CMO Executive Alignment

CMO Executive Alignment

by | May 15, 2023 | Chief Marketing Officer, Marketing Talent Management

CMOs…stop clutching your pearls

Man in t-shirt with words 'clutching your pearls'. Used to illustrate article about CMO executive alignment.

What’s going on with CMO executive alignment?

I’m seeing more LinkedIn posts about CMO executive alignment with their CEOs being fraught with peril.

Enough with the hand wringing. Here’s the truth about managing your CEO’s expectations regards marketing.

I’ve been around the C-Suite a long time, much of it as a CMO.

In my opinion, the key to being a CMO longer than 18 months (at the same place) is learning how to manage those expectations.

Conversely, in a society/culture where dissent can be seen as abuse, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to speak up.

Not because of them…but because of us.

Fear has no place in CMO executive alignment

We’ve transferred the fear of speaking up (in general circles) to the one place it’s not needed or wanted…the c-suite.

Trust me on this, CEOs want your recommendations and the good ones want you to actively manage their expectations when it comes to the marketplace.

Let them take care of the vision and growth expectations.

You take care of aligning yourself and your teams with those expectations.

However, it’s not always easy or straightforward.

At loggerheads?

If you’re at loggerheads, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with pounding on your CEO’s desk with your fist.

The sun will still come up tomorrow.

In addition, a good (or great) CEO will appreciate his/her generals and their recommendations. That same CEO will likely ask that you back up your recommendations with numbers and logic, but it’s your job to provide those.

And you can always do hugs and chugs afterward.

Product Market Fit: Will The Dogs Like The Dog Food?

Product Market Fit: Will The Dogs Like The Dog Food?

by | Feb 9, 2017 | B2B Strategy

Market opportunity analysis using simple guerrilla market research can help you make decisions quickly on a new product concept or other idea.

Market Opportunity Analyis. Will the dogs like the dog food?

Bella the wonder dog.

New products and services are the lifeblood of every company. Many marketers, however, are unaware that fast, low cost guerrilla techniques for market opportunity analysis can be a great starting point in the ‘go’ or ‘no-go’ decision process.

Collecting Unbiased Customer Data

The first thing to understand is that business is a social process. Consequently, to do this successfully you will be spending more time dialoguing with people and less time on the internet. What you need to know is still in people’s minds, not published on the web.

However, allocate a small percentage of your total research time to web searches to develop a baseline understanding of what is already available.

Market Opportunity Analysis: The Internet Part

Establish your beachhead by searching the web for current offerings and substitutes in the targeted market space.

This?approach is lean-thinking and is a low-cost?alternative for?more traditional market research methods.

This paper?includes:

  • A detailed guide for finding market information
  • A 5-point model for strategy development
  • A simple process for arriving at an unbiased decision

“Will The Dogs Like The Dog Food?”

Click here to view and/or download this report.