Why Boards Must Support CMO Change Agendas To Build More Customer-Centric Organizations In 2016 [INSIGHT]

This article is by Caren Fleit, a senior client partner and leader of Korn Ferry’s Global Marketing Center of Expertise. She specializes in senior-level executive search for marketing-driven and customer-centric companies, with a focus on brand-oriented retail and multi-channel consumer goods and services businesses, and the B-to-B companies that partner with them.

As company boards enter 2016, many should resolve to better support and encourage their company CMOs in implementing change agendas that target a more customer-centric business mindset and tackle digital disruption head-on in the year ahead.

According to Korn Ferry’s latest CMO Pulse survey, nine in 10 CMOs agree their organization is trying to become more customer-focused. The study also reveals, however, that a majority of marketing executives continue to find aligning all facets of the organization around the customer experience to be their biggest hurdle.

Creating universal alignment behind “one view” of the customer approach is no easy task, to be sure.

Implementing a more customer-centric approach often necessitates an organization-wide change agenda to overcome silos and create shared vision and momentum across a variety of functions involved in building an integrated customer experience. But implementing such an ambitious plan is a challenge for at least 40 percent of marketers, who suggest inability to build alignment within the organization around the change agenda contributes to higher CMO turnover, relative to other C-suite positions. Organizations need to ensure that the change agenda is embraced by leadership, beyond marketing, across the executive team.

Despite difficulty in building support for organizational change, CMOs are typically in a unique position to serve as catalysts for transformation, as they have direct access to the customer. To be successful, CMOs must be able to lead across functions by clearly communicating how a unified view of the customer creates value for the enterprise, achieves a shared agenda and benefits everyone. Given the complexity of the transformation typically involved on the journey to “customer centricity,” the commitment to a more customer-centric approach needs to come from the very top. With support from the board and other senior leaders, transformative CMOs can be well positioned to provide strategic leadership to customer-centric initiatives designed to yield quantifiable business results.

Along the way, however, CMOs will need to address the “digital disruption” that is causing market environments, customer expectations and the innovation cycle to all grow more complex on a daily basis. Digital, though posing significant challenges, might also be a savior for marketing leaders and provide a vehicle for better unifying customer demands with business goals.
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With 68 percent of CMOs focused on creating a more personalized customer experience, digital and social channels are opening new windows into consumer preferences and behaviors. The most effective customer-centric marketing leaders are taking to these channels—be it email, Facebook, Twitter, online banner ads or mobile promotions—to engage directly with customers and implement seamless marketing strategies.