: 4 Rules to Provide Flexibility Without Losing Accountability
The demand of the public can also cause a change in the direction needed. The established business plan may also have to be modified or adjusted in times of change. In the meantime, the CMO will need to make decisions quickly to keep the company ahead of the change in demand. Company growth relies on public acceptance. If the trust has been built and is maintained, the public will continue wanting your brand. If the trust is lost, growth will cease, and a backward slide will start.
A good executive will never stop learning. Markets change and cause customer demand to fluctuate. Professional development is needed for executives. Most take time for seminars, continued education classes, and attend meetings with the other C-Suite members. Enrolling in a marketing DBA program can help executives gain a competitive edge in their industries. It can be taken during spare time and will make the CMO an expert within the field.
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Up to this point, the marketing CMO has probably spent their time keeping current on every aspect of marketing. This is a good thing to do but being blinded can turn into a bad thing. To promote growth all aspects of the business need to be learned. It is time to expand horizons and learn more than marketing skills. Learning the other sides of the business, such as accounting and public relations, will help growth patterns due to increased overall knowledge. It is much easier to market to the public when you know how the public responds to specific things.
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The final aspect of marketing that leans towards growth will be the product, or services, provided. If good connections are established and trust is built with the teams and the consumers, then it is time to take the market to the next level. The company needs to focus on its current products or service. Build on them, instead of around them. Time and money have been spent on the current aspects and products, so they need to stand behind them by building even more on the values and the benefits.
The only way that a company can increase growth is by working together as a team. Shifting all the marketing focus to building more consumer engagement to get a more positive response from them. This doesn’t only mean developing new customers but retaining the old ones as well. Growth becomes less impactful if the company loses regular buyers. Consumers are the reason that the business is profitable.
More growth will equal more profits.
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Continuing our journey on the venture of (business) growth, be sure to check out the media below of our very own founder and CEO, Roshan Thiran of Leaderonomics. Sharing his insightful breakthrough anecdotes, which is admirable and inspired many:
Extra Extra: Happily (or Budaya for those from Indonesia) is an amazing engagement app built for organisation to drive engagement amongst employees. It has amazing analytics and also provides activities for employees to be fully immersed in the organisation's culture and values. To find out more, click here or email info@leaderonomics.com
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Tags: Be A Leader, Hard Talk, Consultant Corner, Foundational Leadership, Executing Leadership, Competence, Growth, Systems & Structures, Talent Development, Transformation & Change, Building Functional Competencies
This article is published by the editors of Leaderonomics.com with the consent of the guest author.
