The hype around the CMO tenure ~via Mayur Gupta
Mayur is one of the most brilliant and passionate marketers I have had the good fortune to interact with over the past 10 years or so. And a truly dedicated and loving Dad... I had the good fortune to meet his family and spend an evening at his home... too many years ago. His insights here into the tenure of a CMO in the more tech, D2C, product led companies, and what it takes to extend it, are valuable for everyone in the space. /Ted
Someone this week asked me about all the hype around the CMO tenure - why do they keep leaving or are asked to leave every 2 years or so???
Great question - am sure some of the data would prove the fact but is that the truth?
Yes this does happen, but not all kinds of CMOs… - CMOs in a non D2C, CPG, non product led world are still the core growth drivers …
In that world, a brand manager more often than not, still runs the P&L… so those CMOs have quite a diff seat at the Exec table
Why?? - because Marketing & brand is the primary driver for most of these companies, of course a great product but these products don’t bring virality, network effects .. they need the flywheel of marketing to get going and scale
In more tech, D2C, product led companies — most of the early growth happened without any scaled marketing, it was purely product led …
This is where Marketing is still defining its foundation - the modern marketing where CMOs have to rightly prove that brand is performance and performance builds brand
In these companies, marketing needs new habits:
1. Use the language that’s used by everyone (data & business impact) and not just brand & creative
2. Know your data before you know your brand
3. Love your product before you love the brand
4. Appreciate the internal customer as much as you appreciate the external
5. And connect the dots —- brand w business, purpose w profit, science w storytelling
In these product led companies where the product is the biggest marketing channel, CMOs need an evolved playbook….
A playbook that does not let marketing drift towards its own island but stays connected and rooted with the mainland …
You almost have to earn the right to be at the table every single day until you have proven the incrementality of marketing in this 2nd phase of growth!!! (Phase 1 didn’t need you)
Crack that, and you/we will crack past the 2 year mark!!!
#cmos #marketing #growth #brandisperformance
