“There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood leads on to fortune.” Shakespeare penned these famous words to urge Cassius to war in Julius Caesar, but they have a remarkable applicability to the CMOs of today. Marketers are increasingly being asked to extend their influence, to take on non-traditional activities, to drive strategy–in effect to turn the tide within their organizations. War may be too strong a term for the task at hand; however, there is little doubt that a significant change is taking place and Marketing is at the helm.
Consider today’s generally accepted definition of marketing: the process of building profitable customer relationships by creating value for customers and capturing value in return (Philip Kotler). Marketing analyst firm Demand Metric interprets this to mean that the modern marketing organization has responsibility over revenue generation and sales enablement, as well as authority over all the processes, technologies, tools and talent that support the customer universe. In theory this makes sense, creating value for customers necessitates exerting considerable influence over the customer experience. Data-driven marketing organizations are uniquely positioned to take on this challenge with their deep understanding of customer behaviors, preferences and value. In reality however, constructing a (battle) plan is in order because marketers rarely have authority over everything impacting the customer experience.
The Tide Turns: Marketing’s Pivotal Role in CEM Transformations
