Customer advocacy is the #1 priority for Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) worldwide

Customer advocacy is the #1 priority for Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) worldwide, according to a recent IBM study

The CMO’s role is expanding, as the digital revolution transforms the orthodoxies of marketing.  IBM learned from more than 1,700 CMOs how they are addressing new opportunities and challenges and strengthening themselves  to succeed.

The practice of marketing is going through a period of unparalleled change, putting CMOs everywhere to the test. So how should you respond?

You can carry on as before. Or you can seize the opportunity to transform your marketing function by responding to these new realities:

-       The empowered customer is now in control of the business relationship

-       Delivering customer value is paramount—and an organization’s behavior is as much a part of the value equation as the products and services it provides

-       The pressure to be accountable to the business is not just a symptom of hard times; it is a permanent shift that requires new approaches, tools and skills.

The combined insights of the 1,734 senior marketing executives who participated in this IBM study point to three strategic imperatives you can act on to strengthen your likelihood of success:

Deliver value to empowered customers

-       Focus on creating value  for customers as individuals

-       Reprioritize investments to analyze digital channels to access customers’ views and use advanced analytics to recognize preferences and trends across every touch point

-       Work with IT to assess potential data and infrastructure exposures, employ tools to secure customer data and update privacy policies to address customers’ concerns

Foster lasting connections

-       Capitalize on new digital channels to stimulate customer conversations and new relationships; use tangible incentives to  attract followers

-       Engage with customers throughout the customer lifecycle; build online/offline communities to strengthen your brand

-       Help the enterprise define and activate traits that make it unique and engage the C-suite to meld the internal and external faces of the enterprise

Capture value,  measure results

-       Use advanced analytics and compelling metrics to improve decision making and to demonstrate accountability

-       Adjust your talent mix to increase technical and financial skills, and grow digital expertise by finding new partners to supplement in-house resources

-       Expand your horizons by enhancing your personal financial, technical and digital savviness

“Loyalty and customer satisfaction are critical because advocates online provide you with immeasurably valuable free marketing,” a banking CMO in the United States elaborated.

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