REQUIRED READING POST

Practitioner-based insights are imperative for marketers to meet current challenges head-on. Through interacting with peers across different industries, marketers gain a different perspective and a real-world understanding of the multichannel mandate for marketing strategy.

At a recent series of networking events hosted by CMO Council with HCLSoftware, “Digital Excellence Unleashed”, Chief Marketing Officers in South Africa spoke about how valuable such peer-learning opportunities were, especially as many of these in person events had dried up post-pandemic.

Among the many marketing issues addressed, the journey to digital transformation was top of the agenda, including:

• Orchestrating and measuring the impact of multi-channel campaigns
• Adopting intent-based optimization and next best action to maximize the customer journey
• Scaling personalization efforts despite large and complex data sets
• Safeguarding brand, customer data, and business continuity in a connected economy
• Marketing in the moment: Embracing agile, adaptive, and AI-driven technologies.

The discussion included case studies and frank examples from the CMOs present, who represented various industries – from FMCG brands, to consulting firms, tourism, hospitality, fashion brands, and insurance companies. The event went over time, signalling a need for a return to hybrid and in person events again in our industry. Each of the senior marketing leadership present emphasized how valuable such meet-ups were, especially in gaining access to global perspectives.

And that is CMO Council’s main mission: to provide peer insights and peer reviewed exclusive research to enable marketing leadership to navigate our increasingly disruptive marketplace where the consumer is switching channels faster than brands can keep up. It’s all about data and how AI can aid marketers – and our CMO Council content and reports can connect marketers on a global level with carefully curated peer learnings – from big brands to smaller organizations.

Reports

Apart from our latest AI focus, digital transformation is a journey we have been tracking for decades. Deep dive into these reports:

1. Digital Enterprise Execution: Ailing or Excellent?

Are companies gaining business lift from the digital shift? According to a new survey of senior corporate executives, entitled “Digital Enterprise Execution: Ailing or Excellent?”, there’s unanimous validation of the business gains from digital transformation, but it’s not entirely due to strategic leadership from the corner office. An overwhelming 89 percent of survey respondents believe digital transformation is enabling enterprises to achieve greater business value, performance, and innovation. However, less than 12 percent of chief executives are seen as highly strategic and adept at evaluating and implementing new technologies for competitive gain and growth. Most (44 percent) are seen as moderately strategic. The CMO Council and the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network fielded a global survey of more than 250 enterprise executives (technology buyers, specifiers, and influencers) across companies of all sizes. The quantitative research fielded in Q3 2022 explored areas of focus and challenge in digital transformation; perceived value and benefits; as well as considerations and requirements for digital change agent/partner selection and success.

2. Revenue Gain From The Local Demand Chain

With limited digital marketing resources and expertise, local businesses are falling behind in digital transformation. They need a better understanding of digital marketing tactics such as search, social and online review management — critical areas for building brand awareness in an increasingly digitalized customer journey. There’s a big opportunity for national marketers to help local partners climb the digital marketing maturity curve and improve brand advocacy in the last mile to purchase. There’s much at stake. National companies in both B2C and B2B industries rely heavily on their local partner channel, which can account for up to 80 percent of a national brand’s sales. This strategic brief by the Chief Marketing Officer Council, in collaboration with BrandMuscle, takes a close look at the opportunity for national brands to bring digital marketing tactics to the local level. Our research includes in-depth interviews with executives from SHARP Home Appliances, Nationwide and Caterpillar.

3. How To Achieve Transformational Growth

CMOs in the age of digital transformation and accelerating competitive intensity are being challenged to set forth new routes to revenue. With the expectation that the mandate of today's CMO is to achieve consistent and substantial growth, there is increasing pressure to identify strategies that will achieve increased customer value, scale global operations and improve product success. Yet while growth is a key imperative across organizations, there are still looming questions around where to find it, how to inspire it and where to invest. This strategic brief articulates how to establish a growth-driving strategy that is understood and embraced by all functional areas within your organization. It highlights perspectives from growth leaders at global organizations and sets a roadmap for delivering on the promise of growth.  

Webinars

These worthy webinars take the digital transformation debate further, eviscerating strategy, engagement, innovation, expertise and commitment: 

• Europe: Sparking MarTech Migration + Digital Innovation - Exploring marketing leader strategies, intentions and innovations.
• Are We Prepared to Achieve Digital Transformation? - Realizing collaboration, engagement and commitment to a singular vision.
• Digital Transformation and Driving Business Impact - The shift to digital experience has forever changed the marketing landscape, heightening the need for new expertise, new campaigns.
• Digital Transformation: Reviewing the Cornerstones of Customer Experience Success - There is little doubt that marketers have made a commitment to customer experience.

MORE excellent evergreen content from the CMO Council’s previous publication, Peer Sphere. READ HERE