The Cmo Club - Cmo Insights - May 2009

INSIGHTS FROM CMOS MAY 2009

TRUMAN COMPANY The CMO Club

Truman Company Executive Insights

INSIGHTS FROM CMOS MAY 2009

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Truman Company Executive Insights

CMO PULSE

THE VOICE OF THE CMO What’s in a word? CMOs are talking about lots of things. The role is a challenging one, with many priorities. This tag cloud shows where the CMOs interviewed for this research are focusing, where they spend their time, and what they think matters most. Learn more from their stories in this report.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. KEY TAKEAWAYS Introduction (p.1) Top 5 Things (p.3) Where CMOs Should Focus (p.5) More or Less (p.7) Insights and Ideas (p.9-13) •

How to Become Customer Centric (p.9)

•

How to Motivate Your Marketing Team (p.11)

•

Key Ways to Elevate the Profession (p.13)

2. PARTICIPANT HIGHLIGHTS & DETAILS Participant Directory (p.15-19) Discussion Highlights & Details (p. 21-55) Participant Map (p.57)

3. COMPANY BACKGROUNDERS (p.59-62)

4. ABOUT THE RESEARCH (p.63)

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INTRODUCTION

In January of 2009, Pete Krainik asked Truman Company, an executive marketing consulting firm, to help The CMO Club develop a set of actionable stories — advice, insights, and ideas from successful marketers — that would help members navigate these trying times and build successful strategies for 2009 and beyond. The result is this first edition of Insights from CMOs — the collective wisdom of nine CMO Club members based on in-depth interviews with Truman Company conducted in early 2009. Truman found that while the participating CMOs hail from a cross-section of industries and have diverse experiences and backgrounds, they all share a common optimism about their profession, even in today’s climate. Marketers are continuing to solidify their position at the highest levels of business and wield ever more powerful influence on their company’s corporate strategy and vision. Indeed, the future for marketing is bright.

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TOP 5 THINGS From the CMO interviews, five key takeaways emerged as most important for marketers to consider:

1.

Customer centricity is all important. Marketers must focus first and foremost on driving the business through the voice of the customer. Spend time talking directly to customers and telling their stories. Understand your customers’ businesses and how to add value. Tell those stories within your organization.

2.

Demonstrate value and ROI to secure strategic role. Marketers need to systematically link marketing investments to business value outcomes. Understand how your own business creates value. Take the perspective of your key stakeholders in crafting effective measures of return and impact. It’s not about budget - it’s about value to the business.

3.

Marketing as key agent of change. Marketers can and should lead their organizations to the promised land of customer focus. Take the role of strategic change agent. Educate and demonstrate impact of effective customer outreach by securing internal stakeholder involvement.

4.

Internal stakeholders are just as important as customers. Marketers should focus significant time on educating and managing internal stakeholders. Show both value and passion: pitch your C-suite peers like you are pitching to a venture capitalist when you share marketing investment ideas. Shift the view from cost to opportunity.

5.

Drive short-term revenue but ensure the longer term view. Marketers need to respond to short-term demands to drive revenue in this environment but they should be the voice of longer term reason. Keep the lens on strategic customer segments and growth opportunities. Maintain the focus on the brand promise to the customer and ongoing value. Invest in deepening customer relationships.

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WHERE CMOS SHOULD FOCUS EXTERNAL

• Know your

• Create

customers

customer stories & insight

• Visit customers

• Reward

• Drive short-term revenue • Drive marketing as

STRATEGIC

TACTICAL

customer loyalty

business growth opportunity

• Sweat the details

•

• Motivate team

Understand ROI

through business value

• Sell internally

INTERNAL

“The more customer insight you have, the more value you bring to the table.” “Spend 50% of your time educating internal stakeholders about the business value of marketing.” “Authentic conversations build trust.”

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MORE OR LESS

WHAT SHOULD CMOS TALK ABOUT? More? Less? BUSINESS There is not enough talk about business value, balance sheets and gross margins. To gain the respect of the C-suite, colleagues, and customers, marketers should talk more about the language of business. “Get out of marketing speak and quick talk. This is just business.”

STRATEGIC VISION There is not enough talk about the potential for marketing to drive the business strategy and align the organization around a common vision. Marketers should talk more about “marketing as a growth driver and an agent of change for the total organization.”

THE MARKETING PROFESSION There is not enough talk about the unique profession of marketing. Marketers should talk more about the value that marketing brings to business. “The reality is that marketing’s unique value proposition is not universally understood.”

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT There is not enough talk about how to truly engage with customers. Marketers need to spend more time digging into what customers think, need and want. “You have to know your business really well to connect with customers.”

BUDGETS There is too much talk defending historical marketing budgets. To spur support for strategies and plans, talk less about budgets and more about the business opportunities marketing can help to create. “We’re too focused on marketing as a stand-alone discipline that’s trying to protect its budget.”

QUALITATIVE WITHOUT QUANTITATIVE There is too much talk about qualitative outcomes. To earn a seat at the table, marketers should talk less about the “soft things” and more about how marketing investments directly impact the pipeline and the bottom line. “Data is the rock I stand on.”

SOCIAL NETWORKING CMOs should continue to talk about social networking — how others are using it, what works and what does not. Everyone is using it, and more can still be learned and gained from it.

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INSIGHTS AND IDEAS

HOW TO BECOME CUSTOMER CENTRIC The collective wisdom provided by the CMO Club interviews offers some concrete ideas and insights into tackling the top priorities identified by the participants. Ideas for becoming more customer centric include:

1. 2. 3.

Gain access to the customer through programs such as: case studies, advisory boards, satisfaction checkups and net promoters score analysis.

Leverage customers to tell your story through a customer reference program, customer stories and a customer showcase program.

Translate learnings and insights from customers back into the organization through systematic tools and programs to enable deeper conversation.

4.

Study and understand the customers’ business and develop the proof points and the ROI case for customers.

5.

Go on sales calls so you can hear first hand directly from the customer what’s working and what is not.

6.

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Work to be loyal to your best customers, rather than asking them to be loyal to you.

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INSIGHTS AND IDEAS

HOW TO MOTIVATE YOUR MARKETING TEAM The interview participants agreed that in these challenging times it takes creativity and focus to continue to encourage and motivate the marketing team. Ideas include:

1.

Actively give marketing team members cross-functional exposure to special projects, other marketing roles and skills within the marketing function and different geographies to help them develop their careers and their expertise.

2.

Use the link to business value to translate for the marketing team how marketing drives and helps the business to inspire their ideas.

3.

Encourage your marketing team members to build relationships in other parts of the business to provide direct insight into the business and expand their own network.

4. 5. 6.

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Give your marketing team members the training and information to be able to communicate as true subject matter experts for your business.

Give your team members at least one area that is a “fire free zone” where they can have clear authority, some autonomy and be able to control the completion of a project.

Encourage your team to go on sales calls.

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INSIGHTS AND IDEAS

KEY WAYS TO ELEVATE THE PROFESSION What can marketers do to help the business community understand and truly value our profession? Here are key ideas offered by the collective wisdom of the CMOs interviewed:

1. 2.

3.

4. 5.

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Position marketing as playing a necessary, integral role in business. CMOs should ensure that marketing is not a stand-alone discipline. Demonstrate how marketing plays a role in business growth, in revenue acquisition, and in product development. Demonstrate a deep understanding of your company’s core business. CMOs must be able to speak knowledgeably about their company’s products: how they work, how they’re developed, and how they fit in the customers’ organizations. This knowledge not only helps create better marketing, it helps garner respect for the entire profession.

Develop a penchant for the quantitative. Marketing data is much more than a tool for developing budgets and tracking campaigns. Data provides the leadership team with the confidence to invest in marketing and to see its limitless possibilities.

Be your company’s expert on the customer base. CMOs need to get to the heart of what motivates and drives their customers by finding opportunities to engage with them in conversations that lead to open and honest relationships.

Invest in the strategic growth of the company. CMOs must focus less on defending program budgets and more on uncovering ways to use marketing dollars to invest in programs to drive business growth.

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PARTICIPANT DIRECTORY MITCH BISHOP Chief Marketing Officer iRise, San Francisco, California [email protected] In charge of overall marketing strategy and execution at iRise for the last 5 years, Mitch Bishop has built strong ties to CIOs and IT leaders at both large and small companies. With his leadership, iRise has grown its customer base tenfold and become the market leader in a new industry category: application visualization. Mitch has many years of marketing and sales experience building successful enterprise software businesses at Scopus, Sybase, Wind River Systems and Ingres. He also held senior engineering positions at Altos Computer Systems, Zilog and Amdahl. Mitch holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Connecticut. He also has a history in motor sports and sits on the governing council of the non-profit International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC) based in Watkins Glen, NY.

PHIL CLEMENT Global Chief Marketing & Communications Officer Aon Corporation, Chicago, Illinois [email protected] Philip B. Clement is the Global Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Aon Corporation. He has responsibility for all Aon’s marketing, including branding; market analysis, external and public; and demand creation. Previously, Clement was a managing partner of The Clement Group, a management consulting firm that he founded in Chicago. In that role, Clement served a wide variety of clients as an expert in revenue-oriented growth strategies. Clement is an advocate of “value marketing” and has an impressive track record in leading rapid-growth initiatives at professional services firms. Clement received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business and a Master of Public Policy Analysis from the University of Chicago. His undergraduate studies were at the University of Southern California.

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PARTICIPANT DIRECTORY JEAN FOSTER Former Vice President of Marketing BT Americas, Washington, DC [email protected] Jean Foster is a dynamic, results driven Chief Marketing Officer with a successful track in turning around marketing organizations. With 20 years of international experience in the telecommunications and IT industries, she has provided leadership in marketing, business development, product management and product development. Most recently as Vice President of Marketing for BT Americas, Jean was a key player in growing the business to over $2Bn.

MIKE HOGAN Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer GameStop, Dallas, Texas [email protected] Mike Hogan is the Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for GameStop, Inc. Mike joined GameStop in February 2008. Mike brings 20+ years of corporate sales and marketing experience gained from key leadership roles in the US and worldwide. Mike has built and led numerous brands and marketing & sales organizations, and has directed brand management, strategic planning, product development, advertising, merchandising, as well as managing several national sales organizations. Prior to joining GameStop, Mike served as a Principal with Strategic Frameworking, Inc., a marketing and strategy group based in Seattle, WA. His consulting experience includes engagements in packaged goods, restaurants, technology, manufacturing, and healthcare. Mike received a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Northern Illinois University and an MBA in finance and marketing from Northwestern University.

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PARTICIPANT DIRECTORY CHUCK MARTZ Global Marketing Director Dow Water Solutions, Edina, Minnesota [email protected] Chuck Martz is the Global Marketing Director for Dow Water Solutions. He is responsible for directing and implementing the global marketing programs related to Dow’s water strategy. Chuck oversees a marketing team across North America, Europe and Asia. The marketing organization of Dow Water Solutions, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, works to provide value from innovative, technology-based solutions to a broad spectrum of water needs—from making seawater fit for human consumption and industrial use, to purifying industrial and residential water, and reducing and reclaiming water for reuse and efficiency. Martz joined Dow in 1982 and has held positions in Research and Development, Supply Chain, Marketing and Specialty Chemical sales. Martz holds a bachelor of science degree in ceramic engineering from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree in marketing from Drexel University.

HEIDI MELIN Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer Polycom, Pleasanton, California [email protected] Heidi Melin joined Polycom in September 2007 as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. She is responsible for Polycom's high-touch marketing strategy which includes global branding and corporate identity, field and channel marketing, corporate communications, analyst relations, enterprise solutions, demand generation, and events. A marketing veteran with over eighteen years of corporate and agency experience, Heidi brings a proven track record of successful, award-winning marketing programs that deliver bottom line results. Prior to joining Polycom, Heidi served as chief marketing officer at Hyperion Solutions, the leader in business performance management and business intelligence, and as group vice president of Marketing for PeopleSoft. Heidi holds a BA in Political Science from Willamette University.

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PARTICIPANT DIRECTORY RAM MENON Executive Vice President, Worldwide Marketing TIBCO, Palo Alto, California [email protected] Ram Menon is responsible for Product Strategy, Product Management, Product Marketing, Field Marketing, Corporate Communications, Branding and Customer Programs at TIBCO worldwide. Prior to this role, Ram served as the Chief Strategist of the company, responsible for defining and executing corporate strategic initiatives, including new product strategy, M&A direction, and emerging vertical markets. Prior to joining TIBCO, Ram was with Accenture, a global consulting firm, where he specialized in supply chain and e-commerce strategy, consulting with Global 1000 companies. Ram holds an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering and pursued graduate work in Industrial & Management Engineering.

MARGARET MOLLOY Vice President of Marketing Gerson Lehrman Group, New York, New York [email protected] Margaret Molloy is Vice President of Marketing at Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG), a position that she has held for almost three years. GLG’s clients— more than 850 of the world’s leading investment firms, corporations, and professional service firms—use the service to find and consult with subject– matter experts across a broad range of industries and disciplines. Prior to joining GLG, Margaret spent six years in marketing leadership positions at Siebel Systems. Margaret also served four years as the VP of Marketing at Telecom Ireland US (eircom). In 2008 Margaret was named by Business & Finance magazine as one of the "Most Influential US-Irish American Leaders.” Earlier this year she was recognized as one of the “Top 40 under 40” by the Irish Echo newspaper. Margaret holds a BA in European Business from the University of Ulster (Ireland) and the Universidad de Valladolid (Spain). She earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.

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PARTICIPANT DIRECTORY JOHN MOSER Chief Marketing & Brand Officer Denihan Hospitality Group, New York, New York [email protected] John Moser is Chief Marketing and Brand Officer of Denihan Hospitality Group (DHG), responsible for the company’s marketing, advertising, public relations, brand standards and growing internet presence and strategy. John works directly with DHG Co-CEOs and the development team to help expand the Affinia, The Benjamin and James brands nationwide. John was awarded the 2008 Marketing Executive of the Year award by HSMAI’s Big Apple Chapter and was named one of the “Top 25 Minds in Sales and Marketing” by HSMAI. In his two-decade career with DHG, John has held a variety of leadership roles. Prior to his appointment as CMO, John served as general manager for The Benjamin, DHG’s luxury brand, where he oversaw the hotel’s opening in 1999 and spearheaded the launch of its world renowned sleep program. He was also general manager at several of the independent properties managed by DHG.

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DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS

MITCH BISHOP CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER IRISE

Go out and get sales experience. “Get out of the office and go on sales calls. The best CMOs out there have had to carry a bag, and until you have had to carry a bag and feed yourself that way, you don’t get it. In my view, the CMOs of the future are going to be former VPs of sales.”

Get to know and understand your customers. “I have a great relationship with tons of our customers. They don’t view me as the CMO trying to get something from them; they view me as a partner sharing best practices and stories from our other customers. This trust has to be built up over time, and you have to know your business really well to connect with customers.”

Motivate the marketing team by building excitement around sales. “The trick is to get my marketing team connected to why we’re here… and that is to sell software. I want them to feel that same thrill of the hunt that the sales people feel, especially if it’s a lead or an opportunity that was generated from one of their programs.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS MITCH BISHOP CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER IRISE

The CMO Role SUPPORTING ENTERPRISE SALES WHILE BUILDING A VOLUME BUSINESS Mitch is responsible for iRise’s marketing, helping this business-to-business enterprise software company grow. He also has responsibility for inside sales to small and medium-sized businesses. He works closely with his peer, the VP of sales, who leads the outside sales force by focusing on enterprise sales to large companies, to grow the iRise business. “I have a very delicate balancing act as the CMO, between supporting an enterprise sales organization, where the bulk of our revenue comes from, and also trying to build a volume business. We are an enterprise software company first and foremost… but it made sense for us to create a volume business. We think we could dominate both ends of the market.”

GROWING MARKETING TO SUPPORT SIGNIFICANT GROWTH When Mitch joined iRise, a B2B enterprise software company, five years ago, there was no marketing department and only a scant 30 customers. Today iRise has grown to approximately 300 customers, but to Mitch the challenge still lies ahead. “My job right now can be defined in one word, which is scale. How do we scale this thing and blow the covers off? About 10% of my job is product marketing-oriented issues like pricing and packaging and release planning. The vast majority of what I do is outbound focused, driving sales.”

CONNECTING THE MARKETING TEAM TO THE END GOAL OF SOFTWARE SALES Mitch motivates his team by connecting them to their critical role in helping drive company growth. “Marketing teams are most effective when they are the most connected to the business. I encourage my team to go on sales calls, to have customer interaction. I share forecasts and sales information with them, and when we have a win everybody is excited about it. I make sure my team is driven on a day-to-day basis by the idea that if you’re not doing something to sell software, then you’re probably working on the wrong thing.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS MITCH BISHOP CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER IRISE

The Marketing Function A DIRECT LINE OF SIGHT FROM INQUIRY TO SALE Mitch works together with his boss, the President and COO, to ensure that marketing is closely and visibly linked to sales. “We have a meeting of the minds about a data-driven model for marketing. We measure everything… from unique website visitors, to time spent on the site, to what pages they are going to. All of the campaigns are measured by how many inquiries they generated, how many turned into leads, how many turned into opportunities, and how many closed. So we have a direct line of sight back to the origin, and we can slice and dice the data a million different ways.”

DATA AS THE BEDROCK OF MARKETING ROI Marketing data, according to Mitch, is not only useful for program planning but is essential for defending budgets and proving success. “We’re kind of statistics freaks here. We use data to help guide us, but it has also turned out to be the rock that I stand on with regard to my relationship with sales. Other software companies’ marketing can probably prove that they drive maybe 15 to 20% of sales. At iRise, about 50 to 70% of our sales every year are directly attributable to specific marketing campaigns. This is a compelling argument about the value of marketing.”

The Economic Environment SHIFTING TO A REGIONAL FOCUS IN A DOWN ECONOMY While they have had to shift the mix of marketing activities in the downturn, Mitch has found that elements like the event business are still highly valuable, but with a shift in focus. “One shift we’ve made is away from national conferences and our own national events, to regional events. Our event business is actually going gangbusters right now, but it’s shifted its focus from national to regional, and that’s a good clue for other CMOs to think about in this environment.”

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DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS PHIL CLEMENT GLOBAL CHIEF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER AON CORPORATION

Measure, measure, measure. “If you can’t measure it, don’t do it, even if within your heart of hearts you know that it’s working. It just puts the organization in a very tough spot.”

It’s about selling, not marketing. “I don’t talk about marketing much. I talk about selling – selling more, to more people, more often, at higher prices.”

Build trusted relationships with key internal stakeholders. “Take the time to listen and learn from a trusted group of colleagues. Learn as much as you can.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS PHIL CLEMENT GLOBAL CHIEF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER AON CORPORATION

The CMO Role IT’S ALL ABOUT GROWTH Phil is responsible for all marketing including branding; market analysis, external and public; and demand creation – for this $10 billion global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital consulting. His biggest challenge is to help the company find growth opportunities, in this down market, that pay off now. “It is hard to play in this marketplace right now. The amount of discretionary spending available for good ideas is very low, so you literally have to have the best idea. It also has to have very short-term returns. So a good idea that has long-term returns—which would work in a normal market— doesn’t work right now.”

GOOD MARKETING ENABLES THE GROWTH AGENDA Phil recognizes the importance of industry leadership in marketing, both to help advance the marketing agenda, and to reinforce the importance of marketing for the company’s leadership team. “Leaders can recruit people more easily, vendors want to work for you, and they charge you less because they’re willing to provide a discount for your account. It is not that the goal in my firm is only the desire to be the world’s best marketer, but if the marketing enables the growth agenda and the sales agenda, it’s what you prioritize. My leadership team recognizes that good marketing enables the corporate growth agenda.”

The Marketing Function PART OF THE WHOLE BUSINESS, NOT A STAND ALONE FUNCTION Phil integrates marketing into the business by viewing marketing investment in the context of the whole process of acquiring revenue for the firm. “I’m hired to make sure that marketing supports the growth of the firm in the best way possible and to make the right decisions of a dollar invested in marketing versus a dollar invested in HR, or in a new sales rep, or a financial vehicle or other investment for the firm. I’m part of that dialogue at the top level of the firm. I think the degree to which marketers can understand that a dollar invested in their area is a dollar not invested somewhere else – and further, understand why the firm might not invest in marketing as much as you would like because of those trade-offs, they end up being an important part of the corporate leadership team and helping to grow revenue for the company.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS PHIL CLEMENT GLOBAL CHIEF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER AON CORPORATION

The Marketing Function ALIGNING TO THE BUSINESS IS ABOUT SHOWING THE RESULTS Measuring the impact of marketing, according to Phil, is the most critical component to aligning marketing to core growth of the business and to communicating value in terms the C-suite understands. “If you can’t measure it, then don’t do it. We track the impact of marketing three ways that the CEO and others like to hear. Either we put more into the front end of the sales funnel, meaning more opportunity; or we increase the probability of advancing in the sales cycle, moving from one stage to the next, or thirdly we reduce pressure on price. This generally resonates with executives.”

The Economic Environment CREDIBILITY ENSURES YOU HOLD YOUR GROUND WITH CLIENTS Phil finds that credibility is one of the most important elements in successfully negotiating the current environment. “Credibility is key when communicating with clients in a downturn. Provide the best information possible, as quickly as possible. Because we had demonstrated credibility in the past, we have had clients coming to us regularly for information. This in turn put us in the right flow for monetizing when it’s appropriate. This environment is one in which a marketer might spend a lot of money advertising, trying to get people’s attention. But if you’re credible on an issue that already has their attention, it puts you in a better position to capture the business.”

AGILITY ENSURES RESPONSIVENESS AND RESULTS The second component to succeeding in a down economy is agility and response time, and having a well developed process to bring new products to market to respond to rapidly evolving needs. “What we had to do was create a very formal product development process, and a way of packaging and bringing products to market, and because we’re in a highly regulated industry we need regulatory review. Because of this process we already have in place, we were able to respond very quickly to the needs of our client base. For example, we came out with 14 new products in the marketplace to respond to the AIG situation in record time. And, these new products helped to make the quarter in sales.”

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DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS

JEAN FOSTER FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING BT AMERICAS

Demonstrate ROI to build credibility. “To be taken seriously, marketers need to build credibility for marketing with their C-suite colleagues by providing a clear line of sight for every marketing dollar spent through to the results.”

Get to know how your business works. “Marketers must be able to read a balance sheet and understand how the company works to be able to translate how marketing impacts your business.”

Position marketing to define the value for your clients. “Marketers need to take the lead to define for clients how your company can bring them value and impact their top or bottom line.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS JEAN FOSTER FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING BT AMERICAS

The CMO Role SHIFTING THE BUYER TO THE C-SUITE When Jean Foster took the reigns at BT Americas, the organization was looking for significant growth and expansion as a key provider into the global corporate marketplace. BT’s North America business was now competing with Verizon and AT&T for global Fortune 500 companies, targeting a new, C-level buyer. “Our biggest challenge was driving consideration of BT as a partner, building our presence at that very high end of the market and then going high and wide within the customer.”

ELEVATING TO THE EXECUTIVE SELL Jean found that this shift in the marketplace required teaching the sales people the new skills needed to sell strategically to executive level buyers and simplifying the BT story to provide the C-level business case. “We had sales people comfortable selling at the lower end of the market but not necessarily calling on the ‘C level’. We had to simplify our message so it would resonate with a CFO or CIO and give the sales people the tools to deliver a message beyond the cost and speed of our network.”

MOTIVATING THE MARKETING TEAM BY LINKING MARKETING TO THE BUSINESS The acquisitions that were driving BT’s growth were also causing upheaval and uncertainty within the marketing team. “I had to merge four separate teams… and we had to conduct some downsizing because of it. I kept the team focused, fully integrating the teams, taking best practices from the acquisitions and continually reinforcing where we are contributing to the business.”

The Marketing Function POSITIONING MARKETING TO DRIVE THE STRATEGIC SHIFT IN THE BUSINESS Jean brought marketing along with the strategic shift in the business by showing how marketing can support strategic growth through return on investment. “Too often I hear other marketers say, ‘my CEO doesn’t get me’. I believe that when marketing can sit down and show the dollars in the marketing budget, and the leads in the pipeline due to that investment, it gets the CEO’s attention. A critical metric for me was pipeline. I walked my CEO through the numbers and it shifted his thinking.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS JEAN FOSTER FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING BT AMERICAS ALIGNING THE DATA TO ALIGN THE ORGANIZATION Jean knew that to convince the organization of the value of marketing, she had to show consistent data and integrate into the same system the sales team was using. “We allowed the CEO and others in the C-suite to see these numbers at any time. I was able to build the tools and then the discipline to make sure that the team was tracking what they were doing. It gave us not just the ability to look at things like pipeline, but clearly show how my team was driving business. We could track what was working and what wasn’t.”

MARKETING BECOMES A SOURCE FOR STRATEGY As a result of these efforts, the BT leadership team increasingly brought marketing in to give strategic advice. One example was in developing the company’s channel strategy. “Marketing initiated an analysis of the cost of serving various customer types and determined that some segments had a very high cost of sale. Together with the CFO, we looked for ways to change the channel strategy and save money. We developed a program that tiered customers into those to service directly and those to service through partners, saving money and, more appropriately, allocating resources.” Jean notes, “This is where marketing was really influencing the business and the operational strategy of the company.”

The Economic Environment DEMONSTRATING CLIENT ROI: A KEY ROLE FOR MARKETING The economy did begin to affect BT’s business significantly, which Jean realized increased the importance of being able to show customers the positive impact on their bottom line. “I shifted my marketing budget to develop the proof points and support ROI studies for customers. The only questions customers were asking were, ‘is it going to save me money?’ We were able to give the sales team the answer to that question.”

CUT MARKETING COSTS WITH NEW TOOLS Jean emphasized the importance of responding to the economic environment by demonstrating that marketing was cutting the budget, and doing more with less. “I found it increasingly important to bring in tools that were cheaper and quicker to implement, and allowed new ways of communicating with our customers, such as social networking. I launched a social media project using Twitter and blogging to generate customer dialogue. While the organization was skeptical at first, the efforts showed results. We were able to actually demonstrate some very good results in generating dialogue with the customer, very quickly and at low cost.”

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DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS MIKE HOGAN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER GAMESTOP

Rethink the nature of marketing. “I think we’re too focused on marketing as a stand-alone discipline that’s trying to protect its budget and not enough on marketing as a growth driver and an agent of change for the total organization.”

Place total focus on the customer. “I put a relentless focus on my core customer and on making sure I am being loyal to them and delivering real value to them. Because, if I do, they will reward me for that.”

Position marketing as an investment opportunity for the business. “Every time I sit down in front of the CEO or the CFO, I should act like I’m pitching an idea to venture capitalists. They have a right to ask for a return on the investment.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS MIKE HOGAN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER GAMESTOP

The CMO Role FROM TRADITIONAL RETAILER TO CONSUMER-CENTRIC ORGANIZATION GameStop - the world’s largest video game retailer - has grown, organically and through acquisition, from $1 billion to $10 billion in revenue over the last 3 ½ years. Since Mike joined the company less than a year ago, he has been working on helping the organization evolve from a product focus to a relationship focus. “My role is to drive change in the organization, to help shift the focus from selling products in a store to developing relationships with consumers and driving a customer relationship that keeps people coming back.”

THE CHALLENGE: SELLING THE ENTIRE COMPANY ON THE VISION Mike said that while the leadership at GameStop is supportive of the consumer-centric vision, the key challenge is to bring the organization along too. “I think the greatest challenge for me is creating broad alignment within the organization to drive real change. Less than 50% of my time is spent on marketing and more than 50% of my time is spent on essentially selling internally on the new direction that we’re going in.”

INSPIRING THE MARKETING TEAM WITH VISION AND OPPORTUNITY Mike inspires and motivates his team by talking with them about vision and follows up by offering the chance to develop broader skills. “What I tell people is, ‘Look, do you want to … work on a next promotion? Or make some advertising? Or do you want to be a part of transforming a company in an exciting industry? Giving the team a lot of exposure crossfunctionally helps them understand how the vision for marketing translates into helping different parts of the business.”

The Marketing Function MARKETING AS THE “AGENT OF CHANGE” IN THE ORGANIZATION Marketing, according to Mike, plays a key role in driving the company’s mission to evolve the organization. “I think we’ve been playing too much defense and we have been too focused on marketing as a stand-alone discipline. We are beginning to focus on marketing as a growth driver and agent of change for the total organization. My team is leading all of the change task forces: there’s a task force on loyalty, on the ‘store of the future’, and on international expansion.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS MIKE HOGAN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER GAMESTOP CHOREOGRAPHING THE CONSUMER-CENTRIC ORGANIZATION Mike has worked to position marketing at the center of GameStop’s consumer-centric strategy. “Moving to a more consumer-centric model, we want to figure out how to create a compelling consumer experience – who is our consumer and how do we create a compelling experience for our target segments? Then, the product we order… the way in which we customize it and promote it… and so on… all has to be choreographed together. It’s marketing’s job to make sure that the consumers are in the center of that process.”

FROM MARKETING AS A BUDGET ITEM TO AN INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BUSINESS Mike believes that most marketers are too defensive when presenting their budgets to their leadership team. “I see too many marketers trying to defend the historical advertising or marketing budget. What we really represent are great investment opportunities for the organization. Every time I sit down in front of the CEO or CFO, I should act like I’m pitching an idea to venture capitalists. They have a right to ask for a return on the investment, but I’m excited about what the investment can do as opposed to getting nervous that somebody is poking their nose into my advertising budget.”

The Economic Environment LOOKING FOR SHIFTS IN THE MARKETS AND PLAYING TO THEM Although GameStop is thriving in the current economy, Mike has adjusted some of his strategies to maximize opportunities. “We’re trying to take advantage of the external opportunity to dramatically enhance our space, our footprint, you know… size, visibility, those kinds of things. We are also seeing the mix shift in our store customer segments and we’re increasingly making sure that we appeal to that much broader group of consumers in the store. We are also appealing to value seekers by increasing the potential for customers to trade games in, for example.”

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DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS

CHUCK MARTZ GLOBAL MARKETING DIRECTOR DOW WATER SOLUTIONS

Think of yourself as a business person first. “As CMOs, we’re business people first, and the role we play in the business is as a marketer. It’s important to have that delineation, because if you view it the other way around, you’re ultimately going to get out of alignment with everybody else in the business, and that will be a problem.”

Demonstrate that marketing is an investment. “Your toughest sell is internal rather than external. To convince the people internally that marketing is not an expense, but is, in fact, an investment, is perhaps the biggest challenge and key to success.”

Have confidence in your ability to create value. “We just have to have confidence in ourselves. If we don’t have confidence that we in fact can create value, then our General Manager surely isn’t going to!”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS CHUCK MARTZ GLOBAL MARKETING DIRECTOR DOW WATER SOLUTIONS

The CMO Role ALIGNING THE COMPANY AROUND THE BRAND PROMISE Chuck Martz leads marketing efforts for Dow Water Solutions, a business focused on developing and marketing functional components for water purification. Engendering trust that the Dow Water Solutions brand lives up to its promise to customers is central to Chuck’s role as CMO. “We have to convince customers that we are really living up to that brand promise, and we’re worth the value that we’re requesting. We also have to go internally to make sure that our people really understand what we are promising to the customer. The brand promise has to infiltrate all functions for it to be effective, because the brand is what you are to the customer and encompasses everything that you do.”

TAKE THE TIME TO BUILD MOMENTUM FOR MARKETING Chuck emphasizes that building credibility for marketing investment in an organization takes time. “You’ve got to start building the credibility, make some expenditures in a measured way, and then you have to bring back a result. You have to be able to get enough confidence going forward with the CEO that you get the chance to change stuff and demonstrate impact. That takes some time, and if you decide you’re going to rush it, there’s a big chance you will end up flaming out, in my experience.”

CROSS POLLINATE THE MARKETING TEAM Chuck explained that while a deep understanding of water purification is critical to marketing Dow’s products, he needs more than subject matter experts on his team to make sure his team can think more broadly about the market. “In a company like Dow, there is this general feeling that we can train a chemical engineer to do anything, but that is not necessarily the case. So, as I look at my team makeup, I want to get more people with a marketing background on the team. Their neurons work differently, and when you blend them with the technical people, you get a stronger team, and more effective discussion of different ideas and solutions.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS CHUCK MARTZ GLOBAL MARKETING DIRECTOR DOW WATER SOLUTIONS

The Marketing Function MARKETING AS A MEANS TO CAPTURE VALUE FOR THE COMPANY Chuck views marketing as central to the entire organization’s ability to succeed as a business. “Marketing has a role to go capture value. We have a tremendous number of smart R&D guys. If they come up with a better product, and we are not able to capture more value out of that because we can’t explain that value, or we can’t link that value to the end user better, then shame on us. And if we can’t articulate back to R&D the market needs for new products, we have failed. We must articulate that marketing is about business. It’s not about ads or anything like that, which marketing sometimes gets hung up on.”

GIVING LEADERSHIP THE CONFIDENCE TO INVEST IN MARKETING According to Chuck, the ability to gain leadership’s confidence is linked directly to the ability to deliver positive quantitative results. “We are too qualitative. When somebody won’t make an investment that would clearly make them more money, there’s got to be a confidence factor. As marketers, I don’t think we are providing the appropriate level of confidence to business management to make them willing to invest in marketing. You drive confidence when you say, ‘I’m going to deliver this number,’ and the number shows up. You do that three times in a row and the next time you come in and say, ‘I’m going to deliver the number,’ you get the investment. That’s just how it works.”

MARKETING MEASURES ARE BUSINESS MEASURES Chuck focuses on tying his marketing metrics to the overall performance of the business. “Revenue growth, market share, EBIT margin, or gross margin — are those business measures, or are they marketing measures? I would argue that they’re both. If my metrics are the same ones that my business managers are looking at, and I make those go up, I don’t have a problem with alignment.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS CHUCK MARTZ GLOBAL MARKETING DIRECTOR DOW WATER SOLUTIONS

The Economic Environment IN TOUGH TIMES, THINK SHORT TERM, BUT KEEP THE LONG VIEW While Chuck sees the importance of making tactical changes during a downturn, he feels that it is equally important to keep the fundamental strategy in place. “The economy has made people slow down implementation of that grander plan, shift their focus from near-term to ‘let’s go get orders’, and ‘make sure that our cash flow is looking good.’ However, our overall strategy for where we’re going has not changed. That is still in place and it’s still the plan.”

DIFFERENTIATE YOUR VALUE TO THE CUSTOMER Chuck feels that in this economic climate, it is critical to demonstrate the value the company offers to their customer. “Particularly in this current environment where everybody’s trying to pinch their last penny and price is extremely high on people’s list, it’s critical to be able to show differentiation at the customer level.”

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DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS HEIDI MELIN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER POLYCOM

Communicate ROI to position marketing strategically. “To be viewed as strategic rather than as an expense, be able to show ROI, and what comes out the other side of the investment.”

Evolve from “brand-keeper” to customer-focused leader. “The CMO role is evolving from ‘keeper of the brands’ to having overall impact on the business. Helping the company shift from internally-centric to an externally-facing market or customer-focused company is strategic and is a place where CMOs can take a leadership role.”

Pay attention to existing customers. “2009 is about focusing on existing customers, continuing to support our customers, to leverage and listen to our customers. This is the most important way to ensure the organization emerges stronger in the long term.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS HEIDI MELIN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER POLYCOM

The CMO Role SHIFTING TO CUSTOMER-CENTRICITY Polycom, a rapidly growing $1 billion telepresence, video, and voice solutions company, is looking to sustain that trajectory by shifting from a technology-focused company to one driven by the customer. “The company has seen the need to shift to be more customer-centered as opposed to technology-centric. And while marketing has not historically been strategic at Polycom, going forward the company has recognized the need to make the role more strategic to support this important shift in the business.”

DEMONSTRATE STRATEGIC VALUE THROUGH ROI To drive marketing to become a strategic function, Heidi points to the critical role of calculating return. “It’s about shifting marketing from an expense model to marketing as an investment model. We demonstrate this through ROI -- for every dollar we put in we need to be able to measure what revenue comes from that. This requires looking at marketing in a very pragmatic fashion rather than only through the high-level, more qualitative measures that many CMOs use, such as awareness benchmarks.”

MOTIVATING THE TEAM BY BUILDING CAREERS Heidi looks to create an environment of excellence and learning to encourage her marketing team. “The goal is to benchmark ourselves on best practices for the marketing team to be experts in their areas. So whether it be direct marketing, marketing automation, operations, or PR, I look to evaluate our progress on best practices, where we can improve, and how to ensure that the team can all step up and be leaders within their own specialty area.”

The Marketing Function GETTING THE VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER THROUGH SYSTEMATIC CHANNELS Marketing has the responsibility for the voice of the customer. “We have a customer marketing team responsible for two things. One is to listen to our customers through a series of user groups and advisory groups and, more importantly, to funnel that information back into the company. Two is to leverage customers to tell the Polycom story, including a customer reference program, and a customer showcase program.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS HEIDI MELIN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER POLYCOM LINKING THE DATA TO ALIGN MARKETING AND SALES According to Heidi, marketing and sales are not two separate processes but one single process. “We are putting an increased focus on making sure that our investments in marketing are aligned with what we need to achieve from a sales perspective. We are implementing the ability to measure the entire marketing and sales process, from response all the way to closed business through a new marketing automation system. It will provide the opportunity for sales and marketing to create accountability across the process and communicate about activities and results with a shared global taxonomy or language.”

The Economic Environment CHANGING THE MARKETING MIX TO NAVIGATE THE TIMES The economic environment has impacted the way Heidi allocates her marketing investment. “We made some pretty significant changes to the mix. As a result of the economic downturn, we are focusing more dollars today on demand-generation activities than we are on awarenessbuilding activities. I am focusing dollars to be as close to the field sales organization as possible because we have a very positive opportunity to drive revenue right now because of the economic environment.”

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DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS RAM MENON EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT WORLDWIDE MARKETING TIBCO

Focus half your time articulating the value of marketing internally. “Spend 50% of your time educating your internal stakeholders on the value of marketing, and speak in their language.”

Be more customer centric. “Be able to tell a real customer story. Go beyond the surface and talk knowledgeably and deeply about how your product helped the customer. Position marketing to define the value for your clients.”

Visit customers regularly. “All CMOs should go along on sales visits to the customer. Hear firsthand that they don’t like your product… or hear great things about the team—and get a real feeling for the brand not from data, but directly from the customer.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS RAM MENON EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT WORLDWIDE MARKETING TIBCO

The CMO Role BROAD RESPONSIBILITIES POSITION MARKETING FOR INFLUENCE As EVP of TIBCO, a $650 million business integration and process management software company, Ram Menon’s challenge is to bring a wide range of activities under the marketing umbrella. “I have a very broad-based role, including product strategy, new lead generation, how to tell the TIBCO story, and good corporate citizen activities. This breadth gives me a soup-tonuts opportunity to participate in and influence the go-to-market strategy of the company.”

GETTING BUY-IN BY ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS ON THEIR TERMS Ram points to the importance of speaking your stakeholders’ language to communicate about the role and value of marketing. “To be successful, marketing should spend 50% of their time educating their stakeholders on the business value of what they are doing and 50% of the time marketing externally. And with that 50% of time educating stakeholders, explain it to them in the language they understand, tailored for that audience. The CMO is articulating the company story to its prospective customers in the language they understand. Why don’t we use that simple principle when we articulate our story to our own stakeholders?”

FINDING A MARKETING TEAM WITH THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE The biggest challenge to motivating the marketing team, as Ram describes, is “finding people with the right marketing mindset to begin with, who understand intuitively how to make the connection with marketing and driving the business. I have an approach to motivating the team that is a bit different and driven by our Silicon valley roots – it is much more entrepreneurial and free-wheeling and requires them to make the connection and prove their value to the bottom line themselves.”

The Marketing Function ALIGNING MARKETING’S MEASURE OF IMPACT TO THE AUDIENCE Ram tailors his calculations of the impact of marketing to his audience. “For example, when I talk to sales, I only talk about sourced revenue. When I talk to a CFO, I talk about specifics like headcount reduction without loss of market coverage and delivery of revenue per dollar of marketing investment. It helps to be able to tell engineering how you are taking their product out and driving a lot of revenue through the sales enablement function.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS RAM MENON EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT WORLDWIDE MARKETING TIBCO USING YOUR INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS TO ENHANCE CUSTOMER OUTREACH Not only does internal stakeholder outreach increase buy-in, but Ram also finds it to be a very effective tool in developing more effective customer outreach programs. “Before turning to our customers, I focused my enterprise social networking strategy first on my stakeholders. I focused on how to use social networking to improve collaboration among my stakeholders, the whole company and people saw the value from it. From those lessons learned, I launched my community to the customer. The advantage of that was that my internal stakeholders were raring to join the external community and participate, which helped make the launch more successful.”

The Economic Environment AN OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE MARKETING’S FOCUS The current economic environment has pushed Ram and his team to refocus their efforts to do more with less, and to get more results. “This is a great opportunity to focus better, to make more with less but do things well. Secondly, it is time to target our customer better and develop a razor sharp focus on the most important subset of the market. And third, re-orient our marketing budgets to driving lead generation because that’s what is most important to the company right now.”

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE DETAILS Uncertainty puts increasing pressure on doing things well, Ram points out. “Doing a lot of things is easy. Doing a few impactful activities is hard. In this market, you need to pick your activities carefully and sweat the details. At this point in time, it’s all about sweating the details. I find this focus helps align the team during uncertainty.”

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DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS

MARGARET MOLLOY VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING GERSON LEHRMAN GROUP

Know your customer. “Customer relationships and the ability to demonstrate deep understanding of the customer gives the CMO a seat at the table.”

Customer stories are key to reaching your executive colleague. “A repertoire of powerful narratives brings your knowledge of the customer to life and makes that knowledge memorable for your peers.”

Conversation enablement is the new frontier. “Customers do not want to be marketed to, they want to be involved in an authentic dialogue.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS MARGARET MOLLOY VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING GERSON LEHRMAN GROUP

The CMO Role BALANCING SHORT-TERM PERFORMANCE WITH LONG-TERM STRATEGIC VISION GLG is a dynamic company with a range of target markets, which has given Margaret the challenge – and the opportunity – to evolve the marketing function to support growth. “Marketing is a critical component to the growth of the business as we seek to expand existing offerings, enter new markets, and drive new industry demand. The rapid growth of the company presents additional challenges in focusing marketing on the key strategic needs of the organization. The number one challenge as a marketing leader is striking the right balance between the longer-term strategic focus and shorter-term initiatives.”

BUILDING TRUST THROUGH AUTHENTIC CONVERSATIONS Margaret emphasizes the power of customer conversation. “Authentic conversations build trust. And trust is the most fundamental element in any commercial relationship. Success is not about pitching products or even solutions—rather, it is about actively listening to and understanding customers’ business drivers; posing relevant, provocative questions that help customers see their issues from another angle; and co-creating the answer that fits. This approach builds confidence and enduring relationships.”

MOTIVATING BY KEEPING A FRESH PERSPECTIVE Keeping things fresh and inspiring is one of Margaret’s key strategies for team motivation. “We want our team members to remember how it felt on their first day – everyday. Your first day is full of healthy curiosity, positive energy, and unbridled ideas. We aim to maintain that feeling by rotating team members across different areas of focus. This practice helps us become versed in many aspects of the business and makes us better marketers overall.”

The Marketing Function EARNING MARKETING’S SEAT AT THE STRATEGY TABLE Margaret believes that marketers can play a unique role in strategy. “A seat at the strategy table has to be earned. As marketers, we risk assuming that our professional credentials entitle us to influence direction. The reality is that marketing’s unique value proposition is not universally understood. Rather than bemoaning this branding and awareness challenge, we need to acknowledge it and demonstrate the unique dimension that marketing brings to all business issues, through rigorous, strategic, creative work. It is a constant work in progress.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS MARGARET MOLLOY VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING GERSON LEHRMAN GROUP

HOLDING THE SEAT WITH THE VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER Margaret emphasizes the importance of the customer relationship. “Throughout my career, I’ve maintained that the number one way to earn and retain a seat at the table is to have a comprehensive understanding of the customer base. The more insight that you have on the customer in aggregate and through specific anecdotes ─ the more value you bring to the table. Marketing gains access to the customer through programs including case studies, advisory boards, satisfaction checkups and net promoters score analysis, and uses its skills in research, analysis, and documentation to build fact-based institutional memory.”

The Economic Environment FROM SALES ENABLEMENT TO CONVERSATION ENABLEMENT While the notion of sales enablement is well established, Margaret asserts that enabling engaging conversations between a firm and its customers is a necessary evolution, especially in a challenging economic environment. “We are increasingly focused on developing tools, programs, and training to enable deeper dialogue between customers, sales, and the organization as a whole. I call it conversation enablement. We do this by conducting research to help sales develop account plans that refine the value proposition for specific customers; by publishing high-impact usage scenarios by segments; by delivering a menu of concrete points of differentiation; and by documenting best practices.”

MAKING YOUR CUSTOMERS YOUR BEST MARKETERS Margaret highlights the benefit of helping customers articulate the value they are getting from your firm. “Happy customers want to be advocates of your offering, but left to their own devices, they rarely take the time to reflect on their end-to-end experience working with your firm. A thoughtful case study interview captures a client’s challenges, solutions, benefits and ROI in a structured way, and provides customers a compelling narrative to tell their success story. In the final analysis, helping customers be your best spokespeople is the ultimate conversation enablement.”

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DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS JOHN MOSER CHIEF MARKETING & BRAND OFFICER DENIHAN HOSPITALITY GROUP

Use the voice of the customer to demonstrate credibility. “Go beyond tracking the link to new customers to demonstrate the impact of engaged customers on the brand and the business.”

Align marketing with operations to engage customers. “Operations and marketing together own the customer relationship. Drive the research to ensure the front line aligns around delivering the brand and integrating the input from customers.”

Keep one eye on the future. “Keep a close eye on where you want to be at the end of this downturn so that you are not selling your soul for short-term gains.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS JOHN MOSER CHIEF MARKETING & BRAND OFFICER DENIHAN HOSPITALITY GROUP

The CMO Role BALANCING BRAND ENHANCEMENT WITH REVENUE NOW Denihan Hospitality Group, with their three boutique brands (Affinia Hotels, The Benjamin and The James), and a goal to grow, targets the high-end independent traveler looking for new experiences. As the Chief Marketing and Brand Officer, John has the challenge of not only driving room occupancy, but to ensure that hotel operations lives the brand. “I need to make sure there are ‘heads in beds’ right now, which is critical to the short-term bottom line. I also have to keep sight on the brand and keep customers engaged with our brand promise for the longer term growth.”

ENGAGING CUSTOMERS TO MAKE THE CASE FOR MARKETING SPEND John finds that demonstrating ROI on a consistent basis helps to convince the C-suite of the need for continued marketing spend. “While brand awareness is part of how you grow a hotel business, my CEO and CFO want to know how to drive more customers now. I spend a lot of time trying to explain customer engagement and how that links to loyalty and growth. I do focus on tracking how our initiatives lead to new customers, since that is the most important outcome at the moment, but I worry about the longer term brand building.”

MOTIVATING THE MARKETING TEAM WITH TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE John motivates his young but talented team by grooming them and giving them skills and experience. “I have found some really talented people. We do a lot to develop them, exposing them to new technologies, new ideas, a broader set of responsibilities and teamwork. When they come here, we make them a superstar, ready to take on new challenges. I also make sure they see the total positive impact of the team on the organization.”

The Marketing Function BRINGING THE VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER TO THE TABLE John brings his operations background to his perspective on strengthening marketing’s seat on the executive committee. “My role is to bring the voice of the customer to the table. I came from operations so I see how important the connection to the customer is. I also say to the team – ‘did we ask the customers?’ – and make sure we do the research.”

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DISCUSSION DETAILS JOHN MOSER CHIEF MARKETING & BRAND OFFICER DENIHAN HOSPITALITY GROUP USING MULTIPLE CHANNELS TO GET THE CRUCIAL CUSTOMER INSIGHT John looks to online and offline options in the quest for real insight to gather customer feedback. “Online customer surveys are a good tool to measure existing customer feedback. To learn more about our target audience, we survey the high potential and high value population that comprises this pool. Thirdly, we hold in person discussions at regular weekly managers’ receptions that provide exceptional feedback. Fourth, we are the first hotel brand to add Trip Advisor comments and RSS feeds right to our website, without any edits or censorship. This not only demonstrates to our customers how open we are to their input, but the visibility pushes the hotel to read the feedback and act on it.”

The Economic Environment INJECTING THE LUXURY BRAND WITH VALUE The current economic environment has pushed John and his team to introduce value into their brand image. “We have to be more cautious about how we are marketing in this environment. People don’t want to say they are staying somewhere over-the-top. We are toning it down and trying to talk about the value, weaving it into our brand… and we have had success with this. “

KEEPING THE LONG VIEW WHILE WAITING OUT THE STORM John cautions about the importance of continuing to engage with high-end customers and listening to the future opportunities these customers reveal, despite the pressures of driving short-term revenue. “Marketing is about finding the engaged customers and getting their input so you can offer them something the competition isn’t and help you sell your brand. The voice of the customer is more important than ever to ensure that we do not do things that will hurt us in the long run. In this market, I think we have the opportunity to pick up market share where we didn’t before, as long as we maintain the long view.”

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PARTICIPANT MAP TOP 5 THINGS

• Customer centricity is all important. • Demonstrate value and ROI to secure strategic role. • Marketing as key agent of change. • Internal stakeholders are just as important as customers. • Drive short-term revenue but ensure the long term view.

5.

1. MITCH BISHOP iRise California

8. 9.

1. 2.

3.

2. PHIL CLEMENT Aon Corporation Illinois

6. 7.

3. JEAN FOSTER BT North America Washington DC

4.

4. MIKE HOGAN GameStop Texas

5. CHUCK MARTZ Dow Water Solutions Minnesota

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6. HEIDI MELIN Polycom California

7. RAM MENON TIBCO California

8. MARGARET MOLLOY Gerson Lerhman Group New York

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9. JOHN MOSER Denihan Hospitality Group New York

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COMPANY BACKGROUNDERS Aon Corporation Chicago, Illinois Vertical: Financial Services Headquartered in Chicago, Aon Corporation is the leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital consulting. Through its 36,000 professionals worldwide, Aon readily delivers distinctive client value via innovative and effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions. Aon’s industry-leading global resources, technical expertise and industry knowledge are delivered locally through more than 500 offices in more than 120 countries. Aon was ranked by A.M. Best as the No. 1 global insurance brokerage in 2007, based on brokerage revenues, and voted best insurance intermediary, best reinsurance intermediary and best employee benefits consulting firm in 2007 by the readers of Business Insurance.

Denihan Hospitality Group New York, New York Vertical: Hospitality New York based Denihan Hospitality Group is a full service hotel management and development company built upon a successful foundation in real estate, guest service and profitable asset management. With more than 40 years of hospitality management expertise, the privately owned DHG operates three brands: Affinia Hotels, The Benjamin and The James. Affinia’s distinctive hotels offer an array of options to suit particular lifestyle and travel preferences in prime locations in Manhattan, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The Benjamin, in the heart of Manhattan, provides an experience of true luxury with the highest level of service in an intimate, boutique-style setting. The James Chicago effortlessly blends a sense of modern, residential comfort with state-of-the-art technology and classic hospitality. DHG also manages several independent hotels in Manhattan. DHG was recognized as one of the Top 100 Management Companies on April 2009 by Hotel Business Magazine.

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COMPANY BACKGROUNDERS Dow Water Solutions Edina, Minnesota Vertical: Chemical Manufacturing Dow Water & Process Solutions has a 50 year legacy of providing innovative water and process solutions to both communities and industries alike. A differentiated business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, Dow Water & Process Solutions offers a broad portfolio of ion exchange resins, reverse osmosis membranes, ultrafiltration membranes and electrodeionization products, with strong positions in a number of major application areas, including industrial and municipal water, industrial processes, pharmaceuticals, power, residential water and waste and water reuse. With annual sales of $58 billion and 46,000 employees worldwide, Dow is a diversified chemical company that combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. The Company delivers a broad range of products and services to customers in around 160 countries, connecting chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products.

GameStop Grapevine, Texas Vertical: Media & Entertainment Headquartered in Grapevine, TX, GameStop Corp., a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company, is the world's largest video game and entertainment software retailer. The company operates more than 6,200 retail stores worldwide, as well as GameStop.com and EBgames.com. Game Informer magazine, a leading multi-platform video game publication, is also an important part of the GameStop family. GameStop offers customers the most popular new software, hardware and game accessories for next generation video game systems and the PC. In addition, their used game trade program creates value for customers while recycling products no longer being played.

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COMPANY BACKGROUNDERS Gerson Lehrman Group New York, New York Vertical: Information Services Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) provides technology and services to support a marketplace for expertise. Since 1998, its platform for consultation and collaboration has helped the world's leading financial services firms, consultancies, corporations, and nonprofits find, engage, and manage experts in a broad range of industries and disciplines. Gerson Lehrman Group's unparalleled network of the world's leading expert consultants, known as the Gerson Lehrman Group Councils, includes more than 200,000 subject-matter experts who educate and provide insight to decision makers through a wide range of consulting methods, including telephone consultations, expert surveys, and seminars. Gerson Lehrman Group has invested in one of the world's most sophisticated infrastructures for expert recruiting and compliance. Learn more at www.glgroup.com.

iRise El Segundo, California Vertical: Technology iRise is the world’s leading provider of visualization software for business applications. Visualization is quickly becoming a critical competitive advantage for businesses to more effectively communicate their needs to technology teams and give everyone involved the ability to fully experience applications before they are built. Companies of all sizes like General Motors, UPS, Wachovia, Manpower, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and many others use iRise to “test drive” their applications before building, which accelerates time to revenue, improves customer experience, and drives costs down. At iRise, our vision is that by 2020, all business software will be visualized before being built, the same way that every car, airplane, and building is visualized today. Headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., iRise is backed by Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank and has sales offices across North America.

The CMO Club

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COMPANY BACKGROUNDERS Polycom Pleasanton, California Vertical: Communications Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) is the global leader in telepresence, video, and voice solutions and a visionary in communications that empower people to connect and collaborate everywhere. Companies choose Polycom for solutions that enable their geographically dispersed workforces to communicate and collaborate more effectively and productively over distances. Using Polycom telepresence, video, and voice solutions and services, people connect and collaborate from their desktops, meeting rooms, class rooms, and mobile settings. Organizations from a wide variety of industries and the private sector work with Polycom standards-based solutions to gain a fast return on their investment as their teams easily collaborate "face to face" wherever they are, cut the time, cost, and carbon emissions associated with gathering the right people in one place to solve problems, and apply saved resources, time, and energy to primary business and organizational challenges.

TIBCO Palo Alto, California Vertical: Technology Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, TIBCO Software Inc. (NASDAQ:TIBX) provides enterprise software that helps companies achieve service-oriented architecture (SOA) and business process management (BPM) success. With over 3,000 customers and offices in 40 countries, TIBCO has given leading organizations around the world better awareness and agility–what TIBCO calls The Power of Now®. TIBCO is focused on leveraging and extending the capabilities of its software to help companies move toward predictive business: an exciting new way of doing business that lets companies anticipate customer needs, create opportunities and avoid potential problems. As the basis of the real-time movement of data across the enterprise, TIBCO's software is uniquely capable of correlating information about a company's operations and performance with information about expected behavior and business rules so they can anticipate and respond to threats and opportunities before they occur.

The CMO Club

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ABOUT THE RESEARCH About the Research In February of 2009, The CMO Club launched a unique effort to help members navigate these trying times, and to leverage our collective knowledge – the Insights from CMOs program. The research involved an initial set of 9 in-depth interviews with CMO Club members to help all of us better understand how the economic environment is impacting our membership, and what you and your colleagues are thinking about now as you respond and look for opportunities. The goal was to develop a set of actionable stories – advice, insights and ideas from successful peers – that will help members build successful strategies for 2009 and beyond. We are looking to understand what marketing executives are talking about – not only with each other, but with their teams, their vendors, their CEO, their line-of-business heads, and their customers – all of their key stakeholders.

Insight into Action We have collected the insight garnered from the interviews into a compendium of stories, recommendations, and best practices for CMO Club members to leverage in their own settings. We thank those participants willing to spend their time to share their thinking and their ideas with The CMO Club. For those of you who did not have a chance to participate in this round of research, we encourage you to reach out to Pete Krainik ([email protected]) for inclusion in the next round of interviews.

About Truman Company The CMO Club engaged Truman Company to help us uncover, evaluate and synthesize your insights for this project. Truman Company is an executive marketing firm based in Burlington, Massachusetts, dedicated to helping companies engage, sustain, and capitalize on executive relationships. Their approach is driven by gathering and leveraging executive insights and helping their clients effectively deploy content for conversation in their sales, marketing and relationshipbuilding programs. Learn more about them at www.trumancompany.com.

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www.trumancompany.com The CMO Club

Truman Company Executive Insights