This October 2020 update sets out IRG’s position that traditional business growth formulas are lacking and that marketing has suffered a loss of influence. The content was revised after COVID struck, and the material is organized as an answer to one question: what does it take to win.
The answer runs through seven building blocks, and then turns to the implications for the marketer. The deck states the problem for the role bluntly, that the CMO is typically the first to go, and closes on survey figures suggesting the position had begun to improve.
Key findings
- Eighty-six percent of overperformers assess and understand market developments against 36 percent, which the deck calls spotting and choosing the right wave.
- Seventy-one percent are willing to accept new business models against 39 percent, and 81 percent deliver ever-evolving experiences against 32 percent.
- On organization, competitive agility runs 68 percent against 16 percent, removing internal barriers 50 against 24, and marketing and sales collaboration for e-commerce 68 against 37.
- On data, 66 percent put data and analytics at the core of strategic decision making against 36 percent, and 59 percent develop creative solutions inspired by the data against 20 percent.
- IRG’s 2020 CMO survey found 78 percent against 4 percent reporting a significant shift to humanized growth, and 65 percent against 11 percent reporting increased CMO influence on growth.
What the overperformers do differently
Abundant markets is about where a leader looks. Overperformers are described as thinking about Nielsen, Amazon and Kickstarter, and they read market developments far better, at 86 percent against 36 percent. The examples of redefinition are Mars moving from pet food to pet care, and a move from supermarket shelves to cafes and subscription models.
Evolving experiences is characterized by a phrase, always beautifully dissatisfied, with Spotify constantly improving the experience as the example. Eighty-one percent focus on eliminating friction and delivering ever-evolving experiences, against 32 percent.
Open culture and the anticipative organization are about connection in both directions. Sixty-seven percent build ecosystems with complementary partners against 39, 70 percent show diversity in strategic decision making against 45, and overperformers hold 3.5 times more connections with other functions and 5.5 times more with senior leaders.
The seventh block is ambition. Everyone focuses on top-line growth, indexing 98 and 93, so it separates nobody. Underperformers weight bottom-line profit, at 85 against 130, and overperformers weight impact on the people they serve, at 120 against 76. Cisco moving from a product focus to the People Deal is the example.
2020 as a new reality
The context is stated in four phrases: the future is unknown, systems are being questioned, there has been an increase in empathy, and the moment is make or break for purpose.
The stakeholder picture widened accordingly. Before COVID the emphasis sat on customers and the capital markets. After it, colleagues and community joined them. The personal version of the same shift is described as moving from a professional facade to family reality.
What this means for the CMO
The deck does not soften the diagnosis. Many have documented the CMO crisis, the CMO is typically the first to go, and the 2018 CMO shuffle is cited as evidence. The charges listed are a perceived over-focus on communication, shiny and distracting digital toys, and being insufficiently commercial.
The counter-argument is that chief executives need the help, and the question put to the audience is personal: if not now, when, and if not me, who.
The profile offered in answer is the da Vinci real growth CMO, drawn as capabilities paired with attitudes. Media and performance, decoding the world, growth strategy, revenue and channel leadership, strategic brand development, integrated stakeholder engagement, product and service innovation, and breakthrough content and engagement, alongside attitudes such as courageous and inspiring storyteller, curious and agile learner, speed and impact obsessed, connected and collaborative, and servant leader.
The closing evidence is IRG’s own 2020 CMO survey. Seventy-eight percent against 4 percent reported a significant shift to humanized growth, and 65 percent against 11 percent reported increased CMO influence on growth.
Scope and limitations
The paired figures throughout compare overperformers with underperformers as IRG defines them, and this deck reports them without a sample or a definition. The closing figures come from IRG’s own survey of CMOs.
Source
This page summarises IRG Update & COVID Lessons Learned, by Institute for Real Growth (IRG), 2020.